My Blog

Happy new year! Here I am updating this low effort blog just in time for the new year :)
This site will probably undergo a small makeover for the new year, with new designs for some of the pages. Stay tuned...
As for me, I've been busy with a few new computing projects. Notably, I recently acquired the 2009 mac mini pictured in this post :D
I've always wanted an older mini mainly to run OSX lion or Snow Leopard, as these are my favourite versions of OSX.
I was able to wipe it and reinstall OSX lion with a DVDRW I burned more than a decade ago, that I used to use for my first mac, an old 2008 Macbook.
I don't know exactly what I'll be doing with it, I'm thinking of turning it into a CD/music station device connected to my AVR. I could then rip my CDs for example, something I've yet to do...
In other news, my old phat PS3 has had its AV port fail, which means I can no longer use it directly over composite on my CRT :(
This has motivated me to get a Slim CECH-2504B to game on my CRT, as these are much more reliable than the phat models.
I also used this opportunity to get two new 512gb SSDs which I'm planning to install in the slim, and in a backwards-compatible CECHA00 which I've imported from Japan,
and have been using to play japanese PS2/PS3 games on the KV-16GW1 Trinitron. That 60GB HDD was on its way to be completely full, so it makes sense to replace it as well.
In the last post, I talked about wanting to use an Extron VSC 500 to output widescreen 480i from my PS3 to my KV-16GW1 trinitron.
I ended up buying a used Analog way XTD-625, as I couldn't find any VSC 500s for a reasonable price. This ended up being a big mistake tho ;_;
The XTD-625 is meant for a 19-inch rack, and is therefore super noisy. It also doesn't work for my use case, as it seemingly only supports 33khz PC VGA signals and timings,
and refuses to process anything else, like the RGB signal from my PS3. Luckily, a new listing for a used VSC 500 at a good price popped up on ebay, so I bought it in the end.
Here's hoping it provides a widescreen 480i solution for me!!

I got my hands on a 16:9 CRT! I had long been contemplating getting one of these HD CRTs which I (rarely) see pop-up from time to time, but ultimately decided not to.
The incredible bulk of them, added input lag and weird scaling that some models produce turned me off (at least for now).
This here is a Sony Trinitron KV-16GW1, which is a japan-exclusive model I imported using buyee. It therefore natively supports NTSC signals, which is great for me.
The downside is that this is an SD CRT, and devices which output actual SD Widescreen 480i (720X480) are uncommon. I could not get my PS3 to play along nicely with it...
To fix this, I'm planning to get the Extron VSC 500 RGB scaler, which can be used to output widescreen 480i and adjust the picture.
The resulting setup should be PS3 -> HDMI Video/Audio splitter -> HDMI to VGA -> Extron VSC -> composite 480i output to KV-16GW1.
That being said, I had a blast playing 4:3 games extended to 16:9, and 16:9 japenese titles (letterboxd) on the PS3.
The TV is in exceptional condition, it looks brand-new. It was exceptionally packed, with the only issue upon arrival being a misaligned yoke.

After having an alert set-up for months, I finally managed to get one of these old alienware laptops from the early 2010s.
I distinctly remember being a kid and taking the train every wednesday afternoon to go to one of the biggest malls of the country with my mom,
and seeing these alienware laptops on display. As a kid, my dream was owning one of these beasts and playing battlefield 3 with it on the go.
It didn't help that they were prominently featured in a hardware magazine I used to read religiously back then, alongside the first-gen razer blades.
I've wiped it and installed reunion 7, which is now my favourite version of windows that I'm running on my main gaming machine and home server.

This summer, I got into vintage digital cameras as I was looking for good options to document my vacations abroad.
I ended up getting an HP Photosmart, which was basically CIB with all accessories, and an Olympus FE310.
I initially wanted to go for something like a Nikon Coolpix or Sony Cybershot (which I had as a kid),
but the prices for these have gotten ridicilous as of late. Overall I'm pretty satisfied, both cameras
have a distinct look to the pictures they produce, with the photosmart being softer, more colorful
and with a sort of "smoked glass" look to it. The olympus is sharper and produces more "clinical" looking images, but still looks nice.
I've never been into photography, partly because every modern DSLR basically produces perfect wallpaper-like pictures,
and it all ends up looking quite same-y. The big appeal of these old point-and-shoots is how much imperfection and character
is brought out by these old digital sensors, and how wildly different the output can look like from one brand to another, regardless of content.
I intend to create some sort of website exclusively to display photos which I've taken with these, it will most likely be linked from here :).

The year's gotten underway, and I keep forgetting to update this blog xd.
So far, I've attended two anime conventions, which was super fun :) altho ticket and item prices are skyrocketing which isn't fun :(
As you can see on the pic, I picked up a Sony Trinitron Multiscan E400 to use as my main PC CRT monitor. It was painful (two hour train trip), but worth it.
It's an absolute beauty, and can be driven up to 1440x900 @ 85hz which looks drop dead gorgeous.
Aside from the gorgeous Trinitron color reproduction, I also love that it's a flat-screen CRT. It feels like looking through a window into your computer :O
Otherwise, I've recently started playing Gamecube games on my modded Wii. I definitely understand why people feel it's underrated!

Happy new year! I haven't posted in a while, so here's a brief update from me :)
Previously, I posted about me picking up a used Mac Pro 3,1 to do my next build in it.
Due to how impractical it was to modify that beauty to accept ATX, I decided to use it instead for my home server.
I ended up buying a used Alienware Area 51 Predator 1 case, also on auction, and simply migrated my existing build into it.
My old, and frankly boring lian-li is now out. I figured there's no need to re-do my build, as my current config is still up-to-date.
The only component I did end up changing was the cooler (out of necessity), went from a 360 AIO to a Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2 FX.

Out of the blue, one of my friends tells me his company is looking to get rid of some equipement.
He knows I'm into CRTs, so he messaged me to ask if I wanted to pickup a philips 21PT351A for free. Of course I couldn't refuse!
Having tested it, it's a clear upgrade from my previous Daweoo. The tube is in good condition, and the colors are vibrant.
The sound system is also pretty good, thanks to the built-in subwoofer and the 2 speakers. The turbo-drive VCR is a nice touch too.

Today I went to pickup a Mac Pro 3,1 that I won in an auction, for a total of 5$.
I've stripped it of all of it's components, and I'm thinking of doing my next build in it.
It looks like it's gonna be a hassle tho, I'm going to have to dremel and maybe buy the laserhive kit for it.

Finally launched my blog :)