iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2025

[grisly pixel art] DreamWeb got a generally lukewarm reception from many gaming mags at release, but almost all of them mentioned how extreme some of the depicted violence was. one of the early scenes in the game has some incredibly detailed animation worthy of […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

000

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2025

i have no idea if graffiti gear was a thing outside of canada, but i hope it was 🙏 it enjoyed a brief fad in my elementary school, until someone realized writing swear words in permanent marker was much more appealing than their autograph. #canada #1980s

A "Design Your Own Jacket" pack titled Graffiti Gear. It shows two kids wearing tyvek jackets, decorated with cartooned objects.

The copy from the rear of the box:

It's Graffiti Gear! A special lightweight Tyvek jacket with permanent color markers so you can design a one-of-a-kind jacket that tells the world who you are! Show 'em your favorite stars, bands, teams, hobbies, events. Get your friends to autograph your jacket or just go crazy and make your own unique designs.

This Graffiti Gear kit contains one jacket, six color markers, plus a full color idea poster with designs to inspire you and instructions to make your own terrific Graffiti Gear jacket.

000

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2025

Due to technical limitations with mastodon's architecture - which does not support domain name changes or data migration - dialup.cafe will be closing permanently in one month. Dialup.cafe instance users: please see the server announcement and get thine affairs in order. 💀

202

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2025

holy crap: mastodon server does not support domain name changes. 😆 i now have to give some serious thought to migrating dialup.cafe -> dialup.party it would mean setting up a new server from scratch, migrating users to the new server, and losing all of their post history in the process. i am […]

dialup.cafe

Original post on dialup.cafe

200

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2025

500+ canada geese on the trans canada trail #canada #animals #yeg

021

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2025

two years ago our resident hare dug herself a soft spot on the front lawn, and sat in it for weeks. twice a year - in the spring and autumn - she returns to that exact spot and has a good sit for a few days. she arrived this morning #rabbits #urbanAnimals #animals #yeg

A white tailed jackrabbit (prairie hare) sits comfortably on a lawn covered with elm leaves.

134

Reposted by vga256

Martijn Frazer @tijn.dosgame.club.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2025

Last weekend of the month, and I finally have the time to check out our @dosgameclub September game: Ascendancy. It's a space-themed 4X game from 1995, very much in the same vein as Master of Orion, and it rules. What's especially great imho is how wild and […] [Original post on dosgame.club]

Screenshot of Ascendancy. The top left contains a star map, with the Panacea system selected, along with a bunch of buttons with icons on them to navigate the map. Besides the buttons is a round image showing the face of a sort of rat-like alien. In the top right is another alien, resembling a tree somewhat. Below the alien on-screen text says: "Ah yes, the Govorum. We knew we'd run into you sooner or later." and my only reply option: "We look forward to many interesting encounters".

301

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2025

this interview with jeff vogel has a fascinating 15-minute tour of jeff's homebuilt IDE and engine for building spiderweb software RPGs in an age where the vast majority of developers are building games using general purpose platforms like unity/godot, it's fascinating to see how jeff has […]

dialup.cafe

Original post on dialup.cafe

000

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2025

on the prairies of western canada it is harvest time for hops and apples with the hot and dry autumn, we got a surprisingly bountiful harvest of both #gardening #bloomscrolling #autumn #fruit

cheerful deep red delicious apples on a tree, in the morning light.

A hops pod has grown fat from a hops plant, and shines green in the morning light.

A huge bag of apples of various shades of red and green.

020

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2025

The Invisible City Beneath Paris by Robert Macfarlane, The New Yorker Under the southern portion of the city exists its negative image: a network of more than two hundred miles of galleries, rooms and chambers. archive.ph/0Z2g9 photo credit: Gaspard […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

A chamber in the paris mine, titled "Hydraulic system". It shows a small channel of water connected to a much deeper well. The water is a clear blue.

A tunnel disappears into the distance, its walls of quarried stone.

010

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2025

today's software preservation task one of the great crimes of the 21st century was that Mark Jones' (Core Design) Darkmere - an isometric adventure-RPG for the amiga - was poorly visually documented by the usual places like lemonamiga/mobygames/etc. perhaps for […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

The wizard gildor, sitting in a stone throne, gazing into a crystal ball as electricity comes out of it.

A forest scene with a massive skull cavern, in greens and greys.

A comfy interior of a home, with a large wall fireplace and hearth; a fire burns cheerfully within it. In front of the fire sleeps a tan dog, alongside a human skull.

Around the room, torches burn.

A waterfall flows quickly along a river, spilling its water onto the rocks below. The forest around it is full of gnarly, friendly trees.

25952

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2025

Back when I bought my iMac G5 as a grad student, I could never have afforded Macromedia Director - even with its heavily discounted “academic” license. finally acquired it today, complete, so I can begin turning my upcoming book Mages & Modems, into an […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

A very large and heavy box containing Macromedia Director 7 for PowerPC macs. A 20-inch iMac G5 is in the background.

000

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2025

a 20km hike through prairie deciduous in the autumn. this is the strathcona regional trail, which recently connected edmonton to fort saskatchewan. difficulty: easy distance: medium surface: 10-20mm gravel pic 2: there is a well hidden footpath connecting the […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

A view of the north saskatchewan river, facing southwest into the sunset.

A footpath has been carved between the main path and the trans canada trail through a prairie meadow.

A dozen mallard ducks happily eat in a pond full of algae.

023

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 14/09/2025

finally know what it means to be rich i didn’t choose to rescue canadian culture from the landfill - it chose me #canada #tv #highlander

Four seasons of Highlander the tv
series, showing Adrian Paul in various cool-guy poses.

112

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2025

discovered this ad for a Panasonic PV-SD4090 in a march 2000 issue of Wired mag 99% of the time i see sony mavica posts for retro digicams, but this one is a real treasure. those LS-120 drives did not really catch on at the time, and it’s a shame because iomega […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

An ad for a megapixel digital camera with 3x optical zoom.

The copy reads:
Panasonic introduces the first digital still camera that can capture up to 1500 images on one disk.

004

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2025

found a 20 year old receipt for my iMac G5 20-inch, ordered brand new from the apple store when i was a grad student. this was their flagship imac at the time. it has been a long, long time since i even imagined spending that kind of money on a new computer 🤯 […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

A web order from apple.com for an iMac G5 20-inch 1.8 ghz superdrive, with:

256 MB DDR400
AirPort Extreme
Bluetooth Module
Keyboard/Mouse/Mac OS X
160GB ATA Drive

for $2233 CAD + tax and shipping.

000

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2025

sometimes life presents you with a choice: you can spend a sunday in the comforts of home, or you can drive 4 hours to rescue 40 issues of Wired mag from hitting the recycle bin the seller planned to toss these the next morning if someone didn’t pick them up […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

Four years worth of wired magazine spines, stacked on top of each other. Each issue has the multicoloured striped spine that wired was famous for.

the covers of four issues of wired magazine, from 2000 to 2004.

Top left, clockwise:
Microsoft introduces the xbox in 2001

An issue on Moby and music in 2002

an issue on linus torvalds and free open source software in 2004

an issue on microsoft’s antitrust case in 2000.

The rear cover of a 2002 wired magazine showing an iMac G4. “The new iMac”.

128

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 06/09/2025

today’s filthy shitty unhappy job: pulling a dead drain pump from my mom’s aging samsung front load washer. the worst part was draining very old undrained effluvia. the pump is accessed from the underside of the washer, via a small access port. just enough room […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

The business end of an electromagnetic pump. It shows the impeller vanes. Above the impeller is the AC power plug.

That black shit is soapy sewage on my hands.

010

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2025

how to instantly get yourself blocked by an ebay seller 😂

Hi there brother how are you? What is the final price for this item? Or the lowest price you are expecting for this item? Thanks

000

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2025

although I am months late in finding this out, a short eulogy for Thom Miller/Retro Guy, the creator and maintainer of RockSolid Light (RSL) - a web-based NNTP server i have rarely known someone so dedicated to their passion project as he was. many of the features RSL came to support, like […]

dialup.cafe

Original post on dialup.cafe

000

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 01/09/2025

for almost thirty years i've thought about the early pre-alpha screenshots of Ultima IX there is something incredibly charming about the combination of 3/4 perspective, 640x480 res, 256 colour palette, zero alpha blending or mipmapping or filtering, and global […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

A screenshot of a medieval house, with a thatched roof. A wood pile sits outside of the doorway, with a shield and sword on the other side. A small wagon with a cask inside sits on the lawn.

A screenshot of a medieval tower, in a grassy field with coniferous trees around it. The landscape is hilly.

002

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 01/09/2025

After Dark's bathroom wall screensaver still hurts, don't it dark forces #doom #vintageApple #macintosh #dosGaming

A bathroom wall screensaver. It shows the message:

For the money I spent on this screen saver, I coulda bought another doom rip-off.

010

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2025

charming icon from kiddonet.com - an IE4-based browser for children. reminds me of the macOS finder #retroComputing

A small postage stamp with a yellow face inside of it. Cartoonish illustration style.

000

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2025

anyone else remember the page html you could add from icq to show your on/offline status on your homepage 😅 #icq #1990s #softwarePreservation

An ICQ Respond-Online panel, showing several buttons:

Chat Me
ICQ Me
Add Me
Page Me
Zoom Me
Email Notify Me

000

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2025

some of you know that i wrote a book - "Mages & Modems" - soon to be published, about my experiences growing up in the 80s and 90s with microcomputers in northern canada. back in 95-97, as a teenager, i worked at the arctic's first ISP. but before it became an […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

A massive panorama of a late-1990s computer retail store, showing dozens of boxed games and software on the shelves. As you pan left and right, it reveals several workers desks. Dead center is a display of Gateway 2000 sweatshirts, with their distinctive holstein cow livery.

010

Reposted by vga256

David Fox 🌻🥸 @davidbfox.mastodon.gamedev.place.ap.brid.gy · 30/08/2025

I’m so pleased to share Annie Fox and my @homecomputermuseum talk with everyone who wanted to attend but couldn’t. Thank you Anne Bras for putting this all together. The audio gets much better about 7 minutes in when a phone was placed next to us. #retrogaming #lucasfilmgames #lucasarts #atari […]

mastodon.gamedev.place

Original post on mastodon.gamedev.place

214

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 29/08/2025

today's buried treasure: an interview with john henry thompson on the history of Macromedia Director. it's one of the only interviews ever recorded on the subject. as the lead programmer and creator of Lingo - the OO scripting language used in director - he relates intimate knowledge of its […]

dialup.cafe

Original post on dialup.cafe

002

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2025

today's retro rescue is a palm tungsten T5 - the late flagship model in the tungsten line of PDAs ten years ago i had nothing but a tungsten for all of my computing needs - i wrote emails and letters on it, and played a lot of Infocom text adventures at night […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

A palm tungsten open to its main screen, showing a manga character in the background.

In the foreground are applications like Adobe Reader, Bluetooth, Calendar, Destaler, and Calc.

The PDA is in a leather carrying case, with a "Graffiti" character guide glued to the left panel.

011

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2025

instead of memorizing our birth years, most millennials could just have logitech logo tattoos inked at birth source: logos.fandom.com/wiki/Logitech

A chronology of logitech logos, from 1981 to 2015.

The logos in general move from a modern sans serifed style to more painterly and expressive style, back to a modern sans serifed style.

003

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 26/08/2025

some time ago i discovered the 1940s General Electric Epicure 2QH2 kitchen wall clock and fell in love with the modernist face design it took a few months, but i finally tracked one down today for $20 locally. i was surprised to learn that the movement is […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

002

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 24/08/2025

i wrote a 120,000 word book on my experience growing up in the BBS and dial-up internet era, from ~1985-1997 it's chock full of stories about ibm pc and macintosh hardware and gaming it's going to be published this autumn as an ebook and might get a print edition but i have a far more stupid […]

dialup.cafe

Original post on dialup.cafe

052

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 24/08/2025

how did it never once occur to me to swear at the You Don't Know Jack parser i absolutely love that they rewarded the player for this #retroGaming #win95

035

vga256 @vga256.dialup.cafe.ap.brid.gy · 23/08/2025

bbs enthusiasts might remember the name Telegard - a bbs server written based on wwiv's source code and hugely popular with the ibm pc/ms-dos crowd telegard had a long and tumultuous history by its authors, and its own source was eventually leaked and was modded […] [Original post on dialup.cafe]

tim strike's telegard.net website, circa its last update in 1999

Telegard Product Information

Home
Guestbook
Telegard
Information
Resources
Download
File Archive

Other Software
fks Software
Telegard Information
Telegard BBS Software is a full featured bulletin board system software for beginners and experts! Features include a full message section with JAM and Squish formats, a full file section w/file tagging & CDROM support, multinode & multilingual support, powerful menus, scripts, and door support!
Telegard 3.09.g2 Service Pack 4 Release - Y2K Fixes
Service pack 4 for Telegard 3.09.g2-sp3 fixes all the known Y2K problems (pertaining mostly to subscription expiry). The service pack contains a binary fix and some other supplemental files to update both the DOS and OS/2 3.09.g2-sp3 releases. NOTE: You must already have applied the sp3 service pack in order to apply sp4.
Download Telegard 3.09.g2 Service Pack 4 (tg309sp4.zip, 583K)

Telegard 3.09.g2 Service Pack 3 Release
Service pack 3 for Telegard 3.09.g2 fixes most (if not all) the known problems and bugs with Telegard 3.09.g2. The service pack contains a binary fix and some other supplemental files to update both the DOS and OS/2 3.09g2 releases.

Download Telegard 3.09.g2 Service Pack 3 (tg309sp3.zip, 282K)
Telegard 3.09.g2

024