iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 13/09/2026

Awesome #vcfmw this year as always. And of course I left with more than I came with. As usual. Here's a pic of some cold cathode lights I found on the free pile. I added them to the display rig right away. Neat!

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 03/09/2026

It's almost time for #VCFMW! This time, at my table you can experience 4 different #OPL3 implementations playing simultaneously and switch between them at will! How different are they? Why not come hear for yourself?

Table map for VCFMW, showing Wafflenet is located in block B6, table B604.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 17/08/2026

Ugh. The intense storms hitting the Midwest finally did my basement in, and now I have water seeping out of the floor. Luckily my vintage tech is unharmed. However, it may be quite a while until they have a proper home again. Not much you can do to mitigate against 8 inches of rain over a few hours.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 01/07/2026

Used game stores are on borrowed time now. From a technical perspective, it would be completely viable to make a system where you can revoke a game license from your account and get a new, transferrable redemption code to resell. From a business perspective, nobody will ever allow it to happen.

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gorilla.bas @brassicgamer.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

RIP Robert Prince, credited on 71 games, most of them forming the soundtrack to my early teens. Absolute legend.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 03/06/2026

You either love to hate CQM, or hate to love it. Regardless, this is really awesome and can help us understand and actually express the differences between CQM and a real OPL3.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 03/06/2026

The OPL Archive will be returning to VCF Midwest this year! I know it's a bit repetitive, but the Archive is my unique contribution back to the community - more than just some computers everyone's seen before on a table. Maybe I can find some ways to freshen the exhibit up this year?

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 19/05/2026

I did have to pull these ISA boards from the machine (they were in it when I got it) - two Equinox Megaport 12CS twelve port serial cards. Apparently they are EISA compatible somehow? But !EQX1011.CFG is lost to the ages. Does anyone have it? (and some drivers?? Equinox's FTP was never backed up)

Error from EISA utility asking for !EQX1011.CFG which I don't have and neither does mR_Slug's EISA cfg archive.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 19/05/2026

I like the splash screen. Professional yet kinda quaint and amateurish at the same time.

The DEC System Configuration Utility for DECpc MTE

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 19/05/2026

Wired up a new battery for the Benchmarq RTC chip over lunch. Now for EISA config!

A CR2032 battery piggybacked onto a Benchmarq bq4287 RTC chip

Modified chip in the socket on the motherboard

BIOS no longer shows "real time clock failure" and asks to run the EISA config

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 19/05/2026

Very easy swap, and it passed the smoke test! It's very obvious the case was designed for both boards. Now to deal with the stupid RTC chip.

PhoenixBIOS(TM) E486 Version 1.00
Copyright (C) 1985-1992 Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
All Rights Reserved

DECpc MTE 486DX2 Version 1.02
Copyright (C) 1993 Digital Equipment Corporation
All Rights Reserved

640K Base Memory
7168K Extended Memory

Real time clock failure
Diskette drive A failure
Diskette drive B failure
Waiting for disk ready ...

080 To enter Setup press: . . . . . . . [F1]

Motherboard in the DECpc case with the S3 805 local bus card installed.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 19/05/2026

Getting myself into trouble. I have a DECpc 466d2 MT. It's okay, but slowish for a 486DX2/66 and only has ISA slots. But now I have ended up with the motherboard from the 466d2... MTE! With EISA and VLB! I'm sure this swap will go just fine...

DECpc 466d2 MTE board. It has Socket 2 with 6 EISA slots (one shared VLB) and a VLB like "local bus video" slot that "almost" fits a normal VLB card but they're blocked by the backplane. It pushes the video signal to an onboard VGA port. (I have the associated S3 805 card)

A standard DECpc 466d2 MT with the side open. The boring ISA only model with crappy S3 924 graphics.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 16/05/2026

FMV games are an acquired taste (and generally not a taste I have acquired myself), but this marathon of a video really helped me respect what they were trying to do. Incredible deep dive into Digital Pictures.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 10/05/2026

Interesting Amiga 500 with an internal hard drive mount that hangs off the keyboard. It also has a DKB MegaChip for 2MB of ChipRAM. Nice!

Opened Amiga 500 with an IDE hard drive hanging off the keyboard. The screen shows it has 2MB of ChipRAM

Side view of the Seagate ST3660A hard drive (545MB) hanging off the keyboard

Amiga 500 guts. Revision 5 board with modifications for supporting trapdoor ChipRAM, A501 board, DKB MegaChip with 8375 Agnus, and the ICD AdIDE piggybacking off the 68000 to add hard drive support. It's kitted out except for a lack of FastRAM!

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Martijn Frazer 🇳🇱🇪🇸🇮🇪🇮🇸🇸🇮 @martijnfrazer.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

I don't get all the hype, I've been a prompting engineer for 40 years!

$Black screen with white pixely letters saying "Starting MS-DOS... C:\>_"$

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 12/04/2026

There's also a totally separate project called Wiintosh too, apparently. This one has 10.2-10.4 running on the Wii U. I tried it, and it's very impressive! And more useful cause the Wii U actually has RAM. github.com/Wiintosh/Wii...

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 08/04/2026

For all us naive kids back in the day who were like "the Wii has a PowerPC, why can't I run Mac OS X on it??" ... we now stand corrected. github.com/bryankeller/...

github.com

GitHub - bryankeller/wiiMac: A Mac OS X bootloader for the Nintendo Wii.

A Mac OS X bootloader for the Nintendo Wii. Contribute to bryankeller/wiiMac development by creating an account on GitHub.

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techknight @thetechknight.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Wow, the weather channel actually made a simulator for a retro-inspired Weather STAR 4000 and it works: (And no, this is NOT april fools) weather.com/retro/

weather.com

RetroCast Now

And now, your RetroCast. Brought to you by The Weather Channel.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 31/03/2026

It's PicoCAD2sday again! This week's machine... this one's for all you Brits in the audience... the ZX Spectrum. Sorry, I mean "Zed"-X Spectrum. ;) #picocad2 #zxspectrum #retrocomputing

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 29/03/2026

Frustratingly, I found out that it gets stuck in reset if a second CPU is installed. No idea why - maybe socket damage? Big disappointment and I have no idea where to start on troubleshooting it. Nor do I want to sink money into a replacement board - Netburst isn't interesting enough.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 28/03/2026

Uncommon rescue this week. A Socket 604 board! Dual NetBurst Xeons to keep you warm at night. Unfortunately the case it came in is pretty trashed, so I need to find something else that can fit it and its very thick heatsink mounts.

Tyan Thunder i7525 motherboard with dual Socket 604

Two Xeon 3.6GHz "Nocona" CPUs, SL7VF S-spec

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Obduracy of Zorp @wiggygrumpgames.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

I am exhausted and yet the self fulfillment doesn't stop. This is my 3rd model on #picocad2, the Apple 1! As some of you might know I absolutely love old computers and knowing how far we have come in computing history, and I am happy to likely be the first person to model this on Pico CAD 2(bonus⬇️)

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 24/03/2026

It's "PicoCAD2-sday"! Here's another retro machine, the imposing and legendary Sharp X68000 SUPER. #picocad2 #x68000

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 21/03/2026

I was so damn hyped for the GBA. My friend's mom worked at Kmart and was able to get one slightly before it officially came out. We were all crowded around a lamp trying to see the screen 😂 Kind of wish it had a few more years before death by shovelware. The DS really took the wind out of its sails.

My herd of Game Boy Advances (and the games behind them). Left: Launch model Indigo GBA I got for my 9th birthday with my original copy of Super Mario Advance. Right: A modded launch GBA with clear indigo shell and backlit screen (my main unit) running my childhood copy and save of Pokemon Ruby. Center: A black GBA SP AGS-001 I found at a garage sale for $3 that I used until I got the modded system, running my childhood copy of Sonic Advance.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 19/03/2026

I did a SPARCstation IPX as well. I mean, it's mostly just a (lunch)box, so nothing earth shattering. Maybe I'll just keep doing these low poly retro computer models? #picocad

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 19/03/2026

A Macintosh Performa 600 made in #picocad to celebrate #MARCHintosh! This was the first computer I ever used. Also, real talk, PicoCAD is really fun to use. It's not going to be as full featured as Blender, obviously, but it's nice to finally find a 3D modeler that my smooth brain can handle.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 05/03/2026

Great job! You guys wore out my ImageWriter ribbon. This is the one that was installed in there when I got the thing a good 10+ years ago. I just put a fresh new one in, let's see how that one does! #MARCHintosh #GlobalTalk

A print from GlobalTalk that says "Happy" and then it fades out because the ribbon ran dry.

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 01/03/2026

#MARCHintosh #GlobalTalk Apparently my router box froze up at some point. Never had that happen in previous years. I'm also seeing a reasonably high number of "Packet Buffer Overflow" errors reported in the statistics, also something I didn't see before. Anyone have any thoughts?

Port statistics showing 1921 packet buffer overflow errors and 94.7% network reliability

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 28/02/2026

I recently obtained an #AtariST cartridge that uses the obscure YM2423 (OPLL-X) chip - a variant of the standard YM2413 (OPLL) with different built-in instruments. I believe the software was previously undumped, so I have uploaded it to the Internet Archive. archive.org/details/fm-m...

archive.org

FM Melody Maker : Hybrid Arts Europe : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Music composition software for Atari ST computers. Comes with a special cartridge containing a Yamaha YM2423 (OPLL-X) synthesis chip. Disk image is in...

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 28/02/2026

Oh yeah, #MARCHintosh is back soon. I went ahead and fired up the ol' IIci and ImageWriter again, so Wafflenet on GlobalTalk is back in business for the month!

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Mike Dailly ™ @mdf200.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Happy 35th #Lemmings anniversary! Who'd have thought, 35 years later we'd still be talking about these little guys. #Amiga #MSDOS #AtariST #Commodore #Atari #DMADesign #Psygnosis #RETROGAMING #Lemmings35th Read about it's making here lemmings.info/lemmings-gam...

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 13/02/2026

Okay, really impressed with NetBSD on here. The nouveau problem I had with the GeForce 3 actually doesn't happen on the FX5200 Ultra! This thing is just screaming along. The capture card even works out of the box! Now if only TDE built on NetBSD, I'd be right at home in early 2000s *nix bliss.

Screenshot of NetBSD 10.1 running on a Gateway G6-450 w/ Celeron "Tualeron" 1400mhz & Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra. Using the default ctwm window manager. Running apps are fastfetch, cmatrix, glxgears, xeyes, ico, xosview and fxtv (showing input from an Apple IIe via a Hauppauge capture card)

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 13/02/2026

Well, this didn't last long. I updated the kernel and now the Nouveau kernel module locks up the whole machine on boot unless I disable modesetting (which of course means no X11). Happens on any kernel from 6.12.68 onwards. Maybe I'll try NetBSD for giggles?

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🐦 Ferris 🔜 MFF, TFF @ferristhetoucan.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

So cool to hear John Chowning just won a Technical Grammy for his invention of FM synthesis in 1967!

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Ian Scott @polpo.org · 29/01/2026

The PicoIDE Crowd Supply campaign is now live! Back the project to be among the first to get yours! PicoIDE is an open IDE/ATAPI drive emulator for retro systems. www.crowdsupply.com/polpotronics...

crowdsupply.com

PicoIDE

An open source IDE/ATAPI drive emulator for vintage computers

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 23/01/2026

Unnecessary use of military terms in computer hardware in order to attract edgy gamers was already in vogue in 2003.

MSI K8T Neo "dynamic overclocking" option. Instead of just writing the percentages, they have to name each level.
"Select each level increase the CPU frequency by, Private:1%, Sergeant:3%, Captain:5%, Colonel:7%, General:10% Warning! Dynamic OverClocking is an advanced overclocking function. Any damage or risk resulted from impropriety or overclocking are not garanteed." (sic)

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 22/01/2026

Guess I haven't posted anything in a while. I'll just say it's because I've been waiting for this to compile. /s Wanted to see how x86 Linux is holding up since almost every distro dropped it. It lives! But there's also a lot that isn't necessarily broken - but also kinda doesn't work.

Screenshot of Gentoo Linux running on a Gateway G6-450 upgraded to a Celeron "Tualeron" 1.4Ghz and an Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 Ultra. It's running TWM, with top, fastfetch, cmatrix, and glxgears.

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erysdren @erysdren.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Looks like Stewart Cheifet (most famously known as the host of Computer Chronicles) passed away on December 28, 2025: obits.goldsteinsfuneral.com/stewart-chei...

obits.goldsteinsfuneral.com

Stewart Cheifet Obituary December 28, 2025 - Goldsteins Funeral

View Stewart Cheifet's obituary, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

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Jason Dyer @jdyer.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Since 2012, Arthur O'Dwyer has had an updating web page called The Search for LONG0751 about a lost version of Adventure that was playable on Compuserve. It has long been one of the top early "missing" games. It is now found and playable: quuxplusone.github.io/blog/2025/12...

quuxplusone.github.io

LONG0751 has been found!

Back in 2021 I announced the rediscovery of a text adventure named Castlequest (Mike Holtzman and Mark Kershenblatt, 1980). This month another “lost game” has been found: David Long’s 751-point Advent...

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The Kinsie @thekinsie.com · 03/12/2025

Looks like UT2004 is gonna get the OldUnreal treatment - Epic-endorsed community patching and a free installer. The OldUnreal versions of Unreal Gold and UT99 are very good, so this is great news! old.reddit.com/r/unrealtour...

old.reddit.com

BREAKING: Unreal Tournament 2004 is back!

OldUnreal just posted this announcement on their [Discord](https://discord.gg/thURucxzs6): "Welcome Back, Unreal Tournament 2004! Hi everyone!...

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 19/11/2025

I have a knowledge gap. I have this 168-pin RAM. It's FPM, not SDRAM, so I thought it was 5V RAM for a Power Mac 7500/8500/9500. But the chips (MT 4LC16M4A7) are 3.3V. Tanzania Mac clones/4400s used 168-pin 3.3V but shipped with EDO, not FPM as far as I can tell. What do these go in?

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Ian Scott @polpo.org · 10/11/2025

Are you ready for #PicoIDE? It seems to be telling me it's ready. Coming soon: ATAPI optical disc emulation and IDE hard drive emulation. picoide.com

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Mac84 (Steve) 🍏 @mac84.bsky.social · 26/10/2025

A tease of something amazingly exciting... Mac OS 8 for CHRP PowerPC systems! 😳 I'm working to get this CD archived properly... (along with it's friends) 💿 Super thankful to the amazing people who helped make this happen. ❤️ Learn about CHRP here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_... #CHRP

A CD-R disc with the label "Mac OS 8 for CHRP" from September 2nd, 1997.

A screenshot of an emulated Mac running Mac OS 8.0, labeled as "Mac OS on CHRP v1.1".

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MrKsoft @wafflenet.com · 19/10/2025

I finally looked this board over in more detail today. All I had to do was pull the old CMOS battery and it fired up. Lol.

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