Miguel Arroz

Indie Mac developer. Former Apple and survs.com. I program my home computer, beam myself into the future. Living in 🇵🇹, missing 🇨🇦 a bit.

PaperVault: https://papervault.eu
MacDVI - Compact Mac TTL video adapter to DVI: https://codeberg.org/arroz/MacDVI

Public Key

npub14rvahl4yxramr03zhxm4ru03wpglcah9hgy9klxq82herw28vxuq8ze60a

NIP-05 Address

arroz_at_mastodon.social@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs23kwml6jrp7a3hc3tnd6378chq50uwmjm5zzm0nqr4tu3h9rkrwqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsmraza6

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub14rvahl4yxramr03zhxm4ru03wpglcah9hgy9klxq82herw28vxuq8ze60a

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Last Notes

2026-03-10 05:42:19 UTC

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Maybe it needs new caps? Don’t throw it away, I’m sure it’s fixable!

2026-03-06 23:02:06 UTC

Does anyone know if the heatsink of a Lombard daughterboard can be removed, and how? I've replaced the heat pad, but it's still running quite hotter than the Pismo (and at 100Mhz less… the Pismo has a decent heat sink compared to this, but still), so I wonder if there's some heat paste between the CPU and the sink that needs replacing.
However I don't see any obvious way to remove it, and I don't want to force it and rip the CPU out of the board. #MARCHintosh #RetroApple
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/184/719/191/322/091/original/9a6dae6f8fd5f0a5.jpeg

2026-03-06 21:42:44 UTC

So I'm trying Marathon Infinity (the original version, not modern ones) network game on two Macs, and the game gets out of sync almost immediately. If one player dies, everything from then on is just surreal, like two different realities coexisting on the same space-time. Did this ever work? #MARCHintosh

2026-03-05 22:20:26 UTC

I originally brought the PowerBook G3 Lombard from Canada to use it for parts, specifically using the screen on my Pismo. That didn’t work because the screen was slightly different, the inverter board as well, and so were the cables and quite literally everything.
So, I decided it should be kept. But it needed some love. Today, it got it! A new keyboard to replace the one missing the Q key, and a super rare 400 MHz daughterboard with hopefully a L2 cache working without issues! #MARCHintosh
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/178/892/645/299/848/original/18a2c8fd93bc60d6.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/178/893/015/057/385/original/1fc0616a3b9eab43.jpeg

2026-03-02 22:07:07 UTC

Just had two folks printing on my ImageWriter I across the globe via #GlobalTalk! 😃 Thank you so much [@_the_cloud](https://mastodon.social/@_the_cloud ) for the software that allows this! This is awesome! Long live #MARCHintosh!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/161/853/420/602/340/original/821c1f467450f01d.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/161/853/732/497/720/original/94bb3d7456e8b8d0.jpeg

2026-03-02 21:28:40 UTC

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Huumm looks like someone sent a document, but the Powerbook is frozen. 😫 [@_the_cloud](https://mastodon.social/@_the_cloud ) #GlobalTalk #MARCHintosh
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/161/702/543/197/386/original/fb15bb7a15366c4d.jpeg

2026-03-02 20:58:47 UTC

All right, I've setup my ImageWritter 🖨️, and it's ready for the first #GlobalTalk document! 😁 Who wants to print on my old printer? It's available now on the Eat The Path zone! One page only, please, I don't have continuous paper. 🙏 #MARCHintosh

2026-02-16 15:50:38 UTC

Super obscure request, but does anyone know the header format of a file transferred via serial port from a Timex FDD 3000 running TOS? #zxspectrum #sinclair #timex #timex_sinclair #retrocomputing

2026-02-07 18:54:07 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/116030136026775832
This is one of the worst takes from LLM enthusiasts.
Compilers are deterministic, extremely well tested, made out of incredibly detailed specifications debated for months and properly formalized.
LLMs are random content generators with a whole lot of automatically trained heuristics. They can produce literally anything. Not a single person who built them can predict what the output will be for a given input.
Comparing both is a display of ignorance and dishonesty.
#note18p9…f683

2025-09-16 16:43:18 UTC

macOS Tahoe UI has a HUGE new feature for folks like me who have 24/7 Mac Minis running and access them remotely: you can now type the boot password remotely via SSH!
Power on the Mac, then SSH to it. A simple SSH server will handle your request. Typing the password there is equivalent to typing it on the keyboard. The connection then closes and the machine boots normally.
Combine this with "Start up automatically after a power failure" and you can ditch that KVM! #macadmins
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/214/974/616/939/522/original/170c58e5fd79f53c.jpeg

2025-09-04 10:16:22 UTC

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However, 14 years ago, maintenance stopped being made by the public Lisbon transit operator (Carris) and was outsourced to private companies through public bidding. At least two companies serviced this system during that period.
Why is this a problem? On equipment this old, maintenance can’t be learned on books. There are decades of institutional knowledge that needs to be passed down from the more experienced staff to new hires. That knowledge was thrown away on each contract.

2025-09-04 10:16:22 UTC

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There were also clear signs maintenance wasn’t being done properly. In 2018, one of the cars derailed. The wheel flanges were so worn out they almost can’t be seen in photos. Conductors also allegedly reported problems with the braking system. I’m not surprised that if private contractors can’t see something obvious as a missing flange, they also can’t see signs of a cable about to snap.

2025-09-04 10:16:21 UTC

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Preliminary data points to a cable failure (either the cable snapped or disconnected from one of the cars) and a total failure of the emergency braking system.
This is a heritage system, and the cars are more than 100 years old. This is where the problem begins: there’s nothing wrong with operating cars this old, *if* they are maintained properly by people who know them intimately.

2025-09-04 10:16:20 UTC

Yesterday, the Gloria funicular in Lisbon suffered a catastrophic failure that caused 17 dead, so far. This "accident" and its aftermath is certainly going to reveal a lot of the shitshow resulting from the modern mindset of privatization, incompetence and private-car focused politics.
This is a funicular system with 2 electric cars, and a cable connecting both cars. The cars act as a counterweight but, unlike a traditional gondola, the cars themselves have a motor that pulls them uphill.

2025-08-29 19:44:47 UTC

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This is just a static screenshot of an emulator being displayed on an e-paper screen I did some stuff with, but it’s still pretty. 😁 Enjoy! The screen has 16 levels of grayscale.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/113/766/608/471/529/original/15c652727be6c657.jpeg

2025-08-29 16:15:58 UTC

Glorious!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/112/945/521/295/321/original/88382b452a37c2d7.jpeg

2025-07-07 08:34:56 UTC

Watching @npub1z7x…q5jf videos and adding to my list of places in Europe to visit. This one is incredible, I spent the first few minutes thinking “I wish he hadn’t muted the ambient sound so people could realize how quiet a city without cars is”. Then I realized he didn’t! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-TuGAHR78w

2025-06-07 18:41:48 UTC

When I was a 10 year old kid or so, living in a country that seemed so distant in every way from California where all the cool things were being made, HyperCard was the trigger that made me understand I could write my own graphical, complex, Mac-feeling apps. I never stopped since then. No other set of ones and zeros was so important for my career and life.
Thank you, Bill. Rest in peace. May you keep building cool stacks wherever you are.
https://masto.pt/@OnceUponAGoblin/114643432853682723
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/643/564/367/933/986/original/0195ab3c0f4eaafe.jpeg

2025-06-04 08:37:48 UTC

Also, takes like "Steve Jobs was wrong, mediocracy is OK" is exactly what explains why I grab a Mac running Mac OS 9 and connect it to a global network that didn't exist at the time, at a scale it was never meant to work with nor tested, and things just work, and I'm still delighted by all the details of my interaction with the machine, while modern software tends to fall apart when using the most basic and essencial functionality.
I hate what the software industry turned itself into.

2025-05-17 09:01:04 UTC

Does anyone happen to have photos of the internals of the top clamshell of a PowerBook G3 (Pismo, Lombard, etc) popped open? I'm trying to find photos of the brittle plastic tabs that keep both parts together so I know what I'm dealing with before causing a tragedy. It's surprisingly hard to find this on the intertubes. #retrocomputing #RetroApple

2025-05-03 17:50:22 UTC

First fully electric car in Portugal, 1975. Top speed 64km/h, range from 40 to 90km, could charge on any regular 230V power socket.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/445/164/161/598/222/original/8d5ca9198ac6de5c.jpeg

2025-04-19 15:44:08 UTC

I recorded some audio using QuickTime Player.
I duplicated the file using QuickTime Player.
I trimmed the file using QuickTime Player.
I tried to save the file using QuickTime Player.
I got an error saying QuickTime Player can't open (?) a movie because the file isn't compatible with QuickTime Player. In QuickTime Player.
I don't know if I feel more angry or sad that modern Apple can't get basic shit like SAVING A FILE right.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/365/395/424/929/236/original/a8dee60ce1555e21.png

2025-03-21 23:14:13 UTC

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From what I understand, the I variant has the analog pins for VGA adapters (which the G5 definitely has, that’s how it’s working now). But the display only cares about the digital part, so any cable should be fine, regardless of supporting the extra analog pins or not. Sadly I don’t have any other DVI cable around, but the fact it works with the USB capture dongle makes me hope the G5 graphics card is not broken.

2025-03-21 21:52:48 UTC

Extremely specific #MarchIntosh question: does anyone have a Sony SDM-E76D display (or any other with native 1280x1024 resolution), a PowerMac G5 or something close (G4?) that can work together via DVI?
My display works via DVI with other things, my G5 works via DVI with other things, but both don't seem to talk to each other. Even weirder, I'm almost positive they did in the past for many years.
They are friends if they use VGA, though.

2025-03-18 14:17:20 UTC

Well, sad trombone! This is the big, heavy, bad boy I wanted to bring to #MARCHintosh. This was my old G5, it didn’t power on properly, so during this weekend, it got a "new" power supply scavenged from a similar model (many many thanks to @npub1a6z…lcpn who proved the hardware and several hours of his weekend!).
However, I finally brought it home and powered it on and, well, this is all it does. Chime, the satisfying fan noise, but nothing else. No video, no boot (no disk seeking sounds).
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/183/855/506/083/112/original/15684c8580369f92.mp4

2025-03-16 23:05:58 UTC

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Forget the network. I’m amazed your power circuit doesn’t collapse! 😂 I only have 30 Amps at home (at 230V though).

2025-03-16 23:01:29 UTC

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Our routers still can’t talk to each other. 😭 I can see your network through someone’s router but nothing will go through. I just sent sent something to @npub10ma…m2tk and @npub1xw4…apvw, hoping it works! 🤞

2025-03-16 22:57:05 UTC

It's a rainy Sunday night here so I'm browsing #GlobalTalk! Who has a color printer available?

2025-03-16 22:55:43 UTC

People did so many cool things with HyperCard! Thank you @npub1xw4…apvw for uploading this. 1-bit birds are the best birds! Available in https://macintoshgarden.org/apps/owls-of-vancouver-island #MARCHintosh
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/174/572/242/969/520/original/02d3fcc4e578546b.mp4

2025-03-13 14:09:43 UTC

If you had to choose between an LC 475 and a Power Mac 7200/75 for similar price, what would you pick and why?
"Both" is an acceptable answer! 😛
#MARCHintosh

2025-03-08 11:02:47 UTC

Hating myself right now for not grabbing the 1984 network ID for #GlobalTalk! 😅

2025-03-01 20:55:15 UTC

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What an amazing collection! I wish I hadn’t got rid of many of the ones I had before.

2025-02-27 23:23:11 UTC

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That should work out of the box with QuickTime Conferencing! I’m upgrading to 9.1 to see if it makes Logitech drivers happy (not even sure if they work with my Logitech camera). If not, I’ll try burning a 9.2.2 CD tomorrow, somehow I don’t have one. If none of that works I guess I’m out. 😭 I even have a very old Philips webcam here but it seems it’s dead. No Mac, old or modern, can detect it on the USB bus.

2025-02-27 22:39:09 UTC

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I’m trying it now but the worst part is getting a webcam to work with Mac OS 9… i just rendered it unbootable after installing Logitech drivers. 😅 Do you have a combination of a USB webcam and drivers that work? And any app that displays video input?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/078/249/457/695/358/original/dff847518f6a338d.jpeg

2025-02-10 15:11:34 UTC

Is anyone experiencing frequent crashes (as in typing the PIN and crashing immediately) on an iPhone after installing 18.3? Specifically an iPhone 14, but any other will do.

2025-02-07 22:21:08 UTC

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I may not have the admin app after all. Only the Network Assistant Security. I need to search for the main one!

2025-02-07 22:05:03 UTC

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Looks like I have everything on disk. That was the right password, thanks again! I think I never saw this in my life somehow, going to look around the app.

2025-02-07 21:52:52 UTC

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Interesting, I don't think I ever saw this. I probably installed it with MacOS 9 by accident. Do you know the default password?

2025-02-07 21:49:13 UTC

Anyone knows what this is? #MARCHintosh #RetroApple
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/964/806/963/593/984/original/84c5f6b93ae82b31.png

2025-02-06 22:48:29 UTC

I remember I used some utility that allowed sending short messages via AppleTalk. I think I would go to the chooser, select the other user, type a message, and it would appear as an alert dialog on the other Mac. I know it existed because I used it a lot to chat with my neighbour (we had a PhoneNet cable between our apartments). Does anyone remember the name of this thing? #GlobalTalk #AppleTalk #RetroApple

2025-01-30 19:05:28 UTC

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Interesting, no ideia this existed. That is quite a whole lot of chips to add an RS-422 port to a PC. Now if you want blasphemy, just look at those DOS screens! https://oldvcr.blogspot.com/2020/07/appleshare-pc-on-ms-dos-and-apple.html

2024-11-04 14:42:44 UTC

American friends, what time do your elections usually have definitive results? Trying to decide if I stay awake really late or if I wake up early to watch it (that would be waking up around 11 PM PST).

2024-10-21 21:44:16 UTC

If anyone has a SCSI adapter from a Lombard-style port to a more normal thing (25 or 50 pin), hopefully in the European common space, and doesn’t want it any more, please ping me. Thank you! Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/SCSI-Cable-Apple-Power-HDI30/dp/B071S9WLB2
#retrocomputing #RetroApple

2024-10-12 14:24:41 UTC

I remember someone built a ready to use emulator image with AIR to run an #globaltalk headless router on a RPi. Who was it? Where can I get it from? 🙏

2024-10-05 15:41:05 UTC

Every time I hear a politician talk about "wide open doors" regarding immigration, I wish their citizenship was immediately revoked and they were forced to obtain legal status on their own country, to experience how "wide" those doors really are.

2024-10-04 18:08:29 UTC

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I like the Spectrum but the best one to me was really the first Macs. The high res black and white screens allowed amazing 1-bit art that I still love. Later, 8-bit color was also nice, but there’s something special about 1-bit. Adventure games like Uninvited and Deja Vu used it perfectly. Others as well, like Dark Castle.

2024-09-28 17:41:54 UTC

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Here’s a general view of the playing area, and a bunch of other consoles working perfectly (apologies for the bad CRT pictures, I don’t know how to do this with an iPhone).
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/216/408/392/085/136/original/f14b707a9056ce4a.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/216/408/742/917/513/original/05af39a15270ac1b.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/216/409/112/108/093/original/1240cd16227cfd34.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/216/409/436/064/309/original/b30b4f7580247bb3.jpeg

2024-09-28 17:39:03 UTC

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Next, the Spectrum ❤️. Running Pacmania, I spent a while playing it! It had a DivMMC for loading games from an SD card. Look at this beauty!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/216/397/605/720/063/original/ea75413328df2f5d.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/216/397/930/268/801/original/24d5817e6c24207b.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/216/398/272/951/124/original/e93de1fa9d535e97.jpeg

2024-09-28 17:36:08 UTC

Ok so the Street Gaming event in Castelo Branco (Portugal) is seriously cool. I think I had never seen some of this consoles in person, let alone actually working. Starting with the basics, Pong! With rotating knobs, very analog. This is actually Super Pong, switching the game mode to 4 sets it to the original Pong.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/216/386/756/285/490/original/c6f3fa8e2afd6c58.jpeg

2024-09-11 15:43:40 UTC

Every time I walk around a city in the Portuguese countryside, especially one where the municipality invested in public parks and facilities recently, and I see how great the quality of life is compared to big cities, I reinforce my belief the single best thing governments could do for their country would be to pass laws making remote work mandatory for any worker who requests it, in positions where remote work is possible, including regulation preventing companies from screwing this up.

2024-08-25 21:08:29 UTC

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It is a bit because Amazon started as an online business from day one and grew incredibly quickly. At the time there were no hosting services (“cloud” was a term that still referred water vapor) nor technology that could sustain that so they build their own.
Lidl is a much smaller system. I guess my surprise is they having felt the need to develop a flexible, generic enough infrastructure they can sell to third parties.

2024-08-25 16:52:22 UTC

Didn’t expect that one: Lidl, the largest retailer known by their grocery stores, is becoming a relevant player in cloud services in Europe. The main reason is privacy: data is kept in Germany and Austria, where it’s safe from US and other states with weaker of no privacy protection laws.
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2024/08/23/how-lidl-accidentally-took-on-the-big-guns-of-cloud-computing/

2024-08-14 06:10:36 UTC

Another great video by @npub1z7x…q5jf. It’s always hard to criticize a group of people we all perceive as heroes who risk their lives to save our own, but he’s absolutely right.
I wish the siren noise issue had been analyzed deeper. This is common to all emergency vehicles. In North America, sirens made for open road are used in dense cities due to, I assume, bad regulations, and cause ear damage. I have to cover my ears when one goes by, otherwise I feel actual pain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2dHFC31VtQ

2024-08-06 18:40:39 UTC

Also, free AirPort Extreme Base Station, if anyone is interested. I can mail it within Canada. Model A1408, includes power brick and original manuals. Mostly works, except with my iPad for some reason. DM if interested.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/916/537/748/069/612/original/65e3b7f2bbba5414.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/916/538/022/890/681/original/b72caa9661d49598.jpeg

2024-08-06 18:32:28 UTC

Last chance, free memories! I can mail them within Canada. DM me if you're interested.
https://mastodon.social/@arroz/112742369727989575