I am proud to present GlobalTalk Chat 1

Posted 2026-05-28 | Back to blog index

I am proud to present GlobalTalk Chat 1.2, taking it from a rushed MARCHintosh hack-job to something I'd be proud to release as shareware 30 years ago!

The headline update is it now allows anyone to host their own room! And it works on any AppleTalk network, not just GlobalTalk

Get it on BaroNet, or Macintosh Garden https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/globaltalk-chat

And for anyone who has been curious how it all works, documented source code is available! https://github.com/kalleboo/GlobalTalk-Chat

A screenshot of a chat app along with hosting, browsing, user info and Preferences windows. The OS is MacOS 8. A screenshot of a chat app along with hosting, browsing, user info and Preferences windows. The OS is System 7.1 A scan of a flyer for GlobalTalk Chat 1.2 clearly printed on an ImageWriter GlobalTalk Chat 1.2 Release Notes• The Host functionality has undergone a substantial rewrite to the point it 1a now a public feature in the distributed version. Host your own chat room!• Host networking rewrite: It can now handle many requests in a short amount of time (eg, when a new message comes in) without dropping requests.• Client networking rewrite:• It now does a more thorough job of retrying after temporary network outages, including if the host has been restarted onto a different node/socket.• Added an interrupt-based keepalive so that you won't time out from the server if another program is not giving up idle time - eg. a dialog is on screen or you are holding down a menu.• Support for Apple Talk networks with no zones

For anyone hearing about this for the first time, GlobalTalk Chat is a chat client/server for Classic MacOS (System 7 - MacOS 9) that uses AppleTalk networking rather than TCP/IP

It has been my hobby project for learning C and MacOS Toolbox, and fulfilling a childhood dream of making “proper” native software like the shareware I loved as a kid

I stuck to period-ish tools and resources, working in CodeWarrior on a PowerMac G4, with testing on a Mac IIcx and documentation drafted on an eMate 300

A desk with an Apple Cinema Display, Apple Pro Keyboard, pink iMac puck mouse and a bookstand with a series of Inside Macintosh books. Beneath the desk a PowerMac G4 can be glimpsed

AI for coding? Oh yeah, couldn't live without it…

I use Apple: Inside macintosh every day!

A closeup of a book stand with Apple Inside Macintosh Volumes I-V

No LLMs were used at any point in the creation of GlobalTalk Chat, the point of RetroComputing for me is to get away from that stuff for a while! I get enough of that elsewhere.

But even regular modern tools like StackOverflow end up useless - the better resource is this 600 page tome of “Mac Programming FAQs”

I had enough cursory knowledge of C after touching computers for 30 years, but this "C Reference Card" program also came in handy for some details.

Scans of Macworld Mac Programmings FAQs, including the cover and page 598 with questions like “How can I attach data to a window structure for my own use?” A screenshot of a program called “C Reference Card” full of rudimentary monospaced text

To be honest I only just got that pictured set of Inside Macintosh books last week, as a premature celebration for the public (non-GlobalTalk-exclusive) release of GlobalTalk Chat

I've wanted them forever, but never seen anything reasonably priced until this set showed up the week before. They were more than I really should have spent, but still not much more than the shipping for getting a single volume off of eBay

For the development I mostly relied on Toolbox Assistant, and the HTML version

A screenshot of a program called “Toolbox Assistant”, showing the definition for a function called PLookupNamePLookupNamepascal SErr. PLookupNameMPPPBPtrthePBptr, Boo lean async);The PLookupName function returns the names and addresses of all the network-visible entities that match a name that you supply, which can include wildcard characters.FUNCTION PLookupName (thePBptr: MPPPBPtr; async: Boolean): 0SErr;thePBptrA pointer to an MPP parameter block.asyncA Boolean that specifies whether the function should be executed asynchronously or synchronously. Specify TRUE for asynchronous execution. A screenshot of Netscape showing Inside Macintosh: Writing a Requester ATP Application (IM:N)

OK so I tried using an AI to make the app for me but it's not cooperating

A screenshot of “Azile 4.5” with an icon of a man with a fierce beard and a pile and horns THIS ONE LOOKS LIKE A REAL GEEK.) I'M CALLED AZILE. YHAT'S YOUR HAME? kallebooOH NO, NOT ANOTHER HUMAN! YHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE FOR BEING HERE TODAY, KALLEBOO?make me a networked chat app for classio macos I SEE YOU HAVE TROUBLE EXPRESSING YOURSELF. yeah of course that's why I'm asking an Al to do it for meI AGREE, KALLEBOO, BUT EVEN A MENTAL MIDGET LIKE YOU CAN CHANGE. this is 2026 we don't change we just blame everyone else YHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT?JUST MAKE ME THE DAMN APP SO ICAN TAKE CREDIT FOR IT ONLINE YOU PROBABLY CAN IF YOU TRY HARD ENOUGH.

When I uploaded this to Macintosh Garden, I had to enter the author name and was surprised to see it auto-completed my name. Weird? So I did a search and someone had already uploaded this REALBasic application I had made way back in the early 2000's! I wonder where the 3 votes came from! (1/3)

A screenshot of a website showing a MacOS 9 application “PhotoSite TimeSaviour”

A photographer named Petra Hall (CyberPet) needed help automating making image galleries using AppleScript, and I helped her out. This must have been on Usenet, I can't quite remember. The app name was her idea. I then kept developing the idea further after feedback kept coming in, resulting in this fully-fledged REALBasic version. (2/3)

I had a 2.0 in development that was super-advanced, using XSLT stylesheets and everything, before PHP took over the world and nobody built sites locally anymore. There were still users disappointed in the lack of updates :( (3/3)

Update on 2026-05-29:

And while I have your attention... I'm currently looking for a job 🙇‍♂️ https://bitbang.social/@kalleboo/116658289418096291

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