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As developers we often look at software and start reverse engineering it in our heads. There's plenty of stuff that might deeply impress us but we can figure out roughly how it does what it does even if we wouldn't be confident in writing it ourselves.
Sometimes, though, you see something and think "Blimey! I wouldn't have come up with that in a million years. That's not code, that's sorcery!"
For me, the Great Amazer has always been Shazam - yes, it's been around for years and I've read a fair old bit about the central fingerprinting algorithm (much of which has passed over my head) but it still absolutely blows me away. As Ozymandias put it: "look upon my works ye mighty and despair!"
What does it for you?
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Thanks for making me discover The Old New Thing.
GCS d-- s-/++ a- C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- ++>+++ y+++* Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X
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So it was an old new thing to you too? 
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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Trouble is that most of the time you end up looking at something and going "Oh, fer ![Elephant | [mastadon]](https://codeproject.global.ssl.fastly.net/script/Forums/Images/elephant.gif) s sake! Why?" rather than "Wow!" 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Very true, but doesn't that make the good stuff all the better?
98.4% of statistics are made up on the spot.
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Parking machines in hospital car parks are the example that springs to mind why do the option to change to German (& only German) appear in the 'Do You Want A Reciept sub menu', were the testers not involved or has a quick mod unearthed a whole? 
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I wouldn't know about that - parking fees at hospitals in Wales and Scotland were banned ten years ago.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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and if you switch to German while pressing a button, there is an option, in German, that says "rebate my parking fee."
There are probably "unlocks" on the meters for testing purposes like most games have:
up, down, down, left, right -> install mock for credit card payment interface that always "accepts" payment
up, down, down, left, left -> install mock for credit card payment interface that always "declines" payment
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Long ago: Elite[^]
Or how about 3D fractal landscapes - on a 1.7 MHz 6502? Atari XL/XE - Rescue on Fractalus[^]. I think there could still be something to learn from reverse engineering the graphics routines.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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CodeWraith's Elite is good, but ... DOOM was better! Now, that was a "Wow!" moment. The first time you entered Level 2 and the lights started to dim, and flicker at you ... then a monster strolls round the corner in the dark ...
Phenomenal bit of software!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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You want the horror feeling back? Play "Welcome to the Game", it makes you whoops your pants
Rules for the FOSW ![ ^]
if(!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(_signature))
{
MessageBox.Show("This is my signature: " + Environment.NewLine + _signature);
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("404-Signature not found");
}
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Thanks, but I'll give it a miss.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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Good idea, i regretted it 
Rules for the FOSW ![ ^]
if(!string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(_signature))
{
MessageBox.Show("This is my signature: " + Environment.NewLine + _signature);
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("404-Signature not found");
}
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At that time I still had fun with a real rifle, real ammo, ears ringing from the noise, the smell of the powder, real sand between the teeth and at every time of day, from high noon to pitch black night.
Doom was boring against that.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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Alot things are, also safer, I'm not anti-gun, it's just idiots with guns worry me!
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Is that how you thank us for having made sure day and night that you never had to wake up one morning to discover that you had become a communist over night? 
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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He's a Bristiolian - they are already communists according to No 10...
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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I live in Bristol, but not a Bristolian (I don't need subtitles... )
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So you infiltrate them and have a good eye on them?
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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Quote: So you infiltrate them and have a good eye on them?
OK why?
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Ah, ok. Communists without guns would not have been our customers at that time.
I have lived with several Zen masters - all of them were cats.
His last invention was an evil Lasagna. It didn't kill anyone, and it actually tasted pretty good.
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Very well said. It's hard to convey that to someone who hasn't done so but what you wrote really resonated with me. Still go as often as I can. And I loved Doom, but not even close.
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Password managers. Before hackers used to have to hack my accounts individually but now they can access all of my credentials in a single convenient attack.
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