4am ❧

https://mastodon.social/@a2_4am

I live on track $00. he/him

GitHub: https://github.com/a2-4am
Gopher: gopher://sdf.org:70/1/users/a2.4am

Public Key

npub1l4wkmr04w7zqdafh7v6mlls4pwx59s4d2lw8nazylg8acl0ueukqzfqas0

NIP-05 Address

a2_4am_at_mastodon.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs06htd3h6h0pqx75mlxddllc2shr2zc2k40hre73z05r7u0h7v7tqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmnt49ea9u

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub1l4wkmr04w7zqdafh7v6mlls4pwx59s4d2lw8nazylg8acl0ueukqzfqas0

Show more details

Last Notes

2026-04-15 20:17:07 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@a2_4am/116394543502882937
Update: he ate the replacement cone of shame
#DogsOfMastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/410/562/962/947/681/original/f0bb77b200b20834.jpg
#note1gfn…j63r

2026-04-13 00:23:07 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@a2_4am/116389774552092903
Update: he ate the cone of shame
#DogsOfMastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/394/543/351/291/692/original/22513e3127884c43.jpg
#note1paz…nc4m

2026-04-12 04:10:18 UTC

Milo does not like the cone of shame
#DogsOfMastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/389/774/335/222/954/original/b9e21ddd736ec0e0.jpg

2026-04-09 02:01:08 UTC

I wrote a "chaos monkey" script in MAME's Lua scripting engine that semi-randomly presses keystrokes to exercise every path in Copy II Reboot, and it helped me eventually nail down a combination of actions that can put a Superdrive in a permanently-busy broken state where the drive ROM freaks out and fast-fails every time you call it and manipulates the stack in a way that crashes the caller. So that's fun. (The bug also exists in Copy II Plus v8.4.)
#AppleII #retrocomputing

2026-03-24 16:13:52 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@MozillaAI/116279201448628866
All we wanted was a browser. All you had to do was build a browser. You had one job.
#note1d54…c2cx

2026-03-23 17:44:41 UTC

- reply

there's still time to delete this terrible take, Brian

2026-02-15 20:15:02 UTC

- reply

I took that to mean that they may use the products for demonstration purposes when writing about them. Not that they could use them to make shit up and tell you it was made up.

2026-01-20 04:53:48 UTC

I'm rewatching "Veronica Mars" (which you should absolutely watch, it's got Kristen Bell! and that guy! and that other guy, who was in that thing later!) and one of the minor plot points is that she's investigating a crime that involved online purchases and she rules out a character because at the time they were purchased he was in a room with no Internet access and now I'm sad because I want a room with no Internet access.

2026-01-19 22:51:22 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@a2_4am/115924184016966918
I've been working with [@A2_Canada](https://mastodon.social/@A2_Canada ) to image, verify, and provide complete metadata for a number of scenario disks by Strategic Studies Group. SSG was an Australian video game developer+publisher that specialized in hex-based wargames. They had a multi-year print run of a magazine ("Run 5") devoted to these games and the community that centered around them. The magazine included type-in variations that nobody actually wanted to type in. They quickly started selling the variations on floppy disk.
#note1x72…l8vq

2026-01-19 22:44:31 UTC

Battlefront Scenario Disk One: Guadalcanal.woz
https://archive.org/details/wozaday_Battlefront_Scenario_Disk_One_Guadalcanal
Thanks to [@A2_Canada](https://mastodon.social/@A2_Canada ) for the disk!
#wozaday #AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/924/183/840/115/302/original/31b3837da43abdbf.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/924/183/836/618/008/original/a63a361c723c719e.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/924/183/845/903/917/original/1caf703ac4f259ce.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/924/183/868/841/270/original/a1a2a6ad684d285e.png

2025-12-14 17:46:43 UTC

"I asked Grok" "I asked ChatGPT" well I asked Racter, your artificial insanity companion
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/719/169/664/368/177/original/e6c3be7c36d55c01.png

2025-11-04 00:40:47 UTC

There is — and I can not stress this enough — just so much software.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/488/643/137/476/311/original/8878633780138ebe.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/488/643/136/982/249/original/73fb6f9bb800d86f.png

2025-10-26 01:15:25 UTC

Locksmith 5.0 rev. A (cracked by Passport, E7 bitslip protection WHICH THEY INVENTED FOR THIS RELEASE)
https://archive.org/details/Locksmith50_RevA_4amCrack
Thanks to @npub1469…6uth for the disk!
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/437/818/401/323/110/original/218b3c9fe1bb3045.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/437/818/487/302/792/original/d412d6ca818abb8e.png

2025-09-24 20:30:47 UTC

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade v1.7 (cracked by [@a2_qkumba](https://mastodon.social/@a2_qkumba ), offdisk protection)
https://archive.org/details/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Last_Crusade_v17_MacSanIncCrack
#macintosh #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/261/162/884/496/830/original/75b9e86703e488cb.mp4

2025-09-16 21:03:32 UTC

MacMatch (unpreserved, XEMAG bad block check)
https://archive.org/details/MacMatch4amCrack
#macintosh #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/215/993/809/491/560/original/767cd4f0ca6181f9.mp4

2025-09-05 13:20:42 UTC

It should be illegal to be this cute.
#DogsOfMastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/151/892/618/151/663/original/3033a1bea7e23078.jpg

2025-08-23 02:58:26 UTC

- reply

Hotkeys:
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/075/835/785/403/411/original/ebd254fdacdedd99.png

2025-08-22 14:24:54 UTC

- reply

A little of this, a little of that. The program is mature and almost perfect, so it will be a humble upgrade.

2025-08-20 01:18:04 UTC

Up to something
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/058/454/155/554/882/original/f099b43ed6b0b1e8.png

2025-07-28 12:43:05 UTC

Announcing Total Reprint: 20th century Print Shop for the 21st century Apple ][
https://archive.org/details/TotalReprint
Total Reprint is:
• The Print Shop Color (1986)
• all Broderbund graphic libraries
• additional openly licensed 3rd party graphics and fonts
• a unified UI for selecting 3rd party graphics and borders
• installable on any ProDOS hard drive, in any directory
• still runnable on any Apple ][ with 64K
Thanks [@a2_qkumba](https://mastodon.social/@a2_qkumba ) and [@init_hello](https://oldbytes.space/@init_hello ) for everything.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/930/914/591/658/892/original/27a6af8f2b688589.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/930/914/621/257/793/original/2393ebb0ae58c70f.png

2025-07-09 19:52:54 UTC

LLM-generated code is digital asbestos, and someday the companies lucky enough to survive the lost generation of expertise will be throwing bags of money at actual developers to come out of retirement and rip it all out.
https://hachyderm.io/@thomasfuchs/114823507128035525

2025-06-03 15:23:09 UTC

My latest project is code-named "Total Reprint." I ported The Print Shop (1986) to ProDOS and made it hard-drive-installable. Then I made some other improvements, like live previews of third-party graphics and borders. It's bundled with every graphic, border, and font that Broderbund ever released, plus hundreds of other openly licensed graphics that I back-ported from modern artists.
Come to INIT HELLO in July for the product launch. <https://init-hello.org/>
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/620/116/935/149/855/original/3b5c08e8fe056ef0.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/620/116/917/254/253/original/f02bbaa525f597c0.png

2025-03-30 16:23:33 UTC

Coding in C on the weekend like some kind of idiot

2025-03-07 15:09:32 UTC

I read that wrong and so did you
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/121/780/079/662/033/original/e37ffb73813fd806.jpg

2025-02-17 17:48:19 UTC

Back on my bullshit
https://github.com/a2-4am/fonts/tree/main/Disko
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/020/482/874/907/663/original/5fb310645af0ce9a.png

2025-01-04 18:53:33 UTC

The next version of Total Replay will show super hi-res artwork while loading a game on supported hardware. This works on the 16-bit Apple IIgs and any 8-bit Apple II with a VidHD card — even an Apple ][+!
More than ⅔ of the games have artwork, thanks to [@helix_nrg](https://mastodon.social/@helix_nrg ), @npub1wav…eth4, and other community members.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/771/597/728/442/992/original/67cf5e93a158eb08.mp4

2024-12-26 03:18:04 UTC

The Print Shop (clean crack, full write-up)
https://archive.org/details/ThePrintShop4amCrack
Read: https://archive.org/download/ThePrintShop4amCrack/The%20Print%20Shop%20%284am%20crack%29.txt
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/716/958/483/626/402/original/d93736d659804735.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/716/958/527/269/463/original/904ce0f60139abf1.png

2024-11-01 18:32:50 UTC

Which adjective do you get to learn, wrong answers only
https://mastodon.social/@txgx42/113409020898102574

2024-10-26 00:59:24 UTC

- reply

Baby steps

2024-10-26 00:56:05 UTC

Probable (short for "ProDOS-bootable") is a small Apple II utility to run DOS 3.3 programs on ProDOS. <https://github.com/a2-4am/probable>
Probable can run on any Apple ][ with 64K. Single- and multi-disk programs are supported. Probable uses real ProDOS calls and is compatible with all third-party ProDOS drivers. Most DOS programs can quit gracefully back to ProDOS by pressing Ctrl-Reset.
Here's 188 DOS 3.3 programs I've tested running under ProDOS via Probable: <https://mirrors.apple2.org.za/ftp.apple.asimov.net/images/games/collections/4am_prodos/>
#AppleII
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/370/999/213/167/735/original/5d09b70b34f46149.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/370/999/206/866/785/original/a8302cccfe7388ed.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/370/999/227/826/423/original/e327b9a050d3b3ff.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/370/999/210/109/835/original/b22fe5a9df6f240d.png

2024-10-23 20:23:18 UTC

Up to something
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/358/601/941/616/517/original/7018b331676ef3ef.png

2024-10-16 00:38:19 UTC

- reply

https://www.graumann.net/echo/graumann/aaa_pageshtml/dladnE.html

2024-10-16 00:29:28 UTC

Interface design is my passion.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/314/271/508/367/457/original/be6da016816110c8.png

2024-10-11 14:27:50 UTC

No! This can not be retro! I used this! I was an adult! I had my own bills! I had my own dog!
https://oldbytes.space/@ctrlaltrees/113288154636596179

2024-09-28 16:27:46 UTC

Zara, who did nothing wrong, would like to stay in her bed all day.
#DogsOfMastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/216/118/049/929/926/original/9b92827f3c7d7847.jpg

2024-09-21 17:34:14 UTC

This is the first sector of the custom loader for The Print Shop for the Apple IIc+ (not a typo). This machine had an 8-bit 65c02 CPU but an internal 3.5-inch drive, and many publishers scrambled to adapt their most popular titles. For titles that weren't already ProDOS-based, this led to some weird compromises and custom booters.
I have examined a lot — a LOT — of bootloaders, and I've learned to recognize a lot of common opcodes. Which is why this jumped out...
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/176/743/218/560/981/original/a6780dbb86ea7b69.jpg

2024-09-20 16:39:45 UTC

Time is a flat circle
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/170/866/703/285/942/original/920b28895fa7b827.png

2024-09-18 20:33:59 UTC

I really, truly can not express how mind-blowing this Windwalker title anthem is. This is a stock Apple ][ running at 1 MHz. No third-party sound card. Just the built-in $C030 speaker that blips.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/160/462/964/688/211/original/a18780f0637ceb31.mp4

2024-09-14 15:41:01 UTC

Today's aesthetic is this full-screen scroll & palette inversion (Windwalker, 1989, Apple II). This is standard HGR graphics; the entire game works on an Apple II Plus from 1979.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/136/661/499/640/570/original/6ec9c18b2eb82d61.mp4

2024-09-13 16:13:39 UTC

Passport v20240913 is out. It can crack thousands of copy protected Apple II disks. https://github.com/a2-4am/passport/releases/tag/v20240913
This version adds and improves support for protections used by Advanced Ideas, Adventure International, DLM, Earthware, MindPlay, Orion, Spinnaker, SSI, and TimeWorks.
Thanks [@a2_qkumba](https://mastodon.social/@a2_qkumba ) for everything.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/131/127/740/023/333/original/7636a1bad0cbd5e1.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/131/127/822/601/495/original/e69d92ad7333c35a.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/131/127/841/406/006/original/0e97bfda776eb158.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/131/127/852/790/578/original/05b760aea5a74542.png

2024-09-12 04:09:51 UTC

Total Replay II: Instant Replay v1.0-alpha.4 is out.
This is volume 2 of Total Replay, featuring sports games, flight sims, puzzles, game shows, and board games. If it involves blowing things up, it's probably in volume 1. This release features 89 games, all playable from a single bootable 32MB hard disk image.
https://archive.org/details/TotalReplay2
Code & changelog: https://github.com/a2-4am/4sports/releases/tag/v1.0-alpha.4
Thanks to [@a2_qkumba](https://mastodon.social/@a2_qkumba ), @npub1469…6uth, @npub1rrv…6x22, @npub1wav…eth4, and [@helix_nrg](https://mastodon.social/@helix_nrg ) for patches and testing.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/122/619/491/106/439/original/a075835a0c31c6ff.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/122/619/480/974/138/original/1401bfda50e31b06.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/122/619/492/488/180/original/1c88e363e5e5d789.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/122/619/473/762/811/original/a60dca814c75e0ea.png

2024-09-09 04:46:36 UTC

Total Replay v5.2 is out. It features 502 Apple II games (200 new since v4), all playable from a single bootable 32MB hard disk image.
https://archive.org/details/TotalReplay
Code & changelog: https://github.com/a2-4am/4cade/releases/tag/v5.2
Thanks to [@a2_qkumba](https://mastodon.social/@a2_qkumba ), @npub1469…6uth, [@helix_nrg](https://mastodon.social/@helix_nrg ), @npub1wav…eth4, Frank M, Kris Kennaway, @npub1a0v…6gjp, and everyone else who contributed to this project in the past five years.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/105/777/049/494/182/original/e0ed53c72022d2f2.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/105/777/044/140/611/original/825e9247e777d626.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/105/777/061/249/729/original/96d113c8a992606a.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/105/777/053/308/546/original/b3bbd0ceb613ac17.png

2024-09-07 23:33:11 UTC

- reply

(source: <https://x.com/Smingleigh/status/1497985580013129736> I think)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/098/882/390/379/048/original/895457414bf4484f.png

2024-09-07 19:52:05 UTC

- reply

The Everything App

2024-09-03 01:53:36 UTC

Don't threaten me with a good time
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/071/122/970/442/691/original/ba825f584165439e.png

2024-09-02 02:27:59 UTC

Breakthrough in the Ardennes v1.1.woz
https://archive.org/details/wozaday_Breakthrough_in_the_Ardennes_v11
Thanks to [@A2_Canada](https://mastodon.social/@A2_Canada ) for the disk!
#wozaday #AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/065/595/816/558/936/original/0316534d4b46cade.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/065/595/812/211/742/original/29ce15076756d247.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/065/595/815/449/420/original/5110458d83528bba.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/065/595/874/324/216/original/bcf544529a0a94c5.png

2024-08-31 19:37:15 UTC

Starfleet Orion, ©1978 Automated Simulations (later Epyx). Their first game, predating Temple of Apshai by several months. The Apple II port was written in Integer BASIC and shipped on a 13-sector disk. This may be the first published screenshot of the Apple II version; AFAICT no copies exist online.
.woz images coming soon.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/058/318/156/915/783/original/4448710e9f73ef2f.jpg

2024-08-30 17:13:24 UTC

We've had one, yes, but what about second blueberry?
#DogsOfMastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/052/090/414/245/217/original/41e58b99ed1f3e97.jpg

2024-08-29 16:23:10 UTC

- reply

In modern times, Snafaru <https://www.zimlab.com/wizardry/> has completely decompiled and recompiled Wizardry Proving Grounds and released a new version based on version 2.1 + many bugfixes. This is not based on that. There are many differences, but the easiest one to test is that Snafaru fixed the bishop "identify 9" bug, but in this version it is still present.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/046/230/703/854/569/original/fc6c64f0c719b3ac.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/046/230/701/320/242/original/6f0a38daea7f41a1.png

2024-08-29 16:03:03 UTC

- reply

tl;dr this is real
Some discussion in the Apple2Infinitum Slack about whether this is a bootleg, a fan-made update, an intentional fraud, or a real commercial rerelease. First, it is the actual full game, not a demo, and not some disk with a printed label and nothing on it. Second, it is copy protected in the same way as previous versions. Third, it is not just a hex edit job (see screenshots); it shows multiple signs that it was created from updated source code.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/046/151/553/348/217/original/20b43c29c1d56651.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/046/151/541/877/611/original/d5f4bbf0353bbeee.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/046/151/552/649/733/original/35ef5471c8aef858.png

2024-08-28 17:40:43 UTC

- reply

We are working with Snafaru <https://www.zimlab.com/wizardry/> who decompiled version 2.1 then set about to fix 40 years of bugs. So... stay tuned.

2024-08-28 17:29:25 UTC

"ALL the REalLy SiGnIFiCANt tiTLEs HAve bEEN Long aGO CrAcKEd AnD CoPIeD"
anyway we found a completely unknown and unpreserved version of Wizardry... yesterday
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/040/828/871/855/950/original/a730006a714f6aaf.png

2024-08-22 18:59:30 UTC

"The Cave of Time" (©1985 Bantam Publishing) has a custom copy protection that displays this screen on boot when it detects an unauthorized copy.
That, in itself, is objectively hilarious. But even better, this screen is from a completely different game from a different publisher ("Crime and Punishment, ©1984 Imagic), potentially making it a copyright violation on its own.
Rules for thee but not for me.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/007/209/174/469/664/original/8a1ecdacbde4f9ef.png

2024-08-18 19:27:23 UTC

This, as the kids no longer say, is a whole mood.
#DogsOfMastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/984/669/592/819/816/original/7c76b5b985163b8f.jpg

2024-08-16 19:08:33 UTC

Fantastic Animals (unpreserved, cracked by Passport, SS$PROT protection, background reading: <https://archive.org/download/MultiPloy4amCrack/MultiPloy%20%284am%20crack%29.txt>)
https://archive.org/details/FantasticAnimals4amCrack
Thanks to @npub1469…6uth for the disk!
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/973/270/861/325/503/original/473069e15e30d694.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/973/270/891/983/550/original/0af8c0cafe050cfb.png

2024-08-02 05:17:05 UTC

Real Math: Level III (cracked by Passport, 5-and-3 protection track)
https://archive.org/details/RealMathLevel3_4amCrack
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/890/729/104/836/190/original/3f3436782b930abf.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/890/729/115/311/571/original/4998d12598bf1a54.png

2024-08-02 00:53:11 UTC

I'll see your EB Garamond and raise you a Goudy Bookletter 1911:
https://wandering.shop/@xgranade/112889238243894356
#DogsOfMastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/889/691/500/661/477/original/d248ad4ae9df69ac.jpg

2024-08-01 03:33:39 UTC

the WHAT
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/884/660/145/866/034/original/11b67bc207d0e5c3.jpg

2024-07-30 04:54:44 UTC

Excuse me what
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/873/654/401/764/063/original/4da317bc6d28854c.png

2024-04-20 16:18:11 UTC

Game shows were a staple of 1980s television, and in the late 1980s, companies like GameTek and ShareData produced licensed adaptations of many game shows for the Apple II. Many of these games took advantage of the 16-color "double hi-res" mode supported by the 128K Apple //e and later models. They are surprisingly playable and still fun, although some of the trivia questions may have aged poorly.
qkumba has added all of them to Total Replay II.
#AppleII #retrocomputing
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/304/448/383/369/299/original/54a2febea6889329.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/304/448/395/291/827/original/55e9e6b3d81efce5.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/304/448/370/536/396/original/f3e64d81561eee74.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/304/448/374/032/920/original/7b3df7a12bc184d8.png