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stonetoolsblog.bsky.social
Stone Tools
@stonetoolsblog.bsky.social
57 followers 5 following 16 posts
Exploring retro productivity software of the 8/16-bit era.
No games; just work.
https://stonetools.ghost.io
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stonetoolsblog.bsky.social
Stone Tools @stonetoolsblog.bsky.social · 11d
🪨 CAD-3D on the Atari ST 🛠️

Examining the grandfather to #3DSMax also gave me my first experience with the GEM environment. Plus, I learn the surprising ties to #DeluxePaint and
...is this right?
#Starfox for the #SNES?!

stonetools.ghost.io/cad3d-atarist
#RetroComputing #cad3d #atarist #3dsoftware
CAD-3D on the Atari ST
Computing history is full of "what if" scenarios. What if Babbage built a working analytical engine? What if IBM adopted CP/M over DOS? What if Atari delivered their promised TT line on time and becam...
stonetools.ghost.io
Reposted by Stone Tools
camerontalley.bsky.social
This article from the excellent Stone Tools blog illustrates something that I think is really missing in modern tech life. The author calls it "friction," which I think is a great descriptor. Friction isn't bad in and of itself. We need friction to make fire, for example.
November 8, 2025 at 8:03 PM
stonetoolsblog.bsky.social
🪨 CAD-3D on the Atari ST 🛠️

Examining the grandfather to #3DSMax also gave me my first experience with the GEM environment. Plus, I learn the surprising ties to #DeluxePaint and
...is this right?
#Starfox for the #SNES?!

stonetools.ghost.io/cad3d-atarist
#RetroComputing #cad3d #atarist #3dsoftware
CAD-3D on the Atari ST
Computing history is full of "what if" scenarios. What if Babbage built a working analytical engine? What if IBM adopted CP/M over DOS? What if Atari delivered their promised TT line on time and becam...
stonetools.ghost.io
October 31, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Stone Tools
thomasfuchs.at
For #SpreadsheetDay, here's my new in box sealed Lotus Improv 🤌
Lotus Improv original sealed box for NeXT next to a NEXTSTEP 3.1 box
October 17, 2025 at 1:50 PM
stonetoolsblog.bsky.social
🪨🛠️ VisiCalc on the Apple 2

Happy #SpreadsheetDay! This time, I examine how much DNA from the first spreadsheet remains in today's software by calculating protein levels of ration formulation for swine, as you do.

stonetools.ghost.io/visicalc-app...

#RetroComputing #visicalc #spreadsheet #apple2
VisiCalc on the Apple II
In 1978, Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston took out a loan to fund development of "Calcu-ledger," the very tool that could project if taking out a loan were fiscally prudent. In 2025, VisiCalc still has ...
stonetools.ghost.io
October 17, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Stone Tools
christopherdrum.bsky.social
I spent some time getting to know Superbase on the C64. While using it, I was revisited by a ghost from the past who tried to make trouble for me. When all hope was lost, with the power of BASIC, I overcame my enemy. Intrigued to know more? Read on!
#retrocomputing #stonetools #superbase #c64
October 3, 2025 at 10:22 PM
stonetoolsblog.bsky.social
🪨🛠️ "Superbase on the Commodore 64"

Dreaming of a "paperless office?" You'll need a database to make it happen. Superbase promises to help you ditch those antiquated filing cabinets. If only the manual would explain how.
stonetools.ghost.io/superbase-c64

#RetroComputing #Superbase #Databases #C64
Superbase on the Commodore 64
In the 70s and 80s, the "office of the future" remained tantalizingly close, ever slightly out of reach, but definitely almost here. I'll commandeer the family C64 and rebuild my business into a "pape...
stonetools.ghost.io
October 3, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Reposted by Stone Tools
n4n0.ch
v1.0.0 has been released!

#vintagecomputing #retrocomputing

github.com/twvd/snow/re...
n4n0.ch michael bosshard @n4n0.ch · Jul 9
Snow

emulates classic (Motorola 680x0-based) Macintosh computers

snowemu.com

#vintagecomputing
September 5, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Reposted by Stone Tools
christopherdrum.bsky.social
What a delightful surprise. My new blog, @stonetoolsblog.bsky.social, seems to mark a tipping point, earning a lengthy discussion of my full body of retro-related works in the latest @thisweekinretro.bsky.social

I am, apparently, "Someone you should know"🙇
#retrocomputing.

youtu.be/UHYscl1Ayqg?...
Commodore Datasette But Tiny - This Week In Retro 235
YouTube video by This Week in Retro
youtu.be
September 16, 2025 at 8:23 AM
stonetoolsblog.bsky.social
🪨🛠️ New Post: "Electric Pencil on the TRS-80"

This time, I examine the first word processor for home computers, Electric Pencil, which worked best if you weren't afraid to break out a soldering iron.
stonetools.ghost.io/electricpencil-trs80

#RetroComputing #ElectricPencil #WordProcessing #TRS80
Electric Pencil on the TRS-80
A disillusioned filmmaker turned beach bum turned a hobby project into millions by creating the first word processor for home computers. His creation was so compelling a jewelry salesman reinvented hi...
stonetools.ghost.io
September 20, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Reposted by Stone Tools
thisweekinretro.bsky.social
Jason reports fresh off the weekend of Vintage Computer Festival Midwest 20, full of classic tech, This Week in Retro viewers, and distinctive hairstyles. All this and more including your nominations for the unsung heroes of retro, coming in episode 236 this Saturday!
September 18, 2025 at 1:17 PM
stonetoolsblog.bsky.social
🪨🛠️ New Post is Up!
2025 is the 40th birthday of the Commodore Amiga. It is *also* the 40th birthday of Deluxe Paint. Our first retrospective examines this classic hardware/software combo.
#RetroComputing #SoftwareArchaeology #Amiga #DeluxePaint #StoneTools
stonetools.ghost.io/deluxepaint-amiga/
Deluxe Paint on the Commodore Amiga
Back when EA was cool, they packaged their software in album-style sleeves and promoted their developers like rock stars. I was a Dan Silva groupie.
stonetools.ghost.io
September 5, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Stone Tools
retrocomps.bsky.social
"We're selling the one thing we count on every day."
A dense Utopian Scholastic style ad for geoCalc, claiming Berkeley Softworks (creators of GEOS) rely on their own software for payables, receivables, taxes, budgets, and projections. Insets include the boxed software itself (depicting a desk), a spreadsheet showing Berkeley Softworks' own operating expenses, and a tiny order info section.
August 14, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Reposted by Stone Tools
retrocomps.bsky.social
COMPUTER GRPAHICS
In this William Geise illustrated ad, the title "Computer Graphics" appears up top, being cast from a giant Apple II monitor on an iceburg; the casts are a gradiant from purple to orange to yellow to green to blue to purple again, hewing towards neon tones. From the tan Amdek monitor flies a red biplane, a parachuting penguin, and a leaping unicorn; dolphins jump from the ice into the monitor. Around the iceberg, a sea otter peeks up, a penguin tap-dances, and a whale tale lifts a unicorn on a floe. The monitor is sitting on a giant Apple II. Down below, breathless text describes three different programming packages: "For the artist: Special Effects by David Lubar and Mark Pelezarski. Paint on your computer in over 100 colors with 96 different brushes!" "For the designer: The Complete Graphics System II by Mark Pelezarski. Everythign needed for computer-aided design." "For the programmer: The Graphics Magician by Mark Pelezarski, David Lubar, and Chris Joehumson. Add fast, smooth animation and hundreds of pictures to your programs." In the bottom left, the penguin software logo appears next to ordering information, with a sunfish floating to its left; at the very bottom it says, "All Penguin applications products are now on unprotected disks for your convenience."
August 20, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Reposted by Stone Tools
retrocomps.bsky.social
WORD PROCESSING HAS NEVER BEEN SIMPLER
Above, the headline "Word Processing Has Never Been Simpler." Below, a picture of a young girl dutifully typing at her computer, while her proud parents watch, set before a monochrome CRT. Below, bullet points of features ("Document chaining allows you to print documents of unlimited length", "Highlighting of text", "Upper and lowercase without additional hardware"), below the Bank Street Writer logo. The slogan: "The First Word Processor For The Entire Family." The logo of Broderbund Software, three abstract crowns, appears at page bottom.
August 30, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Stone Tools
lenna.gay
We were cooked the moment operating system UIs stopped shipping looking like this
The internal operating system of the Fujitsu FM TOWNS computer. A few windows are open; one shows the disk drives and one shows the contents of the physical CD-ROM inserted into it.
September 2, 2025 at 10:37 PM
stonetoolsblog.bsky.social
We’re live! 🪨🛠️ Stone Tools soft-launch today, with the first proper post coming later this week. If you think retro-computing means more than just games, you’re in the right place.
#RetroComputing #ComputerHistory #OfficeOfTheFuture #SoftwareArchaeology #StoneTools
stonetools.ghost.io/introducing/
Introducing “Stone Tools”
A blog about the productivity software of the 8/16-bit era. No games, just work.
stonetools.ghost.io
September 2, 2025 at 11:10 PM