Automat

So let me get this straight, not only does it not explain what it is, it's a bit of a puzzle to even get to the download links, and then it straight up downloads an .exe which you expect me to run on my computer?

Give me more info without me having to pry it out of you through finding your github which honestly isn't much more descriptive.

This style of website will be rife soon - there’s more and more popping up. Even yesterday, I was looking at https://comancheindians.tilda.ws/en

These websites would have been super hard to resource the assets, but now with Gen AI it’s simple.

An interesting experiment, very reminiscent of the early 90s' Magic Cap, Microsoft Bob, et al. But objects in physical space afford a discoverability that can't be replicated here, and the metaphor thus quickly and inevitably becomes a burden.

What even is it? I read the github repo but that explains nothing about what it actually is.

Ah, I guess then that this is unrelated to the 1978 Brazilian electronic music LP?

https://www.discogs.com/release/443321-Automat-Automat

  "in the beginning there was the "MACHINE"
  the survival and the organization of the
  planet depended upon the "MACHINE"
  the future an the past depend upon
  the "MACHINE"... the past?
  but who wanted the "MACHINE"... ?"

Marek gave some helpful background for this project during a recent Future of Coding meetup (first demo in the stream).

[0] https://mrogalski.eu

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7z77QGARLE

[2] https://futureofcoding.org

I don't get it, what is this supposed to be? Another drag and drop? I am failing to understand the uniqueness of this.

Also, if you put the cup on the tape and try to move the tape, the cup removes itself.

This is like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etoys_(programming_language). About fifteen years ago I used to teach high school students that came along to my university to get a taste of IT a session called "How to Write a Computer Game in Ten Minutes" using Etoys. I found this was the fastest way to get all of those "Tech Savvy" (ugh) teenagers an experience of writing computer programs instead of learning word-processing and spreadsheets they did in Design & Technology. As an extra I got them adding track sensors to control steering with "Artificial Intelligence". So isn't this a fancy version of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scratch_(programming_language)?

What is this wonderful device that takes VHS tapes and floppies? :)

Is there a way to play with the app presented in the video?

Edit: Looks like you have to pick the blue 3.5 floppy, insert it into the video player and then you see the links to download windows / linux binaries[1].

[1]: https://github.com/mafik/automat/releases

Kinda wish the coffee mug left a coffee ring when you set it on the napkin.

I like how the website is a great visual description of why skeumorphism is terrible. Its also fun to use.

I was really hoping for a web ode to Horn & Hardart [1] or at the very least FEBO [2].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horn_%26_Hardart

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FEBO

Interesting, there is a short description of the project in the Moleskine book that you can click through after dragging it into view.

Anyone else who was a child of the early 90s get immediate Myst vibes when flipping through the notebook? I think it’s the page turn sound effect.

Is this something like LabView for hippies?

Reminds me of Spycraft: The Great Game

I am pretty sure it had this kind of interface complete with the sound effects, or maybe i am confusing it with another game from that era

It was lovely until I double tapped and accidentally zoomed in with no apparent way to zoom back out again.

Otherwise, lovely.

I think it’s got a unique, nerdy charm that stands out in the best way.

> "Future proofing means to run on any computer, regardless of its form factor. From PC to VR goggles..."

> "Some devices will require headless operation. They should still be accessible over some web-based interface."

> Running on any hardware (let's but (sic) the bar at Raspberry PI (sic)) means that every megabyte counts.

> "This elliminates (sic) browser-based solutions at the get go"

How does that conclusion follow from anything that was said?

I like the easter egg where you can drink the coffee if you drag it to the bottom of the screen.

You can't put the diskette into the device by pushing it in. Instead, you have to hold it at a position that makes an arrow appear and when you release it, it will push itself magically.

It's interesting to observe how something so outwardly trivial or whimsical can elicit a visceral agitation borne from ignorance.

I tried for a while to spill the coffee on everything, but I was never able to make it happen.

perhaps off topic: for many months i’ve been thinking about creating tactile buttons. are there any APIs to produce vibration in the phone via the browser? i’d like a way to create a vibration response curve when toggling a switch. i’d like to feel the friction and resistance like a real-life switch. is this within the realm of possibility with current browser APIs?

Reminds me a little bit of widget workshop from the 90s

Delightful! I wish there was more.

Aaaand I'm still stuck on the anachronistic idea of hierarchical menus with text that explains what you're about to do, along with keyboard shortcuts and - in the non-mac world - "mnemonics" (sequential keyboard shortcuts).

High-efficiency symbolic communication, in other words.

There's a name collision with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat

I appreciate the whimsy, but also, I don't have the patience to figure out how to do anything with this.

hey everyone

The splash page is nearly illegible. The only textual description of what this product is renders partially outside of the viewport. The splash video has a fake-LCD effect and is so small that I can't see what it is demonstrating. What is this thing?

Its 1998 again!

[dead]