@Middaparka@mastodon.social
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

Middaparka

@Middaparka@mastodon.social

Just keep pressing the keys and hope nobody notices.

An old and broken software developer with an interest in retro and vintage computing history and preservation.

Made the https://mastodon.social/@retrospecs iOS app amongst other things.

Ineffectually fighting the death of possibility / living the #MECFS dream. 🤔 #pwME

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

stroughtonsmith, to random
@stroughtonsmith@mastodon.social avatar

If you thought LLMs were a major contributor to a devastating decline in software quality, they've got nothing on SwiftUI 😛

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@stroughtonsmith How can you say that when it’s such a fully-featured replacement for… oh… no, wait.

🤔

nivrig, to random
@nivrig@mastodon.social avatar

Gonna leave it there for now. I'm really fecking tired today and there's burgers that need grilling soon.

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@nivrig That’s some pretty sweet progress - it’s looking amazing. 🙌

nivrig, to random
@nivrig@mastodon.social avatar

Out and about. It’s not raining, which is werid.

image/jpeg
image/jpeg

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@nivrig The home of great taste…

…ing potatoes.

nivrig, to random
@nivrig@mastodon.social avatar

Mandatory Fun Two Day AI Hackathon with Microsoft Copilot.

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@nivrig Christ. Heavy “may you live in interesting times” vibes.

Did you offend someone important or summat?

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

The state of Labour with this. “Labour has no plans for a youth mobility scheme. We have already suggested some tangible ways that we would look to improve the relationship and deliver for British businesses and consumers, including seeking a veterinary agreement to tackle trade barriers, mutual recognition of professional qualifications and improved touring opportunities for artists.”

From: @JugglingWithEggs
https://mstdn.social/@JugglingWithEggs/112299858529677159

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell @JugglingWithEggs It’s just peachy that the current best option to replace the Conservative Party is a fractionally less shit version called “Labour“, but with seemingly little connection to any traditional Labour Party values.

People are crying out for real change, but all they’re going to get, at best, is a watered down version of the same thing, led by someone who lives and dies by opinion polls.

Lingmops, to random
@Lingmops@topspicy.social avatar

There is far too much C++ in C++

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@guffo @Lingmops Largely for curiosity value only these days, but Objective-C always felt vastly more sensible, although perhaps that’s just because I’m a sucker for the method declaration approach it uses.

The NeXT/Apple libraries were also very “complete” for their time.

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Mastodon users shared my CPC post (thank you*), as did Bluesky users. There was even traction on LinkedIn. Threads? Not a sausage. Presumably they’re all Oric fans over there or something.

  • Genuinely. Retro gaming articles do really inconsistent traffic on Stuff, and so the more eyes, the better. I’d like to be doing more pieces like this, but traffic needs to be sufficient to justify it.

Curiously, the C64 equivalent has been doing really well, but we’re not entirely sure why!

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell I would say I feel sorry for those Beeb owners out there, but their parents were likely loaded, so they’re probably doing alright for themselves.

🤔

Middaparka, to random
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

In a just world, the final boss battle in Bloodborne would be set to the theme from Bubble Bobble.
https://bobbinsrobots.com/@Bobbins/112229268008776968

nivrig, to amiga
@nivrig@mastodon.social avatar

Mega Declan Devlog 1

gemini://s73.girv.in/glog/2024/2024-04-05-mega-declan-devlog-01.gmi

https://s73.girv.in/glog/2024/2024-04-05-mega-declan-devlog-01.html

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@nivrig That final line. 🫡

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Just spent some time noodling around with music. Managed to create an earworm that’s now going round and round in my head. That’s… good, I think?

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell Are any of your noodlings out and about yet?

(Nothing obvious in your linktree I could see.)

nivrig, to amiga
@nivrig@mastodon.social avatar

So far, so good.

We have floors, but we can't do walls yet. The builds the walls up in a layered bitmap from parts, which the can't really do easily.

I'll look into pre-generating all the possible wall configurations or something like that.

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@nivrig Status update: I’m getting so close to dropping the inevitable “To be that good takes ages” joke, but I’m managing to keep a lid on it.

nivrig, to devlog
@nivrig@mastodon.social avatar

- Sprites and Isometric Sorting

gemini://s73.girv.in/glog/2024/2024-03-30-amiga-isometric-devlog-03.gmi

spartan://s73.girv.in/glog/2024/2024-03-30-amiga-isometric-devlog-03.gmi

https://s73.girv.in/glog/2024/2024-03-30-amiga-isometric-devlog-03.html

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@nivrig Hark at you with your fancy domain name. And URL shortener.

And probably some other stuff.

Bobbins, to random
@Bobbins@bobbinsrobots.com avatar

There’s overselling a game and then there’s this. https://botsin.space/@gamemagprintads/112170608092513874

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@Bobbins On the upside, you can pretend it’s alternate lyrics to The Ballroom Blitz.

So… there’s that?

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

To Affinity and beyond: what does the Canva buyout means for the future of Serif?

https://reverttosaved.com/2024/03/26/to-affinity-and-beyond-what-does-the-canva-buyout-means-for-the-future-of-serif/

^ My thoughts on the Serif buyout.

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell Yep - that nails it precisely for me.

If they do switch to a subscription model for v3, I can only hope that the v2 version of the suite keeps working across updates to macOS for at least a few years to come. Naive, huh?

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell It's more a concern that Apple will add some new sandboxing hurdle or similar that breaks the existing apps.

I’d file such an eventuality under “unsurprising” if I'm honest.

retrospecs, (edited ) to random
@retrospecs@mastodon.social avatar

As a heads-up, I think Retrospecs’ availability within EU App Stores may need to change.

In short, I’m not prepared to publish my home address and mobile number on the App Store so I can comply with the Digital Services Act, so rather than go down this route I’ll simply remove Retrospecs from sale within the EU.

It’s a pity, as I know there are a lot of users within Europe, but hopefully you can understand why I’m doing this.

Fun times.

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@Liquidream @retrospecs No idea whatsoever.

I’ve found a sensibly priced PO Box option though, so fingers crossed.

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@nivrig I’ve signed up for https://www.ukpostbox.com

They do a “per-item” option that should hopefully be as close to free as possible.

I’m awaiting address verification with them, so hopefully that’ll proceed smoothly.

Middaparka, to random
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

Hmm… that @retrospecs iOS app I created will have been in the App Store for 10 years in June.

I’m an ideal world I’d celebrate this anniversary, perhaps with an update filled with exciting new features, but due to my ME/CFS I’ve zero energy left after my part-time job and my increasingly aged laptop only begrudgingly runs Xcode and the iOS simulator.

(Incidentally, I’m one of the lucky ones in terms of ME/CFS in that I can just about work part-time from home, but that’s a whole other thing.)

craiggrannell, to retrogaming
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

So yesterday‘s – number 256 – was meant to echo the infamous Pac-Man kill screen. And that’s in part because the series is ending for now.

It was intended to scratch a itch and give me a fun thing to write every day. But it’s becoming harder to think of what to write and the daily thing went out the window a while ago.

It may return. Or something similar. For now, though, thanks for reading to those who did. And if you haven’t yet, there are 256 entries to read! 👾

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell It’s been a great trip down memory lane / excuse to check out some games that passed me by. 🙌

nivrig, to random
@nivrig@mastodon.social avatar

DAYJOB talking about a great new mobile app that will let me do training and other things on the commute. I need them to understand I will never do this. Work stuff is for work time (and I don't have a commute).

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@nivrig Sweet - paid overtime!

Oh no, wait, etc.

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

Atari having fun with PR boxes again. The tiny snag: they’re not sealed. So when I pulled this out of its container, on which there was no handy arrow, the 400 Mini fell out and slid across the office floor. No harm done, mind. Mini-consoles are nigh-on indestructible.

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell Ooo… guessing it’s a fake keyboard?

(Although some would argue that the actual Atari 400 keyboard, etc. etc. )

craiggrannell, to retrogaming
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

254: Shadowfax (1982)

Even in 1982, you’d have felt shortchanged by this endless shooter. You as Gandalf, riding Shadowfax, had to take down Nazgûl with lightning blasts. Until you died. And that was it. Still, at least the horse animation looked lovely on the VIC.

Creator Mike Singleton would a few years later go on to much bigger and better LOTRish things, with Lords of Midnight and Doomdark’s Revenge.

Play it on:

Gameplay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIQsoAPUfSA

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@craiggrannell His “Snake Pit” was mighty fine for its time on the VIC-20.

nivrig, to random
@nivrig@mastodon.social avatar

Off work today. There were things I’d wanted to do but, thanks to four hours sleep because children, I think I’ll mainly be being tired instead.

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@nivrig I know this pain.

mcc, to random
@mcc@mastodon.social avatar

Today is my birthday!

If you'd like to do something for me for my birthday, would you please reply to this with—or by other means send me— something with colors you liked? Like an image or a video or a link. Music would also be acceptable if it gives you a strong synesthesiac association with color.

If this request confuses you, here are some examples of images with colors I found striking [Artists: Laurie Barmore, Vian Borchert, Erica Aurahack]. But your reply can be whatever colors you like.

Abstract art by Vian Borchert
Abstract art by Vian Borchert

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@mcc Hopefully not too late.

(Belated happies if that’s the case.)

nivrig, to random
@nivrig@mastodon.social avatar

Debugging a new take on my scroller and wondering why some fill-up strips are rendering four pixels too short 🤦🏻‍♂️

Middaparka,
@Middaparka@mastodon.social avatar

@nivrig Nice.

That seems like a good middle-ground. 👍

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