On August 17th 2024, I attended the second ZZap Live event, at the Kenilworth, in the UK. The venue would be bedecked with Commodore systems and a number of C64/Amiga industry veterans were promised to attend, including the legendary games developer Jeff Minter (the Yak), Andrew Braybrook, Steve Turner and (Mr 64 music machine) Rob Hubbard. Watch on to see how it unfolded.
Author: Retronaut
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My dream job Interview at the Legendary Bitmap Brothers
In the Summer of 1994 an unbelievable opportunity fell into my lap. I spotted an advert in a games magazine. The Bitmap Brothers, giants of Amiga game development, were looking for a new member of their team. Bizarrely, I had EXACTLY the qualifications they were looking for.
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Atari FujiNet – The 8-Bit Computer wonder device!
The Atari FujiNet is an amazing device for vintage Atari 8-Bit computer series. Do you want a device that combines 8 emulated disk drives? A wifi adapter with local and internet server access? As well as being able to print seamlessly to PDF files? Then you almost certainly need a FujiNet.
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Repair & Refurb Two Broken External Amiga Floppy Drives
I have two broken Amiga external 3.5″ floppy drives and its about time I fixed them. These drives were received as part of my Amiga 4000 bundle, that proved to mainly contain broken retro kit. But that does not need to be a barrier to us, does it!
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Converting PC 3.5″ floppy Drives to work on the Amiga
Do you need a new Amiga floppy disc drive? Well, there are NO new Amiga drives out there, but there are many many PC drives. However, these do not work on the Amiga. In this video I show you how I converted 3 common models of PC drive, a Samsung SFD-231B, an Alps DF354h and a TEAC FD-235, all to work perfectly on an Amiga.
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The Grand Slam SCSI controller, do I really need it in this Dicke Olga, 68030 equipped Amiga 2000?
In a recent review I fitted my prized Amiga 2000 with a Dicke Olga 68030 accelerator. It also came with super fast IDE, so, do I really need the machines original Grand Slam SCSI controller? Using a BlueSCSIv2 that card MIGHT give me a virtual CD-Rom Drive and also WIFI networking. But, will it actually work?
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Kickstart Amiga User Group Event – June 22nd 2024
Retronaut last visited a KickStart event in Ottershaw in February of 2024. Now its June and the Summer had finally arrived and this event featured a BBQ! For this first time, I brought along some machines, my Dicke Olga A2000 and my Silicon Graphics Octane. Less vendors this time, but on the flip side, more Amiga nuts, with their Amigas and other retro Computers on display.
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Amiga 4000: Repairing Extremely Dim Video
My Amiga 4000 developed a VERY dim display during the recording of my recent video on the Fastlane Z3 SCSI/Memory card. A day after that video dropped, my Amiga 4000s display was down to maybe 5% of its normal brightness and HAD to be fixed.
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Review: Is this the best Amiga 2000 Accelerator, ever?
In this review of the new Amiga 2000 68030 accelerator, the “Dicke Olga”, we will take a look at what makes it stand out from its competition. It supports 50mhz (and faster) 68030 CPUs, a separate clock for its FPU, an integrated IDE controller and 64/128mb of FAST RAM, that is local to the CPU.
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Cementing Apple II’s Legacy with the Apple IIc and IIgs
Entering the mid-eighties, 8-bit Micros, such as the Apple II were becoming a little out-moded. So what could Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and the Apple team do, to keep the Apple II range fresh? Well, hows about two very different machines? One which re-invented the Apple II as a mobile powerhouse, for office and home. Whilst the IIgs, literally re-invented the Apple II as a new 16-bit computer, to go into battle with the Atari ST and Amiga computers, which had set the home micro scene on fire.