for all that hot crambo news, I guess :ac_bewilderment:

love how amateurish the ads in early PC Magazine are as they try to compete with the flood of multi-function cards littering the magazine and stand out (March 1984 issue)

#retrocomputing #PCMagazine #TheCRAMBO

Got a new avatar commissioned from Sam's Studio! :)

I assure you, the Gravis Gamepad Pro feels like a bad third party Playstation 1 controller even more than you would expect. :ac_laughter:

holy shit the Gravis Gamepad Pro drivers for Windows 9X's UI (Gravis XPerience 4.5)

it's beautiful :ac_laughter:

#retrocomputing

Goofy phenomenon I have run into multiple times: late rereleases of MS-DOS games on CD with Windows 9X only installers.

extra credit if the game doesn't run right outside of MS-DOS mode afterwards, lol :ac_sighing:

the spirit of shareware collection CDs brought to official releases of like, Doom 2.

#retrocomputing

trying to imagine being excited for the original IBM 5150 and failing

It's a machine mostly notable for how restrictive and limited parts of it are and historical value, but like, at the time it must have been boring. I cannot imagine getting jazzed for four color CGA graphics even at the time.

The first issue of PC Magazine from February 1982 has an article in it for nostalgia for the Altair 8800 from 1974.

Retrocomputing is relative, huh?

#retrocomputing

Macross Delta is the Eureka Seven AO of Macross (complimentary). :ac_laughter:

#mecha #Macross #MacrossDelta #EurekaSeven

Holy shit the Windows NT 4.0 startup and shutdown sound effects rule.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx0_pOqLnZI

#retrocomputing

Are there any good active USB to PS2 (the plug, not the console) converters out there? Buying a new PS2 keyboard seems to be a crapshoot of recyclability issues, buying an old PS2 keyboard is a gamble it will be in good condition, and most converters that are commonly available are passive ones that require the keyboard to internally support PS2 as well which doesn't seem like a guarantee on a new keyboard.

#retrocomputing

Microsoft's deciding to pull Windows 11 part 2, possibly: https://tech4gamers.com/windows-12-reportedly-relasing-2026-modular-ai-focused-os/

Windows 12 could be released as early as this year...
Unfortunately, these are the only bright sides to this new OS. Microsoft’s Copilot, the AI assistant the company has been aggressively injecting across the ecosystem, will now be a core part of the next Windows iteration rather than a supplementary feature.
Some parts of the OS might also be locked away behind a subscription model that are expected to be “advanced AI services”, etc.
These AI features won’t come cheaply, with Windows 12 set to debut a new hardware requirement just as its predecessor did with the TPM 2.0 requirement. This time around, a dedicated NPU would be required, a specialized processor designed to handle AI tasks.

great, more avoidable e-waste for no reason other than juicing Microslop stock and computer sales

#Microsoft #Windows #Microslop #Windows12 #Copilot #FuckThis

Almost halfway through, Macross Frontier fundamentally suffers compared to Macross 7 for me because of the fact I think idol singers are so much less cool than rock bands. :ac_laughter:

It does have the third best Macross soundtrack out of the six Macross things I've seen so far, which sounds middling until youy realize it's behind the unfairly stacked competition of Macross 7 and Macross Plus. :P

(Macross Plus and Frontier are both Yoko Kanno soundtracks, but Plus just has the incredibly cool unearthly alien evil Hatsune Miku soundtrack to pull it ahead.)

#Macross #MacrossFrontier

I am really enjoying Macross 7 so far. Both on the obvious level of "it's the show where very good dad J-Rock defeats space vampires with the power of rock" and because it's like, the mech series I've seen be genuinely committed to "what does pacifism accomplish" and going all in on what music and art means in the context of a conflict. Considering this was the same year as Gundam Wing, ground zero for "it's totally pacifism if you just shoot to disable"... :ac_sighing:

Do I agree with everything the show's going for? Eh, but in the words of Ray in the show "it would be nice..."

then in a decade we get the 00's and the truly galaxy brained takes on music bringing about peace in mecha with Gundam. And I'm not even just necessarily picking on SEED here as usual with it having "girlboss idol singer becomes queen of space" plot, but more Gundam 00's "song brings about magic newtype peace." Also the song in 00 is truly dire.

Macross 7: it's kind of incredible how the show drops the Protoculture decided that creating giant soldiers to do their battle for them was the clean thing to do followed by "and then we made even more powerful soldiers called the Evil"

really, lovely people, shame they were eaten by space vampires :ac_laughter:

#mecha #Macross #Macross7

The thing about Macross Plus is it's ultimately like watching a two hour long Cowboy Bebop episode where I can't stand the two guys in the love triangle (and the space racism intersecting with real racist stuff in Guld's depiction is... very bad) but the weird surreal sf threat behind the relationship drama is a military conspiracy AI cult to bring about the Vocaloid Borg Collective and that's really funny.

also the music rules, hands down my favorite soundtrack in Macross to this point in a chronological watchthrough of the franchise although Macross 7 could easily upend that

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itWnbeH9dNE

#Macross #MacrossPlus

@waffle_iron That's the design I mentioned that only works with headsets, does pairing on its own, and shows up as a USB audio device to the PC. You can tell by the pairing button on the device.

From personal experience, they also work really poorly.

Weirdly, as far as I can tell, nobody has ever made a USB C Bluetooth dongle. There are Bluetooth audio dongles for USB C that connect to headsets on their own and present as USB headsets to the computer (meant for PS5?), but no actual USB C Bluetooth dongles.

I guess the presumption is that anything new enough to have USB C will have built-in Bluetooth.

Means I currently have a USB A Bluetooth dongle plugged into a USB A to C adapter in the side of my MNT Pocket Reform, which sticks out a bit too far.

(If I'm wrong on this, please let me know.)

Are there any non-annoying e-mail providers these days? Looking to switch away from ProtonMail due to the AI bullshit but can't figure out what to go to.

Interesting retro console controller: I picked up an ASCII Grip SNES controller, which is a one-handed SNES controller sold in Japan with a central d-pad and other buttons around it or on the back, apparently marketed for use as a comfortable controller for playing RPGs and adventure games. It looks like a Wii nunchuck's bigger brother. There were later versions for PS1 and PS2.

I've been using it with an adapter with my Game Boy Player setup to play GBA strategy games, and it's really comfy and low energy compared to two-handing a standard controller. Buttons are a bit mushy, though, but I don't know how much of that is it just being an old used controller.

I have to wonder if/how many of these were used for accessibility purposes back when they came out?

#retrogaming #SuperNintendo