Misty

Runs digipres.club. Software + digipres. Currently, engineering at the Internet Archive. Prev. devtools at Axo, engineering at Artefactual, etc.

Pronouns: she/her
Multimedia software blog: https://cdrom.ca
Multimedia software aesthetics blog: https://mas.to/@compactdiscinteractive
Website: https://www.mistys-internet.website

Public Key

npub1eh5pancfs32wfe8rzc7luhd6rv0uekutukurh9mk8shdxy4vxmpqldyenk

NIP-05 Address

misty_at_digipres.club@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsvm6q7euycg48yun33v007tkapk87vmw97twpmjamrctknz2krdssprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmnt690psa

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub1eh5pancfs32wfe8rzc7luhd6rv0uekutukurh9mk8shdxy4vxmpqldyenk

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Last Notes

2026-04-13 04:08:43 UTC

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I've had this song stuck in my head for days! It's so catchy.

2026-04-02 00:24:08 UTC

It feels like a bad sign of where web design is at these days that I can't read entire articles from some sites like PC Gamer on my phone anymore; they use up so much RAM the mobile browser forcibly kills the tab.

2026-04-01 17:27:33 UTC

iOS 18 holdouts: 18.7.7 is out now for devices that were eligible for the 26 upgrade. You should upgrade immediately. The security updates are significant. https://www.macrumors.com/2026/04/01/apple-ios-18-darksword-security-update/

2026-03-22 06:31:24 UTC

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Yes, and I feel like the thing is that Bluesky separates the idea of “instance” and “data store”. So you can eg store your data yourself in a place where it’s under your control rather than Bluesky’s, but continue to use Bluesky’s services. Mastodon couples the two, which is mostly not a problem except when the server you’re using shuts down and you can’t take that data anywhere.

2026-03-21 20:16:30 UTC

I try not to wade into discourse, but I feel like every time I see potentially urgent need for people to migrate instances on short notice, I wish Mastodon had true account portability with post migration. I think it’s beyond time to get it done.

2026-03-16 05:01:02 UTC

Every new thing that happens to the "Napster" brand feels like it's weirder than the last https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2026/01/02/napster-music-streaming-shut-down-ai-pivot/

2026-03-04 20:34:37 UTC

Incidentally I do think that Windows 12 situation is interesting as an example of how this stuff gets laundered into social media bait. It was a multi-step process!
The original article in German on PC Welt wouldn't have trended since it was in German. Then it got roughly translated into English for PC World, and *that* version gave it the veneer of respectability despite being conjecture with absolutely no sourcing.

2026-03-02 18:48:35 UTC

Came across a weird new-to-me kind of object at the thrift store. 45 RPM single with a handwritten label, "take 5" after the song title. I looked it up and it seems this is from a studio that did direct-to-vinyl lathe cut recordings - they got a band into the studio and had them perform the same song a bunch of times, with each take being cut to a vinyl exactly once during the recording process itself.
Sound quality is pretty bad, but it's a cute concept.
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/116/161/073/137/518/556/original/c2709f304e5cca4b.jpeg

2026-02-28 00:08:03 UTC

OK, this is a longshot, but: have you ever run the 90s version of the FirstClass BBS server *or* did you use it back in the day? I'm trying to figure out if something is a standard feature and could use feedback from someone who might know.
Edit: Got my answer. Thanks everyone!

2026-02-25 19:19:47 UTC

This is an extreme longshot, but if there's anyone out there who owns this physical CD (or any other CD in this series), please reach out. I need your help with something. https://www.discogs.com/release/36547942-Various-XD-Submit-Vol-2

2026-02-20 20:49:29 UTC

I'm open for work again! I'm looking for interesting opportunities; want to work with me?
My experience includes web archiving and digital preservation, devops, and internal developer tooling. I'd love to put that experience to work for you and your team.
Experience includes the Internet Archive, GitHub, Shopify, and others alongside a number of open source projects.

2026-02-12 18:01:27 UTC

WSL stands for Windows as a second language

2026-02-04 00:30:07 UTC

I've seen enough people complain about how bad vinyl prices have gotten I feel like it's my duty to warn you: the new thing is CD collecting. We are, today, where vinyl collecting was in 2009.
CDs are still cheap in a lot of music stores and thrift stores, but expect to see thrift stores get more picked over in the coming years and used prices to start climbing as the revival gets in full swing. If you ever thought there's stuff you'd like to collect yourself, no time like the present.

2026-02-03 23:00:21 UTC

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Boosts wanted?

2026-02-02 23:08:58 UTC

It really is a little absurd that “I’m considering switching to Linux on my laptop for better availability of games” is a real thought in my head. Valve have made strange things happen

2026-01-27 20:13:31 UTC

Absolutely brutal headline: https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/867874/stripe-visa-mastercard-amex-csam-grok

2026-01-21 02:44:23 UTC

Couldn't get stuff to upload to iTunes Match, wondered if Apple had just quietly killed the feature... I guess there's just an iCloud outage right now. Oops

2026-01-19 01:49:02 UTC

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Good read! Like you say, it’s a step at a time, and I think sharing what works for you is a great way of giving other people ideas too

2026-01-06 05:14:48 UTC

Highly recommend reading this story about a reporter casually finding out his wife is a world Tetris champion: https://archive.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2007/08/19/bizarro_world/
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/115/846/446/088/731/503/original/f6a073b78ab33251.png

2025-12-25 22:25:10 UTC

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Thank you! This is helpful - the DS one apparently starting out being branded as a continuation of this, so I'm guessing it probably has a very similar format. I know I was talking to a composer who used the DS one, and he mentioned using FastTracker modules as the source files that Engine's tools would convert.
Is there a specific game you were using with this?

2025-12-25 21:45:22 UTC

Game reverse engineering question: has anyone done any work on the Engine Software Pulse Sound System music format? Didn’t see anything but figured I’d ask before potentially spending time on redundant labour.

2025-12-23 02:41:34 UTC

Stubbornly refusing to put a space in between words and em dashes so people can tell it's not an LLM writing it, just someone who likes em dashes

2025-12-22 21:31:40 UTC

Canadians: the CECOT 60 Minutes story is streaming on the Global TV website right now. Looks like no one pulled the episode when it was cancelled in the US? https://watch.globaltv.com/series/2893de5a-f2cc-11ea-9089-0242ac110003/episode/GLOB0057515870000000?action=play

2025-12-21 20:53:21 UTC

Canadians: there's a Parliament petition requesting the government to step in to take action against anti-trans provincial legislation. Being sponsored by Don Davies. Please sign if you're eligible. https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7027
#canpoli

2025-12-05 03:22:45 UTC

From Lake County Public Library last year: https://lakecountylibrary.tumblr.com/post/769064384357089280/library-wrapped
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/115/664/811/586/087/197/original/6ccb14f2ce4e6cf9.png

2025-12-04 19:50:56 UTC

Really nice to see in this day and age: https://www.facebook.com/GirlGuidesofCanada.GuidesduCanada/posts/pfbid034fKm9CuoFR7U13LT6577259iHZHQRGZ7P3V9g6NJ7dhV2eXjMmRFaSC1BcXh3Xsql
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/115/663/035/009/478/968/original/968c1e3eec09749e.png

2025-12-03 19:30:12 UTC

That's right, it's time for MP3 player wrapped! In 2025, you listened to:
• Music
Your top album was
• Album
And you listened to music by
• Artists

2025-11-21 20:39:21 UTC

I get that people are newly concerned about AI training in Gmail, but I hope the people upset about the AI training are aware that Google has been reading and acting on private emails since day one for things like ads. This is just what Gmail is.

2025-11-12 02:02:06 UTC

Made an incredible discovery for language learning: Chrono Trigger DS lets you access the options menu to change the langauge *mid-dialogue box*. If you're having trouble with a line you can double-check the official localization without even closing the dialogue box. Feels very rare.

2025-10-23 17:13:33 UTC

Can you guess what game beat out Quake in the 1999 Linux game popularity contest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XBill

2025-10-08 22:16:26 UTC

I absolutely adore the visual design of early-mid 00s women's personal websites. I'm an awful visual designer, but one of these days I'd love to take a stab at something like this myself.
https://indieweb.social/@classicweb/115339325064245772

2025-10-07 20:49:29 UTC

A REQUEST: If you own a French CD-ROM computer game called "Pop Anim'", please let me know. I could use it for some research but haven't been able to find a circulating copy yet. (It's at the BnF but I can't get there right now.)

2025-10-02 23:21:17 UTC

Just a note for those wanting to act in solidarity that Kickstarter United have *not* asked for a boycott - their demands and ways of how to act in solidarity with them can be found in their messaging. https://union.place/@kickstarterunited/115304520313956505

2025-10-02 22:19:55 UTC

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Yeah, but wrapping this in a `while` loop really complicates what could be more of a one-liner. For example Ruby's safe traversal could make it e&.__context__&.__context__&.__context__.reason; other languages have similar operators.

2025-10-02 17:52:58 UTC

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I sure wish Python had a safe navigation operator

2025-10-02 17:48:24 UTC

Python question: I'm looking at a nested exception from requests. It's a requests exception which wraps a urllib3 exception which wraps something else. The specific detail I'm looking for isn't available at the top level, only in the nested exception. Is there a cleaner or less fragile way to get the details I want than this?
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/115/305/827/606/263/332/original/b6e724309a5f9354.png

2025-10-02 17:26:59 UTC

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Was the domain price increase a last straw kind of thing, or the main motivation? Would you feel better about keeping it online if you had some help covering the extra amount you're being charged for the renewal?

2025-09-21 15:12:19 UTC

Honestly, this makes sense. https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/cities-hiring-family-doctor-1.7638292
#canpoli

2025-09-19 18:08:41 UTC

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I know someone who's been a Mastodon user since 2016, and who’s facing her fifth server migration in those nine years. She's lost her post history every time and, facing losing her post history yet again, is weighing whether she has the energy to pursue another server migration or not. That it's even in question whether someone who's been a highly engaged and passionate Mastodon user for nine years would keep using the service or let this be her final account should be a warning sign!

2025-09-19 18:05:28 UTC

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I understand the concern, and I know that the true ideal migration would require major AP changes that aren't feasible immediately. Creating backdated copies of posts (like GTS and Sharkey do) would be an excellent medium-term solution.
I want to emphasize: this has been dangling for years, and the longer Mastodon goes without even a "good enough" solution, the more it's going to harm the ecosystem. I say this as someone who's very invested in Mastodon and wants it to succeed!

2025-09-18 19:59:39 UTC

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Hi there!
1. I recognize this is probably the biggest technical challenge - it would be nice if possible, but I can imagine it's likely not possible unless you already have a backup.
2. In an ideal world it would be nice if this was possible, but even a migration without those things (like GTS and Sharkey can do) would be a massive step up from what Mastodon currently does.
3. This would make the most sense as a user option to pick when performing the import, at least in my opinion.

2025-09-18 16:46:22 UTC

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I think for many users, if they lose their posting history when moving to a new server, they have less reason to stay here instead of moving to a new network. If they're losing everything anyway, why not move to bluesky or something else?

2025-09-18 16:45:48 UTC

The more and more old servers I see close, the more intolerable it is that Mastodon still doesn't offer a way to migrate data like posts to new accounts. A user's post history is valuable, and it's more valuable the older the account is. Users *should* have the option to migrate those to a new server!

2025-09-17 21:48:22 UTC

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Wow, this genuinely is stunning. Beautifully drawn and composed.

2025-09-12 03:32:09 UTC

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Problem solved?????? https://github.com/jamesyc/TimeCapsuleSMB

2025-09-08 00:02:26 UTC

I get that Apple haven't actually sold time capsules for awhile but I *just* replaced the disk in it so I could keep using it for backups. :/ I guess it's still supported until *next* year's OS so I've got another year or more left in it, assuming I even upgrade my OS next year.
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/115/165/740/605/304/622/original/7c658ec187258819.png

2025-09-01 15:32:30 UTC

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Does seem like a weird fit, right? Sounds like the wargaming division was formerly independent and was acquired by ALG later to try to expand their market past laserdisc arcade games.

2025-09-01 15:00:16 UTC

I wondered about this one. It’s a Steve Jackson board game adaptation; cancelled when American Laser Games shutdown the studio during their collapse. https://web.archive.org/web/19961018184447/http://www.nuke.com/cgr/news/9512/qqp.htm
https://mas.to/@gamemagprintads/115127747551533577

2025-09-01 02:15:08 UTC

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I assumed it had to be a Finder riff before I read what you said it was from!

2025-08-29 23:51:21 UTC

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I've got one of their original expanded books (a book on Shuji Terayama) and it's really interesting! They were doing some pretty cool stuff. They still seem very focused on ebooks: https://voyager.co.jp

2025-08-29 23:38:42 UTC

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The Japanese branch seems like it was separating from the North American branch around that time; they still exist, even! Maybe this was around the time the original Voyager was losing interest in CD-ROM.

2025-08-29 22:56:31 UTC

@npub1yqw…ywz8 The Japanese title is Expanded Book Toolkit *II* 1.5 - I don't know if 1.5 was just for marketing, or if it was an update to an earlier Expanded Book Toolkit II. But the II seems to be the operative part

2025-08-29 22:26:49 UTC

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Oh nice! I'm trying to remember what it was like before, was the text stuff Mac only? Or was that purely unformatted?
I found some screenshots I took of the Enhanced Book II autodemo.
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/115/114/403/352/194/102/original/3e1b0467485150b5.png
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/115/114/403/600/970/457/original/b804cdb1a776a310.png
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/115/114/403/839/021/750/original/6a2ad1927d18d75c.png

2025-08-29 14:35:43 UTC

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It was from Voyager Japan; I don't think it made it over to the international branches. It's called "Expanded Book Toolkit II”, but I haven't seen a copy come up for sale. I have seen a noninteractive demo though. Did find an online reference to a nonfiction book made in it: https://www.sccj.net/CSSJ/symp/96conf/a105/abst.html

2025-08-29 14:10:55 UTC

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Fun fact: there's a little-known Voyager Expanded Toolkit 2.0 that's built on top of Director so they could get multiplatform support! I don't think it's floating around there though.

2025-08-28 14:42:19 UTC

Great response here from Quakers in Britain when they received an anti-trans letter about their trans-inclusive bathroom policy: https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/re-statement-of-policy-on-provision-of-trans-inclusive-facilities

2025-08-27 18:52:33 UTC

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Hahaha, oh my god. That seems... bad?
Reminds me of the good/bad old days of editing posts when you reblogged them on tumblr.

2025-08-27 18:47:47 UTC

I really do find it charming that Metafilter still looks exactly like this today. Like a crustacean that hasn't changed for million of years - it already perfectly fits its evolutionary niche.
https://indieweb.social/@classicweb/115102058103740248

2025-08-24 03:49:22 UTC

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I’m *very* curious what happened there. Owner hoped to reopen a business by the same name?

2025-08-24 00:06:16 UTC

RIP the website for Halifax's first internet cafe, The Ceilidh Connection, which somehow stayed online from the café's closure in 2003 right up until 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230324033158/http://ceilidhconnection.ca/

2025-08-23 20:13:01 UTC

Chip and PIN technology is known as crisp and PIN in the UK

2025-08-22 21:07:34 UTC

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Good news!
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/115/074/456/084/709/209/original/2436b43db9af6638.png

2025-08-20 21:47:36 UTC

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Some specified fields will get preserved, eg the metadata chunk indicating "this was generated with AI" (which Instagram actually respects). I could picture an implementation like this that gets preserved too... but only if everyone agrees to use it, I guess.

2025-08-20 19:31:26 UTC

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YES. And, honestly - the "reposting images without credit" instinct is essentially the same thing that AI image generation is anyway. Formless content where the creator and original context doesn't matter, just something to fill the feed. We should move away from it either way

2025-08-20 19:26:59 UTC

I think the weirdest discovery on social media in awhile is that even staunchly anti-AI people apparently can't recognize the "ChatGPT house style" of images

2025-08-09 22:28:31 UTC

Cleaning out some old papers and finding some Google maps printouts. Which I’m sure seems basically incomprehensible to anyone under a certain age

2025-08-06 21:55:00 UTC

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Mastodon: the official social media of people who don’t like social media

2025-08-05 20:28:20 UTC

Hey modem/radio people - I've got some audio recordings that I believe contain modem or fax sequences, but I'm having some trouble decoding them. Could use some advice or pointers!

2025-08-05 17:53:19 UTC

I keep seeing people be confused or even aggressive about how worried some Mastodon users are about quote posts, but I can actually explain it pretty simply: some people were on Twitter in 2014-2015 and were on the receiving end of the world's worst harassment A/B test. So I don't think it's surprising those people ended up permanently associating the quote post feature with that.

2025-08-02 19:46:20 UTC

That’s right - compact disc.
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/114/960/890/353/413/035/original/fb11541b3d9199fd.jpeg

2025-07-30 21:05:17 UTC

You know, I sometimes feel like I'm being kind of a bitch by refusing to subscribe to Substack newsletters, refusing to share Substack links. But this is why. Substack is a right-wing social media platform that uses its token left-wing writers and apolitical newsletters as cover. I don't want any part of that.
https://mastodon.social/@taylorlorenz/114939115888742842

2025-07-26 18:35:28 UTC

Putting out the call: if you own or have ever seen one of the following children's CD-ROM games, I could use your help with something I'm researching. The English versions were mainly released in southeast Asia.
* Around the World with Willy Wabbit
* Willy Wabbit Math Adventure
* Willy Wabbit Goes Green

2025-07-24 22:53:12 UTC

"There’s No Such Thing As Hostile Architecture When You’re A Bird" https://defector.com/theres-no-such-thing-as-hostile-architecture-when-youre-a-bird?giftLink=49f21146c0da735a1d8e5dc89eeeb4be

2025-07-21 22:53:44 UTC

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It’s such a shame. I dropped it back when the data collection thing happened.

2025-07-21 21:54:17 UTC

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I think about those RPG Maker “book clubs" I've heard of for the cartridge-based ones, where people find used copies with games on them and then do group playthroughs. I think it's nice to get to appreciate them even if they might get wiped for reuse at some point.

2025-07-21 21:15:52 UTC

If the "safety controls" in Ex Libris's AI search isn't even in their own control, it's clearly not worth shipping! How did anyone okay this? https://acrlog.org/2025/07/21/we-couldnt-generate-an-answer-for-your-question/

2025-07-20 19:46:40 UTC

This disc at the thrift store took me on a journey
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/114/887/281/454/009/919/original/dded7cf2223edadf.mp4

2025-07-19 16:55:52 UTC

Everyone talks about the “Jesus said my wife” line but no one talks about the incredibly wild backstory https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel_of_Jesus%27_Wife
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/114/880/947/765/029/071/original/0255f3766a5a7b2c.png

2025-07-12 04:35:08 UTC

Anyone know if there's a reliable way to seal cracks in ceramic cookware? I've got a tagine with a crack that's letting some liquid leak. No idea if there's a way to make it safe to use again.

2025-07-12 01:41:08 UTC

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By 2000 instead of their own plugin they were advertising ThingMaker stuff that ran in Flash. Which feels like a sign they'd given up. In 2000 if you wanted an easy authoring environment for Flash you could just use... Flash. No real reason for this company to exist anymore. https://web.archive.org/web/20001109124000/http://www.thingworld.com/partners/Quokka/NBCOlympics_SydneyMoments_download.asp

2025-07-12 01:37:18 UTC

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Came across a CNET article from 1997 (still online!) that pitches it as a drag-and-drop authoring environment for web stuff. But... Flash launched around the same time. I don't think ThingMaker won that format war. https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/the-latest-thing-in-web-design/

2025-07-12 01:36:20 UTC

Ran into a page on One Terabyte of Kilobyte Age that said it required the "ThingMaker" plugin to play. I was a really active internet user in 1997 but I've *never* heard of ThingMaker in my life, I guess it must have been a total flop? https://web.archive.org/web/19990209165805/http://www.thingworld.com/welcome.html

2025-07-10 00:09:00 UTC

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That game’s *such* a classic though!

2025-07-05 00:34:20 UTC

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Wow, love that El-Fish cover.

2025-07-04 20:29:45 UTC

Anyone looking to hire a full stack developer? Friend's looking for a new gig - Montréal or remote. She's got five years of experience at Google.
Skills:
* Full stack developer proficient in multiple common languages (Go, C++, Java, Python, primarily),
* Proficient in microservice design, backend job management, API design
* Cutting edge experiences with static analysis tooling
* Proficient in working with a diverse set of user needs
#getfedihired

2025-06-30 20:55:27 UTC

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Oh god. Got to be incubating totally new lifeforms in there

2025-06-28 22:18:08 UTC

Found the content warning liquor store
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/114/763/306/412/708/726/original/e58aeeb576e208a6.jpeg

2025-06-19 19:15:19 UTC

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I don't know if they do! Just spitballing

2025-06-19 19:00:19 UTC

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That said, it's showing as 5003 on my own server. Either there's some federation lag with those numbers, or your server has blocked exactly four of my followers 😆

2025-06-19 18:58:35 UTC

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Genuine congrats to anyone who unfollowed me over it, it's the right and funny thing to do

2025-06-19 18:48:46 UTC

Ah, finally I get to repost this on here
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/114/711/522/411/802/985/original/9010ad15f30c0d9f.png

2025-06-19 17:43:50 UTC

Saw some blog post talking about "lessons from AI programming", and there was a whole section about treating agentic AI like an "intern". The whole point of internships is it's for the *intern's benefit*! It's so the intern gets work experience! An internship shouldn't be synonymous with mindless gruntwork!
...obviously I get that internships are widely abused, and a lot of people treat junior devs poorly. But it’s depressing seeing people just be open about it.

2025-06-15 23:31:49 UTC

People who upgraded to the Tahoe beta and couldn't get Steam to work: there's a new Steam beta out that's *finally* native on Apple Silicon and apparently works on Tahoe. https://www.macrumors.com/2025/06/13/steam-beta-adds-native-apple-silicon-support/

2025-05-31 17:58:01 UTC

Look, I know bagging on Google's AI overviews is getting old, but I really can't get over how bad these are. Genuinely incredible they keep playing whack-a-mole with specific queries while not making a dent in the problem.
tbh it seems like Google have *the* worst AI summaries out of any of them, which is kind of incredible knowing what they used to be good at
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/114/603/738/941/074/981/original/87c5b3e2e1f9000e.png

2025-05-29 18:24:53 UTC

26 to 13 is a hell of a drop in temperature. Glad for it though, yesterday was way too hot

2025-05-28 00:58:09 UTC

Long shot request for help: anyone know anything about the N88 BASIC binary format, or how to transform it into a text representation? Was able to get a .BAS off a PC-98 disk, but it’s in a binary format. Hoping to inspect the source.

2025-05-12 17:55:42 UTC

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Just more proof that internet kitsch is as old as the internet itself.

2025-05-12 17:29:05 UTC

Fantastic adventures in the world of the internet!
https://digipres.club/system/media_attachments/files/114/496/041/308/977/635/original/0292199f1c064b38.jpeg

2025-04-24 15:44:02 UTC

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Oh no…

2025-04-23 21:15:52 UTC

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For a second I thought these were big box PC Degrassi PC games.