Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ian Scott

@polpo.org

3K followers 690 following 880 posts

I created PicoGUS, an ISA card that can emulate sound cards like the Gravis Ultrasound, Sound Blaster, and MPU-401: https://picog.us I’m a retrocomputing generalist! Also on Fedi at https://chaos.social/@polpo In Colorado, USA

picog.us

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Ian Scott @polpo.org · Oct 22

I make things for old computers and like using them in fun ways. Most people know me for PicoGUS, a sound card emulator for mid-90s PCs. I'm making a card for the Sharp X68000 now, and when I get the chance I try to do things like hook an old Macintosh up to barbed wire and print over it.

A PicoGUS 2.0 card - a squareish red board with an edge connector for an ISA slot, a metal bracket, 3.5mm jacks, and a USB-A port.

A somewhat large, squareish shaped circuit board. It says "X68000 dev breakout board" on it with a halftone dot version of the Longcat meme photo. There is a pin header and edge connector slot on the right side of the board.

A Macintosh SE/30 set up on a desk next to a barbed wire fence that is inside in an office-like environment. There is a push button telephone on the fence post. The Mac is connected to the fence with a set of alligator clips.

2 6 47

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 5h

🤩

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 6h

Also lol, there are literally cobwebs on my mic. Obviously haven't used that in a while...

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 6h

My humble (if cluttered) workbench. This is my cozy place!

My workbench. There's an open area in the center, but the rest is filled with old PC motherboards in testbenches, soldering equipment, test equipment, keyboards, and wires. The area surrounding is stacked with boxes, old cd-rom drives, compact Macintosh computers, Commodore 64s, Amigas, MSX computers, etc.

11 6 89

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 8h

I posted to comp.os.linux.misc in July 1994, pleading for help with Slackware. I had no idea what I was doing. The post is still on Google Groups but I keep a copy saved so I can have proof when I say I have 31 years of Linux experience on my resume 😆

2 7

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 10h

Actually spoke too soon, Oceanwide Pro Bold looks like a very close match.

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 10h

Hmm, that does look like "the AI font". I'm not getting any close matches for it on whatthefont.com either 🤔

Reposted by Ian Scott

Jason Scott @textfiles.com · 10h

I'll tell this story again - during GET LAMP, before I hired @lukasketner.bsky.social I spoke to Drew Struzan about doing the art. This was 2009, he could have told me to take a leap, and instead, he was surpremely helpful, and even offered to do something for $10k. For my little documentary!

Charlie Ashby @charlie-ashby.co.uk · 11h

RIP Drew Struzan - a man whose talent and imagination etched onto so many minds throughout the last 40+ years.

His art & posters are some of the first visuals I think of when I think about cinema - an invitation to watch these stories and worlds.

A massive loss 💔

2 9 41

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 13h

Makes me appreciate the RP2xxx datasheets from Raspberry Pi.

1 4

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 1d

You're making me want to get my PS3 back out with these posts!

1 1

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 1d

Oh cool, I've come across some of those interposers in listings online but never seen one being used!

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 2d

Apple really overhauled Terminal in the latest OS (it finally introduces true color, for one) and I'd like to try it out, but Liquid Glass is really keeping me from upgrading

1 1

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 2d

/me who uses a macOS box professionally, spending 99% of the time in the terminal: 🤔

1 7

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 3d

This is great, thank you for doing this! The .doc version of this (converted to pdf) was my primary reference for PicoGUS and having it in a more plain text format would have been a lot nicer.

1 1

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 3d

I love eggplant-colored themes

1 2

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 4d

What a hot mess

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 4d

I don't know if you saw it, but earlier this year a speed fix was released that lets it run on faster machines: www.wcnews.com/chatzone/thr...

BREAKING NEWS: Wing Commander Speed Fix Released (June 11, 2025)

The cat is out of the bag… the WCAT, that is! AllTinker has released the first public beta of his monumental Wing Commander AllTinker overhaul mod! This is a patch for the original DOS version of Wing...

www.wcnews.com

1 1 4

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 4d

Sakai was always such a G

Iron Chef Bot @ironchefbot.bsky.social · 4d

Frame #7050 from S06 -E26 - Lotus Root-629309

1 2

Reposted by Ian Scott

jordan 🍖💧 @jordo.bsky.social · 4d

i'm always a little disappointed when an amiga game is like, good

3 1 16

Reposted by Ian Scott

Aron Ambrosiani @aron.ambrosiani.se · 4d

And as a bonus, here’s an in-depth guide to the depicted knitting pattern 🙂 digitalpreservation-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/knitting-thr...

Knitting Through Digital Decay: A Collection of Digital Preservation Jumpers No One Asked For (But…

I’ve been truly overwhelmed by the interest in my Digital Preservation knitting patterns — thank you to everyone who has reached out…

digitalpreservation-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk

5 10

Reposted by Ian Scott

Ben Gross @bhgross144.bsky.social · 4d

So this #SHOT2025 panel has nearly wrapped up. But if you want to read more about historical issues surrounding multimedia and the preservation of born-digital collections, check out this piece on #DigiPres at @theul.bsky.social.

(Thanks for bringing this to my attention, @rhiggitt.bsky.social!)

A digital dark age? The people rescuing forgotten knowledge trapped on old floppy disks

From lectures by Stephen Hawking to the letters of British politician Neil Kinnock – it's a race against time to save the historical treasures locked away on old floppy disks.

www.bbc.com

2 39 110

Reposted by Ian Scott

Robert Sundling @robertsundling.bsky.social · 5d

It's time! After 33 years, I'm adding Gravis UltraSound support to my DOS game engine. 😄

I never owned a GUS back in the day, so it never happened. Now I've got a PicoGUS from @polpo.org (and a great emulator from @86box.net). So off we go!

Step 1A: I mirrored the final GUS SDK (v2.22) on GitHub.

GitHub - RobertSundling/GUSDK222: Gravis UltraSound, PC GamePad, and Analog Pro SDK V2.22 (GUSDK222.ZIP)

Gravis UltraSound, PC GamePad, and Analog Pro SDK V2.22 (GUSDK222.ZIP) - RobertSundling/GUSDK222

github.com

1 10 26

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 6d

I've heard of her, she's Upper Pines Dump Station's most famous resident.

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 6d

it me.

The Onion @theonion.com · 6d

Passenger Glued To Airplane Window Like It Fucking 1956 https://theonion.com/passenger-glued-to-airplane-window-like-it-fucking-1956-1832728158/

4 24

Reposted by Ian Scott

Jason Scott @textfiles.com · 7d

Okay, it's time. I have a prized Cult of the dead cow Zippo lighter. These simply do not exist anywhere. But a CDC member is hurting and I want to encourage donations to the GoFundMe, so out it goes. Details in thread.

2 67 180

Ian Scott @polpo.org · 7d

I’ve long wondered what the tech was behind these boardwalk computer photos!

1 1