this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2026
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Witches VS Patriarchy
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nobody tell them about how we recorded songs from the radio and made mix tapes
Meh, songs. We recorded computer programs from the radio!
Holy shit, I didn't know you could do that.
It makes sense, if you don't care about giving a headache to whoever tunes in to the station.
8 bit software came, for most people, on compact audio cassettes (the same kind we used to record music from the radio and make mix tapes, and which could be rewound with a pencil), which could be played on a cassette player if you didn't mind the noise (data doesn't usually sound good), so it's no wonder at some point someone (probably several people independently) came up with the idea of broadcasting that noise.
Another means of distribution were magazines... but typing up the code was a chore, unless it was a POKE to cheat at your favourite game...
Also from magazines! I remember an issue of Dragon that had the code for a full game printed in it, and you had to copy the code to your computer by hand and compile it.
You toss a bunch of tapes in a bucket and mix 'em together, then bring them the bucket. Simple.