Marcin WicharyFeb 3

So there are coffee table books with beautiful photos of Braun equipment, Apple computers, collections of corporate brand standards, typeface specimens etc.

But outside of some nostalgic video game coffee table books, have their ever been coffee table books showing primarily software? Graphical user interfaces or apps?

The closest I can think of is the macOS/iOS app icon book (by Michael Flarup), but that’s specific to icons.

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 3

I was just looking at Scala on Amiga and look how beautiful!

(Source + kudos to Stone Tools: https://stonetools.ghost.io/scala-amiga)

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 3

In my head, I can see a beautiful 17"x11" spread with a hypothetical Windows 3.11 CRT that’s 3000x2000 and it has a lot of windows, icons, Minesweeper, the goods. Especially the later “platinum” Windows 3.11 appearance.

You know? Stuff like that.

Early skeuomorphic iOS, early webOS, various Mac things of course, BeOS, the later Norton Utilities aesthetic, XCopy on the Amiga! TOS was always so elegant. And some lesser-known things. Newton?

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 3

Early NeXT, obviously (a bit Unixy, but has some elegance)! Magic Cap?

There are probably some more strange and beautiful text-only DOS apps. Some particularly memorable semigraphics.

Show threadMarcin Wichary
I think Psion was very nice, too.
Feb 3 at 1:27amWeb
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 3

I mean look at this stuff!

This, or IBM 2260 also had this wild-looking font.

Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 3
Some of these are stark but maybe kinda beautiful – especially if you pair them with some of the nicer PC fonts?
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 3
Of course also stuff like Delicious Library, Winamp… I think the suspiciously short-lived iTunes 5 was also beautiful.
Show threadJef PoskanzerFeb 3
@mwichary I was gonna mention WinAmp. I didn't use its original incarnation but I do use the web-based version.
Show threadEric VitielloFeb 3
@jef @mwichary the original one really whipped the llamas ass
Show threadChristian "Schepp" SchaeferFeb 3

@mwichary sounds like something that the Bitmap Books would be a good fit for, although right now they mostly have game centric nostalgia books: https://www.bitmapbooks.com

Should you feel like you could pull such a book off, then they might be in, too: https://www.bitmapbooks.com/pages/book-submissions

High-quality retro video game books and collections | Bitmap Books

At Bitmap Books we work with experienced writers, designers and gaming experts to create visually ambitious books that bring your classic gaming memories to life.

Bitmap Books
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 3
@Schepp I’m actually not a huge fan! I think their books are a bit too generic coffee table, a little too rushed to market. I think ROM Books would feel like a more caring publisher. Genuinely inspired by some of their output.
Show threadChristian "Schepp" SchaeferFeb 3
@mwichary oh, not heard of them before. Will have alook at their books!
Show threadadamriceFeb 3
@mwichary Kai’s Power Tools!
Show threadRaineer  🦆Feb 3
@mwichary speed disk and Norton disk doctor (those were the days…) were the absolutely epitome of TUI to 15yo me
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 3
@raineer Especially when they started redefining the characters, they hacked the bright colors as background, and did the fake graphic mouse pointer!
Show threadrayslavaFeb 3
@mwichary BTW, the fonts.
I really love the IBM BIOS one :)
The Ultimate Oldschool PC Font Pack: Font Index

Full index of the world's biggest collection of classic text mode fonts, system fonts and BIOS fonts from DOS-era IBM PCs and compatibles

Show threadGregatron5Feb 3
@mwichary I miss BeOS and am still sad I can't find my R5 disc some 25 years(?) after I lost it. I know about Haiku. I just sometimes lament the loss of what could have been if its IP hadn't been squandered and abandoned.
Show threadWhine SpectatorFeb 3
@mwichary vectors!
Show threadSnoopJFeb 3
@mwichary WOW, what a photo
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 3
@SnoopJ Very WarGames
Show threadk8quinn 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 🇲🇽 🇪🇺Feb 3

@mwichary

Reminds me of the Tektronix 4010s and 4014s we used to use. Vectors and persistent phosphor for the win.

Show threadMatthew DockreyFeb 3
@mwichary It feels almost like a more angular Gorton, particularly that 'G', but what is going on with those numerals?!
Show threadDoug WilsonFeb 3
@mwichary Surely you've seen Frank Grießhammer's talk about the Hershey fonts? https://coopertype.org/events/the_hershey_fonts
Type@Cooper – The Hershey Fonts

Show threadStewart RussellFeb 3
@onpaperwings @mwichary that IBM 2260 is much simpler than Hershey's. The capital C on the screen has only six segments, while Hershey uses 17
Show threadMarcin WicharyFeb 3
@onpaperwings Yes! Exciting to hear there’s a new edition coming.
Show threadGeoff CoffeyFeb 3
@mwichary There’s something so gorgeous about those old vector based crt displays.
Show threadRevK Feb 3
@mwichary that looks a lot like someone working with technical limitations on a vector based font.
Show threadChancerubbageFeb 3

@mwichary

Vector graphics in this sense is kind of wild in general since it isn’t far removed from an oscilloscope trace. To me it would seem theoretically far more chaotic to control than the strength of a raster beam tracing a screen ouroboros.

Show threaditgrrl Feb 3
@mwichary vector display? 👀
Show threadadamriceFeb 3
@mwichary Is that a vector-scan display?
Show threadMarty Heyman at COBOLworxFeb 3
@mwichary And the nifty light pen!
Show threadAlex BabaevFeb 3
@mwichary loved mine