Carlos Rodrigues 🪣 / is on Nostr

By day, I'm a systems and software engineer. By night, I'm curious about the history of computers. Posting from Lisbon, Portugal. 🇵🇹🇪🇺

This account is about things I personally enjoy or find interesting in a positive way, even though there might be occasional #randomthoughts.

Lately I've been exploring 16-bit and later 8-bit gaming — something that passed me by as I was never much of a gamer. Expect regular posts on these subjects. 🕹️

#retrogaming #retrocomputing #computing #history

Last Notes

2025-05-04 21:29:32

One of the allures of #retro is the sense of disconnect. Removing distractions by using technology that predates the Internet — the Web, at least. 🔌
But you didn't have the entire game catalog of who knows how many systems readily available back then. You had just a few games and you focused on those.
Today, those other games out there just waiting to be played are itself a powerful distraction. It's hard to stay focused, but great when it happens. 🧘‍♂️
#retrogaming #retrocomputing
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2025-04-29 16:32:12

It's hilarious watching politicians talk all authoritatively about the power outage, as if they played any role in its resolution except perhaps stand in the way.
#electricity #portugal #blackout

2025-04-02 12:15:11

This "Studio Ghibli" craze is a good example of how generative AI destroys (economic and cultural) value.
In a few weeks, when people get bored/sick of the memes, what would have become of the art style that those folks in Japan spent decades perfecting? And what does that mean for any future work they'll produce?
We've already seen this with several illustration styles, which have become synonymous with no-value AI slop even when drawn by a human hand.
#randomthoughts #ai #enshittification

2025-04-01 09:02:47

There are already too many lies and fools either pushing them or consuming them. Let's not celebrate lies and add to the problem.
#randomthoughts #aprilfools

2025-03-22 17:02:01

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@nprofile…k0gr I'm fonder of the Osborne Effect.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osborne_effect

2025-03-17 13:21:46

This weekend the Cloudflare Lisbon office hosted a 24h hackathon organized by high-schoolers called Scrapyard.
https://scrapyard.pt
A couple of us volunteers thought it would be nice to also bring a hobby project to work on.
I brought one of my small CRTs that was suffering from significant jitter with 60Hz inputs (e.g. PAL60).
It wasn't as straightforward as replacing the main filter capacitor, but I got it working in the end.
#retrogaming #electronics #repair #scrapyard #hackathon
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2025-02-22 09:53:39

No human has set foot on the Moon (385,000 Km) for 53 years – or even left low Earth orbit (2,000 Km) for that matter – and it has been 16 years since anyone went any higher than the International Space Station (400 Km)
And now, Musk even wants to stop that early.
Mars is a carrot to allow commercial space companies to continue investing in what will make them money, while ultimately furthering nothing.
Regress under the guise of progress.
#randomthoughts #space

2025-02-11 22:14:25

Taito's "Space Invaders" (1978) is the archetypal video game. It's universally known and the enemies in the game are instantly recognizable. 👾
As icons, they're usually seen in various colors, but the original game was monochrome. The colored areas in emulators simulate the plastic overlays in cabinets.
Also, upright cabinets reflected the screen off a translucent mirror to add a painted backdrop, something that I think is not how most people imagine it.
#retrogaming #arcade #gaming #history
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2025-02-11 09:47:47

How do you make money off AI, when few are willing to pay for it? You con your existing users.
Microsoft has raised the price on the Office Family subscription from €99/yr to €129/yr. That's a 30% increase.
If you don't want Copilot, you must downgrade to "Family Classic" before it renews, a plan they've hidden behind the "cancel subscription" section.
With Google Docs around, this also looks like a death spasm for the consumer Office suite.
#microsoft #enshittification #ai

2025-02-07 10:34:55

If you have a business or run a community, and you're locked up inside Facebook, you're doing it (seriously) wrong.
#randomthoughts

2025-02-06 19:02:55

Last week, RTP aired a documentary about Timex Portugal — which built all the ZX Spectrum models for the american market, under the "Timex Sinclair" brand. 🇵🇹 🇺🇸
The Spectrum didn't catch on in the US, but the portuguese factory succeeded in selling those and later (locally designed) models elsewhere, mainly Poland. 🇵🇱
I enjoyed it and, if you're nostalgic for your Timex 2048, it's well worth a watch. 👍
https://www.rtp.pt/play/p14482/e826316/timex-uma-revolucao-por-contar ▶️
🧵 1/?
#retrocomputing #zxspectrum #timex #portugal
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2024-12-30 00:31:50

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@nprofile…hsxd To be clear, I'm not proposing anything. I'm just observing that we're no closer to AGI than we were, but the money must flow, so it will be redefined and more bullshit will be shoveled.
There is no optimism in my words.

2024-12-28 18:22:08

Just a couple of decades ago, the mainstream definition of "AI" was thinking computers and talking robots.
In the last few years that definition was transferred to "AGI".
My prediction is that someone will slap "AGI" to something not actually AGI in the next 6 to 12 months, and what we now define as "AGI" will be transferred into a new term.
My suggestions:
AEI — Artificial Emotional Intelligence
ATI — Artificial Thinking Intelligence
AAI — Artificial Actual Intelligence
#randomthoughts