howto»android masterclass
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here’snodoubtaboutit–1980s’
techishavingamoment.
Hipstersareapparently(re)
discoveringthecompact
cassetteandmanyarerelivingtheera
ofmicrocomputersandgaming
consolesfromthe‘80s,thanksto
big-brandsandstart-upsalike.
Nintendogottheballrollingwiththe
ClassicMiniNESandSNESconsoles,
Sony’shadalashwiththePlayStation
Classic,nottomentiontherashof
AtariFlashbackconsoles.Thenthere’s
theC64Mini,amostly-useableshrink
ofthevenerableCommodore 64 that
evencomeswithCommodoreBASICto
codeyourownapps.However,ifyou’re
feelingtheurgetoeitherrelive
childhoodmemoriesorjustseewhat
allthefussisabout,there’san
alternativethat’safractionofthecost
andisascloseasyourAndroid phone.EMULATINGTHEPAST
Igrewupduringthe1970s/80s8-bit
microcomputerrevolutionanditwasan
awesometimetobealive–tobeableto
controlwhatappearedonablocky
black-and-whiteTVscreenviasimple
instructionswouldtodayseemalmost
tragictosome,butatthetimeiswas
nothingshortofextraordinary.Iwas
evenmorefortunate,formyDadbuilt
ourfirsthomecomputerin1979,an
Australiandesigncalledthe‘DREAM
6800’–andIgottowatchitbeingmade.
CreatedbyAustralianelectronics
engineer,MichaelBauer,theDREAM
6800 hadan8-bitMotorola 6800 CPU,
1KBofRAM,a64x32-pixelcomposite-
video output, a 16-key hexadecimalRetro Android!
Bringback the home microcomputersystems ofoldwith yourAndroid
device. D a r r e n Ya t e s delves into the world of retro emulators (and the
hardware they emulate).
keypadandlikemostcomputersofthe
era,storeditsprogramsoncassette
tape.Thoseprogramswerewrittenina
simplebutpowerfullanguagecalled
‘CHIP-8’.Sure,thespecsweremodest,
butthisDIYcomputerarrivedbeforethe
TRS-80ColorComputer,theCommodore
VIC-20–andfouryearsbeforethe
Commodore64.What’smore,computer
hardwareatthattimewasn’tcheap–
especiallyRAM.ThatmadetheDREAM
6800 anexcellentintroductiontothe
softwareandhardwarerequiredto
makeaworkingcomputerataprice
manymorecouldafford.
What’sinterestingaboutthecurrent
rashofreissueretroconsolesand
computersisthatthey’reallbasedon
smallRaspberryPi-likesingle-board
computers.Forexample,theC64Mini
runsadual-coreAllwinnerA20System
onaChip(SoC),theNintendoClassic
Miniaquad-coreAllwinnerR16SoCand
Sony’sPlayStationClassicfeaturesa
MediaTekMT8167aquad-corechip.
TheyallrunsomeformofLinuxdistro,
anemulatorlayerforthehardwarethey
replicate,plusoriginalROMsforthe
bundledgames.
Ortoputitanotherway,these
consoles all run smartphone-gradehardware–andphonesfromafewyears
agonowatthat.TheRaspberryPiitself
hasbecomeastalwartforretro-gaming
thankstotheRetroPiedistro,butyou’ll
findasurprisingnumberofemulators
forawiderangeof 8-bit microcomputers
onGooglePlay.WHAT’SAVAILABLE?
HardwareemulatorsforAndroidaren’t
exactlynew,butmostair-timeisgiven
tohand-heldmachineslikethe
NintendoGameBoy.However,whenit
comestoemulatingtheclassic80s’
homemicrocomputers,there’san
abundanceofoptionstobehadthatyou
don’toftenhearabout.I’veputtogether
alistofadozenemulatorscoveringmost
ofthemajorhomecomputersfromthe
70sandearly-80s,fromtheBBCMicro
(whichfounditswayintomany
Australianindependentschools)tothe
Commodore64,eventheawesomelittle
SharpPC-1401PocketComputer.Just
searchGooglePlayfortheappnameand
itshouldappear.What’sawesomeabout
manyoftheseisthatthey’llrunonolder
versionsofAndroid–somegoing back
asfarasGingerbread/2.3.ROMS
Themostcommonissuewhendealing
withgamesconsoleemulatorsisgetting
holdoflegalROMs,eitherforthe
emulatoritselforjustgamestoplay.
Microcomputeremulatorsaresimilarin
someways,although,afargreater
proportionofappsherearereadytoroll
assoonasyouinstallthem.Whetherit’s
reverse-engineeringorjustthe
simplicityofthedevices(forexample,
CHIP-8hasonly 35 well-documented
instructionsor‘opcodes’),deviceROMs
are,moreoftenthannot,builtintothese
apps.Gamesformorecomplex
emulatorsliketheCommodore 64 are
stillanissue–wecan’ttellyouwhere to
findthepopulargamesandusing
commercialROMsyoudon’thave
cartridges or original disks for isAndroidhasanumberof
Z XSpectrumemulators,
including Spectaculator.Chipfinit ybrings
blockyCHIP-8
goodness to Android.NeverhadaCommodore
64?WithFrodoC64,you
can code like its 1983.TheCommodore 64 sold
asmanyas 17 million
units – not bad for 8-bit.