201–210 of 316 posts
Disclaimer: I am in no way encouraging or advocating for software piracy. The warez scene in 90s and early 00s was fun to follow. I consider the NFO files a legitimate form of art, not to mention the skills for unpacking and keygen-ing or cracking of the protected software. https://scenelist.org/
I still install DAMN NFO Viewer on my main PC just so I can appreciate some of the .nfo files I still have.
Disclaimer: I am in no way encouraging or advocating for software piracy. The warez scene in 90s and early 00s was fun to follow. I consider the NFO files a legitimate form of art, not to mention the skills for unpacking and keygen-ing or cracking of the protected software. https://scenelist.org/
and keygen music
Locksport!
That said, another commenter below mentioned modern "phreaking" and how it's become more radio centric... and while I won't admit to doing anything illegal, let's just say that there's some interesting stuff you can do / look at / listen to these days, especially with ubiquitous and inexpensive SDR hardware and related resources. See the recent story[4] about the KrakenSDR[5] passive radar stuff, and some of the papers that are out there about P25 security flaws, some of the automobile hacking stuff that's RF based, etc., etc. There's a fascinating world out there buzzing around on invisible electromagnetic fields... and you can tap into it with a $30 dongle and a Raspberry Pi (or your PC).
One of my other interests is retro-computing. I bought an Atari 800 to mess with a while back, and I've been dorking around with some stuff related to building a Z80 based retrocomputer for a while. Sadly that latter project doesn't get many cycles of my attention these days but when I have a free minute here or there or need a distraction, it's something I can play around with.
And last, but not least, I do still enjoy spending a little (very little) bit of time on MUD's[6] and IF[7] games now and then. In terms of MUD's, my current favorite is Avatar[8], and in terms of IF games I've been picking at Battlestar[9] for a while now.
[1]: https://github.com/boatbod/op25
[3]: https://www.broadcastify.com
[4]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33581696
[5]: https://www.crowdsupply.com/krakenrf/krakensdr
[6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD
[7]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_fiction
I also am experimenting with Slot 1 boards. They were originally designed for Pentium IIs but with the right combination of VRM, BIOS support, slotket adapter, and CPU and pin change mod, some boards can run the last Pentium IIIs (Tualatin). It's a lot of fun and experimentation.
I have been working on PlayStation 1 homebrew SDKs [1] and tools over the last year. Unlike other retro consoles - especially Nintendo consoles - the PS1 gets almost no attention at all; "PS1-style" games made using Unity or Unreal Engine seem to be decently popular, but nobody wants to bother with the real hardware anymore. Which is a shame, as the PS1 is a relatively simple platform which can be found for relativel…
Browser extensions. Not quite a website, not quite a mobile app, and surprisingly pervasive. Most people don't realize how incredibly powerful they are, even with manifest v3. I almost fell out of my chair when I found out there were no books on how to build them, so I wrote one: https://www.buildingbrowserextensions.com/ It was incredibly enjoyable to go through the APIs and write about all the different crazy thing…
Digital Artificial Life -- as in evolving program ecosystems, artificial chemistries or cellular automata that can manifest life-like phenomena, etc. Haven't done much with it in a while but was very into it in college. It's both a minor scientific field (would probably be grouped under both theoretical biology and AI research) and a hobbyist field with some really interesting projects.
I run a 22yo online competition for a 32yo DOS racing game: Stunts, or 4D Sports Driving in some countries. The competition has spawned a long-lived community which includes reverse engineering, game patches, new cars, alternative engines, a few world meetings, and multiple other competitions. - https://zak.stunts.hu - https://wiki.stunts.hu/wiki/Custom_cars - https://forum.stunts.hu/index.php?board=90.0&label=stunts…
It was my first computer game back in the early 90s! I wish I knew there were competitions around it.
Ok maybe not too weird but I've been a keyboard enthusiast for almost a decade now and earlier this year I started on a quest to collect as many keyboards in one place as possible to make it easier for newcomers to the hobby to easily find a keyboard (very much in progress still but making steady progress as a hobby project). I created a website called BoardSearch ( https://boardsearch.io ). So far, I've learned a lo…
I've been building from a couple of kits and realizing the next step is to make my own design - what I'm looking for is just not on the market. The one thing I find daunting is find and decide on a shop to handle PCB printing (non-US/EU). Especially since I assume my first couple of designs might need a few tweaks, I'd prefer something with short lead-times and able to handle low volume at reasonable price...