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Quantum Link Reverse Engineered

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the internet-nostalgia dept.

JeffLedger writes "A group of retro-geeks have rebuilt the old Quantum Link system to allow both emulated and real c64's to sign in over the Internet using the original software. Before it was called America Online, Quantum Link provided a pre-Internet online service to Commodore users."

36 of 275 comments (clear)

  1. Ahh those were the days by windowpain · · Score: 4, Funny

    Apple usesr and Windows users couldn't even communicate at first.

    --
    Insert witty sig here.
    1. Re:Ahh those were the days by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 5, Funny

      The "Windows users" hadn't been invented yet, now those were the days.

      --
      I am not a crackpot.
    2. Re:Ahh those were the days by AndroidCat · · Score: 5, Funny

      The AOL users hadn't been invented yet, now those were the days!

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    3. Re:Ahh those were the days by Anubis350 · · Score: 4, Funny

      As my father is fond of saying: "mud hadnt been invented yet, now those were the days!" :-P

      --
      "goodbye and hello, as always" ~Prince Corwin, from Zelazny's Amber series
    4. Re:Ahh those were the days by Bastian · · Score: 5, Funny

      Days hadn't been invented yet, now those --

      Oh, nevermind.

    5. Re:Ahh those were the days by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Days hadn't been invented yet, now those --" ... were the nights?

    6. Re:Ahh those were the days by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Funny

      This joke hadn't been invented yet, now those were the days.

      --
      Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
    7. Re:Ahh those were the days by Mancat · · Score: 3, Funny

      Whippersnappers.. we called 'em units of earth rotation, and they were damn good units of earth rotation, too.

      --
      hello dear sirs my name is jamesh i are india (bihar) can u guide me install red had linux 9?
  2. I dare say... by aaron_ds · · Score: 4, Funny

    Impossible! Reverse engineering would destroy the quantum coherance. I just got one and$@^V4545FSBfbffgf+++ATH NO CARRIER

    1. Re:I dare say... by OverlordQ · · Score: 4, Funny

      NO CARRIER*@#$@#*(DFA(* Dealing with Quantum Bits we are.

      --
      Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
  3. Re:Typo in summary by TCQuad · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, it isn't... JeffLedger's speech recognition software, caught him, doing his impression, of William Shatner.

  4. Does K-Mart still carry Commodore 64's? by Safe+Sex+Goddess · · Score: 2, Funny

    You think I might catch them on a blue light special?

    --
    Abstinence is a government conspiracy. www.SafeSexZone.co
  5. Re:SOT: Again - not to bash MSFT by Bitsy+Boffin · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yes, yes, everybody should dump thier PCs and Internet connections and go with Commodore 64s, 1200bps modems, and Quantum Link. That'll show MSFT.

    --
    NZ Electronics Enthusiasts: Check out my Trade Me Listings
  6. Ziggy... by MustardMan · · Score: 5, Funny

    damn it, I have to get this retro computer nerd a girlfriend before I can leap out!

  7. Not good enough by katana · · Score: 5, Funny

    Call me when you reverse engineer Quantum Leap.

    1. Re:Not good enough by Vengie · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh boy.

      --
      When in doubt, parenthesize. At the very least it will let some poor schmuck bounce on the % key in vi. (Larry Wall)
    2. Re:Not good enough by NanoGator · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Call me when you reverse engineer Quantum Leap."

      I spotted Sam Beckett once. He had leapt into a homeless man in downtown Portland and was talking to Al all the way down the street.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
  8. Re:I have one question... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    "...why?"

    for the sheer irony that people will post to slashdot about it being a waste of time.

    thank you for coming. you'll be here all week.

  9. Holy shit! by Pete+Brubaker · · Score: 1, Funny

    Somebody call the DMCA police!

    --
    What's a sig? Pete Brubaker
  10. Divert power to forward shields! by Cerdic · · Score: 4, Funny

    If we reverse engineer the Quantum Link, we might get enough power to emit a tachyon beam to disrupt the neutrino field the Cardassians are emitting.

    Oh, oops, thought this sounded like some Star Trek technobabble.

    --
    Advice for my fellow geeks: before seeking out that threesome you dream of, you might see what a TWOsome is like first.
    1. Re:Divert power to forward shields! by fcolari · · Score: 2, Funny

      Technobabble? Sounded perfectly logical to me...

      --
      "The first rule of intelligent tinkering is to save all the pieces." --Aldo Leopold (Paraphrased)
  11. Bizarre commentary on typical geeks by Mostly+a+lurker · · Score: 4, Funny

    Back in the day, we complained bitterly about how inadequate Quantum Link was compared to the real Internet. Now, 10 years after the service was discontinued, we are willing to setup emulators to allow us to play with a reconstruction. Lol.

  12. Awesome! by crimson_alligator · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nothing of content to add. I just want to say that this is very, very righteous.

    8-bits are still fun to use!

    Wicked Friday night in the 8-bit era:

    7-8pm Q-Link
    8-9pm Play Airborne Ranger
    9-10pm break for new Kids in the Hall episode
    10-11:50pm Q-Link
    11:50pm-12:00am Call local BBSs, make moves in Space Empire to initiate attack another system. Buddy/ally does same. (as do your slave accounts)
    12:01am-12:10am Use fresh Space Empire turns for the new day to complete sneak attack. Double fists of fury!
    12:10am-1:00am Play Test Drive
    1:00am-2:00am Play California Games
    2:01 turn on wardialer and go to bed

  13. Re:Typo in summary by JourneyExpertApe · · Score: 3, Funny

    Whoever modded this "Offtopic" is a "moran" who needs to "get a brain". Errors in spelling or grammar in the summary or title are always "Ontopic" on Slashdot. So are personal attacks on the mods, who, I'm told by a "totally reliable" source, are "a bunch of homos".

    --
    If you can read this sig, you're too close.
  14. Re:I have one question... by eclectro · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...why?

    For some of us "Dork" is a genetic predisposition and we can't do any thing about it.

    --
    Take the cheese to sickbay, the doctor should see it as soon as possible - B'Elanna Torres, "Learning Curve"
  15. Re:Qlink software uses a serial connection by T-Ranger · · Score: 4, Funny

    You mean it doesnt help you to get laid when you whip it out at bars on Friday night?

  16. Re:I have one question... by flyingsquid · · Score: 4, Funny
    Might as well ask, "Why do people go to Renaissance Fairs?"

    OK, why DO people go to Renaissance fairs?

  17. Wow... by BishonenAngstMagnet · · Score: 2, Funny

    I suddenly feel quite young again. And to think, I saw the 10th Anniversary Edition of Toy Story the other day.

  18. Bizarre commentary on typical beaten-up geeks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Just wait till we reconstruct our early years when the bully use to beat us up, and take our lunch money. Ah! Those were the days.

  19. Alright! by Spy+der+Mann · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now i can effectively download my linux ISO's with my C64 to save download time! :D

    *rubs hands with excitement*

  20. Re:Q-Link Lifetime Members by HermanAB · · Score: 2, Funny

    I always wonder about whose lifetime these lifetime contracts refer to.

    --
    Oh well, what the hell...
  21. Re:*sigh* by bennomatic · · Score: 2, Funny
    Except maybe to support other device numbers besides 8.

    Oh, and by the way, device 8 was for wussies, too! I much preferred device 1. My mantra is and always will be:

    load "*",1,1

    Again, I didn't say it was rational, did I?

    --
    The CB App. What's your 20?
  22. Wait a minute by Conspiracy_Of_Doves · · Score: 4, Funny

    Quantum Link was America Online?

    Oh god. I feel so dirty now.

    First Star Wars and now this. You people just won't be satisfied until my whole childhood is ripped to shreds, will you?

    --

    Technoli
  23. Commodore User by kcarlin · · Score: 1, Funny

    "Before it was called America Online, Quantum Link provided a pre-Internet online service to Commodore user."

    Okay, it was a dark time for Commodore. But momentum really picked up later with that critical second sale. (It was the CFO's wife, she was an early adopter. Boy was he hot when he found out.)

    --
    Free Adam Smith! (Or best offer.)
  24. heh by drwiii · · Score: 2, Funny
    well it's true :)

    Wish I could find my C64 power supply, though..

  25. Re:And a milestone for Slashdot... by cbm_dude · · Score: 2, Funny

    On the contrary, unless it died this morning, it weathered the storm well. I think the 1200 bps thorttle on connections was the reason.

    Jim