over the years i've become more interested in game/software ephemera than the software itself.
for example, few people under 20 have grown up with a local computer store or brick & mortar store that sells boxed games. biking over to the computer store to line up, pay cash, and buy a game you've been saving for months has become an alien experience.
a few days ago i bought some old PC boxed games from a guy that had them in storage for decades. of all of them, i was the least excited about Millionaire. it looked like the kind of lazy portware that probably started its life as a text simulation on the Apple II and made its way to every godforsaken architecture.
tucked away on the last page of the manual was an absolute treasure: the original VISA transaction record for the day the game was bought, for $52.88, on July 20, 1985 at the Real Canadian Superstore in Edmonton, AB, Canada. This is before Canada had the goods and services tax (GST), and when Alberta was abbreviated to Alta.
the owner stapled it on to the warranty registration card, just in case he had to return it or RMA it some day.
Superstore #1572 is still there, in the north end. while i knew they had always sold video games, i had no idea that they sold IBM XT software way back in 1985.
(for anyone not in Canada, Superstore is a national discount grocery chain.)
even better, no one under the age of 30 will have seen these credit card transaction records. they were made using a "credit card imprinter" - a sliding mechanism that pressed the card number through several layers of invoice and carbon copy paper. The invoice papers were usually two or three layered - a white and pink copy for the business, and a yellow copy went to the customer.
KDE Plasma 6.3.6 Γ¨ un aggiornamento di manutenzione che consolida ulteriormente la stabilitΓ e la raffinatezza dellβambiente desktop #KDE #Linux #UnoLinux
A pochi giorni dal rilascio di Plasma 6.4.2, i developer KDE ha annunciato Plasma 6.3.6, un aggiornamento di manutenzione che consolida ulteriormente la stabilitΓ e la raffinatezza dellβambiente desktop introdotto con la serie 6.3.x.
Accountability is a whole lot different than blaming. Blaming is an emotional thing while accountability has to be proven. When you cut the guts out of your warning system you may want to blame #Biden but you can't prove it. But when you cut the head of NOAA and the weatherservice it CAN be proven who is accountable. You may not like it...
"REPUBLICANS CUT THE BUDGET. NOW THEYβRE BLAMING BIDEN!" by CoachD_Speaks
Quote by CDS: "Jul 6, 2025 The Texas floods are heartbreakingβand they didnβt have to be this devastating. While the right blames Democrats and shouts about βpoliticizing tragedy,β theyβre the ones who gutted the very systems designed to protect families. This video unpacks the hypocrisy, the gaslighting, and the real human cost of cutting public safety in the name of politics."
Palestine Action's final statement before proscription Couple of excerpts:
"In five years, we have managed to build a direct action movement which successfully disrupted and challenged the Israeli weapons industry" "...we were too effective and the government had to impose the most draconian attack on civil liberties to please the pro-Israel lobby"
Groups "Defend Our Juries and βwe do not complyβ (wedonotcomply.org) still resisting
Palestine Action: Final Statement Before Proscription
DESPITE OUR COLLECTIVE EFFORTS TO STOP THE PROSCRIPTION OF PALESTINE ACTION, THE BAN WILL COME IN AT MIDNIGHT
In five years, we have managed to build a direct action movement which successfully disrupted and challenged the Israeli weapons industry. Through relentless actions and the willingness to sacrifice our liberty, weβve forced shut three Israeli weapons factories, pressured over a dozen companies to cut ties with Elbit Systems and cost the Israeli weapons maker Β£billions in lost contracts. The most important victory is building an effective global movement in service of the Palestinian people.
Itβs clear, we were too effective and the government had to impose the most draconian attack on civil liberties to please the pro-Israel lobby. They may be able to proscribe βPalestine Actionβ, but they can not stop direct action happening across the country in different forms. We are more than just a name, or a network, we are an idea that can never be stopped. To be clear, they can not proscribe the TACTIC of direct action for Palestine.
We are extremely grateful for all of the support we have received over the past few years, and the outpouring of solidarity since the intention to proscribe us was announced. This proscription CAN NOT go unchallenged, and we are pleased to see many who are adamant on resisting the ban through a campaign of civil disobedience.
Breaking unjust laws is a moral duty. Unaffiliated campaign groups, Defend Our Juries and βwe do not complyβ (wedonotcomply.org), will lead on defiance of the ban and resist the extreme counter-terror laws imposed on all of us. It is a given that there will be resistance.
However, we are also aware that anyone, knowingly or mistakenly, could be committing a terrorist offence just by liking or sharing our social media posts, if they are a British national or are in the βUnited Kingdomβ. This could lead to vulnerable communities being harassed and targeted by the state. Whilst we encourage and support a campaign of civil disobedience, all who take part must do so on an informed basis. Thatβs why our social media will be taken down. For clarity, Palestine Action is ONLY proscribed in Britain.
Many will be rightfully angry at the imposed proscription of Palestine Action. However, with repression always comes more resistance. This is a moment that the British state will likely come to regret. Itβs a signal to all of us who are willing to resist, to make the ban unenforceable.
We must resist for our own rights and most importantly, for the Palestinian people facing a genocide. We are all Palestine Action isnβt just a slogan, itβs a state of resistance.
COLLECTIVELY, WE WILL RESIST AND ULTIMATELY, WE WILL WIN
The original Steam Controller is undoubtedly one of the coolest pieces of gear I ownβand one of the most innovative, too.
I got mine right when it launched in 2015. I wanted to solve a very real problem: I was trying to turn my PC into a console.
You see, Valve had Big Picture Mode, which truly turned your PC into a console-like experience. The problem was that some of my favorite PC games didnβt support controllers. They were keyboard-and-mouse only.
But thenβhere comes the Steam Controller. Suddenly, I was able to reprogram all the inputs. I could take basic keys, like the spacebar, and map them to a button on the controllerβlike the A button. And once you did that, you could share your controller configuration with the Steam community, or reuse a config someone else already made. It was pretty awesome.
And those dual trackpads? They were swank. Incredible for first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. They were the next best thing to a mouse. And because of the angle of the handles, it all felt very comfortable in the handβprobably the most comfortable controller experience Iβve ever had.
Itβs funnyβjust a little over five years ago, gamers hated it. Not because they ever used one, but because it was a failure. And as we all know about gamers, thereβs nothing they hate more than a failure. It was dismissed as a noveltyβsomething no one would ever use again.
Well, Valve had the last laugh. A few years ago, they released the Steam Deck. And what do you know? Itβs a direct evolution of the Steam Controller. And now everyone loves the Steam Deck.
Just take a look at itβitβs got so many of the same things the Steam Controller had: dual trackpads, back paddles, the ability to remap buttons and customize layouts. Having owned a Steam Deck since launch, I can say this confidently: the most killer features on the Deck originated with the Steam Controller.
That said, it wasnβt perfect. There were a few quirks I wish they had fixed. For one, it wouldβve been nice if it had dual analog sticks instead of just one. Using a trackpad in place of a right stick is fine in theory, but letβs be real: a trackpad does not replace an analog stick.
Also, unlike most modern controllers, this one didnβt have a rechargeable battery. You needed AA batteries. Now, to be fair, those batteries lasted a long timeβbut it still wouldβve been nicer to just recharge it and forget about replacements.
Then thereβs the back paddles. Only two of them. In hindsight, yeah, Valve knew they needed to evolve. Iβve grown so used to having four back paddles on the Steam Deck. Theyβre incredibly usefulβespecially in games with lots of inputs. Just good to have.
Still, this was one of the first mainstream controllers to even have back paddles. So hats off to Valve for that.
Honestly, I really wish there was another Steam Controller on the market. I know Hori makes a licensed controller for the Steam Deck in Japan, but itβs missing a core feature the original had: the dual trackpads.
To me, the dual trackpads make the Steam Deck experience. Itβs something almost no other handheld has. My wife has a Legion Go, and it does have a trackpadβbut only one. And honestly? That makes all the difference. Itβs fine. But manβ¦ it wouldβve been a better handheld with two.
Definitely one of the most innovative controllers ever made.
And yeah, I still use mine. I use it when I dock my handheld. Or when Iβm on my living room PC.
In exchange for the information I was given in Jetsam, I had sworn an oath to deliver a statue of the Demon Goddess to the heart of JC's keep, and plunge it into the floor above the throne room. I wasn't told what would happen, just that I should "leave quickly" afterwards. I had no plans to disobey.
More #SEGASaturn tinkering. Simple makefile-based content pipeline w/ Python scripts. Animated sprites are converted from YAML+PNG files, map data is converted from LDTK json files.
Jurors have an absolute right to acquit a defendant according to their conscience Juries put the moral intuition of ordinary people into the heart of the criminal justice system.
We will not comply with this unjust law. Many people from celebrities, to artists, to writers, to journalists to activists are intending to break this unjust law. We will do it together. Unjust laws are no laws at all.
Jaka jest przyszΕoΕΔ AI w polskiej administracji publicznej, nauce i biznesie? Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji jakiΕ czas temu zaprosiΕo do udziaΕu w konsultacjach βPolityki rozwoju sztucznej inteligencji w Polsce do 2030 rokuβ.
PrzygotowaliΕmy opiniΔ na temat proponowanych rozwiΔ zaΕ. SkupiliΕmy siΔ oczywiΕcie na naszej domenie - przejrzystoΕci i rozliczalnoΕci: siecobywatelska.pl/polityka-roβ¦
OdpowiedzieliΕmy na zaproszenie Ministerstwa Cyfryzacji do udziaΕu w konsultacjach i przygotowaliΕmy opiniΔ na temat βPolityki rozwoju sztucznej inteligencji w Polsce do 2030 rokuβ.
Brutte notizie che apprendo con colpevole ritardo:
#Spotube piallato da quella merda di #Spotify per motivazioni commercialmente sensate ma eticamente cretine (d'altronde Spotify eh?)
Avete consigli per qualcosa che funzioni su Android e contempli lo scrobbliing di last.fm? (Intanto comincio con l'installare Pano Scrobbler che mi sa che Γ¨ ora)
London (AFP) β Thirteen people caught up in a faulty accounting software scandal at British Post Office branches may have killed themselves and 59 more contemplated doing so, a public inquiry report published Tuesday said.
The Post Office wrongfully prosecuted around 1,000 subpostmasters -- self-employed branch managers -- between 1999 and 2015.
Errors in tech giant Fujitsu's Legacy Horizon accounting software incorrectly made it appear that money was missing from their accounts.
Many ended up bankrupt after being forced by the Post Office to pay back the missing funds. Some were jailed.
Dozens who were later exonerated died without ever seeing their names cleared.
Inquiry chair Wyn Williams said that there was a "real possibility" that 13 people killed themselves as a result of their ordeal.
Ten people attempted to take their own lives and 59 contemplated it, the report into the scandal found.
Many of the prosecutions took place after questions were raised about the software's reliability.
Police are investigating possible fraud committed during the scandal.
"I am satisfied from the evidence that I have heard that a number of senior, and not-so-senior employees of the Post Office knew or, at the very least should have known, that Legacy Horizon was capable of error," Williams said in the report.
"Yet... the Post Office maintained the fiction that its data was always accurate," he added.
A "number of senior" people at the Post Office were aware the system was capable of error before it was changed in 2010, he said.
Welcoming the findings, former branch manager Jo Hamilton said the report showed "the full scale of the horror that they unleashed on us".
Williams described the picture of the scandal that had emerged as "profoundly disturbing".
"Many thousands of people have suffered serious financial detriment. Many people have inevitably suffered emotional turmoil and significant stress.
"Many businesses and homes have been lost. Bankruptcies have occurred, marriage and families have been wrecked," he said.
Among those who gave evidence to the inquiry was former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells who was quizzed about what she knew and when.
Vennells broke down in tears when recalling the case of one man who took his own life after being wrongly accused over a Β£39,000 ($49,537) shortfall at his branch.
The long-running saga hit the headlines after the broadcast in January 2024 of a television drama about the managers' ordeal, which generated a wave of sympathy and outrage.
Fujitsu's European director Paul Patterson told a parliamentary committee later that the firm, which assisted the Post Office in prosecutions using flawed data from the software, was "truly sorry" for "this appalling miscarriage of justice".
Many of those involved are still battling for compensation.
The government's Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said last month that 7,569 claims out of the 11,208 received had now been paid, leaving 3,709 still to be settled.
Alan Bates, a former branch manager who led the fight for justice, has said the compensation process has "turned into quasi-kangaroo courts".
Bates, who was awarded a knighthood by King Charles III for his campaign to highlight the scandal, told the Sunday Times newspaper in May the DBT "sits in judgement of the claims and alters the goal posts as and when it chooses".
Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas said last month the government had made it a priority to speed up the delivery of compensation since taking office in July 2024.
On Unix-like platforms, if you use git clone --recursive on an untrusted repo, it could achieve remote code execution. Update to a fixed version of git and other software that embeds Git (including GitHub Desktop) dgl.cx/2025/07/git-clone-submoβ¦
This is a repository of apps to be used with your F-Droid client. Applications in this repository are official binaries built by the original application developers, taken from their resp. repositories (mostly Github, GitLab, Codeberg).
The DHO800 series offers many great features: itβs highly portable with a large 7-inch touchscreen, powered by USB-C, and includes plenty of other goodies. However, thereβs room for enhancements. [Matthias] realized that while software mods exist to increase bandwidth or unlock logic analyzer functions, the hardware needed to implement the function generatorβavailable in the more expensive DHO900 seriesβwas missing.
To address this, he designed a daughterboard to serve as the function generator hardware, enabling features that software tweaks can unlock. His goal was to create an affordable, easy-to-produce, and easy-to-assemble interface board that fits in the space reserved for the official daughterboard in higher-end scopes.
Once the board is installed and the software is updated, the new functionality becomes available. [Matthias] clearly explains some limitations of his implementation. However, these shortcomings are outweighed by the tremendous value this mod provides. A 4-channel, 200 MHz oscilloscope with function generator capabilities for under $500 is a significant achievement. We love seeing these Rigol mods enhance tool functionality. Thanks, [Matthias], for sharing this projectβgreat job bringing even more features to this popular scope.
Seven NASA leaders of NASA's science activities released a joint statement condemning the proposed 47% cuts to the agencyβs science activities in the White Houseβs fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request.
"... fa trenta-nou anys que el pla de prevenciΓ³ dβincendis del Parc Natural dels Ports hauria dβestar fet pel decret 78/1986, que estableix que els espais naturals de protecciΓ³ especial han dβelaborar un pla bΓ sic de prevenciΓ³ dβincendis."
39 anys! molts governs de la Generalitat, l'actual i anteriors fins a 39 anys enrere, son responsables directes del incendi a #IFPaΓΌls
Rafael FrΓΌhbeck de Burgos toldΒ The Los Angeles Times in 2013, the year of the pagan ballet and orchestral work's centenary. 'I needed two weeks to prepare it.
Weird how the new concentration camp immediately started doing all the same things the old concentration camps did. RE: bsky.app/profile/did:plc:f6gfdβ¦
Gerne Repost π #EurekaRΓ€tsel 1. RΓ€tsel in der Eureka! KreuzwortrΓ€tselapp ΓΆffnen (Link klicken) 2. Mit LΓΆsungscode ("KOPIEREN" Knopf r. unten) antworten Unter allen Teilnahmen wird wΓΆchentlich ein Fragenpaket verlost.
Richard Verdi's new Thames & Hudson World of Art volume on VelΓ‘zquez (2023), is great on the art, presenting a chronological discussion of most of the painter's works, but much much weaker on the life & organisation of his studio. So, if you want to assess VelΓ‘zquez oeuvre then this is the book for you, but if you like artists' biographies then give Verdi's well written but tightly focussed volume a miss.
I am 100% certain that the intractable and ancient questions of βWhat is βhuman?ββ and βWhat is βintelligence?ββ will finally be resolved once and for all by corporate lawyers in a contract dispute with billions of dollars at stake
xypnox
in reply to Chris Trottier • • •Chris Trottier
in reply to xypnox • • •This is actually a result from the original prompt, which was: βClean this up, make it readable, keep it verbatim, preserve tone and voice.β
And the reason I used it is because what you read was a raw transcript from a voice memo file.
I made two manual edits: changed βswinkβ to swank, and some repetitiveness regarding the dual trackpads.
You are welcome to read the raw transcript again and compare but itβs almost unreadable in part to the terrible formatting.