iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

If you change the outer LEDs, don't change to red; the current contrast between the purple and the red/orange invites folks to look into the "hell" that's inside. :)

110

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

It's a vintage computer festival; why folks don't embrace The Print Shop, I have no idea. 🤷‍♂️

121

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

Changa_Husky @changa.gay · 24/09/2026

“AI is the asbestos we are shoveling into the walls of our society and our descendants will be digging it out for generations" -Cory Doctorow

0352

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

PandaMonium @pandamonium.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Today, I decided to dump all my thoughts about A.I. infecting the retro and Saturn scene into one cohesive article. In short, I am certifiably sick of this.

511748694

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

“And it does all of this by the way, on a standalone headset. No wires, no battery pack…”

000

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

How long *have* Universal Serial Buses been around? 🤔

111

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

You really ought to, but then again, I’m a little biased… 😉

Keith Kaisershot, listed as “Programmer” of the ScummVM and Steam versions of The Journeyman Project: Pegasus Prime in its credits, gesturing toward the quotation “The metal bar IS useful!”

000

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

And I wasn’t even an exhibitor! 😝

150

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Spotted not one, not two, but *three* playable Bandai Pippin AtMark consoles at #VCFMW this weekend. Bonus: a Pippin Concept Prototype on exhibit courtesy of @mac84.bsky.social and @maccy.me

A Pippin AtMark booted into Pippin Kickstart 1.1, indicating its 1.0 ROM and 13312K of RAM. Displayed on a Sony PVM.

A Pippin AtMark booted into Pippin Kickstart 1.1, indicating its 1.0 ROM and 5120K of RAM (thanks Kyle and Danielle!). Displayed on an NEC AccuSync LCD71v and flanked by a pair of Altec Lansing Multimedia speakers.

Macintosh Librarian’s placard describing their Pippin setup. Text:

Introducing the Pippin Disk Emulator & Game Changer!
The Pippin is back, in BlueSCSI Form!
by Kate Fox, Macintosh Librarian & Eric Helgeson, creator of BlueSCSI

Now you can hold the Pippins entire software library on one SD card. With the new Game Changer menu, you can play any game from the comfort of your sofa.

The Game Changer
• Written in C, built with Retro68 as one fat binary: 68k and PowerPC in the same file.
• It started as Eric’s BlueSCSI Toolbox CD changer. I added the Pippin calls, the AppleJack pad, menu and box art.
• Pick an image and the BlueSCSI swaps it in. The console restarts straight into it, CD or HD image!
• Power cycle and you are back at the menu thanks to the Keith K. Bootloader!

What is on the menu
• Pippin CDs: Tamagotchi, Dazzeloids, Ultraman Action Designer, Power Rangers Zeo!
• Mac adventures rebuilt on writable disk images: Myst, Dust, The 7th Guest, Iron Helix, Jump Raven, Gadget, Spaceship Warlock

The Arcade disk! Load this one!
• One hard-disk image w/ 35 Mac games
• It runs under PEASE, Bandai’s own big-button Pippin shell. The menus were Japanese, so I patched the strings to English by hand.
• Crystal Quest, Glypha III, Power Pete, Prince of Persia, Another World, Flashback, Monkey Island, Loom, SimCity 2000, Tetris Max, Snood, Oregon Trail, and two pinball games!

Controller (Apple Jack Pad)
• Trackpad is the mouse. D-pad is arrows.
• I wrote a small pad-mapper program that swaps in a per-game layout the moment a game opens. Glypha III starts a new game on yellow. Power Pete switches weapons on blue.
• Glypha III on this pad is, honestly, the best thing on the table. Try it!

Bootloader: a fork of the BlueSCSI Toolbox CD changer. Shell: PEASE (Bandai). Boot: Pippin Kickstart (blitter.net). Debugging: DingusPPC.

A Pippin Concept Prototype being exhibited under a clear acrylic cover at the Vintage Computer Festival MidWest 2026 Macintosh Librarian table. Guarded above by an army of tiny Maccys.

4368

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

Joel Auterson | DWG out now! @joelotter.com · 11/09/2026

I kind of crashed out this week. Generative AI has made a lot of my hobbies and creative endeavours feel pointless, when I'm not in a good headspace. I had a good conversation with a friend that helped, so I wrote about it, so I can read it when it happens again. www.joelotter.com/posts/2026/0...

joelotter.com

Fuck it, make it anyway

Carrying on in the face of creative devaluation.

1113535

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

Computer Chronicles Revisited @deviledeggpress.com · 11/09/2026

Lockard's story is incredible. He appeared on a 1987 "Computer Chronicles" to discuss turning his Mahjong Solitaire game into Activision's "Shanghai." www.computerchronicles.blog/computer-chr...

computerchronicles.blog

Computer Chronicles Revisited 99 — Shanghai, Tower of Myraglen, Earl Weaver Baseball, and Ferrari Formula One

The Computer Chronicles discusses computer games

04210

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

same tier as Olive Garden imo. let’s go and I’ll get a bushman shrooms. you can get one for yourself too, if you like 😋

010

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Burger Becky would have been proud to see this. Turning her legacy into slop, not so much.

221

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

this. news of doom ports to weird hardware are about to get a lot less exciting/prestigious as long as this trend continues 😞

252

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

what’s problematic is: 1) they have a weird sense of pride about it to the effect of “nobody made this after over 30 years of waiting, now look at me, I’ve done it” 2) they refuse to comply with the GPL despite releasing it. does the GPL have a vibecoding exception I missed somewhere? 🤔

000

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

there is someone in the virtual boy scene who recently and unabashedly pointed an LLM at the (GPL-licensed) doom code in id’s github. the resulting binary was shared and is… playable, but it’s very low res and there’s no sound or music that’s not what bothers me about it though.

100

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

“Lucky for him it *is* a one-horse town!”

050

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

🎵 She was an acrobat’s daughter She swung by her teeth from a noose But one matinee, her bridgework gave way And she flew through the air like a goose 🎵 🥸😂

150

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

If your eagle’s hands are dirty, we’ll wash ‘em clean!

150

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Incidentally, this is a reason why the (now commercial 😎) Mac emulation project I contribute to deliberately avoids referencing disassembled Apple code, leaks, and/or LLMs that may or may not have trained on the Internet, where leaked Apple code abounds. You think *Nintendo’s* lawyers are fierce? 😉

130

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

1Bit Fever Dreams @1bit.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Today's update, Dark Castle on Steam can now do the crispy pixel perfect integer scaling. See the difference in these screenshots. Oh, you don't know about Dark Castle rerelased on Steam and Apple Store? It's been out for a few weeks. So has Beyond Dark Castle. So has Return to Dark Castle.

Menu screen of Dark Castle showing a part of the scale. The image is sharp with pure black and white pixels. The top of the medieval castle, with towers are seen in front of dark clouds and a 50% gray background.

Menu screen of Dark Castle showing a part of the scale. The image is blended and carries a soft focus between black and white pixels. The top of the medieval castle, with towers are seen in front of dark clouds and a 50% gray background.

2195

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I have one of these pricing guides somewhere, from the 90s IIRC. If I find it I’ll let you know.

010

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

How is Cliff Johnson doing these days? Anybody check in with him?

100

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I might have had a little something to do with this. (skip to 11:33 😉) store.steampowered.com/bundle/81316...

youtu.be

The Story of Dark Castle

YouTube video by Classic Mac Gaming

251

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

Liam Robertson @liamrobertson.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Warren Spector speaking some truths here. They were quite happy to rerelease the game and make more money off it recently. Some wider acknowledgement of Epic Mickey's contribution to Disney history is deserved.

61094396

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I have always self-described my occupation as Programmer and have no plans to change this. I make no pretense about what my role in software development is.

160

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

beka valentine @bekavalentine.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

its also important to understand that im not saying that we need actual engineering levels of work for software that's a separate thing, and i think is very debatable! i think for a lot of things, you just dont need it, its fine to just be a programmer not an engineer

131

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

beka valentine @bekavalentine.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

not being engineering is not some insult, but a lot of programmers like to elevate themselves and stroke their egos. calling yourself a Software Engineer makes you feel good and smart but real engineers would be horrified by the suggestion of Vibe Engineering a bridge or engine

251

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

Michael Pavone @retrodev.com · 11/08/2026

In exactly 1 month, I'm going to release BlastEm 1.0! This will be the first "stable" release since 2019 and will mark exactly 13 years since the release of BlastEm 0.1.0. Compared to 0.6.2, this release adds support for Sega CD, 32X, Sega Pico, Yamaha Copera, Game Gear, SC-3000 and Colecovision

24311

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

I made it home from #QuakeCon 2026 ... and so did my "DOOM chainsaw" -- a McCulloch Eager Beaver 2.0. Thanks to @thattomhall.bsky.social, Adrian Carmack, John Carmack, and @johnromero.bsky.social for what I anticipated when I got this off of eBay nearly 20 years ago. Yeah, I played the long game. 😆

Tom Hall signing my DOOM chainsaw at my table in the QuakeCon 2026 BYOC hall

My DOOM chainsaw resting on my table in the QuakeCon 2026 BYOC, signed by all four founding members of id Software.

The three other founders of id Software watch in glee as I pretend to chop Tom Hall's head off (It was Tom's idea!) with my DOOM chainsaw at QuakeCon 2026's id Software Founders Photo Op.

A handwritten letter, on tractor feed paper, that I left in my luggage to and from QuakeCon 2026, which reads:

Dear Friendly Neighborhood TSA Agent:

Yes, there is a chainsaw in my luggage. But rest assured, it is nonfunctional. I bought it on eBay over 20 years ago and it was just as nonfunctional then as it is now. I have not packed the chain, as it serves no purpose, and there has not been fuel in its tank in over 20 years either. But just to be extra sure, two weeks ago I immersed it in hot water to clean out any possible residual fuel that somehow, some way could have survived over two decades.

You may be wondering _why_ I have a chainsaw in my luggage - the answer is a bit dorky but here it is: I am a big fan of the video game Doom, and this particular model of chainsaw is the model for the one used in the game. The creators of this game are reuniting this weekend in Dallas for the first time since 1993, so I hope they'll each autograph it before I put it back on my shelf. As it is fairly rare, I only trust myself (and TSA) to transport it without damage. My hope is that you understand and relate to this.

Thank you for reading & for helping keep the skies safe! Text me XXX-XXX-XXXX w/ any questions. Keith <3

1112

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

Ólafur Waage @olafurw.com · 10/08/2026

[back in the day] Low level programmers: "It's all about optimizing every byte and every cycle, use as little RAM as you can" Other devs: "Nonsense. We have plenty of RAM" [today] Low level programmers: "Well well well"

511428178

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

Phil Salvador @philsalv.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

I've said this before, but if they ever reboot Duke Nukem, they should make him pansexual and hit on *everybody*. Telling the cops they have a great ass, etc.

1751561

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

xot @xot.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Rebecca Heineman's source code disks for Apple II, Apple IIGS, and C64 versions of "Tass Times in Tonetown" were recently imaged at KansasFest 2026 and are now archived. Burger Becky was an incredible and beloved engineer and raconteur who we sadly lost last year. archive.org/details/tass...

Title screen of the Apple IIGS version of "Tass Times in Tonetown". A white dog dives out of the smashed computer monitor. He wears red-rimmed glasses and a brown felt hat with press credentials tucked into the blue hat band. The title appears at the top, and text below reads: "Designed by Interplay Productions and Brainwave Creations, copyright 1986 Activision, Inc.

310750

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Tomorrow (Sat 8/1) at 4:30pm PDT during the Vintage Computer Festival West, I will be moderating a discussion and Q&A with Ron Wayne, the oft-forgotten third cofounder of Apple Computer. vcfed.org/events/vinta...

vcfed.org

VCF West — Speakers – Vintage Computer Federation

1238

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

John Linneman @dark1x.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

It really sucks when someone you were following for their work in the retro scene turns out to be big on AI and using it in all their projects. That instantly kills any and all interest in anything they ever make.

2698295

Keith Kaisershot @blitter.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Same. The point of porting Doom to weird hardware is rarely “hey, this a new option to play Doom!” but more as a technical flex and demonstration of mastery of that hardware. When an AI does it, it’s a reflection of neither of those two.

031

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

Tao Neuendorffer @taonf.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

‘I have good news & bad news The good news is that we just started production on #ThimbleweedPark2, due out in early 2028 Mark Ferrari, Gary Winnick, David Fox, Octavi Navarro, Robert Megone, & others from the original team will be back! Now the bad news There is no bad news, it’s all good news’

47821

Reposted by Keith Kaisershot

leaded solder @leadedsolder.com · 28/07/2026

New blog post! What do you get when a British television channel makes a home videogame console? A really long project to make a Tetris clone for it. www.leadedsolder.com/2026/07/28/b... Come back next week for part 2! #bbcbc #tetris #retrogaming #retrocomputing

leadedsolder.com

The BBC Tetris Companion

Overview and history of the BBC Bridge Companion home game console, and a brief overview of a composite video mod, repairs, the design of a game cartridge PCB, and the development of a new puzzle game...

34513