[CPU] Are You Older Than ASCII? 12 New Apps...

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Greetings, Programs!

I continue to plug away at creating new experiences, though I haven’t heard much (if any) feedback / direction from y’all. You’re certainly welcome to join the live streams when they happen - unless you’re completely afraid of discovering something new.

You know what? You might be. At which point, everything that follows will be completely useless to you.

In the off chance that you actually like something, then let me once again thank you for your support.

What Did I Make for You This Week?

9 of 12 (Better than 7 of 9)

• ASCII Art Painter - Create, Draw & Export Text Art: A free, web-based ASCII Art Painter. Draw with characters, customize brushes, use gradients, and export your creations as text (.txt) or image (.png) files. Perfect for artists, developers, and hobbyists. https://pirillo.com/arcade/ascii-painter.html

• Particle Man: An interactive generative art piece called 'Particle Man' by Chris Pirillo. Control thousands of particles with a dynamic flow field, and interact with them using your mouse. https://pirillo.com/arcade/particle-man.html

• Nice Dice (Dice Roller): A free, interactive 3D dice roller. Customize the number of dice, their colors, and the felt surface. Roll dice for your favorite tabletop games with realistic physics and sound. https://pirillo.com/arcade/nice-dice.html

• Quantum Reversi - A Sci-Fi Strategy Game: Engage in a futuristic battle of wits with Quantum Reversi, a sci-fi themed strategy board game built with Three.js. Challenge the CPU or a friend in this modern take on a classic. https://pirillo.com/arcade/quantum-reversi.html

• 8-Bit Battle Tanks Combat Video Game: Engage in classic 8-bit tank warfare! Play against the CPU in this retro-inspired, single-player combat game with dynamic, indestructible terrain. https://pirillo.com/arcade/8bit-battle.html

• Binary Suns 3D Planet Simulator: Explore a vast, procedurally generated desert world under the light of two suns in this immersive 3D planet simulator. Fly across the landscape and collect mysterious orbs in a serene, endless environment. https://pirillo.com/arcade/binary-suns.html

• Gravity Grid: Play Gravity Grid, a modern 3D version of the classic four-in-a-row game. Challenge the CPU or a friend in this visually rich strategy game with satisfying physics and sound. https://pirillo.com/arcade/gravity-grid.html

• Theremin - Interactive Web Audio Synthesizer: Experience an interactive, browser-based Theremin. Create haunting melodies and cosmic soundscapes with your mouse or touch. Features advanced controls for sound synthesis, effects, and a reactive visualizer. https://pirillo.com/arcade/theremin.html

• Pixel Dust - Interactive Particle Art Generator: Create beautiful, interactive art from your images. Upload a photo and watch it deconstruct into a cloud of dynamic particles you can control and manipulate. https://pirillo.com/arcade/pixel-dust.html

• The Matrix: Immerse yourself in the digital rain of The Matrix with this interactive 3D web experience. Fly through the falling green code in an endless, procedural world. https://pirillo.com/arcade/the-matrix.html

• Terminal Vision (ASCII Webcam Converter): An interactive, real-time ASCII art converter that uses your webcam. Adjust resolution, brightness, color, and character sets to create unique terminal-style visuals. https://pirillo.com/arcade/terminal-vision.html

• The Amulet of Yandor Retro Adventure Video Game: Embark on a perilous journey in 'The Amulet of Yandor', a classic roguelike adventure. Descend into the dungeon, find the legendary amulet, and return to the surface to save your village. https://pirillo.com/arcade/amulet-yandor.html

Enjoy!

Yours Digitally,

Chris Pirillo

[CPU] My 13 New Web Apps for You to Use

I was busy last week (to say the least)!

Greetings, Programs!

Yes, the LockerGnome announcement still stands - but that’s not been the only thing I’ve been working on since last week. Thanks to your direct financial support across the board (from SubStack to Patreon to Discord to Twitch to YouTube and beyond).

Know anybody who happens to be hiring a camera-friendly creative product geek with community / developer / user engagement passions? Didn't think so.

I’ll keep building like nobody’s clicking.

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Trench Wars - Retro Vector Video Game: Engage in Trench Wars, a retro vector-style arcade game. Pilot your ship through treacherous trenches, destroy enemy TIE fighters, and defend your shields in this classic space shooter experience.

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CHRISPIRILLO 64 - Commodore 64 Retro Simulator: Experience the classic Commodore 64 with the CHRISPIRILLO 64 BASIC V27 retro simulator. Write and run BASIC programs, POKE memory, and relive the 8-bit era.

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PNG De-faker Transparency Fixer - Remove Fake Backgrounds: Fix pixel art and other images by removing fake transparent backgrounds (checkerboards, solid colors) easily. Adjust tolerance and shrink edges for perfect results.

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Life Dashboard - Visualize Your Life's Journey in Stats: Discover fascinating statistics about your life based on your birth date. Explore metrics on physiology, daily habits, societal impact, technology usage, environmental footprint, and cosmic journey. Your Life Dashboard provides a unique perspective on your existence.

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Picturino Image Editing Tool: A powerful, browser-based image editor. Apply filters, adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, and more with this easy-to-use online tool.

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Cybersweeper - The Future of Minesweeper: Play Cybersweeper, a futuristic take on the classic minesweeper game. Challenge yourself with different game modes, unlock power-ups, and compete for the top score.

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Image to CSS Pixel Art Generator: Instantly convert any image into pure CSS pixel art. Upload a picture, adjust resolution and size, and generate clean, copy-pasteable CSS box-shadow code.

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Generative Pattern Wallpaper Studio: Explore and create unique generative art patterns for wallpapers and backgrounds with the Generative Pattern Wallpaper Studio. Customize complexity, style, and colors.

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PCB (Pretend) Circuit Board Generator: Generate hyperrealistic PCB circuit board designs with customizable density, complexity, and colors. Explore intricate virtual electronics.

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Sand Tetris (Sandtris) - A Gravity-Defying Block Puzzle Game: Play Sand Tetris (Sandtris), a unique block puzzle game where pieces crumble like sand. Optimize your strategy to clear masses and achieve high scores. Developed by Chris Pirillo.

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Sprite Sidescroller, an 8-bit Game Generator / Level Editor: Create, play, and share your own 8-bit side-scrolling platformer levels with this in-browser game generator and level editor. Build worlds with custom sprites and challenge your friends!

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ASCII Attack - A Retro style Arcade Game: Play ASCII Attack, a retro style arcade shooter in your browser. Battle swarms of ASCII enemies, dodge their fire, and clear levels. Features full mobile touch controls.

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Droid Repair Math Game - Jedi Mission: Master math skills and repair droids in this engaging Jedi-themed educational game. Solve geometry, algebra, measurement, fractions, and data analysis problems.

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Thanks again for your support in whatever way you can give it!

Yours Digitally,

Chris Pirillo

[CPU] Coming Soon to a Web Browser Near You

This landing page for a new LockerGnome is a start!

Greetings, Programs!

Are you ready? We’ve got a landing page for the new LockerGnome, now:

If you’ve been in the tech world for a while, the name “LockerGnome” might sound familiar? For years, it was a trusted source - a community where we shared knowledge, discovered new tools, and helped each other navigate the ever-changing landscape of technology.

Today, I’m thrilled to announce a new chapter for LockerGnome, one that’s built for the age of AI. Because… there’s no turning back. Can’t do what we used to do. Yesterday’s playbooks don’t work in this era.

We’re bringing the community spirit back to help you master the most powerful technology of our time: artificial intelligence.

Stop losing your best AI prompts. Start finding them.

How many times have you crafted the perfect prompt for a project, only to lose it in a sea of scattered notes, chat histories, and random files? Your best ideas deserve a home. Or, perhaps, you don’t know where to start - you don’t know what will work yet.

LockerGnome is to become a new community platform designed to help you organize, share, and even monetize your expertise (even if you’re still trying to figure out where you fit into the new landscape with AI). Whether you're a seasoned prompt engineer or just starting to experiment with tools like ChatGPT, Midjourney, or Claude, this is for you.

Here’s what you can do as a LockerGnome community member:

• Organize your genius: Create "Lockers" to save and categorize your best prompts and workflows. Your knowledge becomes a searchable asset, ready for your next big project. Share your lockers with anyone.

• Get unstuck: Tap into the collective knowledge of the community. Get targeted feedback from pros, find solutions for specific AI models, and never hit a creative wall again. Instead of being a community platform for all types of communities, this one is focused.

• Build your reputation: Your contributions become a dynamic portfolio that showcases your skills to potential clients or employers. Have you done something using AI? Share it in a central location with ease so that people can find it (and you) better.

• Turn knowledge into income: In the near future, you’ll be able to get direct tips and sell your specialized "Lockers" of knowledge to others. We’ll also be turning on the ability to send tips to people who have done something you might appreciate.

This isn’t just about AI tools - it's about community. It’s about learning together, growing together, and helping each other stay ahead of the curve.

This is your chance to help.

We're rolling out invitations in waves, and by signing up for early access, you get a head start:

• Claim your username: Secure your unique handle before it's gone.

• Shape the future: Your feedback will directly influence the features we build next.

• Be first to earn: Position yourself to build reputation and monetize your skills from day one.

The original LockerGnome was a trusted community for a reason—because of people like you. Let's build this new chapter together.

Ready to unlock the power of AI?

Because, like it or not, the AI train has left the station - you’re either behind it, ahead of it, on it, or (worse yet) underneath it. Best to make that decision for yourself before someone else makes it for you!

Yours Digitally,

Chris Pirillo

[CPU] Make Your Own Planet (and 1-Bit Camera)

I've created seven new apps for y'all to play with this week!

Greetings, Programs!

I hope to have an update on the LockerGnome (reboot!) project soon. The site is being prepped for beta testers as I write this. Yes, I found some help with development - and, yes, I could always use more help in that realm and beyond. Don’t be afraid to reach out, please.

All the support you can give is appreciated!

What Did I Make for You (for FREE) This Week?

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Glasshole: Interactive Liquid Glass WebGL Demo: Manipulate dynamic, procedurally-generated glass elements over a cosmic background - or your own.

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Cosmic Forge Space Wallpaper Generator: Create stunning, unique, and high-resolution space wallpapers with the Cosmic Forge generator. Procedurally generate custom planets, nebulae, and starfields for your desktop or mobile background.

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Clickboard: A local clipboard manager that helps you store and organize text and images directly in your browser. Securely manage your clipboard history without server interaction. I needed it for mobile.

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1-Bit Camera: Experience a retro 1-bit aesthetic with our real-time camera. Apply classic dithering effects like Halftone, Bayer, and Floyd-Steinberg to your webcam feed instantly.

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Instant HTML: A simple, fast utility to paste any text or code and download it as a clean .html file. Instant HTML provides a neumorphic interface and offers quick conversions. I needed it for mobile.

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Infinite Rainstick: A Relaxing Ambient Sound Simulator! Experience the soothing sounds of an endless rainstick. Customize the gravity, seed count, and pitch to create your perfect ambient soundscape for relaxation, focus, or meditation.

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Sand Art Frame Simulator: Interactive Virtual Art: Experience a relaxing, interactive sand art frame simulator. Create beautiful, calming landscapes with virtual sand and bubbles. Flip, shake, and paint your own unique art.

That’s about it. Yeah, I’ve been busy and taking freelance gigs as they come (just finished up a nice 3D printing commission project, actually).

Yours Digitally,

Chris Pirillo

[CPU] My Plan to Bring Back LockerGnome

Yes, for realsies.

Greetings, Programs!

Remember the early days of LockerGnome? We were a community, figuring things out together. The mission was always the same, whether on the first newsletters, the forums, Gnomedex: using technology to foster genuine human connection. To help people help people. That’s how I got hired to host ‘Call for Help’ on TechTV!

Today, we're all facing a new frontier: Artificial Intelligence. It's powerful, exciting, and an absolute firehose of disorganized information. We're trying to use it for our jobs, our hobbies, and our daily tasks, but we’re drowning in scattered Discord servers, endless Reddit threads, and half-baked "top 10" lists.

In this new world, I believe human curation isn't just important - it's essential for anyone who wants to use AI effectively. We need a way to manage the chaos. A way to find the signal in the noise.

This is why I’m rebooting LockerGnome. This time, the name will finally make perfect sense. Our new mission is to build the essential tool for anyone using AI, a place where we can help each other refine, save, and share what actually works.

I built that prototype this weekend. It’s working code now, but there are a *lot* of kinks that need to be worked out before I can start bringing aboard beta testers (especially since it was ‘vibe coded’ and there are still a few missing pieces and disconnections).

I’m not a developer and doing this is already proving to be costly, but… I wanna try.

At the heart of this are "Lockers" - your personal and public collections of proven prompts. The 'Locker' is your secure place to store what works. The 'Gnome' is you and the entire community - the human intelligence that curates it. I suppose y’all are still “Gnomies” together.

This is for everyone trying to navigate AI for their personal and professional lives. Here’s how we solve the problems you’re facing right now:

Problem: "I had a prompt that worked perfectly last week, and now I can't find it."

• Our Solution: The core of the new LockerGnome is "Lockers." This is your personal, searchable library. A feature to save, organize, and tag the prompts that give you the best results so you never lose good work again.

Problem: "I don't know who to trust. Most shared prompts are low-quality or don't work."

• Our Solution: We're making reputation front-and-center. Upvotes, successful collaborations, and challenge wins all contribute to a user's reputation score. You'll instantly see who the trusted experts are in any category and benefit from their curated "Lockers."

Problem: "I have a prompt that's 90% there, but I'm stuck."

• Our Solution: A dedicated "Prompt Enhancement" feature. It's a Q&A section where you can post a prompt you're struggling with and get concrete suggestions from the community to get it over the finish line.

Problem: "I want to showcase my AI skills for a project or to my boss."

• Our Solution: Your user profile is your public portfolio. It will display your stats, your best work, and your public "Lockers," creating a tangible way to demonstrate your expertise and experience.

Problem: "A prompt is useless if I don't understand why it works."

• Our Solution: Every prompt will have a dedicated discussion section. This is where the community provides context, shares results, and discusses the nuances of why certain phrasing or parameters work, so we can all learn faster.

Problem: "A great prompt for GPT-4 is useless for Midjourney. How do I keep them straight?"

• Our Solution: We're building a platform that understands the tools you use. You can filter, search, and build 'Lockers' specific to the AI models you rely on every day, ensuring you always have the right prompt for the right job.

Problem: "I'm in a rut and want to try something new."

• Our Solution: We'll have community-led "Challenges." Anyone can start a challenge on any topic, and anyone can participate. It’s a fun, low-pressure way to experiment with new ideas, learn from each other’s approaches, and break out of your creative comfort zone.

This is Where You Come In.

I’m reaching out to you, my longest supporters, because you understand the value of a community built on helping others. I am building this with a classic, bootstrapped "Community-First" principle. No venture capital.

To do this the right way, and build the tool we all need, I need your help:

• Upgrade Your Membership(s): Your direct support is what will fund this vision and keep it independent. I know that’s not practical for everybody, but I’m still trying to build this tool *for* everybody. You can upgrade your status on Patreon, YouTube, Twitch, Discord, or SubStack.

• Sign Up for the Beta (If I can get it to that point): We need passionate early adopters to help us test the platform, provide crucial feedback, and plant the seeds of this new community. Be the first to get your hands on the new LockerGnome and help shape it from day one. When it’s ready. I’m working on it, obviously. That’s the whole point of me sending you this update.

• Collaborate on the Code: The prototype is alive (but private), and I feel the code is about 80% of the way to MVP status. It’s being synced to a private GitHub repository that I built on Loveable this weekend. While I think I get this over the finish line myself (which will definitely cost something apart from a lot more time), I’d rather partner with an experienced developer from our community to launch a better product, faster. If you have the skills to help accelerate development, this is your chance to make a direct impact.

The mission has always been to help people navigate technology by building authentic connections. That mission is more vital now than ever. Let's tame the chaos and build the go-to destination for using AI effectively. Together.

Here’s a mockup of what the front page might look like, eventually (at least, as far as elements are concerned, not a specific design):

Thank you for everything. I can’t wait to keep going with this… with you.

This may become a longer-term project than I’d hope, but at least I’m trying. You know, as opposed to sitting here and guessing what anybody wants. I tried that and I simply can’t read minds.

Instead, I’ll try to bring “LockerGnome” back for the modern era.

So, What Did I Make for You Last Week?

iPhone Simulator (that also hilariously works on mobile)

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Rain Simulator (because you’d rather be in Seattle)

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Mathimation (because math can be visual, too)

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Canvas Connect (for the times you don’t wanna Zoom)

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Weather or Not (because the world doesn’t have enough weather apps)

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Glass Case of Emoji (I still have no idea why I made this)

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QR-D2 (because you can’t always trust other QR code generators)

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Circlaud (for an immersive, soothing audio experience in-browser)

Do these tiny tools add up to anything useful? Well, at least I feel useful - and creative. That I can share such creations with the world? I suppose that’s priceless, but… time is the most valuable thing we have, so I’d rather not waste it on something that was senseless.

I’m having fun! Isn’t that reason enough to do anything?

I can’t be the person I was in 1996 when all of this started. I can’t be the person I was in 2006 or 2016, either. However, I can still be the best “me” for 2026.

Yours Digitally,

Chris Pirillo