Colin Hoad
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colinhoad.com
Colin Hoad
@colinhoad.com
380 followers 210 following 3.3K posts
Senior Data Engineer at cfc.com

"Vintage computing enthusiast" - The Register

I run a YouTube channel and blog dedicated to the Beeb and all things Acorn, Psion and more: colinhoad.com

Discord: https://discord.gg/zjvSBjG7rw

Pixel Art: Syarifudin Mahfud
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colinhoad.com
Colin Hoad @colinhoad.com · 15d
It's the New Year's Postbag, 2026!
youtu.be/fn87-LmMlDY
New Year's Postbag 2026 - Bits and Bytes (Ep. 6)
YouTube video by Colin Hoad
youtu.be
Reposted by Colin Hoad
animatedal.bsky.social
Cassette 50 lives on in the history books of the ZX Spectrum, and many other 8 bit computers as a popular conversation topic. Join me tomorrow, 14th January as I invite you, the BASIC programmer to take part in this new CASSETTE 50 project for 2027. #zxspectrum
www.youtube.com/live/vstAJ5O...
Bringing back A new cassette 50 for 2027 - I WANT YOUR BASIC GAMES #zxspectrum
YouTube video by Animated ALex
www.youtube.com
January 13, 2026 at 7:06 PM
Reposted by Colin Hoad
rebeccasolnit.bsky.social
Córy Doctorow with another verbal bullseye: pluralistic.net/2026/01/13/n...
I'm sorry. As a technology writer, I'm supposed to be telling you that this bet will some day pay off, because one day we will have shoveled so many words into the word-guessing program that it wakes up and learns how to actually do the jobs it is failing spectacularly at today. This is a proposition akin to the idea that if we keep breeding horses to run faster and faster, one of them will give birth to a locomotive. Humans possess intelligence, and machines do not. The difference between a human and a word-guessing program isn't how many words the human knows. I'm sorry. I know that when we talk about "digital sovereignty," we're obliged to talk about how we can build more data-centres that we can fill up with money-losing chips from American silicon monopolists in the hopes of destroying as many jobs as possible while blowing through our clean energy goals and enshittifying as much of our potable water as possible.
January 18, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Colin Hoad
edzitron.com
Was honored to get the call to be one of The Guardian’s Big Interviews in G2. A thorough and thoughtful piece that digs into the real fundaments of the AI bubble narrative.
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Ed Zitron on big tech, backlash, boom and bust: ‘AI has taught us that people are excited to replace human beings’
His blunt, brash scepticism has made the podcaster and writer something of a cult figure. But as concern over large language models builds, he’s no longer the outsider he once was
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 5:29 AM
colinhoad.com
Vote No
voteyesornoai.com/vote/no
Are you YES AI or NO AI? Vote now.
Big Tech doesn't care if you want AI or not. They should.
voteyesornoai.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:16 PM
colinhoad.com
Windows 95: My Computer
Windows 7: Computer
Windows 8 (to now): This PC

I do feel that says a lot, consciously or otherwise, about Microsoft's attitude!
January 16, 2026 at 5:47 PM
colinhoad.com
Calling all Mattel Aquarius fans! I am getting more than a little obsessed with this machine, but have never owned one... does anyone here have one and, if so, know how easy/hard/impossible it is to hook one up to a modern monitor? VGA, SCART, HDMI, any of these?
January 16, 2026 at 1:36 PM
colinhoad.com
Not my house but I know my way around
Discworld MUD map of Ankh-Morpork
January 14, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Colin Hoad
jimblimey.com
This is a little bit exciting 😁 @florinthedwarf.bsky.social
Image of a tweet from @florinthedwarf sharing a teaser from the upcoming CRASH magazine with a mini review of my ZX Spectrum roguelike Roojliek.
January 13, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Reposted by Colin Hoad
markmoxon.bsky.social
You didn't know you needed this in your life, but you do.

Marine Beaufils is a French artist who creates beautiful embroideries of... The Sentinel (amongst others).

It's inspired and quite beautiful. Enjoy!

www.marine.st/en/pages/sen...

#bbcmicro #zxspectrum #c64 #retrogaming #retrocomputing
The Sentinel in embroidery
January 13, 2026 at 11:42 AM
Reposted by Colin Hoad
thelastpsion.com
Anyone have suggestions for YouTube channels where people are creating cool new stuff for old computers?

With notable exceptions, I'm less into "here's an $OldMachine, how cool!" and want more "here's a new thing I made for $OldMachine that makes it really useful or usable today."

#RetroComputing
January 13, 2026 at 11:39 AM
colinhoad.com
Genuinely fascinating Drum Tower podcast from @economist.com on the sad demise of Lapsang Souchong tea. It was one of my grandma's favourite teas and the aroma of it reminds me of her. I've even enjoyed the odd cup. That Twinings have discontinued it for supply reasons feels like an 'end of an era'
January 13, 2026 at 10:56 AM
colinhoad.com
Fujitsu should be banned permanently from any public sector work after what happened with Horizon.
January 13, 2026 at 9:35 AM
colinhoad.com
Be kind to your site administrator 😊 Genuinely lovely to read a little paragraph like this in my 1995 guide to the internet - advice we should all continue to follow!
Who is the Site Administrator? Being a site administrator is a thankless task! The site administrator is the person whose job it is to make sure everything is running smoothly, and to deal with frustrated users. Most ISPs have a helpdesk, who you can call or email to discuss problems you might have with their service. These contact details are very important for new users (and even some of us old ones). When you talk to or email your site administrators, please remember they are there to help you, but sometimes events are beyond their control. They weren't born knowing the nuances of every piece of communications software ever written, and generally don't have intimate knowledge of every modem ever sold!
January 12, 2026 at 9:55 PM
colinhoad.com
One thing that gives me a sense of job security is how generally poor I find juniors to be at debugging. "This failed, I don't know why" is increasingly common, and when I ask "did you read the logs?" they often look blankly at me, like logs are some kind of esoteric grimoire...
January 12, 2026 at 4:22 PM
colinhoad.com
The front cover of the BBC Micro 6502 second processor user guide is one of my all time favourites, the photograph is just *so* evocative. I adore this guy's setup, it perfectly captures the spirit of 1980s home computing.
My hand holding my copy of the 6502 second processor user guide Jaw-droppingly beautiful photo of a young man with curly hair sitting at a desk with a BBC Micro hooked up to a Cub colour monitor and a 6502 second processor "cheese wedge" unit. The screen shows a complex line matrix graphic, and on top of the BBC Micro there are several floppy discs and a notepad and pencil. There is a mug of tea on the desk as well as a Rubik's cube, various Acornsoft software boxes and a polystyrene box of electronics components. He is sitting next to a brown wooden shelving unit heaving with computing related books, a rotary telephone and a record player hifi unit. There is a pinboard on the wall opposite with photographs, postcards and an Acornsoft software catalogue poster.
January 11, 2026 at 3:22 PM
colinhoad.com
A spot of late night memory testing on the Beeb... nasty suspicion one of my DRAM chips is banjaxed 🙃
January 10, 2026 at 12:04 AM
colinhoad.com
I agree, but it's also incredibly insulting that the UK government continues to use X for all of its official communications.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Limiting Grok AI image edits to paid users 'insulting' to victims, says No 10
It comes after government urged Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 9, 2026 at 1:01 PM
colinhoad.com
Apparently generating CSAM is ok, provided you pay Elon for it.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Elon Musk's Grok AI image editing limited to paid users after deepfakes
It comes after government urged Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 9, 2026 at 9:29 AM
colinhoad.com
www.bbc.co.uk/news/technol...

Resharing this old story from 2018 for no reason at all.

*stares*
Tumblr removed from Apple app store over abuse images
The app was removed from Apple's store after images showing child sexual abuse were discovered.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 8, 2026 at 6:26 PM
colinhoad.com
www.traffic.gov.scot/gritter-trac...

Scotland, I salute you! These snow gritter names are incredible 😆
A map of Scotland featuring the names of various gritters, including Licence To Chill, Gritney Spears, Skid Vicious, Snow Bother, Creedence Clear Road Survival, Olaf Snow Free Roads, I Want To Break Freeze, You Only Grit Ice, Icetalavista Baby, Sled Zeppelin and more...
January 8, 2026 at 6:16 PM
colinhoad.com
BBC News report on sick men using Meta AI glasses to film women in public without their consent and then post the videos online for clicks.

"We contacted Meta, who said users should not use the AI glasses in this way."

Oh, so that's ok then?
January 8, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Colin Hoad
njenkin.bsky.social
Playing “Cabbage Hunter” on the Sega Mega Drive. Always get stuck on this level! 😬 🎮

#fail #retrogaming 🤪
January 8, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by Colin Hoad
brassicgamer.bsky.social
If you're in the UK and have Facebook, a woman is giving away her late father's PDP-8/L based in Bristol. Schematics included.

www.facebook.com/share/p/1A95...
January 8, 2026 at 10:53 AM
colinhoad.com
No spoilers, but as someone who adored Stranger Things all the way through, I found the finale very satisfying. Great piece of television, one of the best series Netflix has ever put out.
January 7, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Reposted by Colin Hoad
markmoxon.bsky.social
The next step is to add a whole load of deep dives explaining how Geoff Crammond's proto-VR masterpiece works under the hood, with links into the code itself.

This part will take some weeks as there's a lot to explain, but I'll try to publish them as I go.

Watch this space...
January 7, 2026 at 3:58 PM