gadgetoid

I’ve been a hobbyist games and technology writer for over 20 years. I keep the lights on by writing MIT-licensed embedded hardware drivers at Pimoroni in Python, MicroPython and C++.

 Hobbies include music, videogames, skateboarding, baking and making videos about frothing milk.

 Tech @ https://gadgetoid.com 
Software @ Pimoroni
 Pi pinout - https://pinout.xyz
 Pico pinout - https://pico.pinout.xyz 

He/Him. 

#Technology #RaspberryPi #Making #VideoGames #MiniComputers

Public Key

npub14l7pfae07axsd40jgka5ujpylkgh9gdf4qqvec64crkj3kqz7wjqmetw72

NIP-05 Address

gadgetoid_at_fosstodon.org@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs2llq57uhlwngx6heytw6wfqj0mytj5x56sqxvud2upmfgmqp08fqw3ug2s

Author Public Key

npub14l7pfae07axsd40jgka5ujpylkgh9gdf4qqvec64crkj3kqz7wjqmetw72

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Last Notes

2024-11-09 15:17:14

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@npub198t…hasj @npub10d0…l8gw we’re definitely not a big brand but we are a brand and the involvement would be mostly salesey so it feels out of place.
I should probably have put my @npub1j6g…ss6z instance on a Pi 🤣

2024-11-09 15:14:27

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@npub198t…hasj this, among the hassle of actually setting up and running a single user instance, is why I didn’t set up a “pimoroni” here. The fedi and bluesky have different feels and paces and etiquette and audiences and I’m good with that.

2024-10-22 07:59:11

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@npub198t…hasj @npub1frw…rgac I think I have a similar sentiment to yours. Though the net has fundamentally always been about community for me. Not least of all because somewhat deaf, so text works better!
It’s always a pleasure to work with, or around, folks who are doing awesome things both in software and hardware.
While hobby electronics are not intrinsically meaningful, they allow people to do meaningful things and me to contribute to FOSS 🤣

2024-10-22 07:48:18

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@npub198t…hasj @npub1frw…rgac coincidence? 🤔🤣

2024-10-16 20:24:39

I successfully contested a parking ticket with a screenshot of … my parking fare… and they told me to “park correctly” with no clarification on what this actually means 🙃

2024-10-16 19:40:30

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@npub198t…hasj you strike me as someone who would appreciate Robert Rankin. I’m not sure how I got that from puns, but it’s a similar kind of off piste.

2024-10-08 07:36:14

ICYMI the 32blit embedded handheld dev SDK now has some tutorials! - https://32blit.com/community-tutorials/tutorials/contents.html
#GameDev #Electronics

2024-10-04 05:34:34

Aside from expressing your approval for basic income… how do you actionably get someone out of 7-day-a-week, 12-hour shifts at the supermarket?

2024-10-01 12:48:22

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@npub1dm5…5sqe what are you talking about, they obviously say ZO OI or IO OZ.

2024-09-28 07:54:26

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@npub19lt…qfjk if the uneducated and illiterate are somehow a growth market for ProtonMail, then by what proportion is this feature - which requires education and literacy to evaluate that its output isn’t latent nonsense - assisting versus exploiting those people? 🤔

2024-09-24 16:49:26

One thing that bothers me is that seeking an autism/ADHD diagnosis seems - on the face of it, and without having even tried - akin to seeking a broken leg diagnosis by attempting to run the 100 meter sprint.

2024-09-12 17:59:30

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@npub1vlh…f6as I don’t think I ever got gud. I just got cheese! (And spent hours grinding 🫠,) still get absolutely rekd if I sneeze at the wrong time though!

2024-09-11 13:10:39

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@npub1kr2…3ggc RUST!?!??!
They're not cast iron 😆

2024-09-08 18:14:02

Ooof just very loudly blew up the Maplin universal power supply that I used to totally screw up a computer yesterday 🫠

2024-08-31 18:38:51

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@npub1ptm…2xku ngl I thought Redox was a shower gel until today. People not hearing of it just means they’re hearing of it *now* and that can only really be a net positive!

2024-08-28 20:37:32

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@npub1uyg…qnp4 what’s a fediverse?

2024-07-29 18:37:10

The things I do for art
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/871/223/986/968/291/original/dcc45e43e14cb335.jpeg

2024-07-12 19:36:14

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@npub198t…hasj not backlit? In this. The year of our lord, 2024? Looks like it could be moddable 🤔
Also damn it looks tantalisingly good!

2024-06-26 06:49:04

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@npub1e6x…zd8d is the word “Chinese” actually at all relevant here, or are we leaning into some bad connotations and stereotypes as a lazy alternative to writing a compelling headline?

2024-06-25 21:10:10

This whole Polyfill business is unfortunate but I remain a little unsettled at just how many people casually use “Chinese company” and “Chinese IP” like their country of origin is especially relevant.

2024-06-22 20:30:23

Can we get even the tiniest concession that AI is- in fact- a fabulous accessibility tool and that alt text is a solved problem? 😬 #A11y

2024-06-21 06:34:50

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@npub1g0t…tvm4 the entire north of Cambridge seems to be leaning on a couple of local village GPs- good thing they’re not building out a 26,000 resident town with no facilities… oh wait

2024-06-19 20:11:25

This 3D printing lark sure is fun!
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/645/099/680/129/714/original/d211ea64a3cb4d3e.jpeg

2024-06-19 08:51:35

Bit of a shame the 3m tape holding on the Pico doesn’t make the electrical connections 🤣
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/642/430/349/837/131/original/5d71cf23f896d045.jpeg

2024-06-19 05:24:34

Thinking about how enormous an own goal #RaspberryPi breaking RPi.GPIO and making me spend nine months of my life unbreaking user space GPIO might end up being when someone inevitably asks “does this code work on BeagleY-AI?” and I say “well, uh, actually yes and ROCK 5 too…” #Electronics

2024-06-18 17:13:10

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@npub1t9n…k9e7 👀

2024-06-17 22:53:33

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@npub1sua…szrk the fun is adding the roms and getting everything set up nicely, nobody expects you to play them 🤣

2024-06-14 08:34:05

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@npub1e7m…7x48 presumably just ADHD like the rest of us? 🫠

2024-06-13 19:42:33

Can I eat these? They look sooo goooood
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/611/015/035/071/263/original/8b3045c1898ed597.jpeg

2024-06-13 17:48:26

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@npub17ge…hgsu oof reminder that I probably need to update my instance 🫠

2024-06-13 07:53:57

“I’m sorry we got caught?”
C’mon, really???
https://github.com/pinout-xyz/Pinout.xyz/issues/475

2024-06-12 20:25:34

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@npub1vvu…pj6u can we get a COSMIC EN? I don’t speak German,

2024-06-10 09:54:32

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@npub198t…hasj thank you- unfortunately I am terribly incompatible with non-fiction books 🤣 which might be the crux of my problems balancing style with clarity.

2024-06-10 09:34:39

Okay genuine question- in describing a two party scenario where I want to keep gender ambiguous (because it’s irrelevant) how do I clearly disambiguate between the third person neutral pronoun “their” and the third person possessive “their”?
I want to say “the children’s entertainer was dismissive of the autistic child who just wanted to check their watch”…

2024-06-06 18:41:45

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@npub17ge…hgsu this is attempting to be one- https://github.com/pimoroni/boilerplate-python/issues/16

2024-06-06 18:39:41

Should I buy a Bambu Labs A1 + AMS? (They won’t reply to my emails asking for a free one 🤣😭)

2024-06-06 18:38:00

I’ve updated the Inventor HAT Mini library to hopefully run on a Pi 5. Though the RGB LEDs will sadly not work 😣

2024-06-06 13:50:24

What the heck am I supposed to do with a 4K short-throw projector? Anyone want to rent one? 😆

2024-05-31 07:10:21

Did #emfcamp2024 just up and move 60 miles west or am I completely losing my mind!?

2024-05-27 14:23:04

How do you budget for subscriptions, supporting developers or projects? How many “it’s just X a month” can you sustain? How do we encourage this model? What do you *feel* about this model?

2024-05-27 07:18:28

FOSS is like having a whole room full of people looking over your shoulder and pointing out your mistakes. #FOSS

2024-05-26 22:50:19

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@npub17ge…hgsu ah just what I needed- more visibility on my relentless FOMO 😭🤣

2024-05-26 12:10:17

I am so deeply, deeply tired of every god damned "can be answered with a tutorial" technical question search being overwhelmingly flooded with videos. I don't want videos. I don't want to *listen* to something I can read. I am at least 50% deaf. GIVE ME WORDS DAMN YOU. WOOORDSSSSS!

2024-05-26 07:24:17

Kids these days be “yeah I love #RetroGaming the PlayStation 2 is my favourite but I also collect Xbox games…”

2024-05-25 15:43:49

God f&*%£king damn it, everyone is going to EMF

2024-05-23 20:34:37

I guess it really puts the kii boom into KiiBOOM. Review my review of the marmite of all keyboards, the KiiBOOM Phantom 98. You'll either absolutely love or loathe it - https://gadgetoid.com/2024/05/23/kiiboom-phantom-98-transparent-mech-keyboard-review/
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/492/308/705/951/511/original/fec24601a1288f70.png

2024-05-21 07:06:55

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@npub1e7m…7x48 ooh shine through? How did they turn out?

2024-05-20 16:48:02

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@npub1e7m…7x48 Yeaaaaaaaaah, they got me, they got me good.

2024-05-20 11:50:58

Bonkers? Yes.
Functional? Also yes.
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/473/261/509/598/679/original/4006458ef6d3a648.jpeg

2024-05-20 06:44:52

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@npub1sua…szrk ouch, you got me right in the childhood 🤣

2024-05-17 19:20:30

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@npub1sua…szrk turn on tangent snap in the advanced snap tools, the rest is a cakewalk

2024-05-16 09:03:30

Me: ugh I can’t see the backlight through my keys!
KiBOOM: hold my beer
#mechanicalkeyboard
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/449/951/968/827/104/original/8ec57a9b76bb5494.jpeg
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/449/951/975/185/328/original/27b15dfe373c02ba.jpeg

2024-05-07 22:34:11

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@npub1sua…szrk MANY
EXCITE!
Well worth the wait. Probably my favourite handheld since OpenPandora.

2024-05-07 21:56:42

Am I high or does this text look completely whack!?
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/402/032/272/918/630/original/bcaef30103fc3fb0.jpeg

2024-05-06 21:41:25

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@npub1cmg…rzd2 everything they lifted from Tyler’s previous musical exploits is just so absurdly perfect. Golden Gate ❤️

2024-05-06 12:38:10

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@npub1sh4…32nx 🤣🤣🤣 don’t often get nerd sniped into deep dives on topics but it’s fun!

2024-05-06 10:42:04

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@npub1sh4…32nx I’ve written more educational GitHub issue replies 🤣

2024-05-04 07:58:37

If you ever wanted a glimpse into how pathologically dysfunctional my life is… here are the stray mugs I’m carrying downstairs this morning…
https://cdn.fosstodon.org/media_attachments/files/112/381/751/718/409/723/original/40255d8b7f71d75d.jpeg

2024-04-30 07:09:16

I’d love to review the Nuphy Air75 v2 in my keeb lineup. Things like “If there are 5 real and valid keyboard orders ordered through your affiliate link within 1 month after you release the review, we will refund the amount of the keyboard in your order, and you can also get the commission of these orders on your affiliate account.” make sense from a managing ROI perspective, but create a real perverse incentive for reviewers to simply be shills… I told them “lol no” for the record.

2024-04-22 18:42:56

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@npub1sua…szrk love this game! Simple, stress free romp in the country with that very “Ignition” (1996 3D DOS cartoon car racer) art style. Like Lunistice for similar reasons even though it’s a very different game.

2024-04-20 21:29:35

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@npub12f7…lkxh oh sheesh comparing the 2016 Pro to my M2 Air is flippin’ harsh. Apple just straight up fixed everything.

2023-07-19 10:03:29

I don't know how people can just show up to a meeting without spending at least an hour beforehand crippled by anxiety and watching the clock...