LockerGnomeToday's outages, hacks, phones, gadgets and fixes, plus the tech you grew up with, picked daily by Chris Pirillo for the pros everybody calls.https://lockergnome.com/en-usA Raspberry Pi Pico adapter reaches an Apple Silicon Mac’s hidden USB-C serial consolehttps://lockergnome.com/apple-silicon-usb-c-hidden-serial-reboot-pico/https://lockergnome.com/apple-silicon-usb-c-hidden-serial-reboot-pico/A custom service adapter exposes a recovery conversation that a silent screen cannot show.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTHacks & BuildsClingon turns Markdown cheatsheets into shell commands with a typed-code safety catchhttps://lockergnome.com/clingon-markdown-cheatsheet-real-shell-confirmation/https://lockergnome.com/clingon-markdown-cheatsheet-real-shell-confirmation/A small Mac utility keeps the documentation beside the terminal, with a catch for anyone sharing command packs.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTSoftwaremacOSterminalopen sourceCRAYON, the 1995 personalized news site, is back and says your 1990s password still workshttps://lockergnome.com/crayon-1995-personalized-newspaper-relaunch-90s-logins/https://lockergnome.com/crayon-1995-personalized-newspaper-relaunch-90s-logins/Dave Maher rebuilt the site Jeff Boulter started as a Bucknell student. Every outlet's version of an event now sits in one story, ordered by who got there first, and the maker says an old login opens your original paper.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTRetrocrayonnews1990s webrelaunchpasswordsUnix daemons got their name from an imaginary molecule sorter, not an acronymhttps://lockergnome.com/daemon-maxwell-background-process-name/https://lockergnome.com/daemon-maxwell-background-process-name/Fernando Corbató's surviving reply settles a bit of computer folklore that keeps acquiring extra capital letters.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTRetroUnixcomputing historyFORTRAN's 1957 compiler used random numbers to plan its use of three index registershttps://lockergnome.com/fortran-1957-compiler-monte-carlo-registers/https://lockergnome.com/fortran-1957-compiler-monte-carlo-registers/John Backus's team faced a practical sales problem: scientists wanted easier programming without slower results.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTRetroFORTRANIBMcomputing historyHC, a free Mac app, opens original 1987 HyperCard stacks and adds colorhttps://lockergnome.com/free-mac-app-runs-original-1987-hypercard-stacks-in-color/https://lockergnome.com/free-mac-app-runs-original-1987-hypercard-stacks-in-color/Labynet's HC reads 1987-to-1998 stacks without conversion and runs HyperTalk on a current Mac. Its Tetris demo is a single button that changes shape, and the maker lists what still breaks.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTRetrohypercardhypertalkmacosopen sourceretro softwareGestaltX edits iPhone capability flags, but its feature switches come with a restore warninghttps://lockergnome.com/gestaltx-iphone-capability-flags-backup-restore/https://lockergnome.com/gestaltx-iphone-capability-flags-backup-restore/The project separates a device's region code from its sales region and records original values before changing them.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTSoftwareiPhoneiOSopen sourceAn iPhone app controls the same iPhone through a VPN that loops back into itselfhttps://lockergnome.com/iphone-controls-itself-through-loopback-vpn/https://lockergnome.com/iphone-controls-itself-through-loopback-vpn/A sideloaded app brings developer-device control back onto the phone, with VPN and privacy tradeoffs.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTSoftwaresoftwarehacks-cheatsMarc Andreessen proposed the HTML IMG tag on a mailing list on Feb. 25, 1993, and Tim Berners-Lee wasn't soldhttps://lockergnome.com/marc-andreessen-proposed-html-img-tag-in-1993-mailing-list-post/https://lockergnome.com/marc-andreessen-proposed-html-img-tag-in-1993-mailing-list-post/The replies in the 1993 archive show a browser maker with working code, a SLAC rival with its own icon tag and CERN asking for none at all. Andreessen's answer to one question explains why it says SRC.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTRetrohtmlmosaictim berners-leeweb historymailing listsMargaret Hamilton's colleagues laughed at 'software engineering'; Apollo needed its overload planninghttps://lockergnome.com/margaret-hamilton-software-engineering-apollo-overload/https://lockergnome.com/margaret-hamilton-software-engineering-apollo-overload/The computing pioneer died September 30 at 90, leaving a record of the arguments behind reliable flight software.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTRetroApolloNASAcomputing historyMister Download Manager's one-second gigabyte came from a server on the same PChttps://lockergnome.com/mister-download-manager-one-second-localhost-benchmark/https://lockergnome.com/mister-download-manager-one-second-localhost-benchmark/The free Rust utility publishes its test harness, exposing where a flattering headline needs more context.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTSoftwaredownloadsopen sourcebenchmarksNetscape swapped its logo for a compass on any URL with /jwz/ in it, according to 1996 mailing-list postshttps://lockergnome.com/netscape-engineer-hid-compass-icon-and-decoy-crypto-html-in-browser/https://lockergnome.com/netscape-engineer-hid-compass-icon-and-decoy-crypto-html-in-browser/A Netscape easter egg tied to Jamie Zawinski's initials turned up on the web lists in late 1996, along with a joke tag that did nothing. The posts agree on the trick and disagree on the version.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTRetronetscapeeaster eggjamie zawinski1996browsersA newly archived Math Blaster floppy keeps every sector, down to its original magnetic readingshttps://lockergnome.com/new-math-blaster-plus-dos-floppy-disk-archive/https://lockergnome.com/new-math-blaster-plus-dos-floppy-disk-archive/Preserving the magnetic capture keeps future recovery options beside a readable disk image.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTGamingNZXT's H7 case has a curved glass roof you can swap for mesh, from $159.99https://lockergnome.com/nzxt-h7-curved-glass-roof-swaps-for-mesh/https://lockergnome.com/nzxt-h7-curved-glass-roof-swaps-for-mesh/Two cases, a 75-liter mid-tower and a 47-liter one, drop the corner seam of the usual glass box. Prices run from $89.99 to $259.99, with new Kraken coolers alongside and no shipping date.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTHardwarenzxtpc caseh7h5krakenSony's $599 PlayStation 3 Lost $3.3 Billion and Still Won the Blu-ray Format Warhttps://lockergnome.com/playstation-3-turns-20-blu-ray-format-war/https://lockergnome.com/playstation-3-turns-20-blu-ray-format-war/Twenty years after E3's most mocked price reveal, period teardowns and studio defections show how a third-place gaming gamble quietly settled Hollywood's high-definition disc standard.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTRetroPlayStationBlu-raySonyRetroGamingRystic runs fake Slack, GitHub and Stripe APIs on your machine, and the cheaper plans check in every 30 secondshttps://lockergnome.com/rystic-local-stateful-api-simulators-slack-github-stripe/https://lockergnome.com/rystic-local-stateful-api-simulators-slack-github-stripe/The startup sells stateful local copies of third-party APIs for testing, with a published match score against the real ones. Its own pricing page says a fully offline machine needs the Enterprise plan.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTSoftwarerysticapi testingsimulatorsdeveloper toolsy combinatorA Synacktiv researcher got remote code execution in the GOG version of Star Wars Episode I: Racer through its multiplayerhttps://lockergnome.com/star-wars-racer-ipx-lan-exploit/https://lockergnome.com/star-wars-racer-ipx-lan-exploit/One unchecked player number in a name packet lets a rogue host take over a joining player's game. The report covers the GOG copy on Windows 10 and doesn't say whether a patch exists.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTSecuritystar wars racergogsynacktivmultiplayervulnerabilitySteelSeries' $180 Rival Pro gaming mouse uses Ultra-Wideband radio and twist-out batteries instead of USBhttps://lockergnome.com/steelseries-rival-pro-uwb-gaming-mouse-swappable-batteries/https://lockergnome.com/steelseries-rival-pro-uwb-gaming-mouse-swappable-batteries/The useful battery distinction is a charged spare beside the computer, with a brief swap still required.Thu, 12 Nov 2026 03:43:03 GMTHardwarehardwarenew-gadgetA vintage logic chip hid spare diodes so one silicon design could become three different productshttps://lockergnome.com/1965-signetics-logic-chip-extra-diodes-three-designs/https://lockergnome.com/1965-signetics-logic-chip-extra-diodes-three-designs/A close look inside an early logic IC finds spare components that let one silicon layout serve several jobs.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTRetroretrotech-historyAfter Dark’s 1994 racing rats return in a browser, with their original music and bad habitshttps://lockergnome.com/after-dark-1994-rat-race-screensaver-playable-in-browser/https://lockergnome.com/after-dark-1994-rat-race-screensaver-playable-in-browser/A resource-fork extraction project preserves the sound library as well as the race, with original media supplied separately.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTRetroretromemory-laneA free tool makes coding agents claim files before another agent can take the same workhttps://lockergnome.com/aisync-stops-coding-agents-overwriting-same-files/https://lockergnome.com/aisync-stops-coding-agents-overwriting-same-files/Parallel helpers need an ownership check before helpful edits become a merge rescue.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTAIWoz’s five-chip Apple II floppy controller made software do the expensive hardware’s workhttps://lockergnome.com/apple-ii-floppy-controller-software-replaced-hardware/https://lockergnome.com/apple-ii-floppy-controller-software-replaced-hardware/Andy Hertzfeld’s recollection includes a later correction from Woz, making the comment thread part of the technical evidence.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTRetroretrotech-historyA free tool builds command-line controls for Windows apps, with Notepad as its working demohttps://lockergnome.com/auto-cli-turns-gui-windows-apps-into-command-line-tools/https://lockergnome.com/auto-cli-turns-gui-windows-apps-into-command-line-tools/The generated interface carries evidence about the application, with early Windows testing setting its current limits.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTSoftwaresoftwareunique-ossA free browser-makers’ tool gives coding agents modern alternatives to outdated web codehttps://lockergnome.com/browser-teams-cli-stops-coding-agents-writing-legacy-javascript/https://lockergnome.com/browser-teams-cli-stops-coding-agents-writing-legacy-javascript/The browser vendors are trying to retire workarounds that keep returning in generated interfaces.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTSoftwareA free engine loads your Red Alert 2 files into a browser for multiplayer skirmisheshttps://lockergnome.com/clean-room-engine-runs-red-alert-2-yuris-revenge-browser/https://lockergnome.com/clean-room-engine-runs-red-alert-2-yuris-revenge-browser/Original game archives supply the nostalgia; a replacement runtime handles the modern machine.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTGamingA free tool replaces API keys with placeholders before a coding agent reads themhttps://lockergnome.com/cloakroom-hides-api-keys-from-coding-agents/https://lockergnome.com/cloakroom-hides-api-keys-from-coding-agents/Placeholder credentials put the secret boundary where ordinary agent file access can reach it.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTSecurityA programmer rebuilt CompuServe in Pascal, down to its GO commands and CB chat roomshttps://lockergnome.com/compuserve-rebuilt-pascal-browser-terminal/https://lockergnome.com/compuserve-rebuilt-pascal-browser-terminal/Gary Sullenger’s preservation project restores working mail and forums, while admitting which old information feeds are gone.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTRetroretromemory-laneA developer’s blood-sugar benchmark finds accurate averages can conceal missed dangerous lowshttps://lockergnome.com/diabetic-developer-tests-22-blood-sugar-models/https://lockergnome.com/diabetic-developer-tests-22-blood-sugar-models/Low-error predictions can still fail the event that matters most to somebody living with diabetes.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTAIA dad built a seven-foot driveway UFO with 1,406 LEDs and his three-year-old flight engineerhttps://lockergnome.com/driveway-ufo-1406-leds-three-year-old-flight-engineer/https://lockergnome.com/driveway-ufo-1406-leds-three-year-old-flight-engineer/A backyard attraction gives a child an engineering job and its neighbors an unusual departure gate.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTHacks & BuildsA Harley diagnostic tool uses an ESP32 and a browser instead of a licensed scannerhttps://lockergnome.com/esp32-harley-davidson-browser-diagnostics/https://lockergnome.com/esp32-harley-davidson-browser-diagnostics/A small Wi-Fi board exposes motorcycle diagnostic messages, including commands that can move actual hardware.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTHardwarehardwarehacks-cheatsA Nintendo DS factory game fits a 4.2-million-tile world by storing only your changeshttps://lockergnome.com/factory-ds-generated-world-stores-only-changed-tiles/https://lockergnome.com/factory-ds-generated-world-stores-only-changed-tiles/Procedural terrain solves the handheld memory problem until a busy factory needs saving.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTGamingA homeowner revived a discontinued Nest thermostat with open firmware and a new furnace cablehttps://lockergnome.com/fishing-nest-thermostat-c-wire-no-longer-evil/https://lockergnome.com/fishing-nest-thermostat-c-wire-no-longer-evil/One homeowner’s rebuild involved more cable fishing and setup interruptions than the smart-home screen suggests.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTHardwarehardwareannoyance-fixA developer designed an Ethernet chip in four days and added a counter for the universe’s lifetimehttps://lockergnome.com/four-day-ethernet-switch-chip-heat-death-counter/https://lockergnome.com/four-day-ethernet-switch-chip-heat-death-counter/A free fabrication slot came with a deadline far shorter than the beacon it inspired.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTHacks & BuildsA free offline desktop authenticator imports two-factor codes by decoding QR screenshots from your clipboardhttps://lockergnome.com/free-desktop-authenticator-totpvault-decodes-qr-screenshots-offline/https://lockergnome.com/free-desktop-authenticator-totpvault-decodes-qr-screenshots-offline/Losing the master password makes recovery planning more important than a convenient import button.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTSecurityA free disk cleaner checks dependency lockfiles before deleting idle project foldershttps://lockergnome.com/free-rust-cli-deletes-build-folders-only-after-lockfile-check/https://lockergnome.com/free-rust-cli-deletes-build-folders-only-after-lockfile-check/dev-prune ties disk cleanup to a reconstruction check and keeps the restore path visible.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTSoftwaresoftwareannoyance-fixA free two-file C toolkit makes desktop interfaces without embedding a browserhttps://lockergnome.com/free-two-file-c-library-190-ui-components-250kb-apps/https://lockergnome.com/free-two-file-c-library-190-ui-components-250kb-apps/Small native applications come with serious decisions about accessibility and text input.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTSoftwareA camera owner squeezed missing Fujifilm printer support into 4,048 unused byteshttps://lockergnome.com/fujifilm-x-t30-ii-instax-link-3-4048-byte-printing-patch/https://lockergnome.com/fujifilm-x-t30-ii-instax-link-3-4048-byte-printing-patch/Reverse engineering rescued a printing feature already partly hidden inside a camera.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTHacks & BuildsA browser arcade recreates 35 Ghanaian street games, down to bottle-cap football and paper goalshttps://lockergnome.com/ghana-street-games-browser-bottle-cap-football/https://lockergnome.com/ghana-street-games-browser-bottle-cap-football/Paper goals and improvised counters carry childhood rules into a multiplayer arcade.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTGamingA hidden link bans disobedient crawlers; its maker reports daily traffic falling from 216GB to 25GBhttps://lockergnome.com/honeypot-link-htaccess-trap-cuts-bot-traffic/https://lockergnome.com/honeypot-link-htaccess-trap-cuts-bot-traffic/A site owner reports a large traffic drop after using a forbidden link as a bot trap, with blunt blocking as the tradeoff.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTSoftwaresoftwareannoyance-fixIBM launched its 1401 computer with an empty box and engineers spinning the tape reelshttps://lockergnome.com/ibm-1401-launch-empty-box-hand-spun-tape-reels/https://lockergnome.com/ibm-1401-launch-empty-box-hand-spun-tape-reels/The company’s own account separates the television prop from the working machine it kept safely in a lab.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTRetroretrotech-historyIBM blasted Selectric typeballs with walnut shells because sand was too roughhttps://lockergnome.com/ibm-selectric-typeball-walnut-shell-finish/https://lockergnome.com/ibm-selectric-typeball-walnut-shell-finish/A manufacturing detail behind the office icon explains why changing the alphabet involved more than swapping metal letters.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTRetroretrotech-historyDoom runs on an IBM mainframe while your browser receives only colored terminal texthttps://lockergnome.com/ibm-z-mainframe-runs-playable-ascii-doom-in-browser/https://lockergnome.com/ibm-z-mainframe-runs-playable-ascii-doom-in-browser/A terminal vendor’s demonstration lets a browser send game input to a remote host and receive colored text.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTGaminggaminghacks-cheatsAn iPhone app calculates where every nail goes before you hang a gallery wallhttps://lockergnome.com/iphone-app-wallhang-calculates-exact-nail-coordinates-gallery-wall/https://lockergnome.com/iphone-app-wallhang-calculates-exact-nail-coordinates-gallery-wall/Planning frames is the easy preview; accounting for the hidden hanging hardware prevents extra holes.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTSoftwareA homemade computer runs 6502 and Z80 software without either processor chiphttps://lockergnome.com/isetta-ttl-computer-switches-6502-z80-no-microprocessor/https://lockergnome.com/isetta-ttl-computer-switches-6502-z80-no-microprocessor/Dozens of logic chips give familiar software a completely different physical explanation.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTHacks & BuildsKonrad Zuse programmed a living-room computer with holes punched in used movie filmhttps://lockergnome.com/konrad-zuse-z1-programs-punched-used-movie-film/https://lockergnome.com/konrad-zuse-z1-programs-punched-used-movie-film/An early computer project turned discarded cinema material into a way to store instructions.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTRetroretrotech-historyAn archived LEGO classroom CD-ROM pairs plastic gearboxes with real factory videoshttps://lockergnome.com/lego-dacta-9665-mechanical-engineering-cd-rom-archive/https://lockergnome.com/lego-dacta-9665-mechanical-engineering-cd-rom-archive/An uploaded disc image preserves the software and factory videos that accompanied an educational LEGO kit.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTRetroretromemory-laneA $1.99 emulator puts MSX computer games and BASIC programs on an Apple Watchhttps://lockergnome.com/msx-computer-games-emulator-on-apple-watch/https://lockergnome.com/msx-computer-games-emulator-on-apple-watch/iMSX2 puts an old home-computer environment on devices that never came with a cartridge slot.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTGaminggamingmemory-laneA fan port brings a delisted Pac-Man phone game to Dreamcast, using your own Android game filehttps://lockergnome.com/namco-pac-n-jump-2011-mobile-game-fan-port/https://lockergnome.com/namco-pac-n-jump-2011-mobile-game-fan-port/A fan-built runtime revives a delisted phone game on desktops and older consoles, using data supplied by its owner.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTGaminggamingmemory-laneNintendo's NES security patent made the console and cartridge solve matching calculations togetherhttps://lockergnome.com/nintendo-1985-nes-patent-matching-lock-and-key-chips-in-every-cartridge/https://lockergnome.com/nintendo-1985-nes-patent-matching-lock-and-key-chips-in-every-cartridge/The patent describes two cooperating processors that decide whether the main machine is allowed to run.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTGaminggamingtech-historyA free homebrew store lets a network-connected Nintendo GameCube download its own appshttps://lockergnome.com/nintendo-gamecube-dolphin-depot-homebrew-app-store/https://lockergnome.com/nintendo-gamecube-dolphin-depot-homebrew-app-store/Dolphin Depot’s device client is on version 0.0.12, so compatibility and installation requirements still deserve a check before downloading.Wed, 11 Nov 2026 22:50:37 GMTGaminggamingmemory-lane