▒▓█ Vintage

GEEK-PRANK YOUR NON-TECH COLLEAGUES OR FRIENDS

GEEK-PRANK YOUR NON-TECH COLLEAGUES OR FRIENDS

Couple of days ago doing generic internet surfing i was smashed in the face with this out of the blue [thing]. Super correct site if you are in a desperate need to prank your non-tech colleagues or friends. Just make sure that computer has recent browser, select the desired prank and hit [F11] key to enter full-screen mode. Funny thing how Windows XP desktop and Windows 7 updating process are ended with:
TROUBLESHOOTING LATEST VIRTUALBOX 6.X UNDER WINDOWS 7 ENVIRONMENT

TROUBLESHOOTING LATEST VIRTUALBOX 6.X UNDER WINDOWS 7 ENVIRONMENT

UPDATED ON: 2024-06-26 VirtualBox 7 can be [freely used on Windows 7] machines! For virtual emulation in most cases i use VMWare Workstation 15.5.7 dated back to 2020, which works awesomely fine. Recently i run into VirtualBox on my primary job and have to run Linux Debian on Windows 7 Enterprise. As per official Oracle documentation all [6.x VirtualBox releases] are compatible with Windows 7. Unfortunately it is not so true.
nsCDE ▀ NOT SO COMMON DESKTOP FROM UNIX LIKE OPERATING SYSTEMS

nsCDE ▀ NOT SO COMMON DESKTOP FROM UNIX LIKE OPERATING SYSTEMS

Surfing through meaningless tier lists on YT dedicated to various Unix graphical user interfaces by home-made experts without even showing them in a proper way and doin’ subjective ratings, i’ve stumbled upon on “obsolete” [CDE] environment and was interested in it’s 90’ish looks, despite the fact that “expert” narrated that it is in a “yuck” category and not worth even touching. After jogging through comments i’ve noticed that some wise man mentioned about modern reincarnation of CDE project named [nsCDE] .
HOW TO FIX OUT OF SYNC TIME ON OLD WINDOWS 7 INSTALLATIONS

HOW TO FIX OUT OF SYNC TIME ON OLD WINDOWS 7 INSTALLATIONS

A couple of weeks ago i run into problem related to out-of sync time clock. Tried almost all imaginable solutions, like time service restarting, checking that internet time-sync option is turned on and so on and so forth. Of course to no avail at all. How typical! My Windows 7 installation dates back to early 2019 and i’ve plethora of software installed, and more over system is heavily customized so plain reinstall of operating system is not an option in my case.
LATEST GOOGLE CHROME OFFICIALLY CRACKED TO WORK WITH WINDOWS 7!

LATEST GOOGLE CHROME OFFICIALLY CRACKED TO WORK WITH WINDOWS 7!

UPDATED ON: 2024-09-05 I’m currently on Firefox 115 ESR and not using chrome at all, but this is neat news for sure. So, in addition to [Supermium] chrome fork, we have official version also. This is a work of Russian hackers. Preface words from original Github page [English spelling is original]: Dirty corporations and Hindu-managers are trying to deprive the any users of all the benefits that were created by technically more advanced people than them.
HOW TO EASILY FIX GPS ISSUES ON SONY XZ1 COMPACT SMARTPHONE

HOW TO EASILY FIX GPS ISSUES ON SONY XZ1 COMPACT SMARTPHONE

As you may know [Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact] is my main web surfing phone on the go. I’m fully satisfied with it’s capabilities even in 2023. Except one little problem, related to GPS and speed of satellites detection. Issue showed up couple of months ago and it seems that i finally found an easy way to fix it. After some investigations i conclude that device has a hardware based problem, and to eliminate it completely you need to open phone casing and pull up antenna so it will have tighter surface touching with in-case metallic plate.
FIXING SLOW STARTUP OF APPLICATIONS IN MANJARO XFCE

FIXING SLOW STARTUP OF APPLICATIONS IN MANJARO XFCE

Right after installing [Manjaro Linux] i run into weird issue. Most of needed applications like Firefox and Thunderbird take around 10 seconds or so just to startup. Such behavior on NVME drive is unacceptable at all. Problem was in a serious [bug in gnome desktop] , despite the fact that i’m running XFCE desk. Workaround for GTK-based desktops is to run following commmands in terminal: sudo pacman -Rdd xdg-desktop-portal-gnome sudo pacman -S xdg-desktop-portal-gtk Imagery by spacedrone808 @Adobe Imagery by spacedrone808 @Freepik
RENOISE EFFECTS LIST AND VARIOUS TRACKER TIPS

RENOISE EFFECTS LIST AND VARIOUS TRACKER TIPS

UPDATED ON: 2023-09-20 Version: 0.5 Considered Renoise version is 3.4.x. Just a small collection of important things to remember. Will be nice if stash come in handy to someone. ▒ GENERAL SETTINGS [-] GUI effects and animation [+] More compatible GFX updates [48] Limit frame rate [-] View multiple patterns continuously [+] Single click to create new points [hold Shift to select] [-8dB] Track headroom ▲ BACK TO TOP
DELL PRECISION 7520 AND LENOVO X1 CARBON GEN5 RECEIVED ANOTHER BIOS UPDATES

DELL PRECISION 7520 AND LENOVO X1 CARBON GEN5 RECEIVED ANOTHER BIOS UPDATES

UPDATED ON: 2024-11-28 Fastest Windows 7 laptops are still on the edge. Dell & Lenovo have made some enhancements to address recent security vulnerabilities. [Dell Precision 7520] ► Firmware version 1.38 [November 2024] [direct link] [Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen5] ► Firmware version 1.63 [September 2024] [direct link] Nice to see that such older platforms are still maintained. Imagery by spacedrone808 @Adobe Imagery by spacedrone808 @Freepik
COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RENOISE SHORTCUTS

COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF THE MOST IMPORTANT RENOISE SHORTCUTS

UPDATED ON: 2023-09-20 List of shortcuts, which i frequently use in my work-flow. Text version for offline surfing can be grabbed [here] . Official list of shortcuts can be found [on Renoise site] . ▒ MODIFICATORS [SHIFT] ► track [ALT] ► block [selection] [CTRL]+[SHIFT] ► column [ALT]+[SHIFT] ► group [CTRL] ► pattern ▒ GENERAL [ALT]+[ENTER] ► toggle real fullscreen [CTRL]+[N] ► new song [CTRL]+[S] ► save song [CTRL]+[SHIFT]+[S] ► save track as [CTRL]+[O] ► open song [CTRL]+[,] ► open preferences
SECURE YOURSELF FROM AUTORUN VIRUSES

SECURE YOURSELF FROM AUTORUN VIRUSES

UPDATED ON: 2023-08-24 This is a short clipping from [Complete tweaking guide for Windows 7] article. First of all you need to terminate autorun feature for housewives to limit auto-start of unwanted applications and viruses. I prefer fully manual control what’s starting and what is not. To complete this tuning like a boss do the following on all external flash devices you have. Format your Flash/HDD storage using NTFS file system Take a note that modern smartphones can’t read such storage devices.
EVEN MORE CLASSICAL TRACKER MUSIC

EVEN MORE CLASSICAL TRACKER MUSIC

UPDATED ON: 2023-08-19 For those of you who are hunger for more classical tracker music and you are not completely satisfied with my [ultimate tracker mod collection] here is a link to a [marvelous catalog] of chiptune and demoscene gems. Design matches aesthetics of early 90s and pleasing to eye. Resource is kindly provided by [Matt] . Oh, and here is a massive breakdown of tracker music resources i’ve stashed for you:
HOW TO STAY SAFE WHEN USING OB-SOUL-EEE-TEE WINDOWS 7 IN 2023?

HOW TO STAY SAFE WHEN USING OB-SOUL-EEE-TEE WINDOWS 7 IN 2023?

I often get asked regarding Windows 7 safety especially in 2023. "Is it safe to use such old operating system?" "What about security?" "How about modern viruses?" .... …. and many other similar questions. Funny thing that people who are asking about security don’t give a damn about privacy. Yeah, that’s quite different definitions for sure, but from my point of view they always come together hand in hand. The main and the most important security police officer is your head.
IS IT HARD TO RUN WINDOWS 7 IN 2023? NAH, NOT AT ALL!

IS IT HARD TO RUN WINDOWS 7 IN 2023? NAH, NOT AT ALL!

Looking back to previous couple of years and taking into perspective generic non-computer life it is quite amazing what people are capable of. I’m talking about amount of rave and chaotic mess they can produce. Artificial difficulties, overcomplicated situations, meaningless and moronic wars, you name it. Taking into account above mentioned things it’s really easy to handle such “problem” as running Windows 7 in modern age. Despite the fact that there are plenty of people around who are mumbling about Windows 7 obsolescense and bla-bla-bla.
KEYCHRON Q6 ▀ BLUE MECHANICAL BEAST WITH BROWN TACTILE SWITCHES IN REALLY HEAVY METAL CASING

KEYCHRON Q6 ▀ BLUE MECHANICAL BEAST WITH BROWN TACTILE SWITCHES IN REALLY HEAVY METAL CASING

If you are a long term reader/visitor of my site you may already know that i am using following keyboards: Japanese [Topre Realforce RGB] [rubber-dome capacitive key switches] Chinese [Vortex Race III] [clicky blue Cherry-MX key switches] Chinese [Vortex Tab90M] [clicky blue Cherry-MX key switches] Thailand [IBM KB-8926] [quite good rubber-dome key switches] Note: board from 1996 in mind condition, using it on my job. And now i’ve decided to give a shot to top end keyboard of Keychron brand.
HOW TO MINIMIZE LAPTOP POWER CONSUMPTION

HOW TO MINIMIZE LAPTOP POWER CONSUMPTION

Say you need to run on a laptop battery vintage or simply non-demanding applications for an extremely long time. Here is a little breakdown of mandatory things to do: turn off in BIOS unneeded devices like camera, sd-card reader, fingerprint scanner, gsm-modem, wifi, bt or whatever you are not using turn on power saving features like various C-power states turn off hyper-threading and hi-core count [if you have such ability] lower screen brightness to acceptable level check my [quick] and [comprehensive] optimization FAQs get rid of [unneeded services and bloat applications] Also you can use core parking utility [Park Control] , but in this mini-guide i’ll show you how to set power related things up via internal Windows 7 tools.
HOW TO SET PROPER COLOR FOR CURSOR AND COMMENTS IN VSCODE EDITOR

HOW TO SET PROPER COLOR FOR CURSOR AND COMMENTS IN VSCODE EDITOR

UPDATED ON: 2023-12-02 The main reason i’ve decided to write this note is indistinct default color mappings and inability to solve issue simply using GUI of software. In main configuration file: settings.json add following lines: "workbench.colorCustomizations": { "editorCursor.foreground": "#ff0000", "terminalCursor.foreground": "#02ED3D", "editorLineNumber.activeForeground": "#ff0000", "editor.lineHighlightBackground": "#016119", "editor.lineHighlightBorder": "#02ED3D", "terminal.foreground": "#02ed3d" }, To set custom color for GREY comments drop in these lines: "editor.tokenColorCustomizations": { "conmments": "#ff006f" } To fast access configuration file press:
HOW TO RUN LATEST VS CODE IN WINDOWS 7 X64

HOW TO RUN LATEST VS CODE IN WINDOWS 7 X64

UPDATED ON: 2024-07-05 v1.81.1 is a more recent version, which can be executed without any efforts v1.89 is a hacked [FINAL version] for Windows 7 x64 So, Windows 7 users are pretty safe at this point despite artificial restrictions of big corps. Usually i’m not feeling so delightful regarding microsoft modern programs, but this one is pretty good. And of course they tried to artificially cripple it under “obsolete” Windows 7.
VxKex ▀ WINDOWS 7 KERNEL EXTENSIONS TO RUN WINDOWS 8+ SOFTWARE

VxKex ▀ WINDOWS 7 KERNEL EXTENSIONS TO RUN WINDOWS 8+ SOFTWARE

Extended kernel project allows you to run some Windows 8+ applications on Windows 7. LATEST ALPHA BUILDS Click right mouse button to select executable properties and then switch to VxKex tab: Then cross your fingers and try to launch desired application. Warning! Software is in very early alpha stage, so miracles almost never happen. However very basic applications can be executed. Imagery by spacedrone808 @Adobe Imagery by spacedrone808 @Freepik
HOW TO RUN NODE.JS 18.18 LTS ON OBSOLETE WINDOWS 7

HOW TO RUN NODE.JS 18.18 LTS ON OBSOLETE WINDOWS 7

UPDATED ON: 2024-08-29 Node.js dropped Windows 7 “support” rigth after [version number 13] .What a load of sh#t. Today i’ll tell you how to overcome this nonsense and run latest LTS version [Node.JS 18.x] without any problems. More newer versions may work also. I’ll leave you some room for experiments. Recently i found excellent already [patched installer of NodeJS 18] First of all you need to download zipped version of software, not msi one.
ELIMINATE SCREEN TEARING ON INTEL HD GRAPHICS IN WINDOWS 7 ENVIRONMENT

ELIMINATE SCREEN TEARING ON INTEL HD GRAPHICS IN WINDOWS 7 ENVIRONMENT

In my newly purchased [Lenovo X1 Carbon] i run into screen tearing issues during web or local video playback with classic windows theme turned on. GOOD EXAMPLE OF SCREEN TEARING PHENOMENON I messed around with different video driver settings, under the hood browser parameters, fine-tuning other various tweaks without any changes for good. To my surprise solution was pretty straightforward. JUST TURN ON AERO THEME TO SAVE YOUR EV▓NING! Aero interface is rendered by Desktop Windows Manager [DWM].
LENOVO X1 CARBON 6TH GENERATION ▀ BRIEF REVIEW

LENOVO X1 CARBON 6TH GENERATION ▀ BRIEF REVIEW

Main highlights of [6th generation] over [previous one] : very good keyboard for ultra-compact class [same quality as in 5th gen]. By the way, 6th generation is a last one to support such luxury. Generations 7th and 8th come with [crippled apple-like keys] with reduced key travel. noticeable quality increase in terms of color gamut, even better than in 5th generation. sRGB gamut: 95% [Gen6] vs 85% [Gen 5]. multi-core performance [increased around 80%] over 5th gen.
WHY FALLOUT I/II ARE THE BEST COMPUTER GAMES EVER MADE BY HUMANITY

WHY FALLOUT I/II ARE THE BEST COMPUTER GAMES EVER MADE BY HUMANITY

► QUICK LIST ON WHY I THINK SO: made in golden time of game industry [late 90s] TOTALLY NON-LINEAR INSANE REPLAYABILITY immersive post-apocalyptic setting and overall vibe impressive concoction of RPG and quest genres best soundtrack in game industry, thanks to incredibly perceptive [Mark Morgan] ► HOW ABOUT SOME CONS? Franchise is pretty buggy due to it’s complexity. But we already have [FIXT] mod for [Fallout 1] and [RPU] for [Fallout 2] .
UGLY MOZILLA DECIDED TO DROP WINDOWS 7 SUPPORT FOR FIREFOX IN LATE 2024

UGLY MOZILLA DECIDED TO DROP WINDOWS 7 SUPPORT FOR FIREFOX IN LATE 2024

Despite the fact that current Firefox market share of Windows 7 users is around 13% Mozilla confirms to [drop Windows 7 support in 2024] . Actually i don’t really understand their bold move and why they are dropping Windows 7 and keeping support for example for Android 7.1 which stopped receiving updates more than five years ago. As you may know i’m using Android 8.0 on my websurfer phone and yeah, it is running latest Firefox forks easily.
THINKPAD T43P ▀ THE VERY LAST AUTHENTIC IBM LAPTOP

THINKPAD T43P ▀ THE VERY LAST AUTHENTIC IBM LAPTOP

[ThinkPadT43p] is the very last real laptop produced by IBM. [Models produced during IBM era] . KEY FEATURES: really high quality materials excellent keyboard top of the line LED indication on chassis interchangable cpu drains for liquid spills power cord connected from the back IBM THINKPAD T43P REVIEW ANOTHER VIDEO Imagery by spacedrone808 @Adobe Imagery by spacedrone808 @Freepik
PHANTASMAGORIA ][ ▀ DECENT SHOW FOR AN EVENING [1996]

PHANTASMAGORIA ][ ▀ DECENT SHOW FOR AN EVENING [1996]

Indirect sequel to wonderful FMV-based quest [Phantasmagoria] . As a game it was quite lousy, but as a movie to kill the evening it’s pretty stellar show. PHANTASMAGORIA ][ TRAILER One of the few strong points was supreme ambient soundtrack by [Gary Spinrad] . PHANTASMAGORIA ][ OST Imagery by spacedrone808 @Adobe Imagery by spacedrone808 @Freepik

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