Stocking a Windows 98 PC the Way It Looked in 1999
My list for loading a Windows 98 machine with the software, games, sounds and screensavers of 1998 to 2001, plus the DOS-era diagnostic kit I'd keep beside it.
The retro workbench · Note 13 ↗EXPLORE THE NOTEBOOK
Tech.
Notes from the command line, the workbench, and the vintage computer shelf.
172published notes
Every note in Tech
Newest first · 6 / 15
The Handhelds That Didn't Win
Microvision, Lynx, Game Gear, Neo Geo Pocket Color, WonderSwan and N-Gage. The handhelds that took on the Game Boy and lost, what each got right, and a timeline of how handhelds got from LCD segments to PC chips.
Console field guide · Note 8 ↗
Preserving Your Own Game Collection: Dumps, Backups, Boxes and Old Hardware
How to back up the games you own before the media gives out, check the dumps against No-Intro and Redump, store the files and the boxes properly, and keep the old consoles running.
The emulation bench · Note 6 ↗
The WordPress REST API Without a Plugin: Reading, Creating and Updating Content
Every WordPress site since 5.6 can be driven over HTTPS with an application password and nothing else installed. Here's how to read, create and update content from PowerShell.
The WordPress toolbox · Note 2 ↗
Sony's Handhelds: Which PSP and Which Vita to Buy
The PSP and PS Vita model by model, what each revision changed, the memory card problem and its fix, the store closures that make backups matter, and where the PlayStation Portal fits.
Console field guide · Note 7 ↗
Picking One Android Handheld for Emulation and Movies
One device for PS2 emulation and my own movie files, smaller than a Steam Deck, with a microSD slot. The shortlist, the detour into phones, and where I'm leaning.
Games and gear · Note 4 ↗
Upgrading a 1GHz Apple eMac: The Plan
My phased plan for turning a 1GHz PowerPC G4 eMac into a solid classic Mac, from maxing the RAM to swapping the old IDE drive for something faster.
The retro workbench · Note 8 ↗
Modding Shadow of Mordor in 2026
A twelve-year-old game, a proxy DLL, a ReShade preset and a trick for hiding the HUD. The Shadow of Mordor mod setup I put together this month.
Games and gear · Note 2 ↗
My Cyberpunk 2077 Mod Loadout
I bounced off Cyberpunk once because the guns felt stiff. Here's the mod list I'm running on the 2.3x Steam version now, and what all those frameworks actually do.
Games and gear · Note 1 ↗
An Arcade Cabinet With a 4:3 Monitor, and Why I Went With CoinOPS on a PC
Notes from an arcade cabinet build in progress, on why the monitor is 4:3, and why a PC running CoinOPS won out over a plug-and-play Pandora-style board.
The retro workbench · Note 3 ↗
Building a FieldStation42 Cable Box
A build log for a Raspberry Pi cable box that runs FieldStation42 on a CRT, with a keypad, an LED channel display, a guide channel and a WeatherStar weather channel.
The retro workbench · Note 1 ↗
The Flexbox Bug That Won't Let Your Panel Scroll: min-height: 0
Your scroll area has overflow:auto, the layout is 100vh, and the whole page scrolls anyway. Blame the automatic minimum size of flex items, and fix it with one line.
Building this notebook · Note 7 ↗