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Stephen Usher

@srusher.bsky.social
298 followers 83 following 633 posts

Retro-computers, model railways, playing Elite: Dangerous... What else do you need to know? :-)

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Stephen Usher
Gateklons @gateklons.eurosky.social · 19/09/2026
Funny how that same logic is not applied kids on social media bans, age verification and surveillance laws
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Nicolas Hénin @nicolashenin.net · 17/09/2026
Nice campaign by the Norwegian Consumer Council about the declining lifespan of products. Enjoy!
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Daragh Ó Briain @daraghobrien.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Remember - they are calling it the EU KIDS Act so that if you raise objections to it (such as the inevitable need for everyone online to register with a govt ID so the platforms can identify the kids) you are then against the Kids.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Net migration is at its lowest level, outside of the pandemic, for fourteen years, small boat numbers are collapsing and yet you still can't move for 'migrant crisis' stories in the British media
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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 03/09/2026
Headline: Space, the Next Frontier Sub: We are on the verge of filling orbit with data centers Article: ... only the laws of physics and economics stand in our way.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I think the Telegraph misspelled “the highly respected leader of Camden Council” in the headline.
Somali refugee tipped to face Polanski in Starmer by-election
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Creating game floppy images for the Enterprise 64/128 using an Atari ST, as you do. I have a lot of compilation floppy images on a USB drive and need to extract individual games I need for an event onto their own images. As the EXDOS system uses the standard 720K FAT12 format the ST works well.
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Santo Nucifora @vintagecomputer.ca · 20/08/2026
BEWARE Vintage Computer buyers from outside US. Your stuff will be e-wasted! I bought an Epson PF-10 floppy drive from the US (I am in Canada) and as it travelled thru eBay Intl Shipping, it was "Liquidated" and I got a refund. Apparently a new US policy is the reason. kotaku.com/trumps-new-e...
This is tracking information informing me that my Epson PF-10 floppy drive "Did not pass Inspection" at the Ebay International Shipping hub and has been liquidated.  Please see the news article link and pass this on so that at least some of this vintage computing equipment will not be e-wasted.
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
With the arrival of the joystick adapter PCBs the Enterprise hardware is all ready for ECM (Elite Community Meet) at the beginning of September. The next big task is to collate all the good games available, make a selection and put them onto a small number of images I can use with the Gotek.
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Got a few photos of the eclipse using the iPhone camera pointed through the eyepiece technique. Solar scope plus a Meade LX90 with filter.
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
I’ve finally finished the video of my Enterprise floppy interface build. So, if about of an hour of me, soldering, nattering and totally failing to get anywhere playing an old game is what you enjoy then this is the video for you… youtu.be/bIbCo3qY-Bk?...
youtu.be
Let's build an Enterprise 64/128 floppy interface
YouTube video by Stephen Usher
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Andy Toone @lockfarm.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
A: "It's easier to store everything in the cloud" B: "Why not store it on a local drive?" A: "They're way too expensive" B: "Why is that?" A: "Because the datacentres bought up all the drives"
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Eventually @andyburnham @10DowningStreet must choose whether he wants British children online to be “safe” or “educated”, ‘coz we can’t have “both” alecmuffett.com/article/163587 #OnlineSafety #censorship
alecmuffett.com
Eventually @andyburnham @10DowningStreet must choose whether he wants British children online to be “safe” or “educated”, ‘coz we can’t have “both”
This, attached below, is an inevitability. The UK Government strove for years to foster “tech” capability in British childen, and — although the “safety” community will push…
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The problem in a nutshell:
The UK Government strove for years to foster “tech” capability in British childen, and — although the “safety” community will push this as a “platform” responsibility — either we’re going to have to leave the kids ignorant of tech, or-else they will be coding-up their own VPNs & other circumventions whilst we continue to blame “the tech” rather than “the society” for the risks that they face.

Responses to Your Next Observation
Banning childrens’ access to AI is just another form of “the ability to code is dangerous and must be suppressed amongst the youth” which leaves kids ignorant and unemployable

Calling this a “platform problem” (blame billionaires, etc) ignores that kids will just use foreign platforms instead, not to mention “build their own“

AIs can’t be magically prevented from working on “circumvention” because “circumvention” is the same as “accessing my home computer when I’m on holiday“
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Other than the keyboard, which feels to be made from polythene, I’m quite impressed with the Enterprise. The graphics sub-system seems extremely programmable and, from the number of fast and seemingly easy Spectrum and CPC game ports looks to be able to handle both types of screen mode.
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The final version of the "EXDOS Floppy Controller, Compact version" case and "floppy hat" printed, painted and put together. All the design files have been uploaded and published on Thingiverse for everyone to use.
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
The case for the Enterprise EXDOS floppy interface card and “Floppy Hat” module which sits on top is complete. I’ll package up the designs snd publish them next week.
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
This. Tagging @taylorlorenz.bsky.social
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Andy Toone @lockfarm.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Cultural destruction as a business model. That a judge endorsed. There are no words. Not least because AI has stolen them.
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
In memory of Bill Oddie... youtu.be/7bu69cnv0iU?...
youtu.be
The Goodies - Bunfight at the O.K. Tea Rooms
YouTube video by ivorykisses
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
I'm building a floppy interface for the Enterprise... But I don't need everything on the board. I'm not going to power anything else, so out with the on-board high power buck regulator and in with a 1A Traco. The ROM is in the cartridge, so no need for that. Only going to use 1 Gotek so 1 '240.
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Looking for an Enterprise 64/128 ROM cartridge case? I've just created one that you can 3D print. www.thingiverse.com/thing:7386410
thingiverse.com
Enterprise 64/128 ROM Cartridge Case by Stephen_Usher
This is a case for ROM cartridges to fit in the left slot of the Enterprise 64 or 128 computers.
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Kat Tenbarge @kattenbarge.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Put another way, the entire adult userbase is going to have to upload their IDs to sketchy third-party companies and link their identities to their online activity to stop a few dozen kids from accessing a platform that is mainly left-leaning news and commentary. What problem is this solving?
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Something arrived from Egypt yesterday… A British micro from the mid-80s, the Enterprise 64. Fully working except for the keyboard membrane, so a temporary solution in place until the one from RWAP arrives. Replaced the ROM with the latest version, which includes BASIC.
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Isn't it funny that when nation states deploy a security management solution they call it a "sovereign defence capability" when the rest of us mere peasants call it an "information security management system"? CISOs of Britain, take note! You are underselling your capability.
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
When you build tools with abstract and rather arbitrary notions of “safety” baked into them – not addressing a specific threat model – they get considerably weaker alecmuffett.com/article/161817 #SafetyByDesign #censorship #llm #safety #trust
alecmuffett.com
When you build tools with abstract and rather arbitrary notions of “safety” baked into them – not addressing a specific threat model – they get considerably weaker
“Gosh, who would ever have thought such a thing?”
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Anthony Barnett @anthonybarnett.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Very sorry to learn that the magnificent David Potter died on Sunday evening. A pioneering mathematical physicist, he founded Psion, created the first hand-held organizer and oversaw Symbian, the standard mobile operating system. He was a wonderful philanthropist and supporter of @opendemocracy.net
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
It’s not about the children, it’s about how monetize surveillance: demand the illiberal, stupid, self-defeating & impossible, & then criminalise the wrong people for circumvention alecmuffett.com/article/161699 #AgeVerification #australia
alecmuffett.com
It’s not about the children, it’s about how monetize surveillance: demand the illiberal, stupid, self-defeating & impossible, & then criminalise the wrong people for circumvention
Start arresting the teens and then see what happens: Australia to double penalty for social media ban breaches to $99m as tech giants accused of ‘not doing enough’ | Social media ban | The Guardian…
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Garth Marenghi's Catbus @catbus.phd · 26/06/2026
ok this one got me
reflecting pool full of green slime and barrels and you're carrying a crowbar in the style of Half Life
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Who here remembers what happened when that U2 album was spontaneously forced upon all iTunes users in the world? If the British government obligates the BBC to be at the top of all feeds then the BBC is going to start being blocked individually by random people… and then they will be gone.
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More Fun Making It @morefunmakingit.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Ok. I am gutted and really sorry to say that the servers are all gone. Over 1600 members on RHD and some lowlife deleted it forever with a click. Also stole a bunch of money from my account. I will make an update video and post that here when I get home. Whatever happens we are going to rebuild.
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
The problem with the internet - and with user empowerment - is nicely encapsulated in something Heather quoted a few days ago; the only way for the state to address it is to go "Full Orwell". bsky.app/profile/heat...
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THE NERVE @thenerve.news · 17/06/2026
Keir Starmer’s under-16 social media ban can only work if everyone proves who they are, so it’s a natural move for a government selling surveillance as safety By tech policy expert and digital rights advocate @heatherburnstech.bsky.social www.thenerve.news/p/under-16-s...
Scan your eyeballs, think of the children: how Britain sells surveillance as safety. Illustration of a child holding a phone with a ‘forbidden’ sign on top, against a pink and yellow background
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Pessimists Archive @pessimistsarc.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
In 1908 the Lancet called for an 18+ age limit on reading in bed for U.K. children.
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Sophie E. Hill @sophieehill.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
A large proportion of people being driven mad by social media would've been driven equally mad in the 90s/00s by the News of the World, the Jeremy Kyle show, email chain letters about AIDS, local Conservative party meetings, Andrew Wakefield press conferences, and David Icke paperbacks.
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rahaeli @rahaeli.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Your periodic reminder that people are *more* abusive online when they're using their "real names" than when they're using a persistent pseudonym and this effect has been replicated in literally every study that has ever been done
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
You say "oh dear" as if anybody was actually thinking about this being applied to any other platforms than X or Meta. "Of course it will only be applied to the *bad* platforms, that's how it works!"
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
Also I had these exciting books from the 1940s - THE MODERN BOY'S BOOK OF HOBBIES - including: - HOW TO MAKE A LONGBOW - HOW TO MELT DOWN AND CAST YOUR OWN MODELS IN SCRAP LEAD …I'm sure with age verification we will see a return to safe healthy outdoors hobbies like these!
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Peter Gordon 🇺🇦 @gordon.plus · 16/06/2026
The C64U took existing commodore enthusiast products, packaged them together, provided QA and support, and offered it for less money than it would cost for an end use to assemble. This is just about the opposite. Taking a Chinese dumb phone, customising it a bit, and adding a markup.
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Open Rights Group @openrightsgroup.org · 16/06/2026
“Soon it will be virtually impossible to be online in the UK without handing over identity documents or biometric data to unregulated companies.” The social media ban means EVERY user has to prove they're over 16. This puts millions at risk of their personal data being hacked. 🗣️ ORG's James Baker.
computerweekly.com
Big tech must introduce age checks to support UK’s under-16s social media ban | Computer Weekly
UK prime minister Keir Starmer announces a UK social media ban for under-16s that requires mandatory age verification to access social media services.
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
When I was maybe 13 years old (1981-ish) I got a box of Flowers of Sulphur BP from Boots and made allotropes of plastic sulphur. I then mixed some in proportion with ground charcoal & some pickling nitrate, packed it under a brick and blew the brick in half. Happy, safe days, before the internet!
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Chris Stokel-Walker @stokel.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Gov also commissioned Savanta to do surveying. Twice as many kids of all ages said social media helps them feel connected and included versus anxious or worried. Nationally representative panel was 4x more likely to say benefits outweighed risks than self-selecting consultation. Guess which one won?
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Chris Stokel-Walker @stokel.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Wild. Basically all the experts said that we need nuance, and the qualitative responses said "Hang on, don't do a blanket ban" but they went with those who wanted a black and white solution
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Chris Stokel-Walker @stokel.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Congratulations to the lobby group who swamped the consultation with 33,000 proforma responses in favour of a ban - it worked
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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
As govt is going to ban social media for kids, then they should also: - invest in youth clubs and social spaces where young people are welcome - put some actual money into libraries - mandate that secondary schools supply offline learning resources - implement effective regulation
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Sophie E. Hill @sophieehill.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
"nudity today, political speech tomorrow" In five words, @signal.org has given a more trenchant critique of government surveillance tech than 99% of UK legislators, pundits, and NGOs.
Surveillance Is Not Safety: A statement on the UK's latest threat to privacy
June 8, 2026
Children deserve to be safe, protected, and nurtured. They do not deserve surveillance, funding cuts, and cover-ups. Children also deserve their human right to privacy, as does everyone. The UK government's demand that all content on all devices sold or used in the UK be scanned on the presumption of nudity, using a dystopian combination of age verification and content scanning, will not safeguard children. It endangers us all, whilst strengthening Apple, Google, and Microsoft's market dominance and their control over our most personal information.
Forcing all UK residents to prove their age and/or have all their content scanned, simply to exercise their fundamental right to communicate, is a perilous proposition. We know that mass surveillance and censorship capabilities, however sincere-sounding the promises of those who initiate them are, never remain narrowly scoped. Once created, they will be expanded, forming a dangerous tool that will be wielded both in the UK and abroad to censor and surveil whatever they might consider "threats" or "harmful content."
Promises that this system will only run on-device are cold comfort. Wherever it runs, including the "camera" itself once it is in place on UK devices - its scope will be defined by the whims and proscriptions of the government to detect nudity today and political speech tomorrow. We know from history that once in place, there will be an inevitable authoritarian expansion of the kind of content and people these technologies will be expected to surveil.
We also know such tools will be leveraged to automatically report people to government authorities. We have already seen law enforcement agencies ask for similar widely-scoped powers which are ripe for exploitation in an increasingly tenuous political landscape.
This proposal will not keep children safe. Child safety looks like well-funded education, robust social services, a…
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Heather Burns @heatherburnstech.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
So...the originators of the nudity detection software which UK gov mandated today say this is all God's doing, so it's a good thing there isn't a Christofascist regime anywhere looking for technology partners or anything like that. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkPm... h/t @owenboswarva.bsky.social
YouTube video transcript: "we've created or God has created the safest phone in the world" "God brought us to Vodafone"
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Andy Toone @lockfarm.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
We're very much experiencing the return of paternalistic notions of control over a population who are seen as unable to manage their base desires or behave rationally. Worse still, this is a bipartisan movement from groups who feel they are losing control and relevance. Mary Whitehouse returns!
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Stephen Usher @srusher.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
Phew! That's Retrofest over for another year and, to a first approximation, stuff is back where it should be. OK, the stuff which needs to go into the loft is in the spare bedroom, but that's close enough for today.
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
Westminster Recycles Tobacco-Style Panic Campaign For Internet Crackdown alecmuffett.com/article/159491 #OnlineSafety #OnlineSafetyAct #SocialMediaBan
alecmuffett.com
Westminster Recycles Tobacco-Style Panic Campaign For Internet Crackdown
Read, especially if you are willing to consider that perhaps civil society is to blame for where we are today.
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