@stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social · Jun 26, 2026

🪨 Visual Basic on the PC w/Windows 3.1 🛠️ Apple wasn't the only company to have a popular, easy to use, visual programming tool, only to yank it from their diehard fans and replace it with nothing. I see what all of the fuss was about with Visual Basic with the help of a "teach yourself" book, get pedantic about Microsoft's use of Helvetica, and *briefly* muse about slop factories. Arnold, from Diff'rent Strokes, guest stars! #retrocomputing #microsoft #windows #basic https://stonetools.ghost.io/visualbasic-win31

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social · May 08, 2026

Replying to @amoroso@oldbytes.space

@amoroso@oldbytes.space PipeDream is unusual to me with how it was somehow ubiquitous and unknown at the same time. It existed in a strange, liminal space like that. Framework is on (has been on) the to-do list; I'm looking forward to that one.

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social · May 08, 2026

Replying to @scruss@xoxo.zone

@scruss@xoxo.zone From the screenshot I posted in the article alone, and my readings on it, it looks (thinking of a charitable word here) "ambitious" for that device.

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social · May 08, 2026

Replying to @darkling@mstdn.social

@darkling@mstdn.social I could see that the OS would be far more inviting back when it was fresh and new. There was still not yet an "established" way to drive GUI systems, aside from high-level constructs like "windows and a mouse are pretty good, actually." As for the spreadsheet/word processor? Yeah, it's definitely possible to stretch certain ideas beyond their natural breaking points.

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social · May 08, 2026

🪨 PipeDream on the Acorn Archimedes 🛠️

A truly unique combination. We have the first ARM-based home computer, powering a bespoke OS, running software that says, "The barriers between productivity apps are a lie we tell ourselves."

This introduced so many new technologies, I had to run a check on "Where are they now?" The ARM chip's legacy is a given, but the other stuff in the stack might surprise you.

#retrocomputing #pipedream #arm #acorn #archimedes #riscos

https://stonetools.ghost.io/pipedream-archimedes/

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social · Apr 04, 2026

Replying to @pronoiac@mefi.social

@pronoiac@mefi.social I did a poor job explaining what I've done so far. On I.A. there are two types of scans: PDFs and .cbr files. I used the .cbr files as the PDFs are absolutely terrible quality. The .cbrs are still bad, but "usably bad" I guess. My ideal would be greyscale flatbed scans at 1200dpi of the OMNI font headers and drop-caps. The scans only need to focus on the font in question. I should make a character table to catalog scan acquisitions, and call out specific issues of interest. 🤔

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social · Mar 29, 2026

Replying to @europlus@social.europlus.zone

@europlus@social.europlus.zone Looking forward to the story!

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Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social · Mar 29, 2026

Replying to @stonetoolsblog@mastodon.social

@Mimi@oldbytes.space Someone else in the same industry told me their nickname for it was PageF*cker.

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