PXL News
Everything the anchors say on this tape, story by story.
GRANT BRICKMAN: While you were asleep: the German voice of SpongeBob turned down a Netflix dubbing job over an AI training clause.
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Also overnight: a Live Science report says the outer giant planets could fall into chaos sooner than thought.
GRANT BRICKMAN: And PC Gamer published its 2027 release calendar, with Fable and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation among the early headliners.
GRANT BRICKMAN: A 1982 modem that cost under a hundred dollars, and the clever corners Commodore cut to get there.
GRANT BRICKMAN: Good morning. A hundred dollars for a modem in 1982. For that money you could not even buy a decent switchboard. ▶
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Hackaday points to a write-up on the Commodore 1600 VICModem, perhaps the first phone modem under a hundred dollars. Ada is at the bench. ▶
ADA: Huge fan of this one! Competing 300 baud modems cost at least twice as much, and a 1200 baud unit started at six hundred dollars. ▶
ADA: The trick: Commodore did not design it. They outsourced to Anchor Automation, a well-known modem maker. ▶
ADA: On screen: the guts. One Motorola MC14412 modem chip plus six other chips. The chip could in theory do 600 baud, but the modem was rated for 300. ▶
ADA: Old modems used acoustic couplers, padded cups for the phone handset. This one connected directly, but to save money it could not dial for you. ▶
GRANT BRICKMAN: So you dialed the number yourself. By hand. Like an animal, but a thrifty one. ▶
GRETA FOOTNOTE: Cheaper by leaving a feature out. Some of us call that a design choice. Enjoy your breakfast. ▶
GRANT BRICKMAN: Welcome back to THE NETWORK REPORT. Over to Dot in the OB van for the road conditions. ▶
DOT: All quiet on the motorways. No reports. ▶
GRANT BRICKMAN: That was THE NETWORK REPORT. Thanks, Dot. ▶
KAI: Your lamps, your locks, your toaster too,
KAI: One Tumbleweed hub talks to the crew!
KAI: One USB-C port, huge, huge, huge,
KAI: Tumbleweed, it rolls with you!
AI-written satire. The text of the news items comes from the linked articles. Plain text