HN user

markchristian

2,174 karma

I'm just a guy from Canada, living in the Bay Area and trying to be a pretty okay human being. I like computers and old video games.

Sometimes I write things here: https://writing.markchristian.org

I have built some things over the years. Some of them were pretty okay at the time.

http://isitsociallyacceptabletolistentoalliwantforchristmasisyouyet.com https://somanyfoodtrucks.com https://github.com/shinypb/watchnrun https://github.com/shinypb/feedfilterer http://whimsicalifornia.com/timebar https://shinyplasticbag.com/dragondrop https://shinyplasticbag.com/lidpop http://jbrewer.github.com/Responsive-Measure/ http://ffffallback.com/ http://appcachefacts.info http://openkeyval.org http://www.helpbubble.com/ http://prioritizemywork.com/

Posts102
Comments144
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roach.github.io 3mo ago

Axol: Cheerful desktop companion that surfaces alerts from JSON payloads

markchristian
3pts0
writing.markchristian.org 2y ago

So Long, ICQ

markchristian
3pts0
news.ycombinator.com 3y ago

Ask HN: I'd like to start reading the Linux source code. Where should I start?

markchristian
27pts13
writing.markchristian.org 3y ago

Wither Offline Mode?

markchristian
3pts1
gekk.info 3y ago

The Unholy Saga of Phoenix Hyperspace

markchristian
14pts3
old.reddit.com 3y ago

Lessons learned adding network multiplayer to a web game

markchristian
2pts0
drew.shoes 3y ago

Saying “sup” with `net send`

markchristian
497pts140
log.vexation.ca 3y ago

Dev blog exploring retro (Windows 95) computer virus development

markchristian
8pts0
twitter.com 3y ago

Fortran: The Board Game

markchristian
18pts0
en.wikipedia.org 3y ago

List of Interface Bit Rates

markchristian
1pts0
news.ycombinator.com 4y ago

Ask HN: Entry-level customer success jobs for career switcher?

markchristian
1pts0
news.ycombinator.com 6y ago

Bite-size coding challenge: implement if/else in JavaScript without `if` or `?:`

markchristian
4pts2
slack.engineering 6y ago

Slack built their dark mode

markchristian
3pts1
johnnyrodgers.is 6y ago

Burnout

markchristian
247pts69
writing.markchristian.org 7y ago

Vintage video game cartridges with built-in modems

markchristian
131pts44
writing.markchristian.org 7y ago

Sensors in Game Boy Cartridges

markchristian
2pts0
writing.markchristian.org 7y ago

Have a personal web site

markchristian
883pts414
writing.markchristian.org 7y ago

A look at some video games systems inside of cartridges (part 2 of 4)

markchristian
2pts0
writing.markchristian.org 7y ago

A System of Cartridges

markchristian
2pts0
writing.markchristian.org 7y ago

Lock 'n roll: a tale of three cartridges

markchristian
80pts31
writing.markchristian.org 7y ago

A brief history of saved games

markchristian
2pts0
writing.markchristian.org 7y ago

Using GitHub Webhooks to rebuild static web sites

markchristian
1pts1
writing.markchristian.org 7y ago

The life and times of the Nintendo 64 controller

markchristian
1pts0
slack.engineering 10y ago

Show HN: On empathy and pull requests

markchristian
1pts0
medium.com 10y ago

Empathy-driven Development

markchristian
2pts0
news.ycombinator.com 11y ago

Ask HN: Want to buy my (profitable) Mac app?

markchristian
8pts8
blinkenlights.jazzychad.net 11y ago

iOS app to make retro “blinkenlights” dashboards

markchristian
3pts4
news.ycombinator.com 11y ago

Ask HN: Want to sell my Mac app to a new developer

markchristian
1pts3
www.wired.com 13y ago

Is Stallman stalled? (1994)

markchristian
3pts2
www.linusakesson.net 13y ago

Kernighan's lever, the secret to becoming a better programmer

markchristian
2pts0
The LaserDisc 2 years ago

Oh man, let's be friends! Hit me up if you wanna nerd out about LaserDiscs — m@rkchristian.ca. I have a pretty decent collection (https://markchristian.org/files/laserdiscs.txt — around 200 or so, no specific theme other than "movies I would like to have a copy of").

Have you got a setup going for digitizing these things? I've got a pitch reel on LaserDisc for a 1991 interactive TV startup that I'd love to preserve before it bitrots.

I love your stuff! As a FastMail user I have to read it in my alternative browser lest I destroy my autocomplete, though. :D

Anyhow; thanks for everything you make! I hope your face is feeling better these days.

To the communication angle, I've worked at two different BigCo's in my career, and both times there was a fallback system of last resort to use when our primary systems were unavailable.

I really wish the opposite of this (QEMU on iOS) existed. The closest I have been able to find is a build of Bochs that doesn't actually work on my iPad. Someday!

I’ve always wanted to write about it, but it’s never really fit into one of my monthly themes. Many of the games on the service are available online as ordinary ROMs, often with “BS” in the title (for Broadcast Satellite). I’m sure the experience of using the system and playing along to synchronized audio was pretty wonderful, but the games themselves just played like ordinary cartridges once they’d be downloaded. Unlike the Sega Channel, Satellaview games could be downloaded into special cartridges and kept around indefinitely.

I was actually saying the opposite: the candidate was telling me that they'd looked up the folks on their interview panel, including me.

Definitely. Cartridges really were amazing; I think that's ultimately going to end up being the organic thesis of my web site.

Something I discovered while researching this post: Sega had their own Super FX-y thing with the Sega Virtua Processor. It was only used in one game (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtua_Racing), but the thing I find most fascinating about it is that Sega contemplated releasing just the Virtua Processor itself—you guessed it, as a lock-on cartridge.

(Unfortunately, this fact didn't really fit in anywhere, so I'm just dropping it here.)

Someone who works for Apple — someone who is probably a lot like you and me — is having a really shitty night. So, I am sending good luck vibes towards Cupertino right now.

Godspeed, Apple friends! ️

Gah, I'm an idiot -- it's actually made about half that amount ($3,500) because I forgot to subtract the earnings of my other Mac app, Timebar. I really wish I could edit/delete this post. #embarrassed

Apple's App Review team has been merciless lately. They won't accept any further updates to my app, Timebar (http://whimsicalifornia.com), unless I get rid of its only feature (drawing a progress bar on your menu bar). Frustrating.

I think Apple could go a long way to locking down developer trust by just vowing to never reject updates for non-technical reasons, ever. If they have to make the initial review much more brutal, it would still be worth it.