NZTronix

Aamber Pegasus website

Wed, 06 May 2009 16:11:00 +1200

Philip Lord has set up a page on the Pegasus here. Over the last three years he has been trying to gather as much information about Technosys's Aamber Pegasus, which he says is "New Zealand's first personal computer (maybe)". He has assembled documentation for the Pegasus, bios of the personnel involved, and lists of the software, and is keen to hear from anyone with old Pegasus tapes or EPROMS. I'm sure he'll put a contact up on his webpage shortly ;)

Sega Genesis Java

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:31:00 +1200

x solid" title="" alt="" class="pivot-image" />

This image is one of the outcomes of the research project we all worked on last year. It shows a program called "99 bottles" running on a Nokia N95 mobile phone, thanks to Vipul Delwadia's "SGJ" (Sega Genesis Java) converter (i.e. it was a Sega Genesis program, before...abra cadabra...it got turned into...Java). You can read more about the technical details in Vipul's Honours thesis report, which is available here.

Early NZ Computing Archives collection, housed in VUW Library

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:47:00 +1200

Nicola Frean, the special collections librarian at VUW Library, has set up an archive for material from early New Zealand Computing History. NZTronix research papers and other early computer history items we've come across comprise the beginnings of the collection, but there are also other, interesting bits and pieces being donated by the public. Feel free to get in touch if you have items you think might be of interest.

Here is the description:

"This collection was begun by NZTronix, a multidisciplinary team of VUW researchers working to gather information on, and preserve examples of, locally written software. The Early New Zealand Software Database is one part of this http://www.nztronix.org.nz/main.php. The team also maintain a weblog at http://www.nztronix.org.nz/ and a contact address at nzsoftwarearchive@gmail.com. The archives collection is now maintained and continued by the Victoria University of Wellington Library, in association with an interdisciplinary group of academic staff.

The collected archives include: physical material (e.g. boxes for games etc.), historic programming and software, booklets, correspondence, and ephemera such as advertising. The collection is particularly strong on Sega software. No computer hardware is held. The archives from the NZTronix project include information on: Emulators, Site Statistics; Software; Acid Software Games etc, and NZ User Groups in the 1980s."

More accounts of NZ's own Poly computer

Sat, 24 May 2008 11:30:00 +1200

This threads on the Poly seem to have generated quite a lot of interest -- please feel free to keep posting your recollections of the system.

Last year I posted two accounts written by people involved with the Poly, namely Perce Harpham and Alec Utting. They can be found on the ADA list archives, here and here.

Someone should write a PhD on the history of the Poly -- it would be a great topic, IMO.

Marty Weil interviews Melanie Swalwell about NZ games work

Sat, 24 May 2008 11:25:00 +1200

Read a recent interview regarding NZ games, on Marty Weil's ephemera blog.

Call for information about the Poly

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 10:57:00 +1200

The Waikato Linux User Group seem to have the best (only?) page on the net about the Poly. We'd be interested in finding out if anyone has either old hardware or software from PolyCorp available. This would allow us to see how feasible it might be to emulate. In particular the educational software because a major thrust of the Poly project was to create educational content particular to New Zealand kids.

Arrival of the Poly

Wed, 05 Dec 2007 18:06:00 +1200

Tomorrow we're taking delivery of a Poly computer that has been kindly donated by the Film Archive of New Zealand. The Poly was a home/education computer from the early 1980s that featured networking and came in multiple colours (iMac anyone?). Once it has arrived I'll post some pictures up here.

Computers that count

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:42:00 +1200

I went to the MOTAT exhibition "Machines that Count" last week. It is a great little exhibition with an impressive collection of hardware including a numerical integrator built out of Meccano, a complete System 360 setup and many personal computers. It provides a historical background to the development of computer hardware and includes a section devoted to software. I was interested in the software section, its good and provides an overview of the development of tools such as PageMaker and their impact on publishing. However, what was lacking was a wider historical perspective and local content. With respect to historical perspective, I missed a mention of VisiCalc, maybe the first real Killer App for the PC. With respect to the New Zealand context, there was little about the New Zealand computer industry with no mention of the Poly or the development of homegrown software.

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 15:32:00 +1200

General Digital Preservation Links

Digital-Preservation Announcement and Information List

National Library of New Zealand - Initiatives

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 14:10:00 +1200

Digital Game and Game Preservation Links

Computerspiele Museum

DiGA - Digital Game Archiv

Ultimate Console Database

IGDA's Game Preservation List

IGDA Game Preservation SIG Wiki

NZ Digital Game Links

Obscure Pixels

Sega Paradise

NZ Game Collectors Forum

NZ Vintage Computer Collectors

Other early software

Aamber Pegasus site