Thursday, September 10, 2020

Sharp PC-1600 Clipart

I'm cleaning up a scan of a PC-1600 Manual for publishing, and I needed a clean clipart of a PC-1600 that hadn't been scanned in 500 times, so I made one myself. Measured with a caliper and a jeweler's glass, I've tried to get the details as exact as I could. Corrections are welcomed. This couldn't have been done without the help of others. Thanks go out to the awesome Pocket Computer community, especially twitter users @r0_hw and @Erickira34 for their help with the Japanese Glyphs. SVG previews seem to be terribly wonky in Chrome, but the downloaded .svg looks just fine.

As openclipart.org doesn't allow logos, I'm adding the logo version here.


Saturday, July 18, 2020

The Sharp PC-1246 - A very smol BASIC computer for your 1.2 kb needs.

Since back in my school/apprenticeship days here in Germany, I've had a bit of a weakness for programmable mobile technology. Back in the 80's this basically meant pocket computers.
Not to be confused with the Windows mobile contraptions that came along much later, these were calculators on steroids with a qwerty keyboard*, an alphanumeric LCD display*, RAM and a programming language (usually BASIC*).
The pocket computer market had quite a few entrants, but the two major players were Sharp and Casio. My first Pocket Computer is the one we'll be looking at here, the Sharp PC-1246. 

Sharp PC-1246, cute little bigger, isn't it?
Pretty little bugger, isn't it?

Sunday, June 28, 2020

My, it's been a bit.

It seems quite a shame that I've let this little spot lie dormant for so long. I'm going to try and rectify that little oversight in the near future. Content might veer over into retro computer technology somewhat. I'll try to pepper my posts with other content every now and then.

If be happy to see you here again. Take care, friends. 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Review: PULSARPlus TPU Case for Samsung Galaxy Note N7000


Someone decided to do me a favor and bought me a case for my Note. I didn't have any say in the matter and I don't know which thought processes went on in the picking of said case, but I received this one (€11.99). 


A phone condom

Monday, April 23, 2012

Review: Gametel Bluetooth Controller for Android and iOS

For 99% of Android device owners, gaming will probably make up a significant part of your daily use. Let's just admit it, for some games, on screen controls just don't cut it. I realized pretty quickly that I needed a dedicated game controller, the only question was which one.

My requirements

Bluetooth
Pretty much a no-brainer. I'm not aware of any wired controllers for Android devices, but it would be somewhat contra-productive to use a non-wireless approach for mobile gaming.

Compact size
I don't want to lug around a piece of equipment three times the size of my phone. A wireless Xbox controller is an awesome piece of kit, but it's not what I would consider a particularly portable piece of kit.

Rechargeable
Some might disagree here. I like the idea of being able to recharge, others might prefer batteries so as not to depend on a usb charger to get their game on.

'Standard' button configuration
A  joy pad, 4 action buttons, left and right fire are a must. Additional buttons would be an added nicety.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Germany, home of the Christmas cookie scented toilet paper


I usually think that Germans are pretty much immune to fads that sweep over other countries, but once in awhile they surprise me. Scented toilet paper for example. I have nothing against scented toilet paper, but I think it can be taken to extremes. Feast your eyes on "Happyend" toilet paper. Not only printed with Christmas themes, but also with a speculaas scent ("Spekulatiusduft"). Really Germany? Really?

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Refill scam part II



I almost fell for this one. I needed Q-Tips, and I noticed they had refill packs for 10 cents less than buying a box would cost. Then I took a closer look at how many were in there. Boxed version 200 pcs. for 59 cents, Refill pack 160 pieces for 49 cents. That works out to a refill pack costing over 2 cents more. Not much, admitted, but I'm betting it makes a pretty penny in sum.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

How much are Americans paying for chicken?

I happened across the highly amusing (and somewhat disgusting) Chicken-in-a-can post this morning, which led me to ask myself just how expensive chickens are in the States. Amazon lists a delicious 6-pack of ciac for $50. That would put the price for a single chicken at $8 something. At my discounter of choice here in Germany you can get a whole fresh chicken for a bit under $4. Who on the face of god's earth would buy the horror that is chicken in a can, when you can get two pristine un-raped chickens for the same price? Is chicken in the States so much more expensive than here?

Sunday, April 26, 2009

The things one sees in a stain...


...or in a deco tile. Am I the only one to see an alien parachutist with an erection?

Saturday, April 25, 2009

How is this possible?

How can one cucumber from Spain cost more than a kilo bananas from Costa Rica? Bear in mind that I live in Germany, and compared to Costa Rica, Spain is within spitting distance. I'm figuring we're either getting gouged on cucumbers or someone is subsidizing bananas. Could one of the more agriculturally or economically inclined readers clear me up on this?

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Identifying inherited plants

In the building I've been working in the last 21 years I've had 4 different offices. In each office I found a few abandoned plants which I dutifully adopted. For the most part I've had no trouble identifying them and they're pretty much standard office fare. Dracaena, monstera, philodendron... Then there are these:I'm guessing the top one is some kind of succulent, and I was once told the bottom one is a cordyline, but it's not one that I've been able to find anywhere. If anyone out there has an idea what they are, please post a comment.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Screwing your customers with ecology.

Germans are a very ecology-minded folk, and being so they like to reduce their trash volume to an absolute minimum. For this reason refill-packs of various substances are widely available here, but the one we'll be concentrating on is liquid soap. In the past it's been cheaper to buy a refill bag of liquid soap than a new dispenser, as it saves the manufacturer on plastic packaging and the dispenser mechanics. A win-win situation for customer and producer. This seems to have changed recently.Here we see that refill and original are the exact same price, while this does make one wonder what the incentive for a customer to take the trouble to buy a refill bag is(green-mindedness aside), they're not really taking money out of your pocket, although they are saving themselves some. This is the case for the value priced generic brand. Now let's take a look at the brand-named stuff:We'll ignore the fact that they use liter as the base price unit on the dispenser and 100 ml for the refill. We'll also ignore the fact that you'll have 200 ml leftover when you refill the dispenser, resulting in a half empty bag that you'll have to store somewhere until you fill up the dispenser again. What we can't ignore is the fact that you'll be paying almost 5 Eurocent more for the same 100 ml of soap when you buy a refill. I'm not saying Palmolive condones this, because I'm pretty sure it's the retailer that has the last say on his prices. I'm also sure it's not just this retailer that does it; I've seen this in quite a few stores. It sucks nonetheless.