Try booting with the HDD disconnected. Try disconnecting the battery and BIOS battery (where is it on this model?!) for a few minutes.

You would still need good RAM to get into the BIOS update…

GPU failure, since a text-mode boots but not much else?

That’s completely accurate.

He loves to dish out insults but can’t handle it being done to him even in jest. What a strong man.

Sorry, I was not trying to put words in your mouth. I just usually hear, “Linux not good for me because it doesn’t support my setup well enough” when it should be “Linux not good for me because the manufacturers of my hardware don’t support Linux well enough”. Trying to put blame where it belongs in hopes of raising awareness to both users and manufacturers.

I also mistakenly thought you mentioned a newer Nvidia card when you are considering AMD. 🤦‍♂️ Good luck in your computing future!

Privacy Breacher hasn’t been updated in four years and still seems to be able to list all the apps on an Android device without any permissions.

PrivacyBreacher is an Android app built as a proof of concept for a research article describing the privacy issues in Android. This app can access the following information from your phone without requesting any permissions: Figure out at what time your phone screen turned on/off. Figure out at what time you plugged in or removed your phone charger and wired headphones. Figure out at what time you switched on/off your phone (i.e., it captures the device uptime and ACTION_SHUTDOWN broadcasts). Access most of your device related information like your phone model, manufacturer etc. Keep track of your WiFi/Mobile data usage. Get a list of all the apps installed on your phone. Construct a 3D visualization of your body movements.

Edit: A knowledgable user says this app can still do this because it’s built for pre-Android 11 (when the privacy fix was implemented).

https://sh.itjust.works/comment/17677309

checked the code and it just queries the package manager as usual. it works because the system tries to maintain compatibility with apps made for older android versions (targetsdk). this app was built for api 29 (android 10), and the query apps permission gating was introduced in api 30 (android 11) https://web.archive.org/web/20250331021341/https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/10158779?hl=en the play store is strict about the min targetsdk allowed for new apps and updates, and while that is also a negative thing, api 29 cannot be targeted anymore for apps: https://web.archive.org/web/20250331021653/https://developer.android.com/google/play/requirements/target-sdk

It’s not the fault of the creators of an operating system that Nvidia refuses to write comparable drivers. Nvidia are the only ones with the technical knowledge of the GPU’s internals that is necessary to write the 100% functional driver. Open-source Nouveau drivers exist but are less functional because of this, its programmers have to try to reverse-engineer and do a lot of guesswork and testing, and for free.

Basically: If you value FOSS software at all, buy from manufacturers that are friendlier to FOSS software, or you may unknowingly lock yourself out of it.

Edit: Buying newer (especially of Nvidia) is probably a bad idea if you intend to run Linux. Older cards have had more time for them to fix the inevitable bugs. I run a GTX980Ti 😅 with the closed-source drivers on an Arch-based system and I’m honestly surprised a video driver update hasn’t seriously broken anything yet.

You’re right. I got a “Timex Sinclair 1000” at a garage sale, it’s a 2KB modified ZX81. The other manufacturers you mention had more software available, and Commodore often played dirty.

I’m tempted to replace the TS1000’s failing keyboard with one of those new ones with tact switches, but that’s a bit of an investment for what would sit on the shelf anyway. My C64 at least still gets played and demoscene stuff showed off!

I maintain dozens of the black & silver Optiplexes, they’re used in Raw Thrills arcade games like The Fast and the Furious, Big Buck Hunter Pro, Guitar Hero Arcade… They are workhorses; usually clean it and recap the power supply (which are kind of a bitch to disassemble) and they’re good for another few years.

I still run into the blue/grey ones like your picture, but not in use. Usually stored in the basement of a bar.

My personal collection includes a couple of first-generation Optiplexes, the beige GX1. Dell is a bigger part of my life than I ever imagined or hoped. 😅

How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days - The Atlantic

Hitler had campaigned on the promise of draining the “parliamentarian swamp”—den parlamentarischen Sumpf—only to find himself now foundering in a quagmire of partisan politics and banging up against constitutional guardrails.

Shameless Snopes plugs:

Did Trump echo Hitler with remark about migrants ‘poisoning the blood of our country’?

Yes, Trump posted link that included Nazi symbol for gay men in concentration camps

Did Musk give ‘Nazi salute’ at Trump’s 2025 inauguration rally? Here’s what we know

Did Trump once say, “I need the kind of generals Hitler had”?

Musk reposted post that said, “Stalin, Mao, and Hitler didn’t murder millions of people”

I’m not sure, but there may be a pattern here.

Agreed, cheap DB-9 used for all kinds of different connections. I used this site for info: https://wiki.icomp.de/wiki/DB9-Joystick

In the US, Sinclair and Amstrad seem to be rare. We do have the problem where Master System was uncommon but Genesis was massively popular, so many people refer to the Genesis as “the Sega”. You can’t say, “Sega controllers are OK for C64” with Master System implied, because someone will use a Genesis pad and blow up the CIA when pad buttons and keyboard keys are pressed at the same time.

I thought this only applied to Mega Drive/Genesis controllers, as many two-button joysticks back in the day were advertised as compatible with “Atari, Commodore, and Sega”.

I opened my Master System controller (Model 3020) and verified that there are no resistors or components, and the Sega’s +5V pin (pin 5), and the C64’s +5V pin (pin 7) are the two wires that are not connected to anything do not even have pins or wires in the cable. So this particular pad is safe. Other pads may be wired differently!

In the USA, Section 230 protections are going away in 2027 so that should finish off any remaining forums.

They’re going to be sad when they find out that tiny dicktator mushrooms only give a puff of spore dust.

Interesting! It’s absent on my Vizio and Samsung although they are nearly a decade old now. I know over-the-air RF signals are still broadcast but they’re digital now.

A once-promising vehicle from a once-promising entrepreneur.

Modern TVs in the US don’t have the coaxial RF jack…

In the worst-case scenario, yes… but the wording on the Windows dialog literally says, “There is a problem with your device and you should scan it” and then when you do, “Your device is ready to use, no problems were found.” This, after it was ejected and got the safe removal notification. 🤷‍♂️

Game Genie had a thicker circuit board than a game cart, to get a good connection in the frontloaders. The toploader’s cart slot is pretty tight, to get a good connection. Combine these, and it feels like the cart slot is going to pull off of the circuit board before the Game Genie lets loose. Everdrive/Powerpak would work fine.

Galoob offered an adapter for the toploaders but they are extremely rare.

Honestly, even a Trinitron TV with composite looks as good as RGB at the resolution of NES.

Remember Craigslist? I got a toploader for $40 with games because it had been stepped on and crushed! Some Bondo, paint, AV mod…

Toploader not recommended if you like to use Game Genie.

RGB mod: It’s expensive IIRC because you need to replace the PPU (video chip) entirely with one from an arcade board or a modern FPGA reproduction. Edit: Sweet Jesus, you’re looking at about $250 for RGB kit installation…

At the time, if you bought a new US toploader then complained to Nintendo about the video quality, they would replace it with a revision with no jailbars. There’s also a very rare US toploader with the composite AV port and no jailbars!

https://consolemods.org/wiki/NES:NES_Model_Differences

Them eggs is spensive cuz they real good ones. I gottem and gonna eatum with my limited edition cheese and laugh at the poors!