Marcin Wichary

Wrote a book about the history of keyboards: https://shifthappens.site · Design director @figma · Typographer · Occasional speaker · Chicagoan in training

Shift Happens: https://shifthappens.site
Personal site: https://aresluna.org
Location: ✶ ✶ ✶ ✶
Pronouns: He/Him

Public Key

npub147879x6ctj4qjvf7avshj5ldmexnh9guckr2wfhjsh8a87pv800qnqy4ag

NIP-05 Address

mwichary_at_mastodon.online@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs2lrlzndv9e2sfxylwkgte20kaunfmj5wvtp48ymegtn7nlqkrhhsq3ftxg

Author Public Key

npub147879x6ctj4qjvf7avshj5ldmexnh9guckr2wfhjsh8a87pv800qnqy4ag

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Last Notes

2024-08-29 18:48:15

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Good URL design!

2024-08-29 14:37:18

Idea: A mini conference or event where we just talk about the beauty of all the little nerdy hard working UI things taken for granted:
- really good settings screens
- really good release notes
- really good sitemaps
What else would go in this category?
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/113/045/808/995/763/709/original/e3558377deb365d3.png
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/113/045/810/036/816/474/original/f20f79117eefbb8e.png

2024-08-28 01:51:52

This font (and site) are so, so good! You don’t often see a pixel font with old-style numerals. https://departuremono.com/

2024-08-28 01:34:13

What’s the most famous/recognizable sentence with a semicolon in it?

2024-08-25 01:37:56

Love how WarGames is filled to the brim with fonts no one wants: Gorton, low-poly vector fonts, old-school bitmap fonts, 14-segment stuff.
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/113/020/090/402/540/084/original/87919fc92b0ba2e0.png
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/113/020/090/784/938/248/original/610159426f92eb2c.png
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/113/020/091/204/220/075/original/21db6f40ea50ad60.png
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/113/020/091/385/427/404/original/d5833b33116dc3de.png

2024-08-24 23:16:43

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Thanks! Updated my post to reflect availability.

2024-08-24 23:10:13

PSA: New COVID vaccines are available in the U.S., with appointments starting September 6. (Can be combined with flu shots.)

2024-08-17 08:23:39

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Yes, but how would that explain the different behaviour when reloading? Both HTML and CSS assets were within their max age.

2024-08-17 08:06:47

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Let me know if this repro/example answers your question? https://mastodon.online/@mwichary/112976329709368714

2024-08-17 08:06:24

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This is a good example.
1. I pushed HTML and a linked CSS to https://aresluna.org/cache-test/
2. I uploaded new versions of both to the server.
3. I clicked on the URL again. No change to HTML and CSS (cache). Ok.
4. I clicked reload in the browser.
5. HTML got updated. CSS did not. ← this is the annoying part because when CSS gets out of sync with HTML things get bad!
6. I did Shift-reload.
7. Only then CSS got updated.

2024-08-17 08:01:24

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It seems linked CSS files are “super cached.” Does anyone know what are the right words to describe the difference between the regular reload and Shift reload caching?

2024-08-17 07:51:58

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(It does feel DreamHost related in that I think it started when I switched to this host! I am just struggling with re-setting it up correctly or perhaps I don’t know the right terms to search for.)

2024-08-17 07:46:27

I feel like an idiot asking, but maybe this is simple?
I’m struggling with caching on my webserver. It’s either “everything gets re-downloaded every time you enter the page” or “caching so intense you have to hold Shift when reloading to trigger a re-download. Regular reload goes to cache.”
I want a regular page reload to re-download. Is it surprisingly tricky these days, or is my hosting (DreamHost) just set up weirdly? I’d appreciate any ideas. I googled and experimented, but no luck so far.

2024-08-07 02:05:33

A brand new L station!
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/918/284/395/069/369/original/dff3919c150c9c18.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/918/284/921/852/042/original/0de359cb2fd0fb15.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/918/286/819/904/597/original/0d6f3a79659667af.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/918/287/456/783/983/original/f8e99bc5d857bb5e.jpeg

2024-06-24 13:30:37

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BTW I am always interested in photos of Gorton in the wild! Please send me stuff if you don’t mind! It’s everywhere around you probably:
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/671/837/540/237/882/original/108d4d0acb85549c.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/671/838/032/785/074/original/049e8567dcbd8c04.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/671/838/695/564/809/original/192c3f41ae1d5ce2.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/671/839/564/994/121/original/4a7854d86a658e6c.jpeg

2024-06-06 03:43:03

It’s so strange that rereading bits and pieces of my own book alternates between “this is so well done” and finding 3 new tiny mistakes or slight imperfections I’ve never noticed before. (Oh, yeah, I’m writing them all down. Not sure why. It’s torture but writing things down gets them out of your head.)
And I can never predict which of these two experiences I will get at any given time. Today is the hard one. Sigh.

2024-05-23 05:23:35

Has anyone written about how textual generative AI feels strangely close to toxic masculinity in some respects? The absolute confidence in everything stated, the lack of understanding of the consequences of getting that confidence wrong for important questions, the semi-gaslighty feeling when it “corrects” itself when you call it out on something. It so often feels like talking to someone one would despise and avoid in “real life.” I’m curious if anyone did some writing on this.

2024-05-05 04:41:38

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Thanks! I went to the source, and just resurrected three different early Chicago revs
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/386/640/648/697/626/original/32c1b6d1f90b3d35.png

2024-04-22 14:07:09

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Also, just found this work-in-progress version of Chicago! Will digitize it and see what are the differences.
http://toastytech.com/guis/twiggy.html
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/315/256/509/933/032/original/ea9d9d9b4ce31325.png
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/315/256/996/671/308/original/4a3ed751268f144a.png
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/315/257/431/880/243/original/6c1c7508626fe0e0.png

2024-04-22 14:01:43

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In America, but maybe not Europe. (From what someone mentioned yesterday.)

2024-04-22 14:01:22

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Thank you for all the great submissions. The interesting discovery for me is how incestuous this space was. Atari vs. Commodore 8-bit fonts are weirdly related in both directions (Atari grabbed the uppercase, Commodore later the lowercase?), and so are Atari/Namco arcade fonts; SAA5050 teletext was inspired by Signetics 2513; Hitachi 5x7 HD44780 was used everywhere; and Chris Espinosa just admitted to “borrowing” parts of the Commodore PET font to bring it to Apple II. https://mastodon.online/@Cdespinosa@mastodon.social/112313573541866323

2024-04-22 00:26:14

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I bet there are also regional hits. Polish people of a certain age would probably instantly recognize TAG and ChiWriter fonts, and everyone else in the world would be like “huh.”
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/312/023/990/331/550/original/d384732d12b8321a.png
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/312/024/381/441/728/original/6feb7482abe7eb26.png
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/312/028/538/417/659/original/32b8c8251250078a.png

2024-04-22 00:00:07

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Are there any modern or close-to-modern bitmap fonts worth a mention?
Panic’s Playdate comes to mind…
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/311/922/932/376/055/original/0351a7202d39b187.png

2024-04-21 23:51:37

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BTW I’m working on a talk about these!
Great contenders so far:
- London Underground digital marquee font (very excited since it’s not a “computer” font! are there more?)
- GameBoy Pokemon
- GameBoy Tetris
- Some popular NES font
- Print Shop
- Kottke’s Silkscreen
- Apple II
Thanks so far, everybody!

2024-04-21 23:16:59

What would you consider as the most recognizable bitmap fonts in tech history?
I’m imagining stuff like:
- the arcade/Atari font
- Chicago (Mac, then iPod)
- VCR/video equipment fonts
- Minecraft font
- IBM PC fonts (MDA, VGA, stuff like that)
- perhaps System font from Windows 3.x
- Commodore 64, just because of the sheer popularity of the machine
What am I missing?
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/311/747/961/906/487/original/9442c469553307ba.png
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/311/804/420/992/670/original/151fd3ffe6a45ad1.png
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/311/805/148/660/702/original/15a4bba787baa19e.png
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2024-04-10 00:00:21

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She doesn’t know I’m sharing this, but this is my Mom reading my book. (Well, sort of. My Mom doesn’t understand English.)
This is in the same apartment I grew up in, right next to the same books I admired as a kid. My Mom was a librarian for a while, and so some of my love for books was definitely hers to begin with.
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/243/967/326/309/111/original/e4a2d6af6cbe0d8f.jpeg

2024-04-09 23:49:26

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Thanks SO MUCH to [@glennf](https://twit.social/@glennf) for being my great partner here. We solved so many problems with shipping, packaging, fulfillment, deliveries, learned various strange things and nuances, built so much custom software, wrote so many email templates, and debugged so many cases that I lost tracking of it all. I mean track. Lost track.

2024-04-09 23:47:58

Okay, today is the day when it’s done: the last three books have been delivered.
All the Shift Happens pledges, preorders, regular orders, almost-sold-outs and absolutely-last-copies-sold-outs, people who asked for delays, people who forgot about their pledges, some post office and FedEx snafus, a few damage replacements… all of it is now delivered!!!!!
For the first time in half a year I don’t have to worry about things in transit.
I think I’m going to get some ice cream to celebrate.