A graphic terminal emulator called TEKALIKE by Mesa Graphics. Three physical Twiggy disks labeled:
TEKALIKE Installation Software.
Copyright 1984 by Mesa Graphics.
Tekalike .1
TEKALIKE Office or Workshop Version.
Copyright 1984 by Mesa Graphics.
Tekalike .2
TEKALIKE DEMO 2/84.
Copyright 1984 by Mesa Graphics.
Not much seems to be known about this software, and I am unaware of any other available copies (physical or online). Hi-res scans of the Twiggy disk labels are available here on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1E6Oowmz6x9APFMJ_tPBmJMoJjN0WxnbE?usp=share_link
Just getting around to trying these and none of the disks are in LOS format. The TEKALIKE Installation .1 disk is bootable, but it wants Workshop to be installed (which I don't have at the moment) to finish loading. The other two disks (.2 and Demo) are not themselves bootable. Perhaps they become useful after .1 is booted in conjunction with Workshop?
Thanks very much, ried! This is mysterious. I do have a Workshop install, so I will try to make time to try this. I may need to cut some new Twiggies for myself first, though!
The workshop could probably have been a pricy necessity for anyone who just wanted to run this software.
I have the version of this for the Macintosh - I wasn't aware there was a Lisa version!
The Macintosh version supports the Apple Color Plotter!
-J
I finally got around to trying this with a Lisa 1 and a ProFile that has Workshop installed. Unfortunately, however, the ProFile contains Workshop version 3.9, which is the final version and was configured for Macintosh software development. That ProFile will not boot a Lisa 1 machine; it hangs during the boot process showing the hourglass icon. It boots fine on a Lisa 2/5, for reference.
Anyone have a ProFile drive image of a Lisa 1-compatible version of Workshop? Probably a long shot, but figured it's worth asking...
I should do. I can try to get it to you this evening.
Thank you, Tom! Very kind 8) No rush on my part.
Here you go: an installation of 1.0 along with the files I used to develop lisabbs (https://github.com/stepleton-xx/lisabbs). This is a raw concatenated blocks image of the type that works with ESProFile or Cameo/Aphid. An IDEfile version is available on request.
While this image boots if your ProFile (or emulator) is attached to the Lisa's built-in parallel port, the IDEfile it came from was attached to the lower connector of a parallel port card fitted in slot 2 of my Lisa 1. If you boot from this image anywhere else, you may wish to update the connected devices information in SYSTEM_MGR -> Preferences -> Device Connections.
I hope you'll consider sharing an image after you install TEKALIKE. I've been meaning to install TEKALIKE on my Lisa 1 but have been putting it off since I need to make some more Twiggy floppies. Sorry for letting it slip like that; hope this image helps make up for it :)
Well received! Thank you, Tom. This image works perfectly using an ESProFile, attached to either the expansion port 2 lower connector or the built-in parallel port.
Unfortunately, I'm at the limit of my current understanding of how Workshop... works. While the ProFile image boots just fine, I do not know how to browse the Twiggy disk directories or launch any executables they contain from the Workshop shell.
So, I reboot the machine and boot from the TEKALIKE .1 disk in the upper Twiggy drive as before (and also have the TEKALIKE .2 disk in the lower Twiggy drive). As we know, this disk is bootable, and launches an Environments window. It still complains that it cannot start the Workshop (screenshots below) - presumably because it's on the ProFile drive and doesn't see it / know how to make use of it.
My current working theory is that I need to boot Workshop from the ProFile drive and somehow browse & launch something from this TEKALIKE Twiggy disk to make it work. Hmmm...
(https://i.imgur.com/PglIvCs.jpeg)
(https://i.imgur.com/yFXz5Px.jpeg)
Boot from the ProFile (or simulator) into the Workshop as normal. Type f to enter the FILE_MANAGER (or FILE_MGR or "File Manager" or whatever it's called; don't have my Lisa on to check) and type l (as in "list"). Specify -UPPER-= or -LOWER-= as the path you wish to list depending on the Twiggy drive you are using. What do you see listed there?
What I would expect to find is a readme file that you can open and read in the editor and/or an exec script that you can run to install TEKALIKE. Either way, try not to alter the contents of the twiggies themselves :)
Easy enough, thank you! Well, it doesn't look good. Even though the TEKALIKE .1 disk is bootable, this is what Workshop tells me about the disk:
(https://i.imgur.com/SbyXbto.jpeg)
Same result for all three TEKALIKE Twiggy disks. I did try the same function on a known good disk and it works fine, and on multiple machines. So, it looks like my Twiggy disks are not viable.
This may have been due to me experimenting with them all this time. So, at some point, I will use the disk images in this forum to create new copies. Hopefully that will solve it... though chances are the original disks used to create those images were damaged in the first place. Hrm.
We may not want to give up on the disks just yet: it could be that I've missed a step.
The Workshop manuals are very well-written and easy to read, or at least I think so. Chapter 2 of this manual (http://www.bitsavers.org/pdf/apple/lisa/workshop_1.0/Pascal_Workshop_Manual_Vol_2_1983.pdf) is all about the file manager. Boot into the workshop, enter the file manager, insert a TEKALIKE disk into one of the drives (let's say the UPPER one). and try the following:
1. Use the O for Online command to see what devices are "online" to the OS. If you see something like what's at the top of PDF page 44 --- that is, no mention of UPPER, go to step 2. If you see a mention of UPPER but you don't see the letter M under the "Attr" column, go to step 2. If you see UPPER and you see M in the "Attr" column, give up.
2. Use the M for Mount command. When it asks what device to mount, say UPPER. If it doesn't like UPPER, say -UPPER. If it gives an error mesasge, give up.
3. Use the O command and verify that you see UPPER with M under the "Attr" column. If you don't, give up.
4. Use the L command and ask it to list -UPPER-=. Take a photo if it works?
5. Use the U for Unmount command and specify UPPER. If it doesn't like UPPER, say -UPPER. (This ensures that you tell the OS that it should no longer try to access the disk.)
end.
I briefly looked into this a while back while taking a break from compiling LOS, and if I remember correctly, the TEKALIKE Twiggies are formatted using the LOS/Workshop 2 format, which Workshop 1 can't read. So maybe try an install of Workshop 2 instead. I believe I tried this in LisaEm and then ran into some sort of issue where the emulator would lock up whenever I tried to insert a Twiggy disk, which is why I gave up and didn't go any further, but I don't remember for sure. Hopefully results are better on actual Lisa 1 hardware!
Oh interesting! Then ried, you should be able to make a Workshop 2 install on an emulated Lisa 2 in LisaEm, then get the disk image onto a drive emulator for your Lisa 1 and carry on from there.
For what it's worth, I was able to run TEKALIKE from within Workshop 2.0 on LisaEm using a D ROM and 40 I/O ROM using the second Twiggy floppy. From within Workshop 2.0 in LisaEm, choose (R)un with this path: -UPPER-TEKALIKE
Disk #1 will boot to an environments window, but the mouse cursor is funky and doesn't work (or it's hung). 'Workshop' is listed. For grins, I've attached a screenshot of the contents of Disk #1. I get the feeling it's a stripped down Workshop environment that simply allows you to run TEKALIKE from Disk #2, but the experts in here might say otherwise.
Quote from: jamesdenton on July 05, 2025, 10:43:01 PM
Disk #1 will boot to an environments window, but the mouse cursor is funky and doesn't work (or it's hung).
My guess is that this is because LisaEm fails to detect the OS properly and doesn't select the right mouse scaling for it, given the weird boot configuration on the Twiggy disk. I had the same problem when compiling LOS; my binaries don't perfectly match the originals, so LisaEm won't detect them as LOS and it screws the mouse up. You can patch glue.c to always detect the running OS as LOS and this will probably fix your problem!
Quote from: AlexTheCat123 on July 05, 2025, 11:10:16 PM
Quote from: jamesdenton on July 05, 2025, 10:43:01 PM
Disk #1 will boot to an environments window, but the mouse cursor is funky and doesn't work (or it's hung).
My guess is that this is because LisaEm fails to detect the OS properly and doesn't select the right mouse scaling for it, given the weird boot configuration on the Twiggy disk. I had the same problem when compiling LOS; my binaries don't perfectly match the originals, so LisaEm won't detect them as LOS and it screws the mouse up. You can patch glue.c to always detect the running OS as LOS and this will probably fix your problem!
Ahh, good call! I will take a look at this!
On a side note, because I *do* have Workshop 2.0 installed on a (virtual) ProFile, I was able to copy all files from disk #2 to the ProFile and run TEKALIKE locally off the disk.
To install within Workshop, run: (F)ile->(C)opy
Copy from what existing file(s)? -UPPER-=
Copy to what new file? -PARAPORT-=
All files should be selected, and press (Y) to copy from floppy disk to hard disk.
Huzzah! Brilliant work, gents. Glad this software is seeing the light of day after 41 years. So... is it functional? Perhaps even useful in some way?
Quote from: ried on July 05, 2025, 11:54:15 PM
Huzzah! Brilliant work, gents. Glad this software is seeing the light of day after 41 years. So... is it functional? Perhaps even useful in some way?
Now, that I can't say. The menus were functional but I think it wants a source file to open and subsequently print on the plotter or manipulate somehow. I did not check out the demo but that might provide some guidance. Will give it a go tomorrow.
Looks like the demo disk works, and the files can be opened from within TEKALIKE. It's not bootable. I've attached a few here in all their glory.
Thank you, James! That is very cool. If I am following this correctly, TEKALIKE is a graphic terminal application (emulating a Tektronix 4010 or 4014), which can draw shapes and text, and can print using the Apple 410 Color Plotter.
It sounds like the Lisa version was never commercially available (?). The Macintosh version was described in the July, 1986 edition of MacWorld on page 122, along with other terminal emulators:
Emulating Terminals
"Terminal emulation software lets the Mac imitate the features of a given terminal, such as DEC's VT100, one of the most popular terminals of the last ten years. The remote host sends character sequences that give the terminal instructions about such things as how to display and format text on screen. Different terminals respond to different character sequences and have different features. Many so-called smart terminals do more than just display text; for example, they let you edit text and position the cursor.
A more advanced type of terminal, the graphics terminal, uses special character sequences to draw lines, fill shapes, or execute other graphics functions. Because the Macintosh has good graphics capabilities, it can emulate some graphics terminals very well with the help of appropriate software, such as Tekalike or Griffin Terminal."
That commentary on TEKALIKE was supplemented in the September, 1986 edition on page 40 with a letter from Mesa Graphics, which reads:
Terminal Confusion
"Mini and Mainframe Connections" (Macworld, July 1986) reviewed a version of Tekalike that has been obsolete since December, 1985. Most significantly, Macworld printed the wrong phone number. The correct number is 505/672-1998. Tekalike now emulates the VT-100, the VT-640, and the Tektronix 4105 as well as the Tektronix 4010, 4012, 4014, and 4016.
Printing is supported to the resolution of the output device, with direct support for the LaserWriter and high resolution for the ImageWriter. Tekalike generates MacDraw-compatible PICT files from mainframe graphics, for use in PageMaker, MacDraw, or MacDraft. Plotting has been enhanced with multiple plots on a page and additional plotter support: Hewlett-Packard ColorPro and Houston Instrument DMP51/52.
Tekalike is hard disk compatible and supports the Macintosh File System, the Hierarchical File System, and Switcher."
James E. George
President, Mesa Graphics
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Here's a naive question: In addition to its drawing capabilities, does the software support text-based terminal sessions? Like LisaTerminal allows one to connect to a BBS, for example?
Quote from: ried on July 07, 2025, 11:00:12 PM
Here's a naive question: In addition to its drawing capabilities, does the software support text-based terminal sessions? Like LisaTerminal allows one to connect to a BBS, for example?
I have not played around with it enough to know how one is expected to interface with it. I'm wondering if there was an additional input device, as there is mention of multiple sources, including UPPER,LOWER,PARAPORT,SLOT2CHAN1,SLOT2CHAN2 (see pictured). There is an extensive setup panel where you can define plotter and modem parameters, but nothing like you'd expect from a traditional 'character-based' terminal emulator like LisaTerminal. I haven't tried adding an emulated profile to Slot 2 to see if that's what it's expecting on a parallel card.
While you can open files from the demo disk, there does not really appear to be any way to create new files. There are no input tools (like a MacPaint/LisaDraw). It could be that one was expected to create things within LisaDraw in LOS, then open them from Tekalike to print on the plotter? Maybe nothing more sophisticated came out of it, given the state of the Lisa (and Mac) at the time. Purely speculation on my part.
What is REALLY neat, however, is mention of the Lisa and Mac in this document at CERN (https://cds.cern.ch/record/2626738/files/delphi-85-12_ocr.pdf (https://cds.cern.ch/record/2626738/files/delphi-85-12_ocr.pdf)) that also mentions Tekalike along with pricing and other versions of Tekalike 2.0 and 3.0 for Lisa (3.5"). The document was clearly created on a Macintosh, which is always fun to see :D
Quote from: ried on July 07, 2025, 11:00:12 PM
Here's a naive question: In addition to its drawing capabilities, does the software support text-based terminal sessions? Like LisaTerminal allows one to connect to a BBS, for example?
Yes, there seems to be a built-in character set. But the host has to select the drawing position by sending appropriate vector commands. Therefore text-only input would not work. You would connect to a CAD system, not to a BBS. 4014 can forward the vector commands to a pen plotter for hardcopy.
The 4k series has been superseded by the raster-based X terminals. X11 is still known today as the graphics interface standard for Linux.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tektronix_4010 (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tektronix_4010)
This is a modern Tek Emulator:https://github.com/rricharz/Tek4010?tab=readme-ov-file (https://github.com/rricharz/Tek4010?tab=readme-ov-file)
I have an affinity for old Tek vector graphics terminals and computers --- that's why I have four of the things at home! They are mesmerising to watch: they use vector storage CRTs that TEKALIKE must emulate with pixels, but very little can replicate seeing the bright green dot searing the image into the display like an electronic Etch-a-Sketch. (This said, I have not tried the emulator Patrick linked.)
A couple years ago I set up a holiday season livestream of my 4006-1 terminal rendering vector graphics that I scrounged from the internet:
https://www.youtube.com/live/3Gm0Cl54dZY
If you can make HPGL vector files (and many drawing programs like Inkscape can), then you can use some tools I wrote to convert them to the vector drawing codes that Tek terminals and computers understand:
https://github.com/stepleton/hpgl2tek
I even gave a talk about how vector storage tube CRTs work at a festival last year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ind_2eMzsbM
Note that if you have a Unix handy, you may find that a Tek vector graphics terminal emulator is in very close reach: just type `xterm -t`, or better yet `xterm -t -fg green`. Remember that the display is a storage tube: you can't erase individual parts of the screen, just the entire screen all at once. Backspace does not clear a letter off the display!
Brilliant, Tom! Those are gorgeous displays and, somehow, I did not know about them before today. Thank you for sharing.
I have the Mac version of this software - the box is shaped like a Mac128k :) I wonder if the Lisa version was so stylish?
EDIT: I mis-remembered. The Mac Daisy Wheel Connection has the fancy box..
https://www.macintoshrepository.org/54553-tekalike-plot-it-2-0
-J