maximite

General discussion for topics related to the FreeBASIC project or its community.
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BasicCoder2
Posts: 3906
Joined: Jan 01, 2009 7:03
Location: Australia

maximite

Post by BasicCoder2 »

Would it be possible to run a version of FreeBASIC on this machine. Not sure what its operating system is but I assume it is like the old DOS. The most fun I had was probably with the C64. I imagined one day a C64 with rgb pixels, lots of memory and a fast processor and here it is?
https://geoffg.net/maximite.html
angros47
Posts: 2321
Joined: Jun 21, 2005 19:04

Re: maximite

Post by angros47 »

I don't think so. You could likely compile a program written in FreeBasic for the Maximite (the site states that it uses an ARM processor, and FreeBasic is able to produce executables for ARM processors). But running FreeBasic itself on that machine is pretty unlikely, since you would have to install the whole building toolchain (FreeBasic compiler, C compiler, assembler, linker), and I doubt it has enough resources to do that,
badidea
Posts: 2586
Joined: May 24, 2007 22:10
Location: The Netherlands

Re: maximite

Post by badidea »

BasicCoder2 wrote:Would it be possible to run a version of FreeBASIC on this machine. Not sure what its operating system is but I assume it is like the old DOS...
Very unlikely, it seems that the device does not really have an operating system. Or maybe better, the MMBasic firmware is the operating system. Freebasic depends on a lot of stuff, none of it is on this device.
It looks like a nice hobby project, but nothing more than that I fear. I don't expect large amount of sales, so if you write a game for it, it will be hard to share it with someone. What also worries me, is fast electronics in a plastic box. An nice aluminium box would be better, but that would double the cost.
caseih
Posts: 2157
Joined: Feb 26, 2007 5:32

Re: maximite

Post by caseih »

While the market isn't large, there's quite a lively 8-bit scene these days, and several similar products to choose from, as well as many products for expanding and rebuilding classic 8-bit systems. There are even retro-computing conventions where people share this passion, and also sell each other novel products such as hardware disk emulators for all the platforms. This is all about nostalgia and creativity I think (like your fond memories of the C64!), and replicating the ease with which one could get into computer programming back then. There are still people making and selling software (mostly games) for old 8-bit platforms even. Distributing on floppy disks even! There's an interesting fusion of modern technology like microcontrollers and FPGAs with the simple, well-understood systems of the past. It's also amazing what people can do with such limited hardware.

The Maximite looks really neat. Targeted directly at the retro enthusiast crowd I think!
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