ToughDev

General Programming Software Development

Trying Talk Machine: first impressions of a voice-first AI app

July 4, 2026July 5, 2026 ToughDev 0 Comment artificial intelligence, talkmachine

I recently spent some time testing Talk Machine, a voice-first app available on iOS, Android, and the web. I mainly

Blogger General Programming Uncategorized

What the metrics remember: almost two decades of technical writing on ToughDev

June 29, 2026July 10, 2026 ToughDev 0 Comment Data Analysis, natural language processing, Technical Writing, ToughDev

I have been writing on ToughDev since 2008. At first the site was mostly a place to keep notes: old

General Programming Web Development Windows Tips

JSP syntax highlighting in IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition

June 4, 2026June 28, 2026 ToughDev 0 Comment intellij idea, jsp, syntax highlighting

By default, syntax highlighting for Java Server Page (JSP) does not work very well in IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition. Only

Mac OS Vintage Computing Windows Tips

Running Windows XP and Windows 10 ARM on UTM for Mac

May 30, 2026June 25, 2026 ToughDev 0 Comment Apple Silicon, qemu, UTM, Windows 10 ARM, Windows XP

I recently spent some time experimenting with Windows XP 32-bit and Windows 10 ARM on UTM for Mac. The two

Reverse-engineer Software Development Windows Tips

Patching an Inno Setup installer to run on Windows for ARM

April 24, 2026June 28, 2026 ToughDev 0 Comment Inno Setup, Installer Patching, powershell

After getting the Windows 7 Games package from Win7Games.com working well on ordinary x86 and x64 Windows 11 machines, I

Hardware Microcontroller Reverse-engineer Software Development Vintage Computing

PIC32MZ Iomega ZIP100 Parallel Port Emulator [Part 2: LPT100 Hardware Design]

March 2, 2026July 12, 2026 ToughDev 0 Comment dosbox, iomega, PIC32MZ, qemu, zip100

A few months after successfully getting Super 8086 Box, DOSBox-X, and QEMU to emulate an Iomega ZIP100 parallel-port ZIP drive,

General Programming Hardware Microcontroller Reverse-engineer Software Development Vintage Computing

PIC32MZ Iomega ZIP100 Parallel Port Emulator [Part 1: DOSBox & QEMU Testing]

February 11, 2026July 12, 2026 ToughDev 2 Comments dosbox, iomega, PIC32MZ, qemu, zip100

In early 2023 my beloved Iomega ZIP100 parallel port drive started to randomly eject disks. I figured that the drive

General Programming Networking Vintage Computing Windows Tips

Configuring a modern laser printer to work with DOS, Windows 3.1 and Windows NT 3.51

January 29, 2026March 2, 2026 ToughDev 1 Comment lpr, ms dos, printer, Samba, windows 3.1, windows nt 3.51

I couldn’t believe it took me less than 15 minutes to get Windows NT 3.51 to print to my Brother MFC-L2750DW

General Programming Hardware Networking Reverse-engineer Vintage Computing Windows Tips

Windows 3.1 and Windows NT 3.51 on Fujitsu Siemens S210 thin client

December 19, 2025March 9, 2026 ToughDev 0 Comment fujitsu, Futro, ms dos, s210, thin client, windows 3.11, windows 98, windows nt 3.51

My Fujitsu S210 thin client, bought in 2022, is still working well on Windows 98, with drivers for the SIS315E

Hardware Vintage Computing

Pocket 386 retro laptop experiments: AdLib, Covox, and VGA

November 25, 2025March 3, 2026 ToughDev 0 Comment adlib, covox speech thing, deskmate, disney sound source, ms dos, pocket 386, prince of persia, windows 3.1, windows 95

The Pocket 386 comes with an OPL3 sound card, which is just barely enough for DOS gaming. For a $200

General Programming Software Development Vintage Computing

Mario Final v2.0, the ultimate Super Mario clone for MS-DOS

October 31, 2025January 15, 2026 ToughDev 0 Comment dosbox, mario, ms dos, super angelo, turbo pascal

Earlier this month, a reader got in touch and mentioned that old experiment I did with MARIO.EXE, the Super Mario clone

General Programming Hardware Microcontroller Software Development Vintage Computing

Exploring MSX-DOS and CP/M on OneChipBook FPGA-powered laptop

September 23, 2025January 6, 2026 ToughDev 2 Comments cp/m, fpga, msx-dos, msx2, onechipbook, turbo pascal, z80

The OneChipBook, available on AliExpress for around $200, is a very interesting FPGA-powered laptop with 32MB RAM, a 10-inch 1024×768

General Programming Hardware Microcontroller Networking Vintage Computing

Internet access from Pocket 386 retro laptop using Wemos D1 ESP8266 serial Wifi adapter

August 4, 2025December 8, 2025 ToughDev 8 Comments ESP8266, ms dos, pocket 386, serial, wifi

Although there is a USB port on the Pocket 386, I seldom use it for file transfer. The device driver,

General Programming Software Development Vintage Computing

Booting straight to Windows 98 on a modern laptop using Kubuntu and 86Box

July 12, 2025August 22, 2025 ToughDev 0 Comment 86box, kubuntu, windows 98

I had some free time during the weekend and decided to see whether I could configure my Intel Core i7

Hardware Oscilloscope Vintage Computing

MM-9M 10″ portable 800-line vintage B&W CRT monitor

June 29, 2025August 24, 2025 ToughDev 0 Comment composite, crt, dosbox, norton commander, tecsun

I love B&W CRT displays, for they bring back old memories of the long-lost past, of the first time I

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Since 2008, ToughDev has explored embedded systems, software development, reverse engineering, and retro computing, bridging legacy hardware with modern software.

Recent projects include the Super 8086 Box PC XT emulator, the dsMP3 embedded radio, and detailed teardowns of vintage PCs such as the Tandy 2500RSX.

I also write about voice, AI, and communication products from a technical user’s perspective. My recent first-impressions review of Talk Machine looks at its voice-first interface, email-based voice notes, transcript refinement, and natural speech output.

Beyond publishing technical research, ToughDev also provides consulting and custom development services in embedded systems, mobile applications, VoIP, microcontroller firmware, and integration with vintage or undocumented hardware platforms.

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