I fix (and break) old computers on the internet! This is where I share all the behind-the-scenes bits — project files, fixes, quirks, and technical notes. Take whatever helps, and enjoy your own retro adventures!
Namco built an arcade cabinet that stitches three screens into one race. Nobody had properly emulated the chip that makes it possible. This is the full story — two other people’s abandoned attempts, a ROM dump that can’t be released, a canonical chip emulation built from scratch, and a discovery near the end that changed everything.
A case-study post on why the Dell Dimension E520 looked promising for Windows 98, but turned into a more mixed DOS, Win98, and XP experiment.
A case-study draft on why the Dell OptiPlex 760 looked promising for Windows 98, but turned out to be much happier as an XP and DOS machine.
I hadn’t played Minecraft for a while — tried it again recently and the Vibrant Visuals really struck me. It looks great!
TIL you can remote play your own Xbox, in your own home, from any PC and browser. Was I the only one who didn’t know!? 😂 Thoughts after 30 minutes of gameplay: It’s pretty good! Controls are responsive and latency is low. Video quality is high, with very few compression artefacts. I’ll definitely use this when the TV is occupied! Video capture below.
You don’t need a RetroTINK or Framemeister scaler to get excellent results — with careful capture and post-processing, you can still achieve native-resolution, documentation-quality video.
A practical step-by-step guide to turning an old ASUS EeeTop ET2010PNT touchscreen PC into a modern Linux kitchen calendar and email kiosk, covering legacy BIOS installs, GRUB fixes, touchscreen drivers, and networking quirks.
I wanted a retro PC that could do the full “greatest hits” tour of retro gaming: native DOS, Windows 98, and Windows XP — without spending silly money, without hunting rare parts for months, and without ending up with something that’s allergic to modern conveniences like SATA.
In tweet form! My recent adventures with 3D home cinema, chronicled with info and images. Linked below.
I discovered my projector secretly supports full-resolution 3D. The result? A surprisingly awesome 3D cinema experience!
The 1987 ATI Graphics Solution SR is a retro graphics card with a unique trick. It can emulate CGA output on an MDA monochrome monitor. Let’s try it out!
Did you know? With three PlayStation 3s and three copies of the Gran Turismo 5, you can play in a glorious triple monitor mode. Video linked below.
New video! I show how to run Gran Turismo 5 in stunning ultra-wide mode across three screens, using three PlayStation 3 consoles.
I’ve been working on a PlayStation Vita port of id Software classic Commander Keen. As a foundation, I’m using the magnificent CloneKeen from Caitlin Shaw. It’s a very impressive project and very authentic to the original Keen. So far I have the graphics engine running at a smooth 60fps, but no input or sound yet. Video linked below.
On a recent YouTube binge, I found this incredible example of reimagined Sierra graphics. Taking Police Quest as inspiration, YouTuber mausimus has created a custom voxel renderer to produce authentic Sierra graphics in true 3D. It’s very impressive!
I was recently in Hong Kong and had a very lucky roadside find. I found a Sega Dreamcast for sale alongside some junk electronics items, and after some haggling was able to pick it up for $12. No idea if it still works, but for this price it was hard to ignore!
I found a nice Easter egg in Gran Turismo 3. With three PlayStation 2s, three copies of the game, and an i-Link hub — you can play in a glorious ultra widescreen, triple monitor mode! Video linked below.
New video drop! Ever wondered what Gran Turismo 3 would look like in ultra widescreen? In this video, I take GT3 to the next level by running it across three screens — using three PlayStation 2 consoles! Enjoy!
Thanks to some driver breakthroughs, I was recently able to get a modern AMD Radeon GPU running on the Raspberry Pi! Spoiler: it’s really fast.
In this guide, we’ll explore how to install Half-Life 2 on the Raspberry Pi, with step-by-step instructions to build your own mini Half-Life machine!