Monthly Archives: February 2023

Connecting a 1980s Pinball Machine to the Internet

I built a device that allows a pinball machine from 1984 to automatically upload scores to the internet. The device taps into the machine’s memory bus and monitors the game state, uploading scores after each game. Growing up, my family owned an old pinball machine, a 1974 Williams Strato-Flite.

from Pocket
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YouTube As Infinite File Storage

Anyone who was lucky enough to secure a Gmail invite back in early 2004 would have gasped in wonder at the storage on offer, a whole gigabyte! Nearly two decades later there’s more storage to be had for free from Google and its competitors, but it’s still relatively easy to hit the paid tier.

from Pocket
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Un Bloc Arcade double écran pilotée par un Raspberry Pi 400

L’idées de ce Bloc Arcade est toute simple mais drôlement efficace. Le système de double écran fait tout son charme. Un petit losange en longueur réalisé en contreplaqué propose sur chacune des deux faces un écran. A l’intérieur, un Raspberry Pi 400.

from Pocket
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Retro Gadgets: Nintendo R.O.B Wanted To Be Your Friend

Too busy playing video games to have a social life? No worries. In 1985, Nintendo introduced R.O.B. — otherwise known as the Robotic Operating Buddy. It was made to play Nintendo with you. In Japan, apparently, it was the Family Computer Robot. We suppose ROB isn’t a very Japanese name.

from Pocket
via Did you enjoy this article? Then read the full version from the author’s website.