The Silicon Underground - Page 2 of 446 - David L. Farquhar, computer security professional, train hobbyist, and landlord

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Change or remove a doorknob faceplate

Dave Farquhar DIY April 9, 2019March 9, 2019 0 Comment

When you buy a new doorknob, they almost always have a rectangular faceplate on the mechanism. In some older houses, the doorknobs just have small, round faceplates, or no faceplate at all. Here’s how to change or remove a doorknob faceplate so a new doorknob fits without you having to mortise the door.

To change or remove a doorknob faceplate, you literally pry the faceplate off with a screwdriver. The trick is just knowing where to pry. If you’re changing a lot of doorknobs, the time you save by not having to mortise the door adds up quickly.

Commodore 1702 monitor

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 8, 2019March 7, 2019 0 Comment

The Commodore 1702 was a popular monitor designed for and marketed with the Commodore 64 in the early 1980s. While this is just my opinion, I think it was the best monitor Commodore ever sold.

The Commodore 1702 was a composite monitor that handled both standard composite and what we now call S-Video. Its gray-beige color matched the original breadbin-style Commodore 64 and 1541 disk drive.

Marx 897 locomotive

Dave Farquhar Toy trains April 5, 2019March 15, 2019 0 Comment

The Marx 897 was a tin lithographed steam locomotive produced prior to World War II. It depicts a much more common steam locomotive than the Commodore Vanderbilt or Canadian Pacific and came in both clockwork and electric variations.

The Marx 897 looks like what a classic Marx locomotive ought to look like, made of pressed tin with lithographed detail. But it only stayed on the market a few years because of World War II, and the emergence of newer technologies. But if you like tin lithography and you like Marx, you probably like the 897.

Colecovison: the hard-luck 1982 console

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 4, 2019April 3, 2019 0 Comment

Colecovision was a game console released by toymaker Coleco in 1982. In the context of its era, it was reasonably successful, selling about 2 million units before being discontinued in 1985. Colecovision’s main draw was a faithful port of the arcade hit Donkey Kong, which it licensed from Nintendo. Its original retail price was $175 and it measured 14 inches by 8 inches by 2 inches.

Colecovision sold well at first, selling 550,000 units in 1982 and another 500,000 units in the first quarter of 1983. Its catchphrase in its advertising was “we bring the arcade experience home.”

Mac doesn’t work with external monitors with the lid closed

Dave Farquhar Macintosh April 3, 2019April 3, 2019 0 Comment

If your Mac doesn’t work with external monitors with the lid closed, the fix is deceptively simple, even though it’s maddening.

Check your power connector. A Macbook or other portable Mac won’t work in closed-display mode without AC power.

Why making a table saw from a circular saw is dangerous

Dave Farquhar DIY April 2, 2019March 5, 2019 0 Comment

Table saws are extremely useful, but a good table saw is expensive. Even a cheap table saw can be rather expensive. So it’s very tempting to make your own, using a circular saw. But here’s why making a table saw from a circular saw is dangerous.

A homemade table saw lacks the safety features of even the most basic saw, including the riving knife, kickback pawls, and blade guard. Although frequently overlooked, kickback is the most common cause of injury from table saws, and building your own saw leaves you susceptible. It’s much safer to buy an inexpensive table saw.

Why did Apple fail in the 90s?

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing April 1, 2019March 25, 2019 0 Comment

It’s hard to imagine now that Apple is a trillion-dollar company, but Apple very nearly went under in the 1990s. For a time, it seemed the company could do no right. So why did Apple fail in the 90s? And how did it manage to find its way?

Apple’s problems in the 90s were twofold: Its operating system was outdated and its products were expensive and uninspiring. Apple turned around when Steve Jobs changed the company’s message and took some chances with the design.

Buying trains at estate sales

Dave Farquhar model railroading, Toy trains March 29, 2019March 9, 2019 0 Comment

I think estate sales are an underrated place to buy trains. While some things have changed from 15 years ago when I started, there are still good finds out there. Here are my tips for buying trains at estate sales.

There are lots of places to find trains, including train stores, antique shops, train shows, and placing want ads. But buying trains straight out of people’s estates is surprisingly effective, and can be economical too.

How game cracking works

Dave Farquhar Software March 28, 2019March 3, 2019 0 Comment

Copying software is a problem as old as software itself. Software manufacturers immediately sought to prevent people from copying their products. And it’s been a game of cat and mouse ever since, as people figured out how to crack the software so they could copy it. Here’s how game cracking works.

Cracking games, or any other software, is a matter of making the software stop performing whatever checks the manufacturer put in place to defeat copying. It typically takes some knowledge of machine language, and sometimes encryption, to make it work. But once the check is circumvented, the software generally can be copied freely.

Which is bigger, 1:64 scale or 1:87 scale

Dave Farquhar Model Building March 27, 2019March 3, 2019 0 Comment

Scale can be a confusing concept to explain or to understand. So it’s very common to hear questions like which is bigger, 1:64 scale or 1:87 scale. I’ll try to explain it simply.

Scale is a ratio between the size of a model or toy and the real thing it represents. A 1:64 scale model is 1/64 the size of the real thing. A 1:87 model is 1/87 the size of the real thing. In scale, higher numbers are smaller.