(Idea) Modern old home computer system with PureBasic
Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2020 10:35 pm
I've wanted something like this for a long time, but it would be a very large undertaking. I am posting this here because I would love it if PureBasic could somehow be integrated.
So the idea is to make a modern version of a "home computer" or console. There are remakes of these things out there, but that's not what I'm talking about. It would have modern hardware, HD graphics, etc. but the interface would be like an old computer. You turn it on and get basic immediately. It would have four modes switchable by function keys. Command line mode. PureBasic mode. Sprite editor mode and tracker mode (for audio). It would be a single tasking operating system, but with task switching. Maybe it could even be in a ROM. Actually, yes, the whole system is in a ROM, but the user prefs get stored on SD card. The idea is that PB is running right on the bare metal. It compiles directly into the assembly language for the machine. The user programs and data would be stored on SD card. It would have a VGA or HDMI port, PS/2 mouse, serial and it would be built into the keyboard like an old system.
There is something very special about programming a console vs a modern PC. There's no bloat. It's like the construct in the matrix. You have nothing until you write the code. It would run super efficiently and would give the nostalgic feel of an old system, but be upgraded to look modern. I am blown away that no one has made something like this yet. I looked for a long time and couldn't find anything except clones of old systems - which is somewhat pointless in my mind.
Seeing as it would use very little resources (it would not be running a Linux distro or something, but its own very simple OS), I don't think the hardware requirements would be too stringent. Like PC133 RAM and and ARM or even a new 32-bit Z80. Maybe there is a new version of the CPU for Amiga, so it would be easier to port.
What do you think? It's more of a dream than anything cause I think Fred would have to cooperate in order to make this work. In addition, most of the libraries would probably be very hard to port, but it would be cool if just the core of PB was running and then the rest could be added later. The libraries may have to be very different anyway, so it may have to be taken from the ground up.
So the idea is to make a modern version of a "home computer" or console. There are remakes of these things out there, but that's not what I'm talking about. It would have modern hardware, HD graphics, etc. but the interface would be like an old computer. You turn it on and get basic immediately. It would have four modes switchable by function keys. Command line mode. PureBasic mode. Sprite editor mode and tracker mode (for audio). It would be a single tasking operating system, but with task switching. Maybe it could even be in a ROM. Actually, yes, the whole system is in a ROM, but the user prefs get stored on SD card. The idea is that PB is running right on the bare metal. It compiles directly into the assembly language for the machine. The user programs and data would be stored on SD card. It would have a VGA or HDMI port, PS/2 mouse, serial and it would be built into the keyboard like an old system.
There is something very special about programming a console vs a modern PC. There's no bloat. It's like the construct in the matrix. You have nothing until you write the code. It would run super efficiently and would give the nostalgic feel of an old system, but be upgraded to look modern. I am blown away that no one has made something like this yet. I looked for a long time and couldn't find anything except clones of old systems - which is somewhat pointless in my mind.
Seeing as it would use very little resources (it would not be running a Linux distro or something, but its own very simple OS), I don't think the hardware requirements would be too stringent. Like PC133 RAM and and ARM or even a new 32-bit Z80. Maybe there is a new version of the CPU for Amiga, so it would be easier to port.
What do you think? It's more of a dream than anything cause I think Fred would have to cooperate in order to make this work. In addition, most of the libraries would probably be very hard to port, but it would be cool if just the core of PB was running and then the rest could be added later. The libraries may have to be very different anyway, so it may have to be taken from the ground up.
