111144
RETRO
111111111144444 MAARRCHH^2202200 |COMPUTER SHOPPER|IISSSUUEE^38855
““Thheyneeddeddaway offreadding thhem, anddI
could help,”Abraham says, having made useof
the necessary floppyand tape drivesto
convert themtorewritable CDs.
“I also worked with punch tapes, magnetic
tapes and other specialformats, andIhad
oneofthe largest archivesofcomputer
ddocumentation on thhepllanet.IffIneeddedda
manual, I’d likely have it.”
His dream wastobuildaworld-class
archiveforstudy and research into
computer history.
“I hadavisionforaninstitutewhere
people,researchers, hobbyists and whoever
coullddshhow up,searchha ddatabbase anddfifinddthhe
equipment theyneeded, pull it from the shelf,
bring ittoaworkstationand set it up before
getting holdofany documentation they
needed,”hesays.
Alas, it was nevertobe,and Abraham’s
dream was never realised.
allowsforupand down
on-screen movement.
Onapractical level, the
N30 wireless mouse runs
offasingle AA battery,
which should lastfor
between 100 and 120 hours.
It costs £28 and is also
compatible with both
Windows and macOS.
Youcan find out more
informationbygoingto
tinyurl.com/385retro2,orcheck
out Daniel’s explanatory video
attinyurl.com/385retro3.
SONIC BOOMING ON
AMSTRADCONSOLE
We’re seeingaspike in games
that are really pushing the
abilitiesofthe Amstrad rangeof
8-bit machines, and the latest is
an unofficial conversionofSonic
the HedgehogfortheGX4000
console and Plus computers.
Createdbyacoder goingby
the nameofNoRecess along with
afew other Amstrad enthusiasts,
Sonic GXfeatures 40 colours
onafull-screen running at 50Hz.
Avideoofthe work-in-progress
suggests it will be silkysmooth,
and it also looks veryfaithfulto
the original.
Accordingtothe developers,
the game is pencilled infora
release later in 2020. It won’t be
madeavailable onacartridge
but asadownload, which can
be installed on an SD card and
run onacartridge-replacement
device called the C4CPC.
Formore details, seetinyurl.
com/385retro4.
AREYOUAPAD
ORAMOUSE?
Retro accessory maker 8BitDo
has createdanew mouse that
is suretohaveNintendofans
squeaking with delight. The
peripheral’s design has been
inspiredbythe old Nintendo
EntertainmentSystem (NES)
gamepad, placing round red
buttons ontoptoresemble
eyes andausable rubber D-pad
on the side.
Created in collaboration with
designer Daniel Jansson, who
came up with the idea 10 years
ago,theD-padallows youto
move up and down when you’re
viewingawebsite,as well as back
andforth between pages. Doing
so means it takes someofthe
functionalityofthe absent scroll
wheel, althougha3Dtouch panel
in between thetopbuttons also
⬆Another ofAbraham’s prototypes, this time the Macintosh LC II, which was launched in 1992
