RetroLab is AndroidLab's section for living retrocomputing: not a dusty museum, but a lab built around real machines, strange systems, ports, unlikely clients and hardware that still teaches useful lessons.
This is where Amiga, Commodore, VIC-20, C64, Spectrum, AROS, MorphOS, PiStorm, FPGA boards, old CPUs and new bridges belong. The limit is not a defect here. It is the test bench.
What belongs in RetroLab
- development and ports on retro or alternative systems;
- experiments with Amiga, Commodore, Spectrum, AROS and MorphOS;
- technical reflections on efficiency, constraints and machine control;
- real but improbable software stories, including modern clients on non-modern platforms;
- tests, notes and engineering diary entries from the retro lab.
RetroLab starts from a simple idea: retrocomputing is not only nostalgia. Understanding the machine still makes you better when you work on today's systems.
Latest RetroLab articles
Telegram Amiga alpha 0.0.9: inline photos, viewer, JPEG sending and forwarding
Telegram Amiga 0.0.9: inline photos, viewer, JPEG sending, forwarding, configurable cache, decode priority and dithering on AmigaOS 3.x/4.x, MorphOS, AROS.
Telegram Amiga alpha 0.0.8: Transfers Without Blocking
Telegram Amiga 0.0.8 makes transfers non-blocking and adds multi-DC files, drag-and-drop, local search, clickable URLs and AfA/GUI fixes.
Telegram Amiga alpha 0.0.5 brings avatars, mentions and optional own-screen mode
Telegram Amiga alpha 0.0.5 adds real avatars, @-mention autocomplete, optional own-screen mode and a cleaner drawer across AmigaOS, MorphOS and AROS.
Telegram Amiga alpha 0.0.4: edit/delete, live read receipts and correct timestamps
Telegram Amiga 0.0.4 adds message editing and deletion, near real-time read receipts, multi-device sync and corrected timestamps across AmigaOS, MorphOS and AROS.
Retro and hybrid systems: when the lab matters more than nostalgia
RetroLab on why VIC-20, PiStorm, AROS and Telegram Amiga matter when old systems become a real technical lab, not just nostalgia.
Telegram Amiga alpha 0.0.3: native replies, checkmarks and a smoother GUI
Telegram Amiga alpha 0.0.3 adds native replies, Telegram-style graphical checkmarks, faster read-state refresh, flicker-free double-buffered drawing and clearer packages for AmigaOS, MorphOS and AROS.
Telegram Amiga Gets a GUI: Alpha 0.0.1 on AmigaOS, MorphOS and AROS
Telegram Amiga reaches alpha 0.0.1 with a native GUI and packages for AmigaOS 3.x, AmigaOS 4.x, MorphOS, AROS i386 and AROS x86_64.
Telegram on Amiga in 2026: Why Start from a Diagnostic Client
Before chasing a full Telegram client on Amiga, the diagnostic client tests the hard parts: network, TLS, JSON, polling, sending messages and portability.
Telegram Amiga Becomes MTProto: The Shift from Bot API to a Real Client
Telegram Amiga moves from a diagnostic Bot API experiment to a real MTProto client: login, local session, dialogs, history and messages on Amiga-like systems.
Telegram on Amiga: Diary of an MTProto Client in C
A technical diary of Telegram Amiga: from a Bot API diagnostic client to a native MTProto client in C across AmigaOS, MorphOS and AROS.
VIC-20 and Portfolio: What Efficiency Means When You Have 3.5 KB
The Portfolio program on an unexpanded VIC-20 still teaches a current lesson: efficiency is not a slogan, it is representing the problem well under...
BebboSSH on AROS: When SSH Turns Retrocomputing Into a Real Lab
RetroLab: the AROS port of BebboSSH as practical infrastructure for developing, testing and automating on Amiga-like systems.