Anyone ?

Jo22 wrote on 2020-06-14, 11:33:

Anyone ?

I shared this to one of my IRL friends, but I don't think he has a account here to really say anything about this.

I personally wouldn't mind something like this, especially if it's a tightly written assembly program... haha.

DracoNihil wrote on 2020-06-14, 12:12:

Jo22 wrote on 2020-06-14, 11:33:

Anyone ?

I shared this to one of my IRL friends, but I don't think he has a account here to really say anything about this.

I personally wouldn't mind something like this, especially if it's a tightly written assembly program... haha.

Thanks a lot for your reply. I almost gave up on this idea, since nothing happend!
(I know this rather is a Hitchhiker fan site, but come on, a few trekkies/trekker must be around still! 😉 )

As for assembly.. Maybe.

Anyway, the modern LCARS interfaces are pretty popular among nerds and tinkerers.
Just recently, an LCARS inspired and ESP32-based weather station was mentioned at hackaday.com:
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/14/mini-computer … t-to-your-desk/

Hello everyone,
Hello DracoNihil,

Here's a quick little update for you..
The basic code for the clock program is finished so far.

It uses plain VGA in mode 12h, but should also run on XT class hardware.
Perhaps even on such with EGA hardware, if has a Super EGA type with 12h support.

- I've attached a little GIF animation for you, hope that's okay.

Edit: If there's any interest in the actual program for testing purposes (little function, clock still missing), please tell. :)
I'll then send you a PM. For several reasons, I don't plan to post (attach) the program here at Vogons (thanks for your understanding).

I don't have any actual retro systems anymore to test this with, but do keep up the good work nonetheless.

I love this! I don't know if I have anything to run this, but I know I would love to have it 🤣

Didn't see the thread til now. Not that the .gif is very legible, but it does look pretty cool!

I'm curious though which classic LCARS interfaces predate the TNG series? Didn't the LCARS thing start with TNG?
[Edit] okay, saw the TOS stuff in your first link now, but I hadn't realized it was "LCARS" proper 😉

Mephusto wrote on 2020-08-16, 09:47:

I love this! I don't know if I have anything to run this, but I know I would love to have it 🤣

VileR wrote on 2020-08-16, 15:36:

Didn't see the thread til now. Not that the .gif is very legible, but it does look pretty cool!

I'm curious though which classic LCARS interfaces predate the TNG series? Didn't the LCARS thing start with TNG?
[Edit] okay, saw the TOS stuff in your first link now, but I hadn't realized it was "LCARS" proper 😉

Thank you very much for your mental support, guys! 😎
I'm still occasionally working on the clock in my free time, which is at night, mostly. 😁
The last few days (weeks) during day time are really hot in my place..

VileR wrote on 2020-08-16, 15:36:

I'm curious though which classic LCARS interfaces predate the TNG series? Didn't the LCARS thing start with TNG?
[Edit] okay, saw the TOS stuff in your first link now, but I hadn't realized it was "LCARS" proper 😉

Yes, you're right, I think. The LCARS was introduced in TNG by the Okudas, I think.
But some Trek sites also consider the computer panels of the previous generation as "LCARS".
These are the panels in green/blue, which also show lower case letters sometimes..

In the older movies and whenever an old ship is shown, the ships have these old panels usually.
For example: Enterprise bridge in ST:V (link), Stargazer bridge in "The Battle" (link)
or Chakotay's ship ("Val Jean") in VOY (link) or the Hathaway (link)..

By contrast, TNG's LCARS is all upper-case, if memory serves.
Kind of reminds me of that one Episode of Futurama, in which Bender says to Fry that lower cases don't exist.
Also, there's TCARS still, a future version of LCARS.. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/TCARS

Hi, just wanted to let you know that this project isn't dead, just delayed.
I'll likely continue working on it somehen this year.
In fact, I'm playing with other TOS/TNG ideas right now, too! ^^

The application seen below is intended to display images sent by high-altitude ballons, for example.
I think this looks quite cool and a bit similar to a scene in "blink of an eye" (voy) in
which an class 5 orbital probe sends picture data.

Hi, I just want to say that I'll try to continue on this project this year.
I think I'll limit myself to mode 12h, so it's square pixel and works with cheap monitors
It's just a little fun project, so that's okay I think.

Oh, and the term for this version of LCARS might be "23rd Century LCARS" maybe, as a means to distinguish from normal LCARS..
Example (not affiliated): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0uI0JnBkgY

Anyway, I wasted almost 5 years, so I don’t mean to make any more promisses.
I'll update this thread when I have a working application, hope that's okay!
Download (if any) will be external, of course.

I have a couple friends who are big time Trek fans.

Forgive me for being dense... can you clarify a bit more what this project is actually about? Are you making an interactive program that shows a clock in the style of the old Star Trek computer screens?

My friends would probably love to have something like that, but I feel like having a whole computer (especially a DOS computer), monitor and peripherals dedicated to running a clock would be unrealistic for most.

Is the goal basically similar to this, except for use on old DOS computers rather than modern devices?

Not trying to put a damper on the project, just genuinely trying to understand it because I think some of my friends would be interested... but neither have room for a vintage PC.

If it ran on my IBM PC 5150 in EGA or CGA mode it would make for a neat thing to show people (Trek fans), but that's a lot of vintage equipment to leave running for a clock, so it would only be a novelty that I would run once in a while.

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2025-01-13, 19:40:

Forgive me for being dense... can you clarify a bit more what this project is actually about? Are you making an interactive program that shows a clock in the style of the old Star Trek computer screens?

What?! No, you aren’t! Sure I can explain, I'm glad you're asking! 😃
My little project is about a simple re-make of LCARS24 (or rather de-make), but with 23rd century style graphics.
(LCARS24 is an classic open source project that uses DOS and SVGA. Has really cool features!)

I always had a soft spot for the movies with the old crew and found the blue/green control panel props to be interesting.
The letters were in lower-case (?) for example, while real LCARS as we know it uses upper-case.

The application, once it's working, is suppsed to have a few useful features.
Like the clock, a calculator, some sort of environmental analysis (like measuring temperature, humidity) etc.
The gameport can be used here for measuring, for example.

It's nothing big, but the project gives me the opportunity to combine all my little QuickBasic experiments of the past.

Also, I it's meant sort of as a tribute to the old tech in ST that seems not so well being represented.
There are a lots of fan projects for TNG era and TOS, but little fan projects for the time between those eras.

So I thought it would be interesting to use real old computers (EGA, VGA and 8088/286) to run the old LCARS interface.

Again, it's just meant as a fun project. And the clock part is meant as a first step. ^^

PS: The reason I came back to this thread was that I watched the TNG episode "Relics" on TV a few days ago.
It reminded me that I haven't finished this project here.

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2025-01-13, 19:40:

If it ran on my IBM PC 5150 in EGA or CGA mode it would make for a neat thing to show people (Trek fans), but that's a lot of vintage equipment to leave running for a clock, so it would only be a novelty that I would run once in a while.

Hi, glad to hear! 😃

4 colour CGA is a bit too low-res to look good, but EGA and Plantronics might work.
Many popular XTs have some sort of Super CGA, after all.

Problem with true EGA is that I would normally use mode 10h (640x350 16c) but I learnt that almost no users have EGA monitors.
(And VGA users can use 640x480 16c straight away, so there's no need for supporting 640x350 16c graphics for VGA users.)

So maximum resolution would be 640x200 in 16c. That's okay, still. Dithering might help a bit.

The 200 line mode has the advantage that it works with real IBM EGA cards that often have no memory expansion.

But that's in the future, still. I'll try to focus on VGA and the clock first, I think.
Once it works, I'll try to target EGA/Plantronics.

Edit:

My friends would probably love to have something like that, but I feel like having a whole computer (especially a DOS computer), monitor and peripherals dedicated to running a clock would be unrealistic for most.

Hi, I thought about this. It's just a fun project, though. For us fans/geeks.
In practice, the application can be run in an PC/XT emulator just fine.
There are many single board computers than can run them.
Raspberry Pi has a self-booting version, I think.
Old, random PC hardware from scrapyard typically can run DOS/VGA, too.
Same goes for thin clients and set-top boxes. Or old laptops.

I think this would look great on my built-in 1024x768 LCD screen that's connected to my "Ultimate" Win98 and XP PCs.

This area is just behind me when at my work desk. Close enough that I can just turn around and touch it. So actually is visible on my webcam in Teams meetings if I choose not to blur the background. I think it might be interesting to have something unusual like that in the background.

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-15, 16:31:

I think this would look great on my built-in 1024x768 LCD screen that's connected to my "Ultimate" Win98 and XP PCs.

Hi, coincidally, the 1024x768 pixel resolution fits the classic LCARS24 for DOS just nicely.

The System47 screensaver runs on Windows 98SE and up, too.

Another screensaver, but for DOS, can be found here.

Good luck. 😃