A project has turned vacuum-tube logic into an 8-bit computer you can actually play with at home. Built from dual-triode tubes manufactured in the former Eastern Bloc, the machine uses a 16-instruction von Neumann architecture and NOR-based logic reminiscent of Apollo-era computing.
It goes well beyond a logic demo: the wall-mounted system connects to old British Rail flip-digit displays and even a control panel for an airship simulator. Old computing technology is not merely preserved; it has been put back to work as a playable machine.
Vacuum tubes were already enough, then railway displays and an airship simulator joined in. Every component seems to come from a different timeline.
Uncooperative Mirror is designed so that its tiled surface moves and breaks up your reflection when you approach. Small servos sit behind the mirror tiles, while an ultrasonic sensor detects a nearby person and triggers the motion.
The closer you get to use the mirror, the less useful it becomes. With an Arduino Uno, an ordinary object has been turned into something that actively refuses its most basic job precisely when someone needs it.
The mirror waits for a person to arrive, then suddenly stops cooperating. It feels less like an appliance and more like a personality.
A spinning top eventually slows down, so this project answers by putting a brushless motor, ESC, microcontroller, rechargeable battery and eccentric weight inside the top and keeping it going for roughly two hours. It works without an external base or magnets.
When the spin weakens, the internal mass shifts the center of gravity and adds energy back into the motion. Electronics and mechanical control are deployed directly against the very normal fact that tops stop spinning.
You open a spinning top and discover something close to a tiny robot inside. That's a lot of commitment to not stopping.
Vacuum tubes were already enough, then railway displays and an airship simulator joined in. Every component seems to come from a different timeline.