Crossed Wires

In our first episode of the new Crossed Wires podcast, James is joined by Stoo Cambridge, most famous for his work on the iconic graphics of Cannon Fodder by Sensible Software. We also talk about the tools available back in the late 80s and early 90s, and of course The Colouring Book of Retro Computers.

I really hope you enjoy this episode, I’m so grateful to Stoo for taking the time to come and chat with me and share some wonderful little tidbits.

Make sure you subscribe to get the latest episodes straight to your podcast player of choice. If you like what you hear, please do tell your friends, family, Uber driver, dentist...

Do you have any fond memories of Cannon Fodder, or working with tools like Deluxe Paint back in the day? If so, we’d love hear from you, so send a note over to [email protected], leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.

If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.

• Cannon Fodder at Wikipedia
• Sensible Software at Wikipedia
• Deluxe Paint on Amiga – A Retrospective (Dan Wood on YouTube)
• BBC Micro Live (1985) – Commodore Amiga Debut (Mike on YouTube)
• The Computer Programme on archive.org
• The Colouring Book of Retro Computers at RMCRetro.store
• RMC Retro – The Cave on YouTube
• Affinity by Serif (Designer, Photo, Publisher)
• Krita – Open source digital painting software
• The Design Droid – Stoo’s online store

1. 00:00:00: Introduction
2. 00:01:56: Graphics & The Amiga
3. 00:06:58: The Graphics Of Cannon Fodder
4. 00:15:32: The Poppy Controversy
5. 00:21:40: The Colouring Book Of Retro Computers
6. 00:33:14: Modern Tools
7. 00:39:55: Reflecting On The Past
8. 00:50:38: Obligatory Self Promotion
9. 00:57:20: Wrap Up

Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW

If you’ve ever purchased a new laptop, you’ll know only too well the pain of configuring your new system to get your dream setup. With some manufacturers, looking at you here Apple, your choice of storage and memory are there for the lifetime of the laptop.

Worst still, if you have a failed component on your laptop you’re often faced with expensive and proprietary repair options that can often cost nearly as much as the laptop itself.

Nirav Patel founded Framework to tackle these issues by creating laptops that push the boundaries of what we’d expect to be upgradable in our modern thin and light world.

What do you think about the Framework laptop, is it something that may be on your tech wish list? Do you think laptops, and tech in general, should last longer than a podcast episode? We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to [email protected], or why not come join the discussion on our Discord server.

If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.

Affiliate Promotion

“Don’t you people backup? I backup, and I don’t even know what backing up means!” – Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship

If you have any kind of file that’s important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you’ll want to make sure it’s kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn’t really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.

Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn’t in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.

Episode Links

• Framework – The Framework laptops
• Framework Marketplace – See all the various components you can buy for your Framework laptop
• Linux on the Framework Laptop – Details of Framework’s official support for both Ubuntu and Fedora
• Dell Inspiron 9100: $4,800 Pentium 4 Laptop from 2004 – LGR (YouTube)
• Checking on my Investment in Person – Framework Laptop Factory Tour – Linus Tech Tips (YouTube)

Chapter Times

• 00:00:04: Introductions
• 00:02:15: Right to Repair & Sustainability
• 00:05:38: Upgrading a Mobile Platform
• 00:08:42: The Framework Laptop
• 00:11:05: Linus Drop Tips
• 00:12:48: Modular IO
• 00:15:52: Memory & Storage
• 00:16:50: Main board and more ?
• 00:18:47: Framework 16 Input Deck
• 00:21:28: Reusing a Framework Mainboard
• 00:23:35: Framework 16 GPU
• 00:26:07: Linux Support
• 00:27:53: Final Thoughts from Nirav
• 00:29:30: Wrapping Up

Credits

Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW

If you’ve ever purchased a new laptop, you’ll know only too well the pain of configuring your new system to get your dream setup. With some manufacturers, looking at you here Apple, your choice of storage and memory are there for the lifetime of the laptop.

Worst still, if you have a failed component on your laptop you’re often faced with expensive and proprietary repair options that can often cost nearly as much as the laptop itself.

Nirav Patel founded Framework to tackle these issues by creating laptops that push the boundaries of what we’d expect to be upgradable in our modern thin and light world.

What do you think about the Framework laptop, is it something that may be on your tech wish list? Do you think laptops, and tech in general, should last longer than a podcast episode? We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to [email protected], or why not come join the discussion on our Discord server.

If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.

Affiliate Promotion

"Don't you people backup? I backup, and I don't even know what backing up means!" - Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship

If you have any kind of file that's important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you'll want to make sure it's kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn't really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.

Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn't in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.

Episode Links

• Framework - The Framework laptops
• Framework Marketplace - See all the various components you can buy for your Framework laptop
• Linux on the Framework Laptop - Details of Framework's official support for both Ubuntu and Fedora
• Dell Inspiron 9100: $4,800 Pentium 4 Laptop from 2004 - LGR (YouTube)
• Checking on my Investment in Person - Framework Laptop Factory Tour - Linus Tech Tips (YouTube)

Chapter Times

• 00:00:04: Introductions
• 00:02:15: Right to Repair & Sustainability
• 00:05:38: Upgrading a Mobile Platform
• 00:08:42: The Framework Laptop
• 00:11:05: Linus Drop Tips
• 00:12:48: Modular IO
• 00:15:52: Memory & Storage
• 00:16:50: Main board and more ?
• 00:18:47: Framework 16 Input Deck
• 00:21:28: Reusing a Framework Mainboard
• 00:23:35: Framework 16 GPU
• 00:26:07: Linux Support
• 00:27:53: Final Thoughts from Nirav
• 00:29:30: Wrapping Up

Credits

Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW

In what’s starting to become a Crossed Wires tradition, James, Jae and Alex gather to discuss Apple’s latest event, which was scarily short at just over 30 mins long, making this possibly our shortest event coverage episode to date!

We unpack what the new m3 powered Macs mean in terms of performance, with Apple specifically targeting those who have yet to convert from Intel based Macs and early m1 adopters, why 8 GB of memory is probably enough for most average users.

We’re also very honoured to join our friends at The Iconfactory in celebrating 20 years of xScope. Make sure you listen to the end of the episode for a wonderful offer.

Apologies this episode has been delayed in releasing, a few family issues have meant James has been rather distracted from his editing duties. We are working to get episodes out on a more frequent schedule, but we really do thank you all for your patience and continued support of the show.

What do you think to the new m3 lineup, is there anything you think Apple should have done differently? We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to [email protected], or why not come join the discussion on our Discord server.

If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.

Affiliate Promotion

Of course, if you’ve decided it’s time for a new Mac, you’ll want to make sure all your important data is kept backed up – especially when you’re on the go and maybe don’t have access to that huge external drive you use for Time Machine.

Well, may we recommend Backblaze’s cloud backup, at just $9 / month for unlimited backups your new Mac will thank you. Use this link to sign up for your free 15 day trial and help support us here at Crossed Wires.

Episode Links

• The Interface – Alex’s fantastic site covering tech and more!
• Scary Fast – Watch the Apple event
• MacBook Pro (Apple.com)
• iMac (Apple.com)
• Behind the scenes at Scary Fast: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac
• Happy Anniversary, xScope! – Use code XSCOPE20 through December 4th, 2023 for 60% off the regular price. Thanks to Gedeon and the team for extending this wonderful offer to our amazing listeners.

Chapter Times

1. 00:00:04: Introductions
2. 00:03:35: The Scary Fast Event
3. 00:07:13: The M3 Family
4. 00:17:21: iMac
5. 00:25:38: M3 Performance
6. 00:31:47: MacBook Pros
7. 00:48:16: Filmed on iPhone
8. 00:53:54: 20 Years of xScope
9. 00:56:01: Wrapping Up

Credits

Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW

With so many choices in browsers on desktop, mobile, and even our vehicles, it’s important to look under-the-hood to understand the differences between the engines that power your favourite browser.

Be that Chromium, WebKit, or Gecko, not all browsers are created equal and have varying features and views on the rights of their users. We’re honoured to be joined by Jon von Tetzchner, the CEO of Vivaldi, an open-source and privacy first Chromium powered browser that could replace Google Chrome.

Jon also explains why we need regulation on the increasingly scary amount of user-profiling that’s happening across the web itself, not to mention many browsers and services.

Do you remember using the early versions of Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Opera, or something equally vintage? Or, maybe you had to develop sites that required myriads of tweaks to make them work across platforms and interpretations of web standards.

We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to [email protected], or why not come join the discussion on our Discord server.

If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.

Affiliate Promotion

“Don’t you people backup? I backup, and I don’t even know what backing up means!” – Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship

If you have any kind of file that’s important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you’ll want to make sure it’s kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn’t really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.

Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn’t in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.

Episode Links

• Vivaldi – Website | Mastodon
• Jon von Tetzchner – Mastodon
• Mosaic – Wikipedia
• Opera Mini – Wikipedia
• W3C – The World Wide Web Consortium
• Secure DNS – Chromium Blog
• Fastmail – Privacy focussed email, get 10% off your first year with this link.
• Digital Identity – Our chat with Helen Horstmann-Allen from Fastmail
• Vivaldi steers in-car browsing: Now available in the all-new Ford and Lincoln infotainment system

Chapter Times

1. 00:00:05: Introductions
2. 00:04:20: Why So Many Browsers?
3. 00:18:33: What Makes Vivaldi Different?
4. 00:26:24: Is Chrome Becoming IE6?
5. 00:33:06: App Stores
6. 00:38:36: User Profiling
7. 00:54:23: A Browser in Your Car?
8. 01:03:13: Wrapping Up

Credits

Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW