Inside Windows Phone 9: The Unreleased Microsoft OS (Build 9928)

 

So today, we are talking about one of the strangest pieces of beta software in mobile history: Windows 10 Mobile Technical Preview build 9928, frequently called "Windows Phone 9" by the community.

According to BetaWiki, this build was originally compiled on 2015-01-21. 

Let's dive into! 

While this build used to be available as a simple software update, the Insider Program is now dead. 
The only way to get this is to manually sideload the update CAB packages using a computer.

After updating, the first thing you will notice is the new boot screen, that replaces the blue Windows Logo of 8.1, with a white/black color scheme "Windows Phone" diciture, similar to how it was on 8.0.

This build features the option to set an image as background, instead of "Tile Picture", giving a glimpse of what the actual Windows 10 Mobile will become.

Fun Fact: the "People" tile can be made as large as 4 x 4 tiles, a feature that we will never see in any stable Windows Phone release. 

"People" tile in 4 x 4

The Settings icon looks off, as much as the actual app

 

"Settings" Tile with a big icon

Settings

"System" 

"Display"

"Windows Phone 9" is a beta that captures the moment Microsoft was trying to ditch Windows 8.1 with something new. This is given by the evident UI Identity Crisis: mixes of modern Windows 10 layouts with 8.1 styles, and system elements.

 

 

Windows 98 Dual Monitor Setup: Restoring a Retro 1998 Celeron PC (part 1)

After the heartbreak of losing my Studioworks 775C, the basement started to feel a bit too quiet. I have a lot of standard grey frame LCD monitors from the early 2000s, so I decided to use a couple of them to replace the CRT with some dignity.

While digging through some boxes, I came across an NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500 card. While 256MB of VRAM may seem overkill for Windows 98, I decided to take the "overkill" philosophy for the whole project. It was the moment I found a white IDE high-speed LG DVD-RW 48x Writer & Player in a random box that I started thinking of a whole restoration.

Original Specs Before the Project

• Intel Celeron 300MHz (slot type)
• 64MB RAM
• 30GB HDD
• Daytona Trio 3D GPU
• Sound Blaster
• Broken Samsung CD Player

The Upgrade Process

I started by removing the old Daytona Trio 3D to fit the GeForce FX 5500, then installed new RAM sticks for a total of 128MB. I swapped the broken Samsung CD Player with the LG DVD-RW (despite being from 2004, it has a white faceplate), added a standard CD Player to protect the LG laser when writing is not necessary, and fixed the floppy drive connections.

I plugged everything in following this configuration:

• IDE 1: HDD [MASTER] + CD PLAYER [SLAVE]
• IDE 2: LG DVD [MASTER]

For some reason, putting the LG in Master caused Windows 98 to constantly report the drive as not ready. Plugging a SLAVE drive into IDE 2 fixed the issue. One wrong jumper and the whole system freaks out.

Then the CD Player started randomly not being recognised by the system, not even in BIOS. I temporarily swapped in a standard LG black faceplate CD Player until I find a white one. Current working configuration:

• IDE 1: HDD [MASTER]
• IDE 2: LG BLACK CD PLAYER [SLAVE]

Installing Windows 98

I burned a bootable Windows 98 CD to install the OS. My copy is a RETAIL version and only OEM copies are bootable without DOS already on the hard drive. The install went smooth as butter, taking about 45 minutes.

I then burned a CD with all the necessary drivers and installed them on the machine.

Success! Windows 98 Celeron on Dual monitor

In the next episode I will be trying to fix the 3 floppy drives that I have not been able to fix since 2020. They somehow throw errors despite having power and an IDE cable with the right orientation. I am pretty sure that will be a great adventure!

My favourite CRT monitor just died tonight, and I won't ever see it alive again

 

I had just finished building a retro sleeper build that I hooked everything up, powered the PC on and started taking a few photos.

Not even the time to start recording a video that the monitor  started to flicker so fast, that it shut off almost immediately. It was filkering every 15 seconds or so after adjusting image height and width in OSD before.

Now it power cycles with pwr led switching from green to red with a click and rattling noise (like an engine starting).

I found this monitor abandoned years ago, and when I brought it home I immediately started to passionate to retrocomputers. This LG monitor was the star of the house, and even the mascotte of my old website. I grew up seeing this CRT in my basement and now it's gone. At least it is still physically there.

Some people will certainly say that I am making a drama out of a monitor, which is kinda true, but I was so attached to it that it felt very special to me.

R.I.P. LG Studioworks 775C - March 31 at 5:17 P.M. 

HOW TO: Update Your Nokia Lumia to Windows 10 Mobile in 2026

Ever wondered how to update your beloved Nokia Lumia to Windows 10 Mobile in 2026? This is the right place for you. In this guide you will be walked through the process step by step.

Disclaimer

I am not responsible for bricked devices, dead SD cards, thermonuclear war, or you getting fired because the alarm app failed. Please do some research if you have any concerns about doing this to your device. YOU are choosing to do so, and if you point the finger at me for messing up your device, I will not respond. Back up your data before following this guide.

Requirements

• A computer running Windows 10 or 11
• Microsoft VC Redist 2013 (x86)
• A Windows 10 Mobile compatible device with OS version 8.10.14219.341 or newer
• Universal Updater
• Micro USB data cable

Step 1: Extract Universal Updater

Download the Universal Updater .zip from the requirements section above, then extract it into a folder on your computer.

Step 2: Run the Updater

Plug your phone into the computer and run "UniversalUpdater.exe". Once open, press "1" on your keyboard to select the first option.

You will then be asked to choose between different builds of Windows 10 Mobile. Choose the right one for your device. In my case the 2nd option was the most recent, so I selected it by pressing "2".

The update packages will start downloading. You can monitor progress in the title bar of the terminal window. Click "Run" when prompted.

Wait for the update packages to be pushed to the phone. You can check progress in the Settings app on your device under the updates menu. Do not unplug your phone.

Once finished, an informational window will appear showing all possible error codes. None of these errors will harm the phone. If any occur, just try again.

Wait for the phone to reboot. The update process may take a few hours to complete. Keep the device plugged in while the gears are spinning.

Once the update has completed you will be greeted with a data migration process. Again, all you have to do is wait for it to finish.

Step 3: Enjoy!

A Vintage Telefunken Hi‑Fi System Saved From Rotting Away

Telefunken STS1 TT, STM1 AMP, Sony TC-199SD Deck, STP1 Preamp

So, the setup belonged to my dad, but it was sadly abandoned for years in basement, where other than collecting dust, it had been previously abused by me, as a 5 years old kid who liked to paint things with permanent markers.

Last summer I decided to give it a look. The amp capacitors exploded the first time I plugged it in, as a wrong fuse that had been previously installed, caused it to keep it powered on after the fault. I got it repaired from a very reputable shop. Preamp was luckily fine.

 

 

The whole setup was in such bad shape that no one would have ever tought to see it alive again. I was able to clean it so well by polishing the aluminum faceplates.

The turntable had a small issue with the start/stop mechanism: replacing the parts costed $150, but it was worth it. The cartridge is an Ortofon LMA5, and it sounds great,

 The Turntable

The arm

The only thing left to do, is replacing the amp power switch, as it is being temporary held in by a toothpick. It basically doesn't wanna stay in. Parts doesnt seem to be currenty available. 

Sadly, the deck was too far gone and parts aren't available anymore. It is now sitting on a shelf, waiting to be recovered. 

I bought a pair of used Kef Cresta 1 for $80. They are a great pair of bookshelf speakers, but you need to be careful not to push them too hard. I have also bought a Sony TC-199SD Deck on Ebay, but the shop from where I got it from had mistakenly set the motor speed wrong. They have luckily offered me a free repair, that's why I am gonna ship it back soon.

 

 

• Telefunken STS1 – Turntable
• Telefunken STM1 – Amplifier
• Telefunken STP1 – Preamplifier
• Sony TC‑199SD – Deck

How to Play Videos on a Monochrome iPod

Requirements

• Monochrome iPod with Rockbox firmware installed
• A computer
• A video file (240p or lower)
• FFmpeg or an online video converter

A note on resolution

Every monochrome iPod has a different screen size, so the resolution you need to set depends on your model. Using the wrong resolution will result in a stretched image or the video refusing to play entirely. Here are the correct resolutions:

• iPod Mini (1st and 2nd gen): 138 x 110
• iPod 1st, 2nd, 3rd gen: 160 x 128
• iPod 4th gen (monochrome): 160 x 128

How To

1. Get your video file

Start with the video. It does not need to be low resolution to begin with as you will be downscaling it later. If you are downloading a video from the internet, any quality is good since you are going to convert it later.

2. Downscale the video

This is the most important step. The iPod screen is so small that it can only handle very low resolutions:  you need to shrink the video down to fit. There are two ways to do this:

Option A: Using FFmpeg (recommended)

FFmpeg is a free command line tool that handles this perfectly. Once you have it installed, open a terminal, CD  to the folder where your video is and run :

ffmpeg -i video.mp4 -vf scale=138:110 -r 15 output.mpg

Replace Video.mp4 with your actual filename, and replace 138:110 with the correct resolution for your iPod model I showed you before. The "-r 15" sets frame rate to 15fps.

Option B: Using an online converter

If you do not want to use the command line, sites like FreeConvert or CloudConvert can do the job. set the output format to MPG and resolution to the one for your iPod.

3. Convert to .MPG

Rockbox only accepts MPEG-1with the .MPG extension. If you used  FFmpeg, you are good . If you used an online tool, make sure the output format was set to MPG.

4. Copy the file to your iPod

Connect your iPod to your computer and place the .MPG file on the iPod.

5. Play it through Rockbox

Open Rockbox files menu and navigate to the .MPG file.
If the video looks bad or does not play just double check that both the resolution and the file format are correct.

DONE!

Blackberry OS reminds me of KDE, and there's a valid reason behind it

 

Maybe it's the icons? maybe the layouts? I don't know, but these two look like perfect companions.
Turns out both KDE and BlackBerry OS 10 use QT 4.8 as graphics toolkit. That means they share the same rendering engline, making them extremely similar in terms of blurs, animations, transitions and even shapes. Despite the two UIs being different, they share the same toolkit, making them perfectly coherent