Twitter from your Commodore 64
(Credit:
Johan Van den Brande)
I use Twitter. A lot. Twitterfon is likely the most-used app on my iPhone. I have a Twitter widget in my MacBook's dashboard. And Twitter itself is one of my browser's home tabs. I make sure I've got a Twitter client of some sort on all of my devices.
Now, thankfully, I can tweet from my Commodore 64 using the adorable app called Breadbox 64 (yes, guys can say "adorable"). Of course, your Commodore needs an Internet connection, but as developer Johan Van den Brande points out, it's all very doable. In a post on his site, the Belgian engineer gives a step-by-step and even offers the app for free download.
Not only does Breadbox 64 allow you to tweet, it also lets you access your friend feed, as well as individual friends' timelines. And, of course, Van den Brande also has details on the hardware, like the MMC plug-in ethernet adapter, as well as various screenshots. It looks pretty awesome.
Sadly, I don't really have a Commodore at home. But if someone can get Twitter running on a Texas Instruments TI-99/4A, I'd be a very happy guy.
With more than 15 years experience testing hardware (and being obsessed with it), Crave freelance writer Matt Hickey can tell the good gadgets from the great. He also has a keen eye for future technology trends. Matt has blogged for publications including TechCrunch, CrunchGear, and most recently, Gizmodo. E-mail Matt. 
I learned to program on the commodore, and I'm still using the same language..
Wow. How do you *not* get the point that Aaron is making here? The C64 is a cultural icon of geekery. In 25 years, the iPhone won't have that nostalgia attached to it. It wasn't a slam against Apple at all, something you seem to be overlooking.
Really, sometimes it's okay to mention an Apple product *without* being negative about it. Sheesh.
If you write it, people will use it even if it is an old computer platform. This is a good thing.
At least our disk drives aren't as slow as a C64's!
Just see either comp.sys.cbm or comp.sys.sinclair!
Twidiots: The Fact and Fiction of Social Media Demographics
http://bit.ly/121Uv9
Here's the concluding paragraph:
The facts are out there. There is no longer any excuse to be a Twidiot. The time has passed when being unsure of where Social Media fits for your audience was merely a casual problem to be solved as priorities permit. In late 2009, failing to understand how our increasingly social world challenges and benefits brands has become an act of shortsightedness or deliberate ignorance that threatens consumer perception, brand value, market share, and the bottom line.
Ahhh the good ole days.
To get on the net, we either use a shell account, connect through a PC, or some kind of terminal server like a UDS-10. I've posted emails and usenet posts through such a device at the low level...
I can not remember an article I have read in recent times where someone did not express their dislike for Apple, even when Apple and its products were not the subject of the article.
Make no mistake, I find Twitter quite silly. But then I felt the same way about Facebook before I "got" it. I doubt Twitter will lure me in the way Facebook has, but that doesn't mean I feel the need to cast aspersions on those it has.
1. Tweeter. Seriously, what's the purpose of that?
2. Using Commodore 64 to tweet. Two wrongs do not make a right.
If you want to do it the old fashion way, maybe talking to people in person, or writing a letter, or even making a phone call would serve the purpose better.
(I kid, I kid. I'm a computer nerd and have fond memories of the C64. I have no doubt that the developer who created this did so with a rather large grin on his face, and with the mentality that it was pure novelty; and rather useless in the grand scheme of things. Also, I really need to find a modern wireless keyboard that makes the same typing sounds as the old C64 ones. That's just music to my ears.)
2. i hooked it up for 2 days.
3. i got tired of it very quickly.
4. 99% of twitter users are self-important shmucks who do nothing interesting but still suffer from severe diarrhea of the mouth. their friends got tired of listening to every last BORING detail of their life, so they had to go find some other cyber-losers who might be looking forward to seeing such entertaining tweets as "i ate grape nuts for breakfast again, but i liked it better yesterday"
twitter is one million del griffith's. watch 'planes trains and automobiles' if you don't know who that is.
The days of COMPUTE magazine and keying in pages of machine language code from some new game on my Commodore - those were some great times.
- by Harrison912 June 16, 2009 10:40 AM PDT
- I mainly use Twitter to socially market my safety and security web site but my Commodore 64 is long gone! Thanksfully my Dell is perfect for tweeting.
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