Colin Hoad
@colinhoad.com
Senior Data Engineer at cfc.com
"Vintage computing enthusiast" -- The Register
I run a YouTube channel and blog dedicated to the Beeb and all things Acorn, Psion and more:
https://www.colinhoad.com
Discord: https://discord.gg/zjvSBjG7rw
Art: VectorinID
"Vintage computing enthusiast" -- The Register
I run a YouTube channel and blog dedicated to the Beeb and all things Acorn, Psion and more:
https://www.colinhoad.com
Discord: https://discord.gg/zjvSBjG7rw
Art: VectorinID
The front cover of the BBC Micro 6502 second processor user guide is one of my all time favourites, the photograph is just *so* evocative. I adore this guy's setup, it perfectly captures the spirit of 1980s home computing.
January 11, 2026 at 3:22 PM
The front cover of the BBC Micro 6502 second processor user guide is one of my all time favourites, the photograph is just *so* evocative. I adore this guy's setup, it perfectly captures the spirit of 1980s home computing.
A spot of late night memory testing on the Beeb... nasty suspicion one of my DRAM chips is banjaxed 🙃
January 10, 2026 at 12:04 AM
A spot of late night memory testing on the Beeb... nasty suspicion one of my DRAM chips is banjaxed 🙃
These are apparently two different contestants 🤷🏻♂️
January 9, 2026 at 3:59 PM
These are apparently two different contestants 🤷🏻♂️
www.traffic.gov.scot/gritter-trac...
Scotland, I salute you! These snow gritter names are incredible 😆
Scotland, I salute you! These snow gritter names are incredible 😆
January 8, 2026 at 6:16 PM
www.traffic.gov.scot/gritter-trac...
Scotland, I salute you! These snow gritter names are incredible 😆
Scotland, I salute you! These snow gritter names are incredible 😆
A very kind colleague brought this into the office today for me, as he reckoned I might enjoy it - he was not wrong! The internet of 1995... almost 30 million users 😅
January 6, 2026 at 9:54 AM
A very kind colleague brought this into the office today for me, as he reckoned I might enjoy it - he was not wrong! The internet of 1995... almost 30 million users 😅
Getting in the Christmas spirit at the Barbican carols singalong 🎅🌲🎵
December 22, 2025 at 8:34 PM
Getting in the Christmas spirit at the Barbican carols singalong 🎅🌲🎵
I made myself a *masterpiece* - tasteful and classy
December 12, 2025 at 11:08 AM
I made myself a *masterpiece* - tasteful and classy
Hastening the Second Coming of Christ by mangling the translation of scripture using Bullshit Engines sounds *FINE* and totally not the plot of a Dan Brown novel...
December 11, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Hastening the Second Coming of Christ by mangling the translation of scripture using Bullshit Engines sounds *FINE* and totally not the plot of a Dan Brown novel...
OK, this is very funny! The bbcmicro.co.uk site has made "Cascade Cassette 50" their Game of the Month, in honour of my Advent of Beeb Games series this year 😂
December 8, 2025 at 8:47 AM
OK, this is very funny! The bbcmicro.co.uk site has made "Cascade Cassette 50" their Game of the Month, in honour of my Advent of Beeb Games series this year 😂
Calling all former BT engineers! Did you ever have one of these? It's actually a Psion Organiser II LZ64 but BT had a bunch made for them, rebadged as the P464, and with its own "Kilostream" software that only works via the Comms Link. Please reshare, as I'm keen to learn more about how it works!
December 5, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Calling all former BT engineers! Did you ever have one of these? It's actually a Psion Organiser II LZ64 but BT had a bunch made for them, rebadged as the P464, and with its own "Kilostream" software that only works via the Comms Link. Please reshare, as I'm keen to learn more about how it works!
Thank you, office Christmas Quiz.
December 1, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Thank you, office Christmas Quiz.
Cheers for the excellent pens and bonus stickers @chinnyvision.bsky.social! Hopefully resting them on a Beeb isn't heresy 😄
November 26, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Cheers for the excellent pens and bonus stickers @chinnyvision.bsky.social! Hopefully resting them on a Beeb isn't heresy 😄
To be honest, despite all the horsepower, this is basically me
November 26, 2025 at 7:38 PM
To be honest, despite all the horsepower, this is basically me
Most people know that the random junk pixels printed around the edges of various Acorn Electron games are sections of game code 'hidden' in screen memory. But not all of it is actually code, because that would lead to an uneven border, so some of the junk characters are just... junk!
November 26, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Most people know that the random junk pixels printed around the edges of various Acorn Electron games are sections of game code 'hidden' in screen memory. But not all of it is actually code, because that would lead to an uneven border, so some of the junk characters are just... junk!
Running "Frak!" on my new Linux machine. Probably didn't need 128GB of RAM and an Nvidia 5070 for that, though 😅
November 26, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Running "Frak!" on my new Linux machine. Probably didn't need 128GB of RAM and an Nvidia 5070 for that, though 😅
Tonight's the night! #Telekon #GaryNuman
November 21, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Tonight's the night! #Telekon #GaryNuman
I think we all know that if Beethoven had had a home micro, it would have been the Beeb 😉
November 20, 2025 at 6:13 PM
I think we all know that if Beethoven had had a home micro, it would have been the Beeb 😉
5 months in to the 5:2 diet and I've lost 7.5kg as of this morning 😊
November 11, 2025 at 8:33 AM
5 months in to the 5:2 diet and I've lost 7.5kg as of this morning 😊