Retro Arcade – Blog. by Next Thing https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com News & Notes. Process & Projects. No BS. Srsly. Thu, 09 Nov 2017 03:16:07 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.5 Links We Like: The Prehistory of AI, An Abandoned Ferry Boat with Games, & Forgotten Hand Tools https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/links-we-like-the-prehistory-of-ai-an-abandoned-ferry-boat-with-games-forgotten-hand-tools/ Fri, 17 Jun 2016 18:25:46 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=673 Duck via wikimedia.org

Crossection of Jacques Vaucanson’s “Defecating Duck” automatavia wikimedia.org

This week’s Links We Like trace the mechanical prehistory of artificial intelligence, scope out an abandoned ferry boat jam-packed with arcade machines, and peruse the Museum of Old Technology in Belgium.

Thanks for all the feedback from last week’s post, especially the fun discussion about Dwarf Fortress. As always, make sure to share with us the links you’re reading. Have a great weekend! \(•◡•)/

Artificial Intelligence As Luxury and Parlor Trick

Hydraulic Organ with Dancing Skeleton via archive.org

Hydraulic Organ with Dancing Skeleton via archive.org

Today, we use artificial intelligence (AI) to guide us with turn-by-turn directions, translate text from one language to another, and recommend what products we should spend our money on. Our concept of AI is predominantly software based, yet historically AI was the domain of mechanical engineering.

In Frolicsome Engines: The Long Prehistory of Artificial Intelligence, Stanford History professor, Jessica Riskin, surveys the early interests and attempts to create mechanical AI. She traces the historical threads from the ancient Greek’s use of siphons in palace fountains to move water “uphill” to the 16th century innovation of the pegged cylinder, which were used as a type of primitive programming device for musical instruments.

Riskin takes time to focus on some of the more bizarre creations such as Jacques Vaucanson, “defecating duck”. A machine (read duck) that onlookers were instructed to feed with bits of food. A short time later, the duck would extrude a “digested” version of the feed much to the delight of all.

By the 18th century, the preferred problems in automata building shifted to chess playing and speech. It is during this period, in 1769, that Wolfgang von Kempelen built a chess playing automata called The Mechanical Turk. It was said the Turk could beat anyone in chess.

In fact, the mechanization of the Turk only went so far as the arms and head. Kempelen employed a small man, with exceptional chess abilities, to sit inside the Turk and act as the machine’s brain.


Forgotten Treasures in the Hull of an Abandon Ship

February 4, 2012, a group of arcade cabinet collectors boarded the ship Duke of Lancaster. Grounded on the shores of Llanerch-y-Mor, North Wales, since the 1980s, the Duke held a trove of untouched arcade machines waiting for salvage.

Between 1956 and 1979, the Duke ferried passengers throughout the waterways of Europe. In ’79, the vessel was retooled as a “fun ship” and outfitted with such amenities as video game machines. But by 1983 the ship ran into legal issues and was abandoned its by owners with no plans for future use.

The Arcade Blogger’s, Tony Temple recounts the full adventure, and it’s well worth a read. Altogether, over fifty classic cabinets were rescued from the bowels of the Duke.


Museum of Old Technology

As crafts and trades become supplanted by mechanization, we often lose the hand skills and the knowledge of the tools. The Museum of Old Technology is a dream come true for anyone who appreciates old hand tools. Based in Belgium, the museum is a bit of a hike from the Oakland office. Fortunately, the MOT has a website that shows off a ton of its holdings.

Browsing the collection can be done by tool shape, tool name, or the craft that used the tool the most. This catalogue searchability makes it easy to find more obscure tools, like the hammer drill pictured above.

Anyone interested in old hand tools will find Witold Rybczynski’s book One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and the Screw fascinating. Somehow nobody knows the origin of the screwdriver! But not to worry, Rybczynski is on the trail!


Have a great weekend, make sure to share any interesting links you find with us in the forums, and while you’re commenting, don’t forget to mention your favorite oldschool tool too.

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Links We Like: Decapping Integrated Circuits, 1980s Smartwatches, and the Soviet Video Arcade https://ntcblogbackup.wpengine.com/links-we-like-decapping-integrated-circuits-1980s-smartwatch-and-the-soviet-video-arcade/ Fri, 27 May 2016 17:00:56 +0000 http://blog.nextthing.co/?p=560

This week’s links dive into the recent past. Unearthing the smartwatches of the 1980s business professional, revealing the innards of 1970s integrated circuits, and peering into the video game arcades of 1970s and 1980s Soviet Russia.

Break out your best Max Headroom sunglasses, pour a glass of Crystal Pepsi, and get ready to enjoy some techno induced nostalgia.

Inside the Integrated Circuit

The Zeptobars blog is a must follow for anyone that likes to see what’s actually inside the tiny opaque electronic components known as integrated circuits. Invented by Jack Kilby in 1958, the integrated circuit revolutionized the industry by shrinking the circuit size, but makes casual design observation challenging.

Do NOT try this at home!

Using caustic acids, Zeptobars removes the outer protective casing of the integrated circuit in a process known as decapping. Once the dangerous chemicals are removed, the revealed circuitry is photographed in high-resolution with the aid of a microscope.

Covering integrated circuits from 1970s z80 microcontroller to the Playstation CPU to the modern ESP-8666 WiFi chip there’s a great diversity of chips decapped and photographed.

But these aren’t just pretty pictures. Zeptobars uses a permissive license on all the photographs they take, which allows others to use the imagery and help educate about circuit design — Ken Shirriff’s reverse engineering blog posts are a great example.

Keep up the great work, Zeptobars!


Smartwatch 1980s Style

Long before there was a Pebble or Apple Watch, there was the SEIKO Data-2000. This line of wrist-attached-computers launched in 1983 and sought make the essentials of office life portable. The watch stored basic notes, appointments, and could compute basic arithmetic all input from its keyboard accessory, and all this for a $295 USD retail price.

There’s more to the Pocket Calculator Show website than just the SEIKO watch. There are plenty of other smartwatches and wacky electronics devices. A personal favorite is the Casio TM-100 watch with built-in FM transmitter. You’ll also find extravagantly absurd devices like an electronic horse racing game.


Arcade Machines of the Soviet Union

If find yourself in Russia looking for things to do, pay a visit to the Museum of Soviet Arcade Machines located in both Moscow and St. Petersburg. For everyone else, surf over to their website.

You won’t find Ms Pacman or Street Fighter in this collection. It’s an interesting cultural encounter for anyone who has popped a few too many quarters in an arcade machine. You’ll see the familiar geometry of the arcade cabinet, but with completely different graphics and gameplay.

Though the site offers an English version, stick with the Russian pages. There is more content, plus you can let your browser handle the translations. BOING BOING and Kotaku have articles worth checking out too.

I’m absolutely visiting one of the museum locations the next time I’m in Russia!


Have a great weekend, make sure to share any interesting links you find with us in the forums.

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