80's computer emulator in browser
PCjs Machines - emulator computing systems 1970-1990. It works in a regular browser. We tell you what the project is notable for and what kind of machines it has in its library.
/ photo by Todd Dailey CC BY-SA / PDP-11 at the Computer History Museum
PCjs Machines appeared in 2012 - it was founded by Seattle-based programmer Jeff Parsons. He wanted to help people understand how the first computers worked, and give them the opportunity to "play" with various configurations of these machines.
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Initially, the project was conceived as a kind of backup. Jeff has the Ohio Scientific Challenger 1P at home, and he created his emulator in case the physical device goes down. Later, the "collection" added to other computers.
PCjs Machines emulators are written in JavaScript. To start them, you do not need to install additional plugins. If desired, emulation can be run on your own web server or offline: instructions are available in the README file on GitHub. There you can also find the source code of the project - it is distributed under the GPLv3 license .
Most emulators recreate the PC of the 1980s. The list of supported systems includes PC8080, PCx86. Also on the PCjs Machines website, you can find PDP-10 and PDP-11 mainframe emulators and Texas Instruments programmable calculators .
Other famous games on the list are Wolfenstein 3D , Wizardry I and the educational Oregon Trail .
In the list of software there are quite interesting instances, for example Norton Utilities for DOS. This is a set of utilities that includes a utility for recovering Unerase files. According to Jeff Parsons, despite the popularity of Norton Utilities, finding the first software versions was difficult. Now PCJs Machines is available NU3.0 (and higher) from 1984, but the author of the project plans to find earlier versions in order to preserve them for future generations.
The author seeks to recreate the experience of working with computers as accurately as possible, so the “assemblies” reflect everything, even the most unpleasant interface features. For example, due to the fact that the Challenger 1P computers were connected to teletypes , it was not possible for devices to erase typed characters. This feature is not in the simulator PCjs Machines.
Using the emulator on mobile devices creates a number of inconveniences - some functions of virtual machines are invoked via keyboard shortcuts. For example, the combination of Ctrl and Scroll Lock. For such cases, Jeff Parsons added screen keys and alternative combinations: Ctrl - Scroll Lock replaced by Ctrl - Delete.
Among the analogues of the project PCjs Machines can be identified MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator). Initially, it was devoted to the creation of slot machine emulators, but in 2015, MAME was combined with MESS - its goal was to simulate the work of personal computers.
/ photo Milestoned CC BY
Now the shared library MAME and MESS includes more than two thousand different virtual machines. Among them are vintage computers Altair, Commodore, Apple, Sinclair and IBM. To work with emulators, it is enough to install the program from MAME and select the desired machine. Like PCjs Machines, the project works on a non-commercial basis, and the source code is open to all.
The second initiative is VICE (Versatile Commodore Emulator). The project has existed since 1993 and has been preserving software for Commodore computers: VICE includes emulators of models C64, VIC20, C64DTV, C128, PET, PLUS4 and SCPU64. The list of available programs for these computers can be viewed on the project website. As in the case of MAME, additional software is required to work with VICE.
All of the above projects for the development of emulators are actively developed and updated by enthusiasts. And since all these initiatives are open, everyone can contribute to preserving the history of the software.
A couple of materials from the First Corporate IaaS Blog:
And fresh posts from our Telegram channel:
/ photo by Todd Dailey CC BY-SA / PDP-11 at the Computer History Museum
What is PCjs Machines
PCjs Machines appeared in 2012 - it was founded by Seattle-based programmer Jeff Parsons. He wanted to help people understand how the first computers worked, and give them the opportunity to "play" with various configurations of these machines.
')
Initially, the project was conceived as a kind of backup. Jeff has the Ohio Scientific Challenger 1P at home, and he created his emulator in case the physical device goes down. Later, the "collection" added to other computers.
PCjs Machines emulators are written in JavaScript. To start them, you do not need to install additional plugins. If desired, emulation can be run on your own web server or offline: instructions are available in the README file on GitHub. There you can also find the source code of the project - it is distributed under the GPLv3 license .
What machines are "supported"
Most emulators recreate the PC of the 1980s. The list of supported systems includes PC8080, PCx86. Also on the PCjs Machines website, you can find PDP-10 and PDP-11 mainframe emulators and Texas Instruments programmable calculators .
The project site has simulators not only of computers, but also of individual games and programs. Many of them were popular at the time and have a high cultural value.
For example, the site has Infocom games , in particular, the first commercial text quest Zork . The product was a hit in the 80s - more than 300 thousand copies were sold.
Other famous games on the list are Wolfenstein 3D , Wizardry I and the educational Oregon Trail .
In the list of software there are quite interesting instances, for example Norton Utilities for DOS. This is a set of utilities that includes a utility for recovering Unerase files. According to Jeff Parsons, despite the popularity of Norton Utilities, finding the first software versions was difficult. Now PCJs Machines is available NU3.0 (and higher) from 1984, but the author of the project plans to find earlier versions in order to preserve them for future generations.
Project Features
The author seeks to recreate the experience of working with computers as accurately as possible, so the “assemblies” reflect everything, even the most unpleasant interface features. For example, due to the fact that the Challenger 1P computers were connected to teletypes , it was not possible for devices to erase typed characters. This feature is not in the simulator PCjs Machines.
Using the emulator on mobile devices creates a number of inconveniences - some functions of virtual machines are invoked via keyboard shortcuts. For example, the combination of Ctrl and Scroll Lock. For such cases, Jeff Parsons added screen keys and alternative combinations: Ctrl - Scroll Lock replaced by Ctrl - Delete.
Similar projects
Among the analogues of the project PCjs Machines can be identified MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator). Initially, it was devoted to the creation of slot machine emulators, but in 2015, MAME was combined with MESS - its goal was to simulate the work of personal computers.
/ photo Milestoned CC BY
Now the shared library MAME and MESS includes more than two thousand different virtual machines. Among them are vintage computers Altair, Commodore, Apple, Sinclair and IBM. To work with emulators, it is enough to install the program from MAME and select the desired machine. Like PCjs Machines, the project works on a non-commercial basis, and the source code is open to all.
The second initiative is VICE (Versatile Commodore Emulator). The project has existed since 1993 and has been preserving software for Commodore computers: VICE includes emulators of models C64, VIC20, C64DTV, C128, PET, PLUS4 and SCPU64. The list of available programs for these computers can be viewed on the project website. As in the case of MAME, additional software is required to work with VICE.
All of the above projects for the development of emulators are actively developed and updated by enthusiasts. And since all these initiatives are open, everyone can contribute to preserving the history of the software.
A couple of materials from the First Corporate IaaS Blog:
- Disaster recovery as a service: what you need to know
- How to test disk system in the cloud
- What Zscaler Can Do: Overview of the IB Platform
And fresh posts from our Telegram channel:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/443618/
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