What It Is
emulator.ca is a web-based retro computing playground: a simulated modem, a CRT terminal, a phonebook of dialable BBS-style services, vintage language interpreters, CPU/WASM experiments, games, manuals, and peripherals.
Most of the public experience is static CDN delivery plus browser-local TypeScript and WebAssembly. The word "backend" usually means an in-browser service behind the terminal, not a live server.
First-run modem audio is on by default at a conservative level and can be muted from the modem speaker controls. Production telemetry uses privacy-safe typed events only; add ?notelemetry=1 to the emulator URL to opt out for a visit.
Who Built It
emulator.ca is a project by Stephen Olesen. It is built as a hobbyist love letter to terminals, BBSes, microcomputers, and the tactile weirdness of early personal computing.
Where To Start
- Start the terminal and try the recommended Apollo Lander call (dial 555-1969).
- Browse the Golden Directory for every dialable number.
- Open the manuals for commands, backstory, and service notes.
- Read the source.
Launch Notes
Some experimental cloud, realtime, admin, and account features exist in the codebase, but the public launch path is intentionally browser-local unless a page or prompt says otherwise.