Tag Archives: x86

The DOS SDK

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Scali

A thing I have been working on, on and off, for many years now, is a set of headers and helper routines for programming DOS machines directly on the hardware in assembly and C. As you may recall, my earliest … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming, Software development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

When is a PC not a PC? The PC-98

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Scali

I’ve covered PC compatibility in the past, and tried to explain how just having an x86 CPU and running DOS does not necessarily make your machine compatible with an IBM PC. At the time, this was mainly about the IBM … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming, Software development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Why AMD should never have made x86 processors in the first place

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Scali

Another draft, this time create on June 22nd, 2016. The title may have been written down in a hurry, and seems a bit click-baity. I suppose it needs a bit of nuance: the point I wanted to make here is … Continue reading →

Posted in Hardware news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Migrating to .NET Core: the future of .NET.

Posted on December 19, 2021 by Scali

More than 20 years ago, Microsoft introduced their .NET Framework. A reaction to Java and the use of virtual machines and dynamic (re)compiling of code for applications and services. Unlike Java, where the Java virtual machine was tied to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Software development, Software news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The strong ARM

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Scali

I’ve done some posts on x86 vs ARM over the years, most recently on the new Microsoft Surface Pro X, which runs a ‘normal’ desktop version of Windows 10 on an ARM CPU, while also supporting x86 applications through emulation. … Continue reading →

Posted in Hardware news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Windows and ARM: not over yet

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Scali

As you may recall, I was quite fond of the idea of ARM and x86 getting closer together, where on the one hand, Windows could run on ARM devices, and on the other hand, Intel was developing smaller x86-based SOCs … Continue reading →

Posted in Direct3D, Hardware news, Software development, Software news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

PC-compatibility, it’s all relative

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Scali

Update 21-12-2015: I have updated some of the information after testing on an AT with old Intel 8259A chips, and added some extra information on EISA and newer systems. I would like to pick up where I left off last … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming, Software development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Fixing Genesis Project’s GP-01

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Scali

Shortly before our release of 8088 MPH at Revision 2015, another 8088+CGA production surfaced at Gubbdata 2015: This production was GP-01, by Genesis Project. One the one hand we were happy to see more people targeting the 8088+CGA platform. On … Continue reading →

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Test Drive’s pixelized transition effect

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Scali

Today I want to talk about the transition effect in the game Test Drive from 1987. The effect will switch from one image to the next by replacing it pixel for pixel in a somewhat randomized pattern: I discussed this … Continue reading →

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CGADEMO by Codeblasters

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Scali

Today I want to talk about a rather obscure, yet interesting demo, namely CGADEMO by Codeblasters, from 1992: As you can read from the scroller, what’s interesting about this demo is that it runs at full framerate (60 Hz) even … Continue reading →

Posted in Oldskool/retro programming, Software development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments