Daily tech news worth retelling: the drama, the hackery, the odd builds and the people behind them.https://lockergnome.com/https://lockergnome.com/full-disk-access-mac-setting/https://lockergnome.com/full-disk-access-mac-setting/On October 2, Apple told Mac developers it will add new controls to Full Disk Access, so that granting it takes "very explicit user action."Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:22:00 GMTSecurityapplemacsecurityaihttps://lockergnome.com/google-playground-make-a-game/https://lockergnome.com/google-playground-make-a-game/Google opened Playground on October 7, an experimental site where you describe a game and its AI builds it.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:21:00 GMTTools & Geargoogleaigaminghttps://lockergnome.com/android-users-iphone-poll/https://lockergnome.com/android-users-iphone-poll/I asked Android users in a YouTube poll on October 2 what's stopping them from getting an iPhone, and most of the people who answered just like Android more.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:20:00 GMTTools & Gearappleandroidiphonehttps://lockergnome.com/meta-muse-spark-two-mac-studios/https://lockergnome.com/meta-muse-spark-two-mac-studios/Meta released Muse Spark Open on October 15, a model with 816 billion parameters, 42 billion of them active.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:19:00 GMTInfrastructuremetaaiapplehttps://lockergnome.com/withings-apple-health-sync-fee/https://lockergnome.com/withings-apple-health-sync-fee/Anyone who creates a Withings account on October 13 or later needs a Withings+ subscription for automatic syncing to Apple Health, MacRumors reported, at $99.50 a year in the U.S.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:18:00 GMTTools & Gearhealthapplesubscriptionshttps://lockergnome.com/iphone-duo-inner-screen-repair-999/https://lockergnome.com/iphone-duo-inner-screen-repair-999/iPhone Duo preorders opened October 16, and the number I'd look at before the $1,999 starting price is $999.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:17:00 GMTTools & Gearappleiphonerepairhttps://lockergnome.com/surface-laptop-ultra-reviews/https://lockergnome.com/surface-laptop-ultra-reviews/Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra finally has a price.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:16:00 GMTTools & Gearmicrosoftlaptopsaihttps://lockergnome.com/horror-drinking-game-demo-pulled/https://lockergnome.com/horror-drinking-game-demo-pulled/Alliance Arts was going to release a public Steam demo of Drunken Goddess Reflux on October 19, and then it canceled it.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:15:00 GMTDrama & Failuresgamingaihttps://lockergnome.com/regex-marble-run/https://lockergnome.com/regex-marble-run/Regex Marble Run is a free web page that builds your regular expression as a 3D machine.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:14:00 GMTWeird Techprogrammingwebhttps://lockergnome.com/commodore-64-pin-by-pin-simulator/https://lockergnome.com/commodore-64-pin-by-pin-simulator/A developer who goes by antirez put c64-hw-sim on GitHub, and it simulates the Commodore 64's motherboard pin by pin.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:13:00 GMTRetroretrocommodoreemulationhttps://lockergnome.com/duck-pond-synthesized-quacks/https://lockergnome.com/duck-pond-synthesized-quacks/A developer who goes by celphase built The Duck Pond, a web page with a small flock of mallards on it: three hens, two drakes and two broods of ducklings.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:12:00 GMTWeird Techaudiowebhttps://lockergnome.com/gemini-agents-beat-minecraft/https://lockergnome.com/gemini-agents-beat-minecraft/Four AI agents just beat Minecraft with nobody steering.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:11:00 GMTWeird Techaigooglegaminghttps://lockergnome.com/language-built-to-break-ai-models/https://lockergnome.com/language-built-to-break-ai-models/Dominik Picheta built a programming language that coding AIs aren't supposed to be able to use, and he named it KillSwitch.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:10:00 GMTWeird Techaiprogramminghttps://lockergnome.com/android-apps-on-mac-no-emulator/https://lockergnome.com/android-apps-on-mac-no-emulator/A developer who goes by kksimp put a project on GitHub, Mac dot apk, that runs Android apps on Apple Silicon Macs with no emulator and no virtual machine.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:09:00 GMTHacks & Buildsandroidapplemachttps://lockergnome.com/palm-os-toolbox-on-github/https://lockergnome.com/palm-os-toolbox-on-github/Aaron Ardiri, the developer behind the Palm OS port of Lemmings, just published about a gigabyte of old Palm OS development material on GitHub.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:08:00 GMTRetroretropalmopen-sourcehttps://lockergnome.com/windows-98-usb-3-thunderbolt-drivers/https://lockergnome.com/windows-98-usb-3-thunderbolt-drivers/Windows 98 went on sale on June 25, 1998, according to Wikipedia, and in 2026 it can read a Thunderbolt NVMe drive.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:07:00 GMTRetroretrowindowsdrivershttps://lockergnome.com/iphone-duo-sold-out-scalpers/https://lockergnome.com/iphone-duo-sold-out-scalpers/Apple's first foldable starts at $1,999, and Gizmodo reported that its ship dates slipped from launch day, October 23, to mid-November in under five minutes.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:06:00 GMTTools & Gearappleiphonehttps://lockergnome.com/6502-laptop-apple-ii-chip/https://lockergnome.com/6502-laptop-apple-ii-chip/A maker who goes by TechPaula built a laptop around a 6502, the 8-bit chip from the 1970s that Hackaday points out was in the Apple II, and now they've finished a second one.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:05:00 GMTRetroretro6502laptopshttps://lockergnome.com/dns-museum/https://lockergnome.com/dns-museum/DNS is the internet's phone book, the thing that turns a name into an address, and somebody built it a museum.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:04:00 GMTInfrastructurednsinternetmuseumshttps://lockergnome.com/ai-assistant-187-messages-refund/https://lockergnome.com/ai-assistant-187-messages-refund/Vals AI gave six assistants a £350 train refund to chase after the deadline had passed.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:03:00 GMTDrama & Failuresaiagentshttps://lockergnome.com/uk-space-junk-collector-name/https://lockergnome.com/uk-space-junk-collector-name/The UK Space Agency is inviting UK residents to name its Active Debris Removal Mission.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:02:00 GMTWeird Techspaceukhttps://lockergnome.com/microscopic-3d-printer-homebuilt/https://lockergnome.com/microscopic-3d-printer-homebuilt/Vik Olliver's RepRapMicron project is trying to bring home workshop fabrication down to the micron scale.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 02:01:00 GMTHacks & Builds3d-printinghttps://lockergnome.com/apple-intelligence-china-without-siri/https://lockergnome.com/apple-intelligence-china-without-siri/Tim Cook told The Paper, a state-backed Chinese outlet, that Apple Intelligence has been approved in China and that a test version is due later in October, Reuters reported.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 01:04:00 GMTTools & Gearappleaichinahttps://lockergnome.com/fake-south-park-torrent-malware/https://lockergnome.com/fake-south-park-torrent-malware/A self-hoster who blogs as Thereallo found a new South Park episode stuck in his media server's queue, and it wasn't an episode at all.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 21:00:00 GMTSecuritysecuritymalwaretorrentshttps://lockergnome.com/digit-5-robot-sits-down/https://lockergnome.com/digit-5-robot-sits-down/Agility Robotics built its newest humanoid to get out of your way by sitting on the floor.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 20:00:00 GMTTools & Gearrobotssafetyhttps://lockergnome.com/leap-second-over-clocks-drift/https://lockergnome.com/leap-second-over-clocks-drift/The world's timekeepers have decided to stop adding leap seconds: Resolution 5 of the 28th General Conference on Weights and Measures says "continuous UTC will become effective on 20 May 2027," and it lets the gap between atomic time and the Earth's actual spin grow to as much as one hour.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:00:00 GMTInfrastructuretimestandardshttps://lockergnome.com/worldtui-tiny-ai-terminal/https://lockergnome.com/worldtui-tiny-ai-terminal/Simon Edwardsson built a terminal with nothing behind it.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:00:00 GMTWeird Techaihttps://lockergnome.com/ai-data-center-gray-paint/https://lockergnome.com/ai-data-center-gray-paint/The AI boom has reached the paint aisle.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTInfrastructureaidata-centershttps://lockergnome.com/linux-desktop-walnut-desk/https://lockergnome.com/linux-desktop-walnut-desk/A developer who goes by fyzugx on GitHub released DEsk, a Wayland desktop for Linux where the desktop is an actual desk.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMTHacks & Buildslinuxdesignhttps://lockergnome.com/underwater-volcano-electricity/https://lockergnome.com/underwater-volcano-electricity/Seattle startup Endurance Energy parked a generator on the seafloor next to an active underwater volcano, about 5,000 feet down, and got it to make more electricity than it used for about 8.7 seconds.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMTInfrastructureenergyhttps://lockergnome.com/iphone-duo-graphite-hinge-cooling/https://lockergnome.com/iphone-duo-graphite-hinge-cooling/Apple's first foldable has the heat problem every foldable has: it's thin when it's open, and its thickness doubles when you close it.Thu, 22 Oct 2026 03:40:00 GMTTools & Gearappleiphonecoolinghttps://lockergnome.com/super-mario-64-dining-table/https://lockergnome.com/super-mario-64-dining-table/Michael Steil has turned Super Mario 64 into a living diorama for Apple Vision Pro.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 20:00:00 GMTHacks & Buildsgamingapplevrhttps://lockergnome.com/hpe-fanless-computer-moon/https://lockergnome.com/hpe-fanless-computer-moon/HPE plans to send a computer with no fan to the Moon's south pole, and to benchmark it once it gets there.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 18:00:00 GMTInfrastructurespacecoolinghttps://lockergnome.com/spectrum-next-laptop-build/https://lockergnome.com/spectrum-next-laptop-build/"I wanted a Spectrum Next laptop.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTRetroretrofpgahttps://lockergnome.com/tiny-little-office-document-in-link/https://lockergnome.com/tiny-little-office-document-in-link/Paul Ford's company Aboard just put out Tiny Little Office, ten free office apps where the web address is the file.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMTWeird Techwebhttps://lockergnome.com/apple-copland-in-a-browser/https://lockergnome.com/apple-copland-in-a-browser/Apple cancelled Copland in August 1996, and you can now boot it in a browser tab.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMTRetroretroappleemulationhttps://lockergnome.com/xbox-360-project-nine-years/https://lockergnome.com/xbox-360-project-nine-years/The blogger behind Kennedn's Blog bought a Matrix CoolRunner in 2017, a modchip built to hit an Xbox 360 with a pulse of about 100 nanoseconds, and shelved the project when it didn't work out.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 03:40:00 GMTHacks & Buildsretrogamingxboxhttps://lockergnome.com/commodore-64-sid-chips-usb/https://lockergnome.com/commodore-64-sid-chips-usb/A maker who goes by LouD built a board that plugs real Commodore 64 sound chips into a modern computer.Wed, 21 Oct 2026 00:40:00 GMTRetroretrocommodoreaudiohttps://lockergnome.com/jawncon-schedule-emulated-macintosh-plus/https://lockergnome.com/jawncon-schedule-emulated-macintosh-plus/JawnCon, Philadelphia's hacker conference, built this year's schedule as a HyperCard stack and runs it "in a Macintosh Plus, in a 68k emulator in your browser," according to the event's schedule page, though a plain web version is there too for anyone in a hurry.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 21:00:00 GMTRetroretroappleemulationwebhttps://lockergnome.com/penmentor-ai-math-hints-handwriting/https://lockergnome.com/penmentor-ai-math-hints-handwriting/Penmentor describes an AI math helper that marks handwritten work in Xournal++ with colored pens.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 20:00:00 GMTTools & Gearaieducationhttps://lockergnome.com/duke-nukem-3d-rp2350/https://lockergnome.com/duke-nukem-3d-rp2350/Duke Nukem 3D now runs on a microcontroller.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 18:00:00 GMTRetroretrogamingraspberry-pihttps://lockergnome.com/nebraska-hot-dog-cannon/https://lockergnome.com/nebraska-hot-dog-cannon/Nebraska had a vendor who could throw hot dogs farther than its first hot dog launcher could shoot them.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 18:00:00 GMTWeird Techsportshttps://lockergnome.com/moby-dick-88x31-gif/https://lockergnome.com/moby-dick-88x31-gif/Kamil Sosnierz put Moby-Dick into an animated GIF measuring 88 by 31 pixels.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMTWeird Techretrowebhttps://lockergnome.com/wafel-wii-u-storage-check/https://lockergnome.com/wafel-wii-u-storage-check/The Wii U's weak spot is its internal storage, and a tool called Wafel Installer can now test it from the console's own web browser.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMTRetroretrogamingnintendohttps://lockergnome.com/vga-pixels-you-never-see/https://lockergnome.com/vga-pixels-you-never-see/Lukas Werner's VGA tutorial describes counting beyond a 640-by-480 picture to account for the time outside the visible image.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:00:00 GMTHacks & Buildsretrofpgahttps://lockergnome.com/drink-bottles-printer-filament/https://lockergnome.com/drink-bottles-printer-filament/It took 17 plastic bottles to make one kilogram of 3D printer filament.Tue, 20 Oct 2026 03:40:00 GMTHacks & Builds3d-printingrecyclinghttps://lockergnome.com/intel-instruction-chip-refuses-to-run/https://lockergnome.com/intel-instruction-chip-refuses-to-run/Intel's own manual described a processor instruction called VFMADDRND231PD, and when a programmer ran it on an Intel chip that should support it, the chip refused.Fri, 16 Oct 2026 18:00:00 GMTDrama & Failuresintelcpuhttps://lockergnome.com/hackers-took-over-supermarket-fridges/https://lockergnome.com/hackers-took-over-supermarket-fridges/Overnight into Monday, October 12, someone broke into the refrigeration controls of French supermarkets and set the fridges to heat.Fri, 16 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMTSecuritysecurityiothttps://lockergnome.com/ps2-games-in-a-browser-recompiled/https://lockergnome.com/ps2-games-in-a-browser-recompiled/PlayStation 2 games are running in a web browser, no emulator attached.Wed, 14 Oct 2026 21:00:00 GMTRetroretrogamingemulationwebhttps://lockergnome.com/linux-amdgpu-driver-on-ipad/https://lockergnome.com/linux-amdgpu-driver-on-ipad/An iPad is running Linux's own graphics driver, unmodified, to drive an AMD GPU in a Thunderbolt enclosure.Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:00:00 GMTHacks & Buildslinuxapplegpuai