Gamer and Developer (modern & retro stuff), interested by many geeky subjects. I am also amateur photographer. I will post in 🇬🇧 and 🇫🇷, depending on my mood and the targeted audience.

Blog: https://www.xtof.info
Photos: https://www.xtof.photo
Github: https://github.com/Pixinn
Location: Paris, France

Last Notes

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Maybe it is because I am not a native English speaker and I did not have the time to read this article with enough attention to the details, but I failed to spot the hallucinated part 😅

2026-02-09 16:29:50 UTC

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Do you have a link providing more info?

2025-12-26 12:53:49 UTC

Like this Youtuber, I am witnessing the comeback of cassettes and wondering about it. If vinyls can be a topic of passionate and hot debates, nobody argues that cassettes sound great 😅
This video is interesting and covers a lot of things related to the subject.
https://youtu.be/nOSjvgxHVb4
#vintage #music #cassettes

2025-09-14 20:43:32 UTC

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During the 90s, as a PC user, I endured jokes from Apple users.
But the truth is, apart from an extremely polished and enjoyable GUI, Mac OS was years behind even Windows 3 in almost every aspect. 😅
🧵2/2
#apple #macos

2025-09-14 20:42:15 UTC

I read this excellent article explaining how the memory is managed in "classical" Mac OS: https://whitefiles.org/mac/pgs/m02.htm
The way it is done is extremely primitive and totally exposed to the user.
Each application asks for a predefined amount of memory, that can be overridden by the user and that's about it. It cannot claim more memory once launched! If it needs more, it will stop with a "Not enough memory" message! If it needs less, precious memory is wasted.
And Virtual memory is only used to dump application memory as a whole when it goes out of focus!
🧵1/2
https://shelter.moe/system/media_attachments/files/115/204/584/414/626/885/original/69093adfb43acfe1.png

2025-08-08 12:13:01 UTC

I wrote an article about the SEGA Saturn.
For years I read that the 3D capabilities of the Saturn were kind of hacks added on top of a 2D machine, in reaction to the Sony PlayStation. This story always puzzled me because it didn't make much sense.
So I dug about the Saturn and wrote this article in which I try to demonstrate that the Saturn was designed, from the beginning, to be able to produce good 3D for its time.
Of course there are plenty of comparisons with how the PS works 😉
https://www.xtof.info/Yes-the-SEGA-Saturn-was-designed-with-3D-in-mind.html
#retrogaming #sega #saturn

2025-05-26 17:49:25 UTC

During the lunch break I played Virtua Racing with some coworkers. It was really nice ☺️
Each screen is driven by an independent instance of the emulator, and they communicate via a “network”. Just like the arcade cabinets iser to do during multiplayer sessions back in the days 🙂
I did not play much of Virtua Racing in the 90s, but the emulation, by M2, appears faithful enough to me.
#switch #retrogaming #sega
https://shelter.moe/system/media_attachments/files/114/575/372/469/119/161/original/8f6979905f5c3058.mp4

2025-04-10 12:12:20 UTC

Yesterday I bought the “Rayz’ Arcade Chronology”, on Switch, as it was on sale. Here is the first game of the collection: RayForce, a 2D vertical Shoot’Em Up from 1994 by Taito.
I never played it before, but it’s really great. There are a ton of neat graphics tricks. Sprite rotations, zooms and even per column scrolling.
And the gameplay is superb, with its locking missiles system 🙂
#retrogaming #taito #shmup #arcade
https://shelter.moe/system/media_attachments/files/114/313/560/850/100/353/original/d90a58273cb727fd.mp4

2025-01-16 21:23:54 UTC

Yesterday I played Loom and managed to go to the end.
It is a game that made a great impression on me when I played it as a kid. One of the first I could complete all by myself.
Now I understand why: it is quite easy and incredibly short 😅.
Nonetheless it is a wonderful experience. The story is interesting and served by the most beautiful EGA graphics ever. And the music is sumptuous. 35 years ago it was one of the very first game I played after buying a Sound Blaster. I've loved Tchaikovsky ever since.
#LucasArts #loom #retrogaming
https://shelter.moe/system/media_attachments/files/113/840/128/486/797/387/original/96b42ee51e134e1a.png
https://shelter.moe/system/media_attachments/files/113/840/128/971/799/389/original/619057ea9c51da4a.png
https://shelter.moe/system/media_attachments/files/113/840/129/669/605/668/original/39c8e6a8cc2eec0c.png
https://shelter.moe/system/media_attachments/files/113/840/129/684/452/485/original/e97a37becb6278e8.png

2024-11-16 16:21:11 UTC

Today I'd like to use my old 486 PC for something other than playing classical #msdos games.
Any suggestion of what cool stuff I could do online with it?
Netscape Navigator 3 is up and running so I can surf the web using theoldnet.com.
What else? IRC? BBS? For those I lack good addresses.
Please boost so I may have more suggestions 🙂
#retrocomputing #pc #win3
https://shelter.moe/system/media_attachments/files/113/493/539/193/580/959/original/3a52e522d3fce6e4.png

2024-09-15 21:37:08 UTC

Lately, I took care of my original Xbox which did not boot anymore.
I wrote a piece about what I did to make it start again, and help it be in good shape for the years to come 🙂
Nothing very original, all what I describe here can benefit any OG Xbox. Even if it appears to work flawlessly.
https://www.xtof.info/preserving-original-xbox.html
#preservation #xbox #retrogaming

2024-09-10 13:35:44 UTC

I am not an expert of the #PS2, but that story related by #timeextension make no sense for me.
Why would Sony ever think to buy something *audio* related to NVIDIA?? And the « Geforce 8 » that is mentioned has obviously nothing to do with audio.
I even doubt that Chris Deering, who relates the anecdote, knew much about the PS2 engineering and fabrication choices. He was from Sony Europe: his branch marketed the console and its games in the EU and probably the Japanese did not share their secrets with him.
https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/09/an-embarrassed-sony-had-to-beg-nvidia-for-ps2s-sound-chip-says-former-scee-boss

2024-09-02 17:12:50 UTC

To my understandings, “The Famous Computer Cafe” was a really nice radio program that aired from 1983 to 1986. During the show, they spoke about the latest computing novelties and interviewed some famous people such as Jack Tramiel, Bill Gates or Nolan Bushnell.
I just discovered its existence thanks to the RetroHour podcast.
Around 50 episodes were recently recovered and are now available and properly archived 🙂
https://archive.org/details/famous-computer-cafe
Now I have to listen to all of them 😃
#retrocomputing #internetarchive

2024-08-17 23:48:37 UTC

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I also uploaded to Bethesda's servers an old level that I made in 1995 to play with my friends.
Unfortunately, mods cannot be used in Deathmatches and it is the sole purpose of this map 😅
https://shelter.moe/system/media_attachments/files/112/980/032/336/597/779/original/ed2e2ae982227e9e.gif

2024-08-17 23:43:54 UTC

I got the latest remaster "Doom + Doom II" by NightDive Studio.
I played a lot of #doom deathmatches with my gang back in the days and I still launch it every once a while on my vintage 486 PC. But always solo.
This time I gave a try to online games, as they modified the code to allow 16 players at once.
Oh boys, 16 people deathmatches are something! It's fast, frantic, it's glorious ! 😁
https://youtu.be/bBz0-H5eGos