Stephan Sokolow @ssokolow@qoto.org

Since the PCManFM developer I'm talking to seems unwilling to consider this, I might as well post it here so at least *someone* can get some insight out of it.

Random thought: Raytheon means "light of/from the gods"... apparently we didn't learn anything from the last time a light-bringer turned his mind to war.

(It began as the name of their first product, a rectifier tube for building AC power supplies for radios.)

Since I have a copy of Amiga Forever 2016, I'm also planning to make a bunch of test files for Amiga formats that can only be UNpacked on other platforms.

So far, I've made a test LZX using the LZX_Y2KF.LHA release and I just need some suggestions for other things I can make with freeware'd Amiga m68k apps to build up a repo's worth.

If anyone needs some legally clear RAR or CBR test files for their integration testing, I just put up a bunch made using the WinRAR license I bought to round out my retro hobby machine.

https://github.com/ssokolow/rar-test-files

#programming #testing

Something I was just introduced to. A twitter account that brings to light examples of past "fears of new things" to put modern ones in context.

https://twitter.com/PessimistsArc

Did you know that, in 1903, they were talking about reading print books in bed the same way people are talking about having your mobile phone near the bed now? Granted, I'd still want an OLED screen, night mode, and no social media apps, but it does put things in perspective.

Something I missed back when it was first posted.

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/the-forgotten-life-of-einsteins-first-wife/

Maybe one more for today. The SimCity 2000 Theme Pack that, to this day, is used on my retro-hobby PC in the franken-theme I reconstructed from childhood memories.

Originally free on the Maxis FTP site.

https://archive.org/details/sc2kthm

#retro #retrocomputing #theme

...and a utility for customizing the OEM info in the Windows 9x System control panel:

OEM Logo Master 2.0
https://archive.org/details/oem-logo-master-2.0/

#retro #retrocomputing #software

...and another. This one shows the bitrates of MP3 files in their icons and adds a property sheet which lets you edit ID3 tags and perform customizable scripted actions like automatic renaming on the files.

MP3-Info Extension v3.1b9
https://archive.org/details/mp-3-info-extension-v-3.1b-9

#retro #retrocomputing #software

...and a third free Win9x/NT4 shell extension the Internet Archive was missing:

PropertiesPlus v1.65
https://archive.org/details/properties-plus/

#retro #retrocomputing #software

...and another bit of Windows 9x freeware that didn't get any hits on the Internet Archive:

VersionEx Shell Property Page
https://archive.org/details/versionex

#retro #retrocomputing #software

The Internet Archive didn't have the Windows 98SE-compatible version of EppieDesktop, so I uploaded it. Enjoy.
https://archive.org/details/eppie-desktop-v-2.0aa/

#retro #retrocomputing #software

Funny enough, the more I think about it and discuss with someone on Imgur, the more I think the probable answer is "sloppy CG mockup", because, while the typing is animated, I don't remember it being easy to find hacks that flat-out HID the menu bar for non-Mozilla Suite programs back then.

Here's an interesting thing to ponder.

Why the heck is a prop "office computer" from the end of a 2020-season episode of Mayday/Air Crash Investigation/Air Emergency/Air Disasters running a version of Windows 9x with modded MacOS 8 titlebars and scrollbars?

It turns out there's an amusing anecdote behind the decision to split stdout and stderr:

https://www2.dmst.aueb.gr/dds/blog/20131211/index.html

I just ran across this nifty little detective story recounting an attempt to find where the constant in Quake 3's InvSqrt() function came from:

https://www.beyond3d.com/content/articles/8/

Something I wrote about this effort to replace words like "master [branch]" and "blacklist" in programming projects and tooling, based on the relationship to the euphemism treadmill:

Euphemisms aren't about fixing problems. They're about disconnecting us from the emotional discomfort that should be driving us to fix the problem.

> "I'll betcha, if we'd still been calling it shell shock, some of those Vietnam veterans might have gotten the help they needed at the time."
> -- George Carlin

I just added "Zero no Tsukaima: Saito the Onmyoji" to one of my existing lists of worthwhile #fanfiction if anyone's interested.

http://blog.ssokolow.com/archives/2013/02/20/worthwhile-familiars-of-zero/

I just started putting together an Itch.io collection for libre game development tools (and reusable code that could be run at build or runtime).

https://itch.io/c/1254813/libre-game-dev-tools

It's got some interesting stuff, like GB Studio, a game maker which generates actual Gameboy ROMs.