Retrocomputing

Software
Hardware

I like old computers since when... they were not so old! Back in the 1990's, I was gifted a bunch of old computer magazines that were about ten years old. I devoured them to find information about my first computer, a Commodore VIC-20. In 1991, I got my first PC, a 286 computer with DOS 5.0, but I never forgot the little Commodore. I do not thing it is only due to nostalgia. I like old computers as systems that I can fully understand, both from the hardware and software standpoints.

In the last few years, I published many articles related to retrocomputers, so I decided to open this section of my website in January 2025.

Software

I wrote some games for vintage computers. In particular, I wrote some text adventures that run on many different systems, thanks to efficient cross-development tools. Some of them were released commercially, were reviewed by magazines and won prizes.


	Silk Dust Third chapter of Emilia Vittorini's adventures, written 2020-2021 for the C64, Plus4, VIC-20+32KB, MS-DOS and many other computers. I wrote a complete soundtrack for this game (available on Itch.io, Soundcloud and Bandcamp).
	The Queen's Footsteps Second chapter of Emilia Vittorini's adventures, written 2019-2020 for the C64, Plus4, VIC-20+32KB, MS-DOS and many other computers
	Two Days to the Race First chapter of Emilia Vittorini's adventures, written 2018-2019 for the C64, Plus4, VIC-20+32KB, MS-DOS and many other computers.
	The Innuh pyramid (2011-2018, it/en) A text adventure game, adapted from an article published in 1984 from the italian review MCmicrocomputer. It runs on many Commodre 8-bit computers.
	Alien Invasion: a VIC20 game written in 2018 A Space Invaders clone for the Commodore VIC20 written in 2018, developed completely in 6502 assembly language.
	Cavern Explorer, another modern VIC-20 game (2018) After the success of Alien Invasion, a new game for the unexpanded VIC-20 allows you to explore a vast cavern in the planet Zorf.
	3D maze for the Commodore 64 (2017) A simple game based on the exploration of a 3D maze, programmed in C and released in 2017.

Hardware

Being an electronics engineer, I can't resist to the temptation to remove the "warranty void if broken" seals and repair my computers by myself. I also like to build some small tools and adapters, when useful.

I strongly believe in the right to repair and in the fight against planned obsolescence. Of course, if you choose to open the lid of any electrical equipment, you need to know what to do to avoid dangerous situations. So be warned: I suppose you know how to avoid any trouble.


	Comparison of SID replacement solutions (2024-2025) A little page that will appeal to Commodore 64 and 128 enthusiasts. Recordings of a very simple test done on the original SID chip and several modern alternatives (SwinSID, ARMSID, etc).
	Olivetti M20 site (2005-2024) Since 2005, I am the webmaster of a website dedicated to the Olivetti M20. Yes, that picture on Wikipedia represents my computer.
	MIDI interface for the Amiga 500 (En, 2020) A MIDI interface for the Amiga 500 computer.
	CPU and TED temperatures in a Commodore Plus/4 (2019) A controversial subject: are TED and CPU chips overheating in a Commodore Plus/4? Spoiler: Nope. This post contains a discussion I had with Bil Herd, the designer of the Plus/4.
	Sinclair ZX Spectrum (2017-2018) Playing with Clive Sinclair's masterpiece.
	Restoration of a Commodore VIC20 (2017) The restoration of a Commodore VIC20, my first computer. I also describe a modification for obtaining a S-Video output.
	HP9000/217 with HP7957B and HP9122 (2012-2018) Some pictures of the HP9000/217 workstation with HP7957B hard disk and HP9122 disk driver.
	Macintosh SE/30 from 1989 (2009) I spent some time to work on a SE/30 to clean and repair it. Now this computer, with some understandable difficulties, can browse the world wide web...