Marcin Wichary

aresluna.orgAreslunaMarcin Wichary’s site

14 Aug 2025

I finally updated my homepage! It’s not really flashy in any way, but it has a lot of links to what I’ve done over the last years. If you like my work, chances are you will find here something you enjoy. aresluna.org

unsung.aresluna.orgUnsungA blog about software craft and quality

12h

Unsung has dressed up for Halloween this week, and is already filled with 10+ posts with scary, spooky, and creepy stories! Many more to come later this week – check it out if you want: unsung.aresluna.org

unsung.aresluna.orgMy first visit to New York Cities – UnsungA blog about software craft and quality

12h

Here’s the first software bug I ever remember witnessing – and a creepy and surreal one, too: unsung.aresluna.org/my-first-vis...

unsung.aresluna.org“Miss you, Tom.” – UnsungA blog about software craft and quality

12h

And here’s a great video about kind of an amazing horror (?) map someone made in Doom: unsung.aresluna.org/miss-you-tom/

@anildash.com Small bug report for the C64 post – once the emulator initializes, it force scrolls the page down to itself, which can be really confusing. Safari/iOS.

Voted!

@nickheer.com A bunch of discussion about the last skeuomorph here: kottke.org/26/10/004980...

kottke.orgkottke.org

As part of Open House Chicago, today I visited a recording studio Electric Audio, and among all the vintage devices, I saw an interface I haven’t seen in a while…

It’s really interesting to me how this decision to bundle software with the runtime in 1989 seems to have frozen it in time until 2026 at least, and who knows for how much longer.

Also, honestly, extremely strange to see Windows 2.0 on a flat-panel LCD.

As part of Open House Chicago, today I visited a recording studio Electric Audio, and among all the vintage devices, I saw an interface I haven’t seen in a while…

And then I remembered Windows 2.0 was offered as a runtime! I think most famously first Windows Excel, 2.0, came bundled with Windows. So I think this is what must have happened here. I found the manual, and the About dialog seems to confirm it. static1.squarespace.com/static/595ee...

Funnily enough, this page about Windows 2.0 mentions this software! “This version of Windows may be the oldest still in production use, as part of the "Flying Faders" music mixer system produced by Martinsound Technologies from 1989 until 2008.” betawiki.net/wiki/Windows...

betawiki.netbetawiki.net

As part of Open House Chicago, today I visited a recording studio Electric Audio, and among all the vintage devices, I saw an interface I haven’t seen in a while…

I recognized it immediately. This is Windows 2.0 from 1987, apparently still using a fader automation software called Flying Faders.

It was a bit of a surprise to see 2.0 specifically, and not an upgrade to a lot more popular, capable, and backwards compatible 3.x or even 95. I also discovered a few other photos of the app online… all sporting the distinctive Windows 2.0 livery.

Choose your fighter (all signs from the same old Chicago building)

What was that word for nostalgia for times you didn’t personally experience? Because yesterday I visited the Chippewa Falls Museum of Industry & Technology, and I totally felt that.

And, of course, Gorton!

There are other things at the museum, but I’m told most people come here for the Cray exhibit. More photos here: flickr.com/photos/mwich...

What was that word for nostalgia for times you didn’t personally experience? Because yesterday I visited the Chippewa Falls Museum of Industry & Technology, and I totally felt that.

Even some the digits were very fun:

As were these Dymo error message explainers:

What was that word for nostalgia for times you didn’t personally experience? Because yesterday I visited the Chippewa Falls Museum of Industry & Technology, and I totally felt that.

And these – I love this kind of stuff:

And these (also from regular computers that are not very super):

What was that word for nostalgia for times you didn’t personally experience? Because yesterday I visited the Chippewa Falls Museum of Industry & Technology, and I totally felt that.

The tiny Chippewa Falls in Wisconsin is famous for being the birthplace of Seymour Cray, and a bunch of Cray supercomputers he created. It was honestly really cool to visit so long after reading about this place and Cray’s history.

Also, there were tons of really fun details to photograph in these machines, like these:

amanita-design.netMachinariumMachinarium – Puzzle Adventure Game – Amanita Design

Machinarium 2! I loved the original. amanita-design.net/games/machin...

unsung.aresluna.orgDeeper dive: Keyboard differences between Windows and Macs – UnsungA blog about software craft and quality

This might be intense (or, intensely boring), but I wrote down everything I know about differences between Mac and PC keyboards today. It might be useful for people who design cross-platform apps, especially web apps! unsung.aresluna.org/deeper-dive-...

Cats of Taiwan, pt. 1

Cats of Taiwan, pt. 2

Cats of Taiwan, pt. 3

@joshuagraves.me Spotted in Taipei

My love language is straightening jammed type bars on museum typewriters.

Uh, look at this MICR-inspired signage on an old building in Singapore.

@nickheer.com Is this a typographical joke with a certain “mark,” or am I reading too much into it

Gorton in Singapore confirmed (although not very popular). That S in the last photo is something else altogether.

Marcin Wichary reposted

Ben Zotto

@bzotto.bsky.social

20 Sept

Replying to @aresluna.org

This is so fun, I spent a long time looking at your library here. Your commentary on it made me think of this great little quotable

18 Sept

I made a little minisite that shows all of the (UX/product) design books I collected over the years – maybe this will be useful as a reference, or just fun to browse around? I tried to build an enjoyable UI for it, both on desktop and mobile. aresluna.org/my-design-bo...

Felix Hamer • electricfelix

20 Sept

One technique I was surprised worked was that on mobile, if you zoom in, I scale the card in the opposite direction so it always has a constant size on the screen. (This would be a lot easier/cleaner in a native app, but I couldn’t think of another way to achieve it in HTML/JS.)

Marcin Wichary reposted

@electricfelix.eurosky.social

Replying to @aresluna.org

topolino

If I play a YouTube video for 3 seconds and leave, it becomes marked as completely watched, with the red line extending all the way under the thumbnail. It’s been like this forever. Does anyone know if this is a bug, or intentional? It’s frustrating to me.

I just reproduced it on iOS. I tapped on this unwatched video and closed it after a second or two. Now it’s marked as completely watched.

It’s been like this for years for me. It is not related to the recent view count change.

18 Sept

I wrote recently about some keyboard symbols that were lost to time! The first part has the PC side, and the absolutely beautiful, proofreading-inspired symbols for Insert, Delete, and other things: unsung.aresluna.org/key-symbols-...

@tylerhuckabee.bsky.social

18 Sept

In the second part that just went out, I focused on the Mac, and bought all the white keyboards and took precise photos of them, which was *totally* not necessary: unsung.aresluna.org/key-symbols-...

Marcin Wichary reposted

the babahuck

16 Sept

rip annie dillard

Marcin Wichary reposted

Charlotte Clymer

@charlotteclymer.bsky.social

Folks! Today is National Voter Registration Day. You do not have to decorate. Or wear a costume. Or send cards. (All are welcome, though.) All you need to do is check your voter registration: midterms.voteamerica.org/vote/verify/ If you're not registered, do it: midterms.voteamerica.org/vote/

Marcin Wichary reposted

Monteiro

@monteiro.bsky.social

howtovote.tipsHow to Vote / Cómo VotarA free field guide to what stops people from voting, and what to do about it. English and Spanish, ready to print.

Hello. They are going to try to fuck with your vote, and we are NOT going to let them. Last week I pinged my friend Dana Chisnell, who knows how elections work, and said "Hey, let’s make it hard for them to fuck with us.” Today, we are very proud to announce the HOW TO VOTE zine. howtovote.tips

What seems missing from the iPhone Duo left-handedness discourse is that I imagine quite a few right-handed people hold their phones in the left hand, so it’s not just about left-handed people. (I know I often do!)

13 Sept

Random thought of the day: Is there a (UX) design equivalent to this? iykyk