Bowser Owes Nintendo $$$$ - This Week In Retro 157

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Windows 3.11 is still used on the German train network. Madness or perfectly reasonable? It turns out that the Sinclair Spectrum can Ray Trace!! The story of the 3 Bowsers, how game piracy landed Bowser in hot water with Nintendo.
Plus Neil falls for one of Dave's terrible pranks, the week's news in brief in Dave's Housekeeping, and the Community Question Of The Week.
00:00 - Show Opening
06:36 - Spectrum Spectacular
Story Link: www.pcgamer.com/ray-tracing-m...
Robot Link: • ZX Robot Control
22:15 - Windows On The Buffers
Story Link: www.tomshardware.com/software...
31:48 - Dave's Housekeeping
41:33 - The 3 Bowsers And No You Ninten-don’t
Story Link: www.theguardian.com/games/202...
51:46 - Community Question of the Week
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This Week in Retro is a weekly roundup of the hottest stories from the world of retro gaming and computing, voted on by you, the listener! Hosted by Neil from RMC and Dave. Edited by Duncan Styles.
Episode Credits
"File:TOMY Armatron 3.jpg" by Morn is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/....
"Turtle draw" by Valiant Technology Ltd. is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/....
"Omnibot 2000" by donjd2 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/....
"Remember dancing coke cans? #vintage #CocaCola #sudouest #france #holibobs #igersfrance #igerslondon #classic #dancingcans" by kilted01 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/....

[@a500]

"I should really listen to the words that you say at me Dave" This has to be the best quote of the day ever.

[@atomnetton]

And then he lets the Pen Is joke go.

[@acertainshape]

​​@@atomnetton the reaction to Neil's OnlyFans joke was edited out. 25:17

[@HappyCodingZX]

I never realised that Neil's parenting course included a semester on Dad Jokes

[@Lordborak316]

Ray Tracing used to play left back for West Ham.

[@DJChrisFury]

😂😂 yes Dave good one. It went straight over Neil's head. 😅😅

[@Endzs768]

I can't help but feel that Chris definitely would have got that joke 😂 Good one though

[@markwrightrf]

I agree that the Tea Break posts land as chats rather than staid interviews, you've 100% mastered that technique. Like Jordan mastered the rotoscoping technique. I still wonder how he did that...

[@POVwithRC]

Browser's punishment isn't really to rehabilitate him. It's mostly to warn others.

[@ColinJonesPonder]

If you think Windows 3.11 is old, in Shrewsbury the fully active signal box there was commissioned in 1903 and is still using levers and cables!

[@ScottMadeAThing]

I've been listening to your podcast for over a year and only today have I actually decided to watch it (or rather, whilst at a PC, REMEMBERED that the video version exists on a channel!) and I love it! It works both ways. I usually listen to you and The Retro Hour as I'm driving or at work or making videos (I end up making more work for myself as I have to cut out the audio in places because it has your podcast in it... not so much because of copyright, but more because my lazy jump-cuts make it sound mad haha). THANK YOU DAVE for saying what you said about the Spectrum, I had a +3 from the age of 7 and then when I was 11 (1993) I picked up a CPC 464 for 50p (that is not a typo) at my school summer fete. It had Castle Master 1 and 2 and was mindblown. I remember the whole time I spent using the CPC, I just wished that my +3 had those graphics. I wonder how much different Speccys would have fared back in the day if only more than one colour could exist within the 8x8 subdivisions!

[@MarcKloos]

25:24 it's Only Fans 🤣

[@envoycdx]

Remember that turtle thing, the model we had (late 80's, early 90's) and it was a series of buttons on the top pen went through the middle of it. we spent time over lunch and breaks trying to make it spell swear words

[@SunDancerGE]

"Pen is" *har har har* XD

[@burnrubber7547]

Yes Dave caught Neil proper with that one lol

[@oliverw.douglas285]

Until recently, my employer was still using DEC & TI Teletypes, they have loads of Dumb Terminals, and many DOS Machines... still in operation. Old Tech dies hard.

[@stephenwalters9891]

The ticket barrier for the Docklands Light Railway are controlled by DEC PDP-11 computers. The venerable PDP-11 minicomputer is still spry to this day, powering GE nuclear power-plant robots - and will do so for another 37 years. That's right: PDP-11 assembler coders are hard to find, but the nuclear industry is planning on keeping the 16-bit machines ticking over until 2050 - long enough for a couple of generations

[@burnrubber7547]

Laughing all the way through this episode. Good work lads. 👍 Still missing Chris though. Hes missing out on the latest retro news and double entendre's.😂

[@Jimbaloidatron]

Someone I know just received an original X-Box in the post, no bubblewrap, no scrunched up paper, no smelly old dog blanket, nothing. The cardboard box had clearly taken a battering, but the X-Box didn't have any damage and works perfectly.

[@bazza5699]

aww so nice to hear some love for the speccy.

[@thetwistedsock3253]

"pen is" 😂

[@tdub8719]

Dave's mischievous laugh is the greatest since Sid James.

[@nickolasgaspar9660]

The Atari 8bit line never really faded away, at least in Easter Europe. The current vibrant homebrew scene is fueled mostly by the same guys who were releasing software for the system during the 90s and early 2Ks. I have been digging in their archives for 20 years now and I never understood how so many people missed that period of the machine.

[@nickwallette6201]

I totally agree with the sentiment on the train computer: Assuming security and life safety are not in conflict, why NOT run something on Windows 3.11? We run systems on vxWorks all the time. What's the difference Who cares? Does it do the job or not? What else matters? I think we've gotten used to thinking about technology's fitness for purpose in terms of how old it is, but if you can live in a 100 year old building, why can't you run signage on a 30-year-old OS?

[@TimGilberts]

Lovely episode as usual keep it up guys - by the way the link in the notes to the robot is not correct it’s a duplicate of the ray tracing one .. came off podcast to KZbin to see that as well :)

[@ThisWeekinRetro]

Thanks, that should be fixed now. Thanks for letting us know.

[@MarcKloos]

11:47 Tandy catalogue

[@TheUAoB]

Dave is exactly right about the ink mod chip analogy. Unfortunately, the US DCMA Act has little to do with justice or encouraging creative works (as copyright is intended), and the US criminal prison complex has nothing to do with rehabilitation.

[@Lbf5677]

Dave is simple and easy to maintain but couldn't run a signalling system

[@flibblesan]

Love these podcasts but please consider adding links to the video infobox for the items mentioned in Daves Housekeeping.

[@ThisWeekinRetro]

Feedback gratefully received 👍

[@tayzzed]

Ha ha Dave. Command to locate the pen.😅😅😅

[@tayzzed]

I knew Neil never sussed it

[@preferredimage]

3:14 Also not a euphemism Dave....

[@bluetonic9538]

Top tip for the 800xl, buy an AVG cart with PBI and sio cables

[@TFHC_cc]

When and if, you decide to add a new member, it would be interesting to have a woman. I think it would be a nice change of perspective. Of course, please don't use the mandatory boldness clause 😁

[@LilBaab]

Awesome video my friend keep it coming 💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿

[@GenerationPixel]

I can't believe Neil dropped in an "Only Fans" reference 🤦‍♂️😂😂

[@JenniferinIllinois]

Dang, if only my German was better. I've got plenty of DOS and Win 3.11 experience. :)

[@bernardopaul2817]

If the likes of Neil and Dave running a train network with pentium 166's and Win 3.11 sounds preposterous, look at the 60 Minutes report on 23 year olds operating the Titan nuclear missiles with 8-inch floppy disks and panels of blinking lightbulbs, it's scary !

[@Joliie]

25:25 the Only fans pun :D

[@RandallHayter]

Listening to Neil and Dave, I’m not sure this is just lighthearted bantering. Do they actually get on?

[@RandallHayter]

Just to add - the Pen Is turtle graphics command dad joke is hilarious! I’m talking about all the little digs at each other.

[@ThisWeekinRetro]

I like Neil, I think he's my friend. I think he thinks the same about me but I'll ask him tomorrow on the recording! (Dave)

[@RandallHayter]

@@ThisWeekinRetro Thanks! You guys make my weekend.

[@billramsay7351]

My best mate had an 800xl and it was a bloody good machine, but software availability was absolutely terrible. Had a great time playing some cracking games, a brilliant arkanoid conversion, great co-op play on Goonies, Kickstart, Mercenary. Wouldn't swap my c64 for one back in the day but it was great and vastly underrated. I never and still don't have any interest in the Spectrum, the only reason I would have wanted on was the Batman game by Jon Ritman and Bernie Drummond but even now I cannot stand the awful sound

[@GarryGri]

I didn't really find that much problem finding software for my 800XL, even disk bsed stuff. And I'm in the UK.

[@philiponicho]

I love your show but I feel a little sad sometimes because of the perception you have for the Atari 8-bit range of computers in the UK. My perception is a bit different. In the early 80s there was a main choice of 4 brands of computer Sinclair, Commodore, BBC and Atari. If you ever watched the BBC programs like micro live these were the brands they spoke about and used in the programs. The Sinclair and Commodore machines were easily the most successful the BBC was way too expensive so not many home units were sold. The Atari in the early to mid 80s was quite successful but not as successful as the main to. I remember getting my second hand Atari 400 in around 83 and telling my friends that I had got a computer and they said it wasn't a computer as Ataris were game consoles and looking at you could tell why they thought that. At this time I would regularly go into the local computer store and the Atari 8-bit section was one floor to roof about 2 meters wide. The Commodore section was about double this and the Sinclair about 3 times the size. The rest of the store had other brands in smaller sections. In 85 I upgraded to an 800 xl and around that time Atari User magazine came out which I got every issue of. This had details of Atari's exciting new computer the Atari ST. But the majority of the magazine was dedicated to Atari 8-bit computers and there was no space for the consoles. As the issues went on more and more space was given to the ST and even had its own pull out section which eventually became its own magazine Atari ST user leaving Atari User for 8-bit owners. By about 87 the shelf space dedicated to the 8-bit had been reduced by half and the ST had its own area. To me it seems the reason the 8-bit dropped off was the Atari ST and the fact it was sold so well in Atari User magazine. We were the first to see 16-bit computing and seduce by it. As soon as we started seeing it in the magazine we wanted one. It also explains the success of the ST as it was and obvious upgrade to the computers we already owned. I don't know how accurate this is but my understanding is that the Atari 8-bit range overall so from the 400 to the 130XE and the XE console actually sold about a 3rd more in total than the ST. Some of this if true will be down to the fact that people who bought the 400 upgraded to 800xls and 130XEs as there were a lot of games that only worked on these due to needing more the 16k of memory. While if you got a 520ST there was never a reason to really upgrade from that. Enough of my rant keep up the good work.

[@ThisWeekinRetro]

Thanks Philip! This is very much why if we ever have another host we don't want them to be from the UK, we want broad views and we want to learn ourselves from our co-hosts experiences.

[@philjohn2649]

How did Neal miss the Pen is gag?

[@NeonEUC]

Nothing beats being the 1st to post a useless pointless comment to say "first"

[@Chris_Adams1]

OnlyFans didn’t know computers worked blue.

[@Manusmith]

The QR code for the Reddit link takes me to a weird url that's not the reddit channel. Anyone else get that? The Patreon one works.

[@duncanstyles133]

Hit the Skip Advert button. Hmm, might ditch the QR codes.

[@theatheisthammer]

Xecuter. Nintendo hardly lost any revenue in all things. There profit margins are astronomical and it serves no purpose to punish the lad after doing his time. Nintendo have become so greedy.. Nintendo in history have been money grabbers. There point of being biased letting Japanese companies produce their own carts but for over seas they had to use nintendoa chips even the enhancement chips when the chips say knima produced were far more advanced and didn't run nintendoa software.. this might come back to bite Nintendo on the arse. I used to copy games for the Amiga for person use I couldn't afford the game so the company wasn't loosing a sale. I did buy games that I played often and even then I'd use the copy so not to damage the original. It's not an excuse. For my actions c64 ect all were originals I did back up my games though after I bought them. But when the games went to 10x the price it was impossible. And the company profit margins also rocketed, more profit on the games. If they were 9.99 for all games I reckon most wouldn't bother with piracy. Films could afford to do it that way

[@JestersDeadUK]

Or '2nd'... hello, the year 2000 just called and wants it sad little clichés back

[@ThisWeekinRetro]

THIRD!

[@NeonEUC]

3rd... My Pot noodle wants its I.Q back

[@belstar1128]

its retro