Ernie Smith

Editor of Tedium, an offbeat newsletter that’s been rocking since 2015. I complain on the internet a lot, and I accidentally made a search engine.

Support what I do here: https://ko-fi.com/tedium

Interests: #writing #news #history #technology #retrotech #weird #geoworks #freelance

Tedium: https://tedium.co/
&udm=14: https://udm14.com
Portfolio: https://erniesmith.net/

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ernie_at_writing.exchange@momostr.pink

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nprofile1qqsx9gcpvqfkqe0523qw7w4wvjzslnq7ep2pw9vwym64xa2j5yt550cpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsr25t25

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nos.lol

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Last Notes

2026-10-15 15:54:13 UTC

Excited to share my latest piece with Gravesite Media, where I talk about the fact that you cannot register a domain for longer than 10 years. Which is kind of a problem when you die.
https://gravesite.media/p/your-website-should-outlive-you-the-case-for-forever-domains

2026-10-08 11:54:00 UTC

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Given the sheer number of people contributing to its releases there is a clear demand for something like this. Wow.
https://github.com/storytold/photocraft/releases

2026-10-08 11:44:38 UTC

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I get that. I will note it doesn’t appear to be a 1:1 feature lift. The Photoshop riff doesn’t appear to support animated GIFs, which is kind of my barometer of how deep an image editor goes. But WOW. And the fact that these multi-hundred megabyte apps are now like 50-meg Rust apps? Insane.

2026-10-08 11:33:29 UTC

I like this Robin Hood-esque use of AI.
https://getartcraft.com/apps

2026-09-28 13:03:56 UTC

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I think I’ve made this clear already, but I reject gatekeeping no matter the reason. Just because something is unpopular doesn’t mean you suddenly have the right to be a dick to people.

2026-09-28 12:58:19 UTC

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Agreed. I can only imagine how this would have gone over when Hackintosh was a bigger thing.

2026-09-28 12:53:40 UTC

As a big Asahi Linux fan I found this development really interesting. LLMs really excel at reverse engineering work. But my guess is that this development is going to be fraught long-term.
https://www.theregister.com/os-platforms/2026/09/25/asahi-fork-embraces-llms-and-lands-linux-on-the-m4-mac-mini/5298931

2026-09-27 16:35:20 UTC

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If Combos represents anything, it might be the sharp differences between how a creator perceives the product they developed, and how its acquirer approaches it.
https://tedium.co/2026/09/27/combos-snack-food-history/

2026-09-27 16:34:19 UTC

During a recent road trip I grew an unhealthy obsession with trying to understand how Combos were made.
Friends, I found patents with drills going into breadsticks.
https://tedium.co/2026/09/27/combos-snack-food-history/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2026-09-17 16:32:44 UTC

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This ignores the $9.99 offering which is probably enough for most researchers.

2026-09-17 16:14:07 UTC

Look, I’m most assuredly not going to convince some folks otherwise, but a paid archive of old Usenet posts is a good thing. You’re not paying for the actual posts. You are paying for someone to take the time to maintain the archive, ensure the search works, and manage any legal requests that come in.
Companies like Google have taught us that we should expect stuff like this for free. But as soon as they get bored, they neglect it. If you pay someone, it’s less likely they’ll neglect it.

2026-09-15 03:55:12 UTC

Good news or bad news depending on your POV: Usenet archives are suddenly easy to dig through, thanks to a new service. It’s built by a big data guy, and it’s packed with every awkward thing you ever wrote in a newsgroup in 1997.
My deep dive: https://tedium.co/2026/09/14/usenet-rewind-archive-revival-website/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2026-09-10 05:46:27 UTC

Some thoughts on the whole Matt Mullenweg mess. It’s a bit early to say if there’s something underlying going on here, but the fact is, Automattic lost a lot of goodwill over the past two years.
And yes, I had fun with the title and corresponding graphic.
https://tedium.co/2026/09/10/matt-mullenweg-automattic-leave-absence/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2026-09-01 20:34:46 UTC

*Single tear in eye*
Here it is, the first issue of Boxed News. I hope you dig.
https://boxed.news/2026/09/01/boxed-news-mini-pcs-first-issue

2026-08-12 19:55:09 UTC

In the 1980s, why were greeting cards such a dominant source of popular culture?
Long story short: American Greetings engineered them that way. And that’s how we got the Care Bears.
https://tedium.co/2026/08/12/greeting-cards-care-bears-cartoons-history/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2026-07-27 18:08:00 UTC

You know how much of a dark pattern Facebook is? Simply typing “fa,” two home row characters, is enough to trigger it in most browsers.
I had to come up with a brain hack to stop typing it and visiting this site I freaking hate.
https://tedium.co/2026/07/27/facebook-home-row-keyboard-trick/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2026-06-02 19:45:55 UTC

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Maybe they’ll revive the PowerPC. Heh.

2026-05-06 15:46:48 UTC

I once called Ted Turner the Steve Jobs of television, which makes me all the sadder about his passing. He was from the era of billionaires that were weird in a good way.

2026-04-20 23:41:03 UTC

Anyone do the Mullvad add-on for Tailscale? Is it worth it?

2026-04-08 04:27:33 UTC

What makes one decide to make a parody movie trailer for, of all things, the GNU Image Manipulation Program? I asked the puppeteer behind Pork Johnson, the star of the semi-viral GIMP clip.
https://tedium.co/2026/04/07/pork-johnson-gimp-parody-interview/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2026-03-28 15:58:58 UTC

In an age when cheap RAM is not a guaranteed thing, should we still be buying mini-PCs to run self-hosted stacks?
I dove into a ton of tools and tested on a mini PC whose RAM is fortunately soldered (no take-backs). My thoughts here:
https://tedium.co/2026/03/28/self-hosting-platform-tools-guide/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2026-03-27 16:29:21 UTC

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The timing is symbolic.
https://tedium.co/2026/03/27/apple-mac-pro-discontinued-anniversary/

2026-03-26 21:24:16 UTC

Damn it’s over guys. The dream of Apple selling a $20,000 piece of hardware is dead.
Does this mean that the M2 Ultra Mac Pro is a low-end Mac?
https://9to5mac.com/2026/03/26/apple-discontinues-the-mac-pro/

2026-01-30 16:36:58 UTC

Yeah, that’s what people want from Windows 11. Another bar to go with the first bar. Give ’em a MacOS/MATE hybrid. That’ll win over the normies.
https://www.theverge.com/news/870663/microsoft-windows-11-top-menu-bar-powertoy-experiment

2025-12-31 20:22:08 UTC

RIP Stewart Cheifet.
Anyone who covers tech owes a mountain of ink to that guy. He was the trailblazer in a way that few others were.

2025-11-26 19:08:30 UTC

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To be clear there would likely be some work to it but Affinity is one of the better-running pro apps that can run on WINE.

2025-11-26 19:06:31 UTC

Apparently Affinity is seriously considering making a legit Linux version. Huge. https://techcentral.co.za/affinity-for-linux-canvas-next-big-move-could-reshape-the-desktop-software-market/

2025-11-21 14:45:47 UTC

The HEVC organization is raising its licensing fees by four cents per unit, so HP and Dell responded by disabling HEVC hardware support in its business laptops—tanking the ability for these laptops to do anything with video.
Straight-up: This is a scandal.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/hp-and-dell-disable-hevc-support-built-into-their-laptops-cpus/

2025-10-31 02:22:25 UTC

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Also: I do not believe this is intended by the authors, but if you use Wine, it is possible to use these tools in Linux without having to log in. It removes the check, as far as I can tell.
This guide gets you started: https://affinity.liz.pet
I should note that this also works with the v3 download.

2025-10-31 02:21:09 UTC

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v1: macOS:
Designer: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/macos/designer/1/
Photo: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/macos/photo/1/
Publisher: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/macos/publisher/1/
v2: macOS:
Designer: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/macos/designer/2/
Photo: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/macos/photo/2/
Publisher: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/macos/publisher/2/

2025-10-31 02:19:55 UTC

I’m seeing some sky-is-falling posts about Affinity and download links. It is still possible to download v1 and v2 without logging in. Here are the links for Windows:
v1: Windows:
Designer: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/windows/designer/1/
Photo: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/windows/photo/1/
Publisher: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/windows/publisher/1/
v2: Windows:
Designer: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/windows/designer/2/
Photo: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/windows/photo/2/
Publisher: https://store.serif.com/en-us/update/windows/publisher/2/

2025-10-20 15:55:37 UTC

Ever wonder why old computers have thick plates of metal inside of them? You can credit/blame the FCC—and indirectly, the CB radio fad—for that.
https://tedium.co/2025/10/20/computers-fcc-rf-interference-history/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2025-10-02 19:25:26 UTC

So, I just wrote a 3,000 word piece about a great electronics what-if. What if we didn’t get transistors? What if we just kept using vacuum tubes? Would we be where we are today?
That thought experiment led me to the story of the subminiature vacuum tube.
https://tedium.co/2025/10/02/subminiature-tubes-transistors-raytheon-history/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2025-09-29 01:57:04 UTC

Watching a video about NixOS and only now realizing that there's been a gun on the desk this whole time.
I know Linux drama is serious but it's not that serious, Mutahar.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/115/285/099/172/776/876/original/4a5992b4f885a8f8.jpg

2025-09-14 22:59:02 UTC

[@mos_8502](https://studio8502.ca/@mos_8502 ) saw you got kicked off the blue site. Hope you're holding up

2025-08-15 18:26:06 UTC

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you may have a better chance with Netscape, just saying!

2025-08-12 03:27:43 UTC

Kind of impressed that nobody seems to be talking about the Subway sandwich thing over here. That may be the most insane viral video I’ve seen in quite some time.

2025-08-09 19:19:08 UTC

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the story has some real messy elements to it. I remember thinking when covering this story that Thomas Grundner was a genius, why had I never heard of him? When I landed on the information about his legal issues, it sadly started to make sense.
I had a similar experience with Free-Nets growing up.

2025-08-09 00:46:32 UTC

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Who's still rolling on POTS?

2025-08-09 00:46:07 UTC

So apparently we are within the last 60 days of dial-up AOL being a thing.
https://help.aol.com/articles/dial-up-internet-to-be-discontinued
ht @npub18jp…8yq3
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/996/041/743/358/570/original/41d505fca25893ec.jpg

2025-08-08 01:26:21 UTC

Online ads. You hate them, they track you, yet they’re still with us. What’s their deal?
A new book out this week, targeted at Google’s dominant, monopolistic role in adtech, proves surprisingly revealing. My review:
https://tedium.co/2025/08/07/ari-paparo-yield-google-antitrust-review/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2025-08-03 19:50:14 UTC

OK, genuinely think this is a good development in the Linux world. PixiEditor started as a pixel editor but seems to be aiming for “pleasing FOSS alternative to Photoshop that also supports Linux.”
The node-based workflow for adding filters is genuinely interesting, too.
https://pixieditor.net/blog/2025/07/30/20-release/

2025-06-19 03:52:39 UTC

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Yes, you can add custom search engines to your browser. That URL is the code you would need to put into Chrome or Vivaldi. Here’s how I do it in Vivaldi.
My post from last year explains the process: https://tedium.co/2024/05/17/google-web-search-make-default/
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/707/998/752/187/876/original/015a3ee983746c41.png

2025-06-19 03:46:24 UTC

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It’s an easy tweak if you’re on chrome—you can add it to the browser yourself. The basic format looks like this. You can add this yourself. Safari doesn’t support this though, sadly.
There is a search.xml on the site for autodetection, but it doesn’t seem to be kicking in on Firefox yet.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/707/974/169/024/060/original/b63be0ad65259d7f.png

2025-06-19 03:02:37 UTC

Just learned there was a new Google udm code discovered. So you know what I had to do.
https://udm56.com/
Still kicking in on the DNS front, but it’s already up.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/707/912/444/611/631/original/d18639caefa6acf2.png

2025-06-18 15:50:09 UTC

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Spencer Gifts later sold a variant that actually made the useless device useful—it turned the device into a bank that grabbed your quarters and stored them.
Not bad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqeG5gHD_98

2025-06-18 15:48:31 UTC

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(It makes sense Spencer Gifts sold it, by the way. My Amazon search for a useless machine also brought up fake poo, which is a pretty good signifier of the kind of crowds this device runs with.)

2025-06-18 15:46:24 UTC

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This exact device, with no changes, was sold by Captain Company in an issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland in 1962, surrounded by dozens of similar gimmicks.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/143/040/325/865/original/7966c46f7ef83d72.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:46:18 UTC

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Whoa, I can only imagine how that discussion went.

2025-06-18 15:44:23 UTC

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Who was first? The answer appears to be Spencer Gifts, the famed mall chain that started as a mail-order goods store. I found an example, sold as a “Little Black Box” in a 1959 issue of Flower and Garden Magazine.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/135/115/039/197/original/da6cca21a624138d.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:42:31 UTC

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Back to the Useless Machine. The simplicity of its design is such that you can find these devices pretty much anywhere online. Amazon sells hundreds of these. https://amzn.to/4lfBWX2
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/127/805/449/354/original/7d710db2a0f95a93.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:40:04 UTC

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Clarke was absolutely the right person to write about this. One sample passage:
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/118/084/173/139/original/379acfd2ad056446.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:38:29 UTC

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The piece is notable because it highlights the climate that created it. Also mentioned in the piece is Shannon’s electronic mouse, and the maze he created for it.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/111/965/282/535/original/8a374338366e5bbd.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:36:06 UTC

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If you want to read the passage in full context, “Voice Across the Sea” is on the Internet Archive, in a chapter titled The Dream Factory: https://archive.org/details/voiceacrosssea0000arth/page/148/mode/2up
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/102/574/804/659/original/cf52d1a814149606.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:34:42 UTC

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This machine likely would have gone unnoticed, if not for Arthur C. Clarke, who did a tour of Bell Labs’ various inventions. He found this particular one epic. His immortal words, as published in Harper’s Magazine in 1958:
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/097/006/669/392/original/752fd59bdbe01af7.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:32:54 UTC

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Minsky developed the idea; Shannon, who had access to a machine shop, turned it into an actual device. His collected papers make clear this was a regular activity for him.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/089/951/962/789/original/5c3238ec7d103a78.png

2025-06-18 15:31:00 UTC

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But to be clear, while Minsky developed the concept, he was doing so in close association with a kindred spirit, Shannon. They called this unusual device the “Ultimate Machine”—though the name didn’t stick.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/082/477/896/097/original/a93e88656ea1a6bc.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:28:38 UTC

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Sounds like a pretty great internship. During that same oral history, he described the exact process of developing the machine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8kU3oZwVJA
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/073/118/903/861/original/c704f7e092244da2.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:26:34 UTC

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While there, Minsky developed a variety of machines—facilitated by a budding relationship with Shannon. “We hit it off because both Shannon and I were addicted to making interesting new mechanical devices,” Minsky said in an oral history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujtDHXnMQI4

2025-06-18 15:24:49 UTC

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Minsky, a Princeton grad student who worked at Bell Labs during the summer of 1952, would later go on to found MIT’s AI labs.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/058/154/368/337/original/6a5a6974d34434e0.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:22:34 UTC

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Shannon didn’t invent the Useless Machine, as it came to be called, but it was built from one of his first interactions with a fellow AI legend, Marvin Minsky.

2025-06-18 15:20:55 UTC

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Shannon was a fun guy. Despite being a bigwig at Bell Labs, he would often ride a unicycle through the office. He also was famed for juggling.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/042/815/920/448/original/83932c4738dbd92a.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:19:24 UTC

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In the years before the device’s invention, Shannon became known for his interest in chess-playing machines, even writing an article for Scientific American about them in 1950.
https://www.paradise.caltech.edu/ist4/lectures/shannonchess1950.pdf
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/036/862/060/720/original/4dd9554e21581bec.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:18:10 UTC

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Claude is a very unusual name in 2025, which makes the branding stand out. But there’s a reason for it. See, it’s named for Claude Shannon, a legend in the field of information theory.

2025-06-18 15:16:50 UTC

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So, as you may or may not be aware, one of the most popular AI models is Anthropic’s Claude. If you’re into LLMs, it’s generally considered one of the best models for coding.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/026/831/330/958/original/7b4914f72c0c0dc8.jpeg

2025-06-18 15:15:25 UTC

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This one was very difficult for me, in part because it has been written about heavily in the modern day. This may not have been the best question for this format—but I made it work.
(As a reminder, sources may be included in the alt-text of images for space and flow reasons.)

2025-06-18 15:13:09 UTC

Hi all, back at my @npub1tq6…hvnc commissioned search thing. I ran into some serious writer’s block with this one, but worked my way through it. This one comes from Olivier Mével of the company multiplé. (thread)
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/705/012/250/223/488/original/21fda77725c7decf.jpeg

2025-06-06 14:43:45 UTC

In the weeks since I wrote my Fast Company profile of Sahil Lavingia (and he revealed he lost his role for that interview) there have been lots of interviews of him. The most interesting comes from @npub1qmg…s6k5, which actually explained how Lavingia’s prompt-based analysis tools worked (and didn’t work):
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doge-veterans-affairs-ai-contracts-health-care

2025-06-03 03:22:36 UTC

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That’s amazing, thank you for sharing. Jokes aside, I was a huge fan growing up. They’ve always fascinated me.

2025-06-03 03:05:10 UTC

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Tell us Moe

2025-06-03 03:01:11 UTC

USB-C is great. But it has a problem. Everyone knows what that problem is. Microsoft wants to fix it.
Good luck with that.
https://tedium.co/2025/06/02/usbc-microsoft-standards/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2025-05-18 17:20:02 UTC

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After the fact, the console hit the surplus market. It reappeared in 1980 in an issue of 73 Magazine, where it was being sold by the reseller Digital Research: Parts.
Note the address: Richardson, Texas, not Dallas.
https://archive.org/details/73-magazine-1980-09/page/172/mode/2up
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/979/653/679/739/original/a2f565a5744e43a9.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:19:34 UTC

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Later, it appeared in a 1982 Dennis the Menace comic book, as a Youth Opportunity Sales Club prize. (I should do an issue about these companies.)
https://www.google.com/books/edition/Very_Best_Of_Dennis_The_Menace/ZT0FEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=”video+volley”&pg=PT14&printsec=frontcover
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/977/753/979/994/original/90b53b92edb7fa1f.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:19:07 UTC

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Beyond department stores, this device also sold at the grocery store chain Skaggs Albertsons in the Fort Worth area around 1976—which highlights that it was not a white-labeled device.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/976/003/514/690/original/2c8843276708e106.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:18:45 UTC

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JCPenney had just two white-labeled consoles, and they looked nothing like the Video-Volley—a device that, to my eye, looks like an early Atari floppy drive.
https://20thcenturyvideogames.com/index.php?action=listas&tipo=2
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/974/578/709/272/original/10a6f09662c8310d.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:18:25 UTC

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During that era, JCPenney’s competitor Sears had gone all-in on Pong. It sold 18 white-labeled Pong consoles under different names in the U.S. and Canada between 1976 and 1978, per an online database.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/973/236/952/322/original/e8857cd1f80d3ac2.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:18:09 UTC

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That $19.88 price highlights the device’s fast-declining commercial ambitions. Here’s how much it cost just a year prior.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/972/179/138/863/original/deed684bd197b7d0.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:17:41 UTC

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A quick search of Newspapers.com shows that the console was heavily promoted in JCPenney newspaper ads around the 1976 and 1977 Christmas seasons, especially in Texas. Here’s a sample:
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/970/370/216/730/original/f1b73b2f372f54af.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:17:22 UTC

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For those curious, RadioHamGuy was even nice enough to take an up-close shot of the manual, which I’ll share here for Video-Volley owners.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/969/118/672/162/original/b7a1a43789fe105b.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:17:07 UTC

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So, where did it come from? Helpfully, the device lists its address right on the back: Dallas, Texas.
Here’s one from another video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcfD-CYNid8
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/968/135/722/572/original/a5afe39f9b9c43b2.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:16:38 UTC

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First off, it is important to note that there were many, many Pong consoles throughout the 1970s. Wikipedia, lists 997 consoles produced in the first generation. The Video-Volley was one of them.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_first_generation_home_video_game_consoles
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/966/227/691/658/original/c671487ba074338d.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:16:10 UTC

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I feel awkward linking this without suggesting you read the Hackaday article, so here it is:
https://hackaday.com/2025/05/11/tearing-down-a-forgotten-video-game/

2025-05-18 17:15:48 UTC

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This is essentially a cheap custom board with some cheap manufacturing junk attached. Not a bad video, but if you’re starting a search like this, I recommend going online and seeing what pops up.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/962/982/542/250/original/23c898c076815ab5.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:15:30 UTC

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The main chip the device uses is the MM57105N, made by National Semiconductor. Ever hear of NES on a chip? As the video mentions, this is Pong on a chip!
The board itself is downright minimalist.
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/961/796/214/610/original/dbc715196460180e.jpeg

2025-05-18 17:15:10 UTC

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Not a ton of information in the James Channel video—it is essentially an analysis of the device itself, not much else to it. He got it working. He took it apart. He didn’t find very much, besides an address, a logo, and some chipsets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi-0FPcjCl8

2025-05-18 17:14:50 UTC

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My general rule when writing articles is that I try to avoid rehashing stuff posted by other folks recently, but given the lack of info, I’ll take a stab.
(Quick programming note on this: Some links may appear in the alt-text for space and to keep the thread readable.)

2025-05-18 17:14:23 UTC

OK, time for another commissioned search! This one, from @npub19lc…l9lh, asks about the Video-Volley, a device recently featured on @npub135m…490p and a semi-viral YouTube video. (thread)
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/529/957/381/934/563/original/faf23a2a3f64e570.jpeg

2025-05-04 03:28:01 UTC

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Paul Simon writes songs in this kind of format a lot if it helps.

2025-05-04 03:25:51 UTC

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There are songs that have elements of this but aren't neat fits. The first two verses of “Lightning Crashes” do this, but the third refers to the characters in the first.
The Offspring’s “The Kids Aren't Alright” has standalone vignettes but not in individual verses.
Alanis Morrissette’s “Ironic” and Jewel’s “Who Will Save Your Soul” roughly fit the format but they fit more than one story in each verse.

2025-05-04 03:15:08 UTC

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Sorry, should have explained better: Each of these songs have three verses with standalone stories brought together by the chorus. The stories live on their own and don't refer to one another.
Another one that comes to mind is “She Don't Use Jelly,” or “Walk On the Wild Side.”

2025-05-03 23:05:08 UTC

I'm thinking about an idea for a piece and wanted to see if anyone knew of any “episodic songs” along the lines of “Waterfalls” by TLC, “What It's Like” by Everlast, and “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” by Crash Test Dummies.
I feel like this lyrical format was specifically built for MTV. Want to test the theory.

2025-04-08 00:39:26 UTC

A friend from high school recently learned that they are losing easy access to epilepsy medication they need.
If you have a moment and feel compelled to speak out in support of epilepsy patients, please check out this link & send a message to your reps.
https://epilepsyallianceamerica.org/take-action-cdc-epilepsy-program-is-in-jeopardy/

2025-04-06 17:56:57 UTC

So, the other day, Gumroad announced it was going “open source,” which got a lot of attention.
That same day, Wired wrote a story about Gumroad’s founder, and his association with #DOGE, that perhaps didn’t have the same impact.
Let’s fix that.
https://tedium.co/2025/04/06/gumroad-open-source-doge-drama/
new @npub1tq6…hvnc

2025-04-05 19:16:23 UTC

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I updated this post because honestly I’m furious. Clearly Gumroad released this when they did because they knew a Wired story was coming out and it gave them PR cover.
A little more on the licensing thing: https://danb.me/blog/gumroad-is-not-open-source/

2025-04-04 15:08:26 UTC

So Gumroad just went open-source. (I will note it is not a straight open-source license—it is limited to folks who make less than $1M in revenue—but that is still a pretty cool thing to have in the self-hosting arsenal!)
https://github.com/antiwork/gumroad
EDIT: Don’t use Gumroad, its founder is working with DOGE: https://www.wired.com/story/doge-department-of-veterans-affairs-ai/
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/286/950/684/135/216/original/76e968562d5ec62a.png

2025-04-01 13:17:29 UTC

OK, next reader request. This one, from Nate C., talks about politics at a higher level:
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/114/262/897/287/412/892/original/78b68db0cda598ff.png

2025-03-24 23:38:45 UTC

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Y’all have been a great part of my workflow, and the best part is you keep getting better. Thanks for creating such a great tool!

2025-03-24 15:18:54 UTC

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Yep, there are a lot of good options. The problem is workflow.
If you want to support FOSS, introduce it in new product categories. I have doing wireframes and such in @npub1rfc…7tmz, for example, and sharing those with clients for feedback.

2025-03-24 15:06:03 UTC

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As I say every time this comes up: We live in a society, and if your client is using Illustrator and InDesign, so are you.
I personally moved to Krita for my Photoshop-style Tedium work a while ago. I keep these around because I have clients.

2025-03-24 15:01:50 UTC

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For what it’s worth: I am personally really struggling with whether I should renew. I have a long history with Adobe, and cut my teeth with InDesign. I am worried about getting sucked into client work where I need Illustrator or InDesign, and I don’t have it.
Also, I am a Linux user now, and Adobe has done nothing to support that platform. I may switch to Affinity.
But for folks in my position I hope pointing out this deal helps.