Micro Gotek - Move over chunky Gotek Floppy Emulator it's time to go Micro

At the beginning of this year we did a big feature packed review of the Gotek Floppy Emulator; a hardware device that allowed you to use USB memory sticks to load floppy files, on not just an Amiga, but an Atari, Amstrad and many others! Now it seems the original Gotek might be about to go the way of the DODO bird, as today we've come across the Micro Gotek, a Gotek Floppy Emulator that's so small it's only 47x46 mm!

New Compatible A500(+) case campaign is nearing completion but needs your help! ( FINAL DAY )

If you've been following Indie Retro News throughout the last few years you would've by now received a lovely new Amiga 1200 case in your hands all glistening in a colour of your choice, which shows how reliable the team behind the Kickstarter was at getting the products to your door. Fast forward to this year however and the same team as A1200.net are hoping the Amiga 500(+) case crowd funding campaign to be equally successful, but at 96% of a $155,000 goal and just half a day to go, they need all the help they can get to hit that goal.

R.I.P. Rick Dickinson, a true icon of British design

RIP Rick Dickinson 1955-2018

Today I learned the awful and sad news that visionary and legendary designer passed away on the 24th April. For those not aware of his work, Rick was behind the design of multiple Sinclair machines including the ZX80, ZX81, ZX Spectrum and Sinclair QL. He also designed the Cambridge Z88 after leaving Sinclair Research and setting up his own company Dickinson Associates back in 1986 and has continued in the industry ever since.

New Compatible A500(+) case campaign live streams

As many of you are aware, A1200.net are currently running a crowd funding campaign for new compatible Amiga 500 and A500+ cases to replace the current case you have at home, which by now has most likely gone yellow. Now unlike the previous campaign for new A1200 cases which did end up as a huge success, so far this one still has a long stretch to go with just $60,052 raised of a $155,000 goal. But read on as you'll see why there is still a chance of this campaign hitting its goal.

New Compatible A500(+) case campaign gets a worthy Scourge update

As you were aware, recently the A1200.net team had launched their newest crowd funding campaign for new compatible A500 and A500+ cases, aiming to either reach that $155,000 goal or smash it for even further case colours and even a new mouse tank case. Well it looks as if the campaign has had a much needed kick up the backside, because not only can you pledge for special editions such as bronze, silver, gold, Apollo or Vampire SE but Eleventh Hour Games has joined the campaign with their rather awesome Scourge of the Underkind Collectors Edition!

New Amiga 500 Case kickstarter teased?

If you've been following Indie Retro News throughout these last few years, you would've by now read about A1200.net's kickstarter regarding both the new A1200 cases and the keycaps. Well most of us have already received those new Amiga 1200 cases much to the delight of the Amiga community, we are still waiting for our keycaps to go with our stunning new case such as black keys to replace yellow. However if you don't have an Amiga 1200 and sitting by your side is an older Amiga 500 model, you'll be pleased to know we've just learnt from Steve through our Facebook group, that a new Amiga 500/+ Case Kickstarter will be announced at some point this year. - So keep watching this space!

Links : 1) Source 2) Facebook

ProCon CD32 - Third party gamepad for the Amiga / Amiga CD32 that looks awesome

Here is something I think is rather cool and especially on a hardware level, is witchmaster's ProCon CD32; a gamepad built especially for the Amiga! Now some of you are already drooling at the mouth seeing this picture and that's probably because not only does it look like a SNES controller, but if this is a success it may be the next best thing for playing games that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to buy, ahem "Amiga CD32 Competition Pro Joypad Controller “Honey Bee” "

Gotek Floppy Emulator - Say goodbye Floppy Drive, there's a new king in town!

Through all these years I've always been a purist when it comes to loading games on an Amiga. It just had to be via a floppy drive as that adds to the nostalgia from when I was a child. The problem however came about weeks ago when during its last load, the floppy drive was dead and working disks were becoming hard to track down.... Thus I had to move with the times. Welcome to the Gotek Floppy Emulator; a hardware device that allows you to use USB memory sticks to load floppy files, on not just an Amiga, but an Atari, Amstrad and many others!

Hacked Vectrex shows colour and Arcade Jason shows it looking good!

I have a bit of a soft spot for the Vectrex ever since I played one some years ago at the GEEK event in Margate. It was a system that was developed by Western Technologies/Smith Engineering in 1982, and unlike most systems, this little beauty had an integrated vector monitor which displays vector graphics with  optional plastic screen overlays, to simulate colour and designs!

Spectrum35 - A celebration of 35 years of the ZX Spectrum!

It's the Spectrums' 35th year! Almost as old me! Almost.

It's been 35 years since the Spectrum was released in the UK - surely this should be celebrated with some sort of special event? Funny you mention it as yes, there is some sort of special event to celebrate it. Excellent! The Spectrum35 event will be held on Saturday 28th October 2017 at the Centre For Computing History in Cambridge, with the event scheduled to start at 10am. 

The Vampire V4 is coming, and Amiga 1200 owners are excited!

From the same team who brought you the power house of Amiga accelerators the Vampire Vampire 600 V2 and the Vampire 500 V2+. Apollo Team have announced today their next generation FPGA device: the Vampire V4! This eye opening news which has rocked the Amiga community today, has revealed there will be three flavours available to suit the customers needs, such as The Vampire V4 Standalone System, The Vampire V4 for Amiga Classic compatible with Amiga 1000/500/2000/CDTV, and the one we've all been waiting for The Vampire V4 for Amiga 1200.

RetroN HD - Hyperkin's latest Retro Games Console will support stunning NES 720p output

It's not often we feature hardware apart from reviews as we are mainly a games site, but we've just received word through our email of a new retro games console that is coming from HyperKin and will support original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) cartridges (PAL and NTSC) in beautiful, crisp up-scaled 720p resolution through pure hardware ( no emulation ). Known as the 'RetroN HD ', this high definition update of the original RetroN, is an upcoming retro games console through pre-order, that will also come complete with one premium and retro-style controller, a 3 ft. HD cable, and a 6 ft. USB charge cable.

SD2SNES - Is this the best SD based device for your SNES? [ BIG Hardware Review ]

Throughout the years we have been trying to feature as many SD based devices as we could, for a multitude of systems such as the Amstrad, C64, NES and the even the Sega Mega Drive. It was also thanks to Retro Towers that we were able to do a full review of the Everdrive N8 and even the Mega Everdrive, which enabled us to play thousands of game roms through an SD card based device. But there is one system we haven't yet featured and that's the SNES, at least until now. As thanks again to Retro Towers we have the very latest SD2SNES here for a hardware review.

PENULTIMATE CARTRIDGE - A MEGA-CART packed with features for the VIC-20

It's pretty eye opening to think that many of our first reviews were related to the accessories available to the C64, which included the UCassette, SD2IEC, C64SD V3.0 Princess and the 1541 Ultimate. In actual fact the first SD based review we did in regards to the C64 was actually sent to us by our good friends thefuturewas8bit, who is also supplying through their website this latest bit of kit the ' PENULTIMATE CARTRIDGE ' for the VIC-20!

Welcome to the story of the Commodore Amiga by Nostalgia Nerd - Part 2

Ladies and Gentlemen and Amiga fan boys around the world, Nostalgia Nerd is back with another Amiga video! Previously we mentioned the Part 1 video of ' The Amiga Story ' which went in great detail about the Amiga's history including the late 80's, the systems such as the A500 and the team behind the Amiga. But this time in part 2 Nostalgia Nerd is delving into the 90's, when the Amiga peaked, some of the great games and finally its regrettable demise. So sit back, turn it up and shed a tear at one of the best era's of gaming, the 90's!

PCMCIA angle connector and SD to CF adaptor Amiga update

Something different for today's update although it still revolves around the Amiga, is two important updates regarding specific hardware and drivers that makes life just that little bit easier for the Amiga community. The first one is Grzegorz Kraszewski's PCMCIA angle connector, or KA37 for short. Which is a 90 degree angle connector that makes it easier for mounting or connecting PCMCIA cards in Amiga towers. Developed through 5 PCB revisions and over 4 months, the developer has said it fits in tower designs, where there is no space between the case bottom and the Amiga mainboard and is both solid and durable.

The new AMIGA 1200 case exclusive review - Is it as good as the original? [UPDATE]

A1200.net has done exceedingly well via crowd funding and more especially for the Amiga community these last few years as not only did they smash a Kickstarter success for their new Amiga 1200 case Kickstarter, but more recently they have also pushed towards a keycap Kickstarter success as well. Thankfully after many concerns about the Amiga cases not appearing, due a number of delays and the bad feelings regarding Kickstarters, we are happy to say that not only are they being shipped to backers, but we have one in our hands for an exclusive review!

A1200.Net compatible Keycaps for Amiga computers is a Kickstarter success!

It's with great pleasure and excitement to announce A1200.net's Kickstarter campaign for the Amiga keycaps is now a Kickstarter success! What that means is after the very successful crowd funding campaign for the latest Amiga cases also by A1200.net, which gave you a choice of wicked case colours such the special perks by Scoopex and Skidrow, you'll now be able to make the case complete with a brand new set of coloured keycaps! So basically no longer will you have to put up with a yellow Amiga, nor will you have to hard mod your case to fit accessories or worry about a dodgy respray job.

Welcome to the story of the Commodore Amiga by Nostalgia Nerd

It's nearly time for bed but have I got an early morning surprise for you! If you want to know more about the Amiga, it's historic story and how it become the legendary system that it is known as today by many retro heads such as myself. Then you really should watch Nostalgia Nerds latest Youtube Part 1 video of ' The Amiga Story '. According to Nostalgia Nerd, who is well known for making great retro system reviews and stories, This episode deals with the "up" part of the story, and takes place during the 1980s. It charts the conception of the Lorraine machine (that would become the first Commodore Amiga), the early years and team spent working on the machine, the buyout of Atari followed by Commodore, the launch of the original Commodore Amiga machine (later renamed the Amiga 1000) and the subsequent Amiga 2000 and Amiga 500 machines which conclude before 1989 is out.

A1200.Net compatible Keycaps for Amiga computers still needs your support

During this year we've always tried to keep you up to date with the latest happenings with A1200.net and their Amiga case and Keycap Kickstarters. And so we announced the very successful crowd funding campaign for the latest Amiga cases which at this time is still on course for a December delivery which includes your choice of colours pledged during the campaign. But there is a downside to all of this and that isn't any possible delays, but the keycap Kickstarter is still only at $77,080 pledged of a $102,000 goal. Which means for the time being you'll get a lovely new case and accessories but not so much the beauty of the cases teased in the video below.