Retro Computers
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retrocomps.bsky.social
Retro Computers
@retrocomps.bsky.social
22K followers 1 following 7.4K posts
Semi-automated posting of old computers and videogames. Sometimes other bits of retro aesthetics and design. ~6-8 posts a day, ~24 posts on holidays.

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retrocomps.bsky.social
THE SKINNY SONY
Up top, a portly man, standing, viewed from the side; his office is dark, but his face is lit by the Sony Walkman, his eyes invested. He is holding a Sony Watchman, a device about the size of a Game Boy, to his chest. The title reads: "The Skinny Sony." Dense ad copy touts the 1.25" thickness, the sharp 2" diagonal black-and-white screen, the ease of carrying it about with you in your pocket. The bottom right corner shows the device in profile: a screen mid-body, a tuning dial body right, a power-volume dial top right, and a retractable "rabbit ear" antenna top left. The bottom right reads "INTRODUCING SONY WATCHMAN PERSONAL TV. SONY: THE ONE AND ONLY."
November 26, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Reposted by Retro Computers
chbarts.bsky.social
It had a pack-in game called Lair of Squid, which was inspired by DOOM. Ah, classic MS-DOS weirdness.
Why 1994’s Lair of Squid was the weirdest pack-in game of all time
The HP 200LX included a mysterious maze game called Lair of Squid. We tracked down the author.
arstechnica.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:20 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
Decimal registers, decimal assembly language, graphite-rubber memory... the CARDIAC was a different kind of computer in more than one way.
The Cardiac - "CARDboard Illustrative Aid to Computation", a blue cardboard computer resembling a calculator wheel. Device left is the output strip. In the left half is the 'accumulator', which is altered by three cardboard strips; a flowchart gives instructions on how to interpret the 'command' at any given step. On the right half is the memory, which is able to be written to by the human operator's pencil; to the left of each slot is a space for the operator to put a 'bug' which acts as the instruction pointer
November 26, 2025 at 12:05 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
CARRYING FRUITS JR. (Source.)
A type in BASIC program listing from the September 1988 issue of micomBASIC magazine, for the Hitachi BASIC Master Jr. Up top, a little illustration shows the title and our hero, a boy struggling to get the giant apple into the shed. The article describes that it is a port of a game published in Bee Magazine. Sections indicate how to type in the game and how to play; a callout section shows a memory map detailing where various routines are put; article bottom, sideways to fit more lines in, is the dense BASIC language instructions.
November 25, 2025 at 6:05 PM
retrocomps.bsky.social
KNIGHT'S QUEST (Source.)
The title screen for a Commodore 64 game. The title in yellow block characters reads: KNIGHT'S QUEST. The options, on a grey scroll, are: Draft New World, Set Up New Game, Play Saved Game, Leave The Quest. Down below, two knights charge each other, with a castle and mountain in the distance.
November 25, 2025 at 12:05 PM
retrocomps.bsky.social
Pixel-A-Pixel for March '89 (Source.)
In purple frame, the results for the "Pixel A Pixel" art contest from the March 89 issue of Microhobby magazine; all these were made on the spectrum. Here, we have two first-place images, with 31 of 100 votes; the second place image has 27 of 100 votes. The first image by Tomas Aceytuno Dominguez is titled "Leuco" ("White" or "Pale" or "Colorless", I'm not sure); it depicts a man in fron tof a crashed spaceship, holding a gun at some unshown beast; stars and planets appear in the background over cold icy mountains, and growths appear, indicating a frozen forest. Second is a picture of Judas Priest, by Pedro José González Casares; it shows two rockers with their foots up on speakers playing guitar, while colored lights on stage and strobing camera effects indicate they're in a busy show. Third is a picture of a pegasus rampant, by Jorge Morga Bachiller; in a white circle it shows a white pegasus, rampant, its wings spread (and one wing escaping the circle), a huge untamed mane.
November 25, 2025 at 6:05 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
The New York Times? They get lucky, sometimes. You want the real scoop, you check the hot sheets: people with single topic Bluesky accounts.
retro-commercials.bsky.social Retro Commercial Screens @retro-commercials.bsky.social · 1d
What do you MEAN "the guy who helped track Al-Quaeda leading up to 9/11, resigned from the FBI after illegally accessing records on another private investigator, and is currently awaiting sentencing for attempting to bribe Puerto Rico's governor" starred in a Miller Lite commercial in 1985?!
November 25, 2025 at 4:33 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
Sharp Internet AQUOS PC-AX120V (2007)
A three-component computer setup, all in the matte red that made Sharp's comptuers distrinct. Top left, a remote, with volume, chancel changers, keypad, trackpad, mouse buttons, and function buttons; there's a battery hatch at the bottom. Top right, a slimline vertical tower with a round base, labeled 'INTERNET AQUOS'; there are media control buttons, a power button, a vertical DVD hatch, and a power light. Bottom, a slimline PC keybaord; the full set of usual IBM keys is present, but the case is scrunched to fit the arrow keys between the tenkey and the keyboard, and the usual navigation keys are presented in a slim strip, in order to fit in one last column of multimedia keys and a two-button trackpad on the right hand side.
November 25, 2025 at 12:05 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
WORD PROCESSING HAS NEVER BEEN SIMPLER
Above, the headline "Word Processing Has Never Been Simpler." Below, a picture of a young girl dutifully typing at her computer, while her proud parents watch, set before a monochrome CRT. Below, bullet points of features ("Document chaining allows you to print documents of unlimited length", "Highlighting of text", "Upper and lowercase without additional hardware"), below the Bank Street Writer logo. The slogan: "The First Word Processor For The Entire Family." The logo of Broderbund Software, three abstract crowns, appears at page bottom.
November 24, 2025 at 6:05 PM
retrocomps.bsky.social
Pass the word!
Recalling Norman Rockwell's "The Gossips," a slew of computer users share a disc made by a user, each user sharing it with someone else until it ends up in a new machine, beginning the story anew. Artist: Mike Hagel, RUN Magazine Mar/Apr 1991
November 24, 2025 at 12:05 PM
retrocomps.bsky.social
With so much cruft on the Internet these days, wouldn't it be nice to get a little guidance?
Yahoo - A Guide to WWW. What's new? What's cool? What's popular? Stats. A Random Link. Top, Up, Search, Mail, Add, Help. Art (466) NEW, Business (6426) NEW, Computers (2609) NEW, Economy (743) NEW, Education (1487) NEW, Environment and Nature (193) NEW, Events (53) NEW, Government (1031) NEW, Health (367) NEW, Humanities (163) NEW, Law (163) NEW, News (185), Politics (148) NEW, Reference (474) NEW, Regional Information (2606) NEW, Science (2634) NEW, Social Science (93) NEW, Society and Culture (648) NEW. 23836 entries in Yahoo (Yahoo, Up, Search, Mail, Add, Help). yahoo@akebono.stanford.edu Copyright 1994 David Filo and Jerry Yang
November 24, 2025 at 6:05 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
The Hewlett-Packard 200LX Palmtop PC (1994)
A grey clamshell handtop. Up top, the 640x200 monochrome screen has applications: Appointments, Phonebook, Note Taker, Memo, Database, Pocket Quicken, Lotus 123, HP Calc, cc:Mail, Filer, Setup, DOS, World TIme, System Macros, Data Comm, and Laplink remote, plus a memory tracker (346K Free/448K Total) and legend for the function keys. Down below, a micro-QWERTY keyboard with numb pad appears, with a second row of function keys to switch tasks between the isntalled apps and cursor keys above the numbpad. Image © Tamie49.
November 24, 2025 at 12:05 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
"You're pretty punk, Steve."
A stage screen from the game Aero Fighters (1993), the US localization of Sonic Wings. On the left, a very beautiful pilot holds a pink rose. In the middle, a map screen shows Japan has been selected. On the right, a dolphin in a fighter cap. Down below, it reads "You're pretty punk, Steve," though it is not clear who is the punk that is Steve. At bottom, it reads "Level-4 Credit 01."
November 23, 2025 at 6:05 PM
retrocomps.bsky.social
Sixteen nations have their hands on the nuclear button. As Global Commander of the United Nuclear Nations, you must stage satellites, intercept communications, perform inspections, negotiate, scrutinize, and try to save the world from nuclear fire. This is THE ARMAGEDDON MAN (C64, 1988).
A man stands, holding the globe in his hands. Behind him, a satellite shoots lasers at missiles; further behind that, a nuclear bomb goes off in the distance. Labelled "The ARMAGEDDON Man: Martech, For the COMMODORE 64/128 CASSETTE." The art is signed 'Steiner.'
November 23, 2025 at 12:05 PM
retrocomps.bsky.social
Connect Your Computer To A Higher Intelligence
A computer user sets in a vaporwave infinite plane. A wire from the back of the computer runs up to a giant spaceship evocative of 2001: A Space Oddysey, except the spaceship is made out of computer parts, with fans and pin cables replacing the typical greebling of a spaceship. The ad copy describes CompuServe in the usual breathless tones of utopian computer ads of the day.
November 23, 2025 at 6:05 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
I shared this a moment ago but I had to take it down and redo it because this work of art *screams* for an appropriate soundtrack.
November 23, 2025 at 2:44 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
FUTURE COMPUTERS? (Source.)
The cover of Byte, the Small Systems Journal, for April 1981. In it, a Robert Tinney piece depicts a small bezeled computer on a man's steel wristwatch; the tiny QUERTY keyboard and four side function keys fit on the face, while the micro-CRT reads, "INSERT DISK". Two fingers gingerly load the 5 1/4mm diskette into the side of the wristwatch.
November 23, 2025 at 12:05 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
FM Towns Marty (Fujitsu, 1993)
A sleek grey box with a CD rom popup on the left, a floppy drive (!) on the right, and two controller ports and AV ports out the front (!). The grey controller has a D-pad, A/B, Select/Start, far fewer than its companions.
November 22, 2025 at 6:05 PM
retrocomps.bsky.social
Popful Mail (PC8801, 1992) (Source.)
An ad for the fantasy platformer Popful Mail. Top center is our heroine, Popful Mail, a cheerful red-headed swordswoman with elfin ears and a bindle on her sword. Top left is an inset of Tatto, the party magician, with a staff topped with a half-moon. Top right is an inset of Gaw, the party's scrungly dragon thing. Bottom left inset is Slick, a white-haired elf, the party explosive master, looking like a mad scientist. Bottom right inset is Glug, a heavyset dwarf, holding hammer and wrench. Top background is a watercolor painting of a forested swamp, with volcano and castle in the background; bottom background are screenshots (emphasizing the quality animation). Purchasing details appear page bottom (mail or fax, cash-on-delivery; 8700 yen).
November 22, 2025 at 12:05 PM
retrocomps.bsky.social
Robie the Robot (1982) (Source.)
A yellow cylinder, with legs, two arms, green eyes, and a red tongue. The free hand is posable is just strong enough to hold a pen; the big palm hand lifts in order to put the coin into his mouth.
November 22, 2025 at 6:05 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
COMPUTES, "REASONS," PLAYS GAMES
An ad from a 1957 issue of Popular Electronics magazine. Up top, the title: "New! A machine that COMPOSES MUSIC!" To the top left, an image of the "Geniac Electric Brain," a masonite board with a set of six ceramic dials in which electronic components may be mounted; these dials are turned for input and the connections underneath serve as the analog "timer" of sorts; the side has a series of four lights, the machine's output. To the top right, an image of a tune created by the Geniac. Below, dense type promotes the machine ("Yes, you can build any one of 33 electric brain machines!" "Over 400 components and parts!" "Your cost for GENIAC kit: Only $19.95 postpaid" (roughly $200 today). A sidebar lists institutions that have purchased GENIACs (including IBM, Bell, and Westinghouse); at the bottom is an ordering sheet for the Oliver Garfield Co., plus options to show interest in various other scientific fields.
November 22, 2025 at 12:05 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
Why did the JX fail? Perhaps selling a 64kb computer for $2115 while Commodore was rolling out a 128kb machine for $299 has something to do with it.
A three-piece desktop computer. Up top is a black CRT, with a single red power button. The pizzabox style case features two 3.25" drives, a recessed red power switch, and an unlabeled future expansion port. The front of the case seems to slide off entirely, which would allow the top to hinge up and off, like their competitor Apple. The keyboard, itself, is black in the familiar IBM layout, with one addition: a raised ridge, where a student might rest a pencil.
November 21, 2025 at 6:05 PM
retrocomps.bsky.social
In Quest of the Star Lord (TRS Coco 3, 1988, 4 disks)
A TRS-80 text adventure screenshot. The screan reads: "I am in a pre-war bunker. It appears to have taken quite a bit of damage and remains in poor repair. A hole exists in the west wall. You see: BIN, COT, CABINET, HOLE. EXITS: W U. COMMAND?"
November 21, 2025 at 12:05 PM
retrocomps.bsky.social
RISKY BUSINESS!
From the July 1991 issue of Compute. The art by Mark McCandlish takes up the bulk of the two page spread; in it, a fighter jet has crashed, robotic firefighters are putting out the plane, and a robotic firefighter (with a style evoking the airbrush robot aesthetic of the 1970s) is carrying a human to safety.
November 21, 2025 at 6:05 AM
retrocomps.bsky.social
Mastermind (Source.)
A magazine entry from Soft magazine. Up top, a depiction of a bald man concentrating firmly while looking at a Mastermind board, and the Comodore 64 logo. In the middle, a single paragraph explainer. Down below, a roughly 100 line BASIC program, with copious comments to declare functions. Art by Hans Chr. Thaysen, program by L. M. Laursen.
November 21, 2025 at 12:05 AM