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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 1d

Just did a mental tally of how many Raspberry Pis I now own...

TVHeadend with DVB HAT, six for teletext / analogue TV, internal telephone exchange, Home Assistant, web server, GPi Case, my original one, three spares that don't quite work properly, and the unfinished mini desktop teletext TV...

16.

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 3d

The other services are all available online for you to try out on a Pi yourself using @xenoxxx.com's VBIT2 and a teletext TV:
github.com/peterkvt80/v...

You don't need a separate Pi for each one, that's just my over-indulgence! You can use a single Pi, and select between services from a menu.

Home

Teletext streaming. Generates a T42 teletext stream from teletext pages. This can be used with inserter hardware or a Raspberry Pi to generate a video signal that teletext TVs can decode and displa...

github.com

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 3d

As you'll notice, the teletext services don't correspond to the channels they're on, with the exception of NMS Ceefax on BBC1, which is the brilliant recreation by @nmsni.co.uk, displaying present day news etc. as close as it's possible to get to an alternate reality where we still had analogue TV.

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 3d

Ahh, this is the video I wanted...not sure why I hadn't posted it to Bluesky before.

Of course, you can do the same with your own video feed. There's also some geometry tweakery going on using the --win parameter in OMXPlayer to compensate for the up-shift from teletext.

bsky.app/profile/jami...

Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 3d

Managed to get my anachronistic analogue TV simulator a step closer to reality: a Raspberry Pi with a DVB HAT running TVHeadend grabs the terrestrial TV feeds, and Pis running OMXPlayer and VBIT2 output video and teletext respectively, which get passed to UHF modulators and distributed house-wide.

Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 3d

Managed to get my anachronistic analogue TV simulator a step closer to reality: a Raspberry Pi with a DVB HAT running TVHeadend grabs the terrestrial TV feeds, and Pis running OMXPlayer and VBIT2 output video and teletext respectively, which get passed to UHF modulators and distributed house-wide.

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 3d

The teletext is the easy bit, relatively speaking...it's the analogue TV channels that have taken me the longest, and I'm still working on getting it perfected. But I now have the capability to run up to six analogue channels around the house, each with teletext.

bsky.app/profile/jami...

Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · Jun 18

*does a victory dance*

My house-wide anachronistic analogue terrestrial TV simulator is now reality, with NMS Ceefax on BBC1!

My mini PC wasn't powerful enough for other experiments I threw at it, but can handle iPlayer in OBS, stream it to a Pi, which plays it via omxplayer (teletext via VBIT2).

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 7d

Escargot are trying to bring that back, too. I haven't gotten around to trying that yet, but you're right, that would be peak!

I'm also in disbelief that the official servers for the original ICQ only shut down in June last year 😮

Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 7d

It's not that I want to live in the 90s permanently. I just love the idea of being able to walk through a door, and pretend, for ten minutes, an hour, an afternoon.

Closest thing I can get to building a time machine, especially as it'd all still work, albeit with some modern-day adaptations.

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 7d

A CRT in the corner, a computer desk with CRT monitor and a period-appropriate PC in another corner, with dial-up internet access (locally hosted), my games and programs similar to how they used to be, and as I say, MSN / Windows Live Messenger actually online in 2025.

😊

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 7d

I guess this is another element I can add to what I'm calling my "90s simulator".

In different parts of the house, I have an analogue of analogue TV (present day BBC/ITV/4/5 in letterboxed SD) with modern-day teletext, a dial-up internet server, and now MSN.

One day, I want this all in one room 😊

Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 7d

Relationship status: I just reinstalled Windows Live Messenger.

I'M BACK, BABY!

escargot.chat?r=jamazzuk

Screenshot of Windows Live Messenger, with the display name 'jamazzuk@escargot.chat'. There are no contacts visible (as it's a fresh install). Custom banners for Escargot news and updates.

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 7d

There is something on their news page about Windows 11. Not sure if they've fixed it without needing an additional patch, since then?

escargot.chat/news/#:~:tex...

Latest News | Escargot | MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger

escargot.chat

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 7d

I'm on Windows 10, using the Escargot-patched WLM '09 from their website. Working fine so far, as far as I can tell.

It did take me a few hours to get the activation email after signup.

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 7d

I've known about Escargot for years, but it took me until today to finally decide to take the plunge.

Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 7d

Relationship status: I just reinstalled Windows Live Messenger.

I'M BACK, BABY!

escargot.chat?r=jamazzuk

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 8d

Accidentally bought some single-use microSD cards!

I've usually been pretty good at not falling foul of the "buy cheap, buy twice" mantra, but not this time.

When the first card failed, I thought it was just bad luck, but when the second hard-failed as well, after only a few minutes of use...😢

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 9d

It's also a source of constant amazement/dismay, that when certain people see an own goal looming on the horizon, their first thought isn't to desperately slow down and think about their next move, but to exclaim "ooh, a chance to score a goal, yay!" and aim straight for the back of the net...

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 9d

Him posting a video like this - in and of itself, with no additional context - is an automatic red flag.

So, from the perspective of someone who's still trying to work out what's going on, and amenable to giving benefit of doubt where due - a video like this starts haemorrhaging their credibility.

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 9d

So, from what I can tell, there's someone called Moses Norton, who authored a book about SNES gaming - published by Bitmap Books - and he made silly insults in 2022 that resurfaced. In isolation, they read to me as Top-Gear-esque "humour", but others have seen them as part of a problematic pattern.

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 9d

Explain it to me like I'm joining at a random point in Series 6, because that's what it always feels like to me when these social media explosions happen.

"Wait, who is this character, and what's the premise?"

"I feel like I'm missing something major that must have happened in, like, Season 3..."

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 9d

I was just going to let it pass me by completely, but then Special Effect got mentioned (as the charity chosen to donate royalties to after the furore caused by a book author), so now I'm invested in doing the hours of research that it'll take me to catch up with what on earth is going on here...

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 9d

I remember having to say this on TwiXter, but now I'm having to say it on Bluesky.

Please keep in mind, when you're making commentary on events, that what might seem like huge news with plenty of obvious context to you, could be a complete unknown to others.

This time, it's the Bitmap Books thing.

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Reposted by Jamie Nemeth

Esther Schindler @estherschindler.bsky.social · 9d

I just saw someone use the abbreviation “AI;DR” and I’ll be laughing for a while.

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 9d

Maybe I should respond with an offer that's lower than my previous counter-offer, to continue the pattern? 🤣

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 9d

That's a new one...

- eBay seller makes an offer

- I make a lower counter-offer

- eBay seller makes a counter-counter-offer that's higher than their original offer

🤔

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Jamie Nemeth @jamienemeth.bsky.social · 9d

There's also an app called Telescore that people are talking about a lot at the moment: football scores in the style of teletext (but more matching a phone screen's real estate and aspect ratio).

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