IRATA.ONLINE: A Community for Retro-Computing Enthusiasts(irata.online)
irata.online
IRATA.ONLINE: A Community for Retro-Computing Enthusiasts
https://irata.online/
62 comments
Thom did great work on the Plato stuff. Also be sure to check out his Fujinet work, really nicely done. Ported to many platforms too.
Can someone explain what this is? It says its a community, so is it forum? But if it is than what does it mean by installing it? Or is it a forum software that anyone can install on one of the compatible platforms to start a new community?
Sorry, i get what the PLATO system is (was?), but I can't get what the IRATA.ONLINE is and how its related. Is it a revival of this PLATO., or a PLATO system, what's the cool thing about it? that you can get Apple II to connect to a service and stream ASCII?
Really, this video is not really descriptive, and question by @op stays.
Really, this video is not really descriptive, and question by @op stays.
https://irata.online/#features seems to cover it? It's a multi-user terminal system where you can log in, send text to other users, and run games and applications. It's not clear if the server software is available, but the links are to various client software for connecting to their service.
Sounds like the Mex language back in the BBS era.
Is this in any way related to the Irata of Commodore 64 fame? The site doesn’t seem to contain a reference. The Irata I knew from the C64 demo scene is https://csdb.dk/scener/?id=4380
Not that I am aware of. It is a revival of the PLATO networked learning environment.
For context:
Donald Bitzer, a pioneer of cyberspace and plasma screens, dies at 90
He helped shape cyberculture as the father of PLATO, a computer-based educational network that sparked the development of plasma screens and digital messaging.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/12/13/donald-...
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42406158
Donald Bitzer, a pioneer of cyberspace and plasma screens, dies at 90
He helped shape cyberculture as the father of PLATO, a computer-based educational network that sparked the development of plasma screens and digital messaging.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/12/13/donald-...
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42406158
I am. And it is the best thing. Happiness on a level for no money that money alone cannot buy.
You can connect to it via the cross-platform microM8 Apple IIe emulator https://paleotronic.com/microm8 -- there's an option on the startup menu screen to connect to irata.online using the Apple II DHGR client
Man, I have to get my 800xl running again.
This looks very interesting!
This looks very interesting!
I had one of those. Good times! Also, came with a (treasured) spacefighting game on a cartridge (can't remember the name) and another - rather more strange one - on a listing, where you could run a (rather detailed) nuclear plant. Great machine ...
The reactor simulation was probably Scram. I had it on cassette. It was written in Basic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scram_(video_game)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scram_(video_game)
Indeed. It being BASIC tracks well with my remembering having played it, with no tape drive. I must have typed it! :)
Probably Star Raiders. Great Game!
I am sure that was it. Now, to find an emulator online :)
Alterra is one of the better ones.
That is a great game! It was very influential too.
No scoring system, just a rank. I still enjoy playing once in a while.
There is a slow down that happens when multiple enemies are destroyed and the computer cannot compute all the particles.
Someone fixed it a while back and the game runs at a perfect 60/50hz. I played that and the game seemed stale, not "alive" like the original.
Same with an arcade game by Williams: DEFENDER. The slowdowns are awesome and add to the game experience in ways not really foreseen by the original creator.
That is a great game! It was very influential too.
No scoring system, just a rank. I still enjoy playing once in a while.
There is a slow down that happens when multiple enemies are destroyed and the computer cannot compute all the particles.
Someone fixed it a while back and the game runs at a perfect 60/50hz. I played that and the game seemed stale, not "alive" like the original.
Same with an arcade game by Williams: DEFENDER. The slowdowns are awesome and add to the game experience in ways not really foreseen by the original creator.
Kind of like an unforeseen "bullet time"?
This is amazing.
Are there any Windows 3.11 programs that support PLATO?
I'd love to add this by default on my virtual PC at pieter.com.
Are there any Windows 3.11 programs that support PLATO?
I'd love to add this by default on my virtual PC at pieter.com.
Would be great if this could be accessed with an iPad .. anyone working on an iOS client?
The web client can be used on any system with a suitable web browser. Press the orange button on the website. :)
Retro computing with those massive modern buttons with insane padding rings a bit…
The PTerm app no longer works on modern MacOS unfortunately.
Yep. Per the developer(s):
NOTE: 12/1/2024 - We are aware that the Mac DMG does not install on Mac OS Sequoia. You can try the Java Pterm until such time that the programmer can get a new Mac and test and build a new package.
https://cyber1.org/pterm.asp
NOTE: 12/1/2024 - We are aware that the Mac DMG does not install on Mac OS Sequoia. You can try the Java Pterm until such time that the programmer can get a new Mac and test and build a new package.
https://cyber1.org/pterm.asp
Ooh, I wish there was a Kaypro port!
Does the Kaypro do graphics?
If so, there is a client written in C, I believe.
If so, there is a client written in C, I believe.
The kaypro '84 variants can do 160x100 graphics (each character is a 2x4 block of pixels, and the screen is 80x25 characters).
I took advantage of that to generate Mandelbrot and Julia set graphics on one. It was fun as a coding exercise, but pretty slow processing.
And there were add-on boards that gave higher resolution (very relatively speaking) graphics.
Totally understand. At that time 300 pixels horizontally by pretty much anything vertically was considered high resolution.
The cool thing about machines like the Kaypro was the dot clocks were actually pretty fast, so add on boards tended to do fairly high resolution if you got one. Might be 640 by something, or 512...
The cool thing about machines like the Kaypro was the dot clocks were actually pretty fast, so add on boards tended to do fairly high resolution if you got one. Might be 640 by something, or 512...
Well now I know what I’m sinking time into this Christmas break!
This is really cool.
Except that a hub for retro computing should
not point people to Facebook to keep up with
news.
""" New developments on IRATA.ONLINE happen fast! Check the Facebook group for everything from new PLATOTerm ports, scheduling workshops and events, to announcements of new content on the service itself! """
""" New developments on IRATA.ONLINE happen fast! Check the Facebook group for everything from new PLATOTerm ports, scheduling workshops and events, to announcements of new content on the service itself! """
Hi. I run IRATA.ONLINE. Where should I post news? :)
-Thom
On the website, of course (ideally provide an RSS or Atom feed, too).
The site itself (it could be statically generated) with an RSS feed, a mailing list, and/or a matrix channel.
Start a mailman List.
Usenet.
You can also just submit happenings like any other contributor here.
My chance to congratulate you on the site and work!
That's really odd, if they did it for privacy reason they missed some news.
[deleted]
What are the specific reasons that this is a problem?
Asking without any bias, just curious if there’re any other reasons than what I already know…
Asking without any bias, just curious if there’re any other reasons than what I already know…
As a retro enthusiast I am not on Facebook or on any social media websites except maybe this one. Too often these days there is an assumption that we have presence on social media.
Build your own channels, stop building in other kingdoms.
Build your own channels, stop building in other kingdoms.
Let me clear up any confusion. You are definitively on this website.
I don't have a facebook account, none of my family has a facebook account, none of my friends have a facebook account, most of my colleagues don't have facebook accounts.
As far as we're all concerned, if it's solely on facebook, it doesn't exist.
As far as we're all concerned, if it's solely on facebook, it doesn't exist.
Facebooks spies on you, and makes reading the news without an account hard.
Next to zero organic reach in Facebook, so you’d have to pay to make sure your followers actually see it. Might as well post it on your own website, build an email list, let users subscribe to RSS - at least you own that and aren’t renting it from Facebook.
With Facebook you will always be a slave to their algorithm. It may or may not decide to show your updates to the people who subscribe to your feed. They may ban your account for no discernible reason at any time and trying to talk with support to get it straightened out is a nightmare.
Having a newsfeed on your site that also posts to Facebook is generally a better approach. Don't leave yourself at the mercy of a giant faceless corporation that doesn't care about you.
Having a newsfeed on your site that also posts to Facebook is generally a better approach. Don't leave yourself at the mercy of a giant faceless corporation that doesn't care about you.
Not everyone has a facebook account.
Platform lock in.
ioctl man page lists a non-negative value that is floored as a return value indicating user error. given that it is written in standard libc, all the PLATO-based note-taking archival systems that regress in a linear fashion depending on how much bandwidth one is working on.
Irata.online: A PLATO service for retro computing enthusiasts - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32600338 - Aug 2022 (26 comments)
Irata.online a modern implementation of the PLATO computing system - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24207044 - Aug 2020 (1 comment)