Denial

Vic20-Ian wrote:A bit difficult from the Isle of Man but thanks for the invitation.

I live somewhere off the East coast of the USA, East of Ireland, West of England, UK

Wow, sounds like you live near or on the 'Island of Secrets' ...

sydbolton wrote:... The VIC version uses only an unexpanded VIC with 5K of RAM. 5K!!!

There are many in the sceners community who feel using memory expansion of any kind on a vintage machine is a sacrilege.

However, having used the VIC for just about the last 30 years, I know the VIC with only 3.5k of USEABLE RAM was most often used with memory expansion.

Also, as I said, considering a chip of 32k static RAM costs abouts 2$ nowadays, my point of view on this is that losers can't afford RAM expansion.

We are setting a record (as far as I know) for a computer with the least resources - 5K of RAM and 1 MHz Processor - being able to Tweet.

While you see it as a great feat, I see it as an insult to the true potential of the VIC-20.

eslapion - While you see it as a great feat, I see it as an insult to the true potential of the VIC-20

Awww you shouldn't feel that way. You should be proud of the fact that a VIC can DO IT without expansion! That IS impressive.

Having said that, once I release all the source code etc. I'm sure someone might want to take on the challenge of a more feature filled version that works with more memory!

eslapion wrote:. . . the VIC with only 3.5k of USEABLE RAM was most often used with memory expansion.

I challenge this statement. Many of us were content with the VIC as it was either because we used it as a game machine, or, yes, couldn't afford expansion because we spent that money on game carts or tape drives, or maybe even felt 3.5k was enough.

eslapion wrote:Also, as I said, considering a chip of 32k static RAM costs abouts 2$ nowadays, my point of view on this is that losers can't afford RAM expansion.

Hey now! It doesn't have to be a money issue. I enjoy using RAM with Realms of Quest and other software, but I see little need for it in my own programs. Similarly, I choose not to own a 64 because it doesn't interest me.

I may be a loser, but don't tell me what I can afford!

To continue the OT a little further: I have always had a RAM expansion as did the others I knew who had a Vic. Over here tapes were far more common than carts (and affordable!) and there's a whole slew of tape games that require extra RAM. As the machine was designed from the outset to take extra memory I have never seen it as an 'illegitimate' use of a retro computer - it's always been there!

Back on topic, though: I have just bought an official Vic Modem (1700?) and was wondering if this would have any practical use in future tweeting?

Oh, and for the record, I am extremely proud that the Vic is capable of this feat in only 3.5k! It is a stunning achievement indeed! When does the Facebook plug-in come out? :p

I'll be there! It's only an hour from my place.

I see a VIC-1011A in the gizmodo pic and that gives me a few clues as to how it might be working. Will report back after the event.

(I was sort of hoping it would be a C64NIC+ with MasC=eurade adaptor)

I figure there's two ways to do this. Write a native VIC-20 Twitter client or use the VIC-20 as a terminal that communicates over RS-232 to a machine running a command line Twitter client/Twitter API. Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. My money is on the latter.

Isn't that cheating?

Jeff-20 wrote:Isn't that cheating?

I'm reserving comment until I see what it is they've actually done.

Well, that was interesting.

As usual for the PC Museum, it was a media frenzy with cameras and guest "celebrities" from the local radio stations. First, my pics:












I got in to try it after the crowd had died down a bit. None of my tweets went through, though.

So it looks like they've got a BASIC client on the VIC talking RS-232 to a PC running...something... to do the actual Twitter connection. Will be interesting to find out what it is exactly.

Also, they've registered http://www.tweetver.com/ which promises to have details "soon".

Sorry your Tweets didn't go through, there is a bug on the other side and once I reset it it went back to normal.

More details on how it works:

TweetVER is two parts. The first is the client software that runs on the vintage computer such as the VIC-20. It communicates through a serial port (since most vintage platforms have serial capabilities) using a simple command structure I created. The VIC is responsible for converting the characters from "PETSCII" to "ASCII" since the TweetVER server software expects standard ASCII (you have to have a standard in one place anyways). The VIC doesn't have an underscore so if you send a "-" in your username, the server software translates it to an underscore.

The VIC client properly masks your password when you type it in (unlike the C64 version).

The server side currently runs on Windows and accesses the Twitter API through C# running on Dot NET. Source code for both will be available next week sometime.

In response to those saying this is "cheating" - I submit that I never once claimed this was a native TCP IP situation on the VIC. I used a small PC "box". To say it's cheating to communicate would be like saying any wireless device that goes through a router is cheating since a router is essentially a computer (usually) running Linux. If I put that code into a box that was connected directly to the VIC nobody would say anything but alas.

The bottom line? We accomplished what we set out to do. A VIC-20 Tweeted and it worked. The VIC was also able to pick up status updates--something the original version never did.

We also accomplished more than I expected - we brought a GREAT DEAL of attention to the beloved VIC-20. People are not just talking about the VIC and Twitter, they are discussing their fond memories of the computer. I believe this would have also brought attention to these forums as the link has been posted in several stories. I know for us, the coverage has resulted in over 60,000 web hits in 4 days, national television coverage, and now over 1667 people following our Twitter account.

Here are some additional photos from the day:

http://www.pcmuseum.ca/galleryview.asp?id=35

I'm so glad a Denial member was there. Thanks for the report, Schema!

Schema wrote: Also, they've registered http://www.tweetver.com/ which promises to have details "soon".

This is also curious. "Products"?

My impresssion of twitter in general is - that it is alot of hype and not much substance.
I really could not care less is somebody just scratched their ass and they wish to tell 100,000 of their mindless "followers".
Is is somewhat sad to see the Vic-20 dragged into this drivel.

My impresssion of twitter in general is - that it is alot of hype and not much substance.
I really could not care less is somebody just scratched their ass and they wish to tell 100,000 of their mindless "followers"

Whether you "get" Twitter or not there is no denying that it is a powerful tool to get a message out. I agree--tweets about scratching your ass offer little value....but the power that is offered for everyday folk to get a message to a mass amount of people quickly is available like never before.

As I said, one of the BEST things that came out of this is the positive attention the VIC-20 is getting!