Category: blog

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Building a ‘homebrew’ video game console

How it got started

My name is Sérgio Vieira and I’m a Portuguese guy who grew up in the 80s and 90s, I’ve always been nostalgic towards retro-gaming, specifically the third and forth generation consoles. A few years ago I’ve decided to learn more about electronics and try to build my own video game console.

Professionally I work as a software engineer and had no experience with electronics other than occasionally building and upgrading my desktop computer (which doesn’t really count). Even though I had no experience, I said to myself “why not?”, bought a few books, a few electronics kits and started to learn what I felt I needed to learn.

I wanted to build a console that would be similar to those which are nostalgic to me, I wanted something between an NES and a Super Nintendo or between a Sega Master System and a Mega Drive. These video game consoles had a CPU, a custom video chip (in those days it wasn’t called a GPU) and an audio chip either integrated or separate. Games were distributed in cartridges, which were basically hardware extensions with a ROM chip and sometimes other components as well.

The initial plan was to build a console with the following characteristics:

  • No emulation, the games/programs had to run on real hardware, not necessarily hardware of the time, but hardware that is just fast enough for the job
  • With a dedicated “retro” CPU chip
  • With TV output (analog signal)
  • Ability to produce sound
  • With support for 2 controllers
  • Scrolling background and moving sprites
  • Ability to support Mario-style platform games (and of course other types of games as well)
  • Games/Programs available through an SD Card

The reason I wanted SD card support instead of cartridge support, it’s mainly because it’s a lot more practical to have programs available in an SD card, as it makes it a lot easier to copy files from a PC to it. Having cartridges would mean to make even more hardware and to have a new hardware for each program.
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The Masters of the Art of War

Looked at from the heat of combat, war can seem disorganized and chaotic. But overarching the conflict is typically some kind of thoughtful, well-ordered, even scientific strategy that is influencing when, where, how, and why dueling forces have met.

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8 exciting places to spend New Year’s Eve in Asia Pacific

Nothing says Christmas like a good German Christmas market. The cold, the gluhwein and sausages, the pretty candles and all the Christmas tree decorations. The closest you will get to that in Asia is the Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay.

But, while nothing beats Christmas in Europe, but what about New Year’s Eve?

The Asia Pacific region sure puts on a massive show with fireworks in Sydney, Taiwan and Singapore taking on a whole new level. Here are 8 ideas for a New Year’s Eve in Asia.

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How To Create A High Performance Culture?

Put in so much hard work that people should question, are you an alien from another planet?

An organization is defined by the culture they have and the ideals they follow. Every organization has its version of culture and ideologies. But the question is, does your company culture reflect your core values? And can it be considered a high-performance culture?

If your organizational culture does not influence your employees to perform better and deliver high-performance, then it might be time to improve and think about it. In this article, we will be discussing how you can build a culture that performs well, ensuring better performance.

What is a high-performing culture?

Before going further, let us first understand what exactly is high-performing culture. An organizational culture where employees dedicate themselves to achieve the targeted goals and objectives without hindering productivity and morale is defined as high-performing culture.

A high performing culture should always have a set standard that is tangible and more realistic. It should be more about driving productivity without limiting satisfaction, which will eventually help an organization in the long run.

Developing a high-performance culture

1. Focusing on Change

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The Bohol Vlog (Day 2) | We Got A Speedboat | Swimming with Pawikans | Virgin Island

While Bohol’s more popularly known as home to the smallest primates in the world and to the seemingly endless landscape of chocolatey brown hills, it’s also the home of Panglao Island where one will find pristine white sand beaches, stunning reefs, and crystal clear waters. If you’re a beach lover or sun-worshipper, don’t dare miss out on these five beaches.

Alona Beach

Alona Beach, Philippines | © Adrian Baker / Shutterstock

Because of its long stretch of powdery-white sand surrounded by rocky cliffs, Alona Beach has become one of the most favorite tourist destinations in the province of Bohol. Compared with other beaches, its white sand beach spans only 800 meters. Nonetheless, it never fails to capture the hearts of tourists as a reputable destination for snorkeling, kayaking, jet skiing, kitesurfing and, more importantly, scuba diving. One of the first things you’ll notice on the beach is the presence of numerous dive boats, and that’s because Alona Beach has a stunning reef that’s full of Western clown-anemonefishes, Moorish idols, angelfishes and more! Apart from its tourist friendly activities and world-class restaurants, Alona Beach is the best place to catch the sunset on the island and is generally a quiet, romantic place at night.

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