THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MACHINES

We grew up imagining what computers could become. So we're building it.

Next Wave Retro is a collaboration between Stew and Leena: engineering, creative direction, and a shared belief that the spirit of early personal computing deserves a next chapter.

HOW IT STARTED

One question kept coming back.

What if the computers we loved had never stopped evolving?

SuperCoCo grew from Stew's engineering work and a desire to explore the machine that might have followed the Color Computer. As the project expanded into terminal software, networking, and a BBS, Leena brought her marketing perspective to the bigger question: what makes this work different, and how do we explain it to people?

The answer wasn't simply “retro.” It was the future we imagined as kids — a future we can now try to engineer, one careful design decision at a time.

Next Wave Retro is our home for that work. It's a small, personal effort with serious technical ambition and room for a little mischief.

THE COLLABORATORS

Real people. Different strengths. One shared idea.

Stew Kenly

Digital design · FPGA engineering · Systems development

Stew leads the technical exploration behind SuperCoCo and related projects, from RTL and verification to emulation, network interfaces, and software tools. His focus is on building hardware that can stand up to close inspection, not just look good in a rendering.

Stew's GitHub profile

Leena

Marketing perspective · Brand story · Research

Leena is shaping the voice and presentation of Next Wave Retro, helping connect the engineering story with the curiosity, optimism, and community that make classic computing meaningful.

Portfolio and professional links can be added with Leena's approval.

WHAT MATTERS TO US

Craftsmanship with a little joy.

We believe technical accuracy, accessibility, imagination, and welcoming communities belong together. We show what we're building, distinguish research goals from verified results, and share free software when it's ready for the world.

Our work isn't about pretending it is 1985. It's about asking what the inventors of 1985 might have built next.

If you're interested in our work, start with SuperCoCo, explore PeTerm, or meet us in the BBS when public access opens.