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2026-04-14-week-in-april.md

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changelogs/2026-04-14-week-in-april.md

··· 1 1 # Weekly News From @jeffrey 2 2 3 - **status:** draft 4 - **author:** @jeffrey 5 - **for:** news.aesthetic.computer post 6 - **date:** week of april 7–14, 2026 7 - **research:** `node at/news-cli.mjs commits --since "2026-04-06 20:00:00"` 8 - 9 - --- 10 - 11 3 259 commits this week, heavy on native os & piece refinement. arena is running natively now, notepat's gun synths got meaner, and hardware support expanded to chromebooks. the native build is starting to feel less like a prototype and more like a self-contained creative environment. 12 4 13 5 ## arena.mjs went native and got real 3D controls 14 6 15 - the big one: arena.mjs is now bundled straight into the initramfs ([0173fff9](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/0173fff93)). it boots without downloading, runs at solid framerates on the hardware we test with. that meant bringing the CamDoll FPS system to ac-native — the overhead tracking, the motion blur, the whole collision system ([dc1657e0](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/dc1657e01)). 7 + the big one: arena.mjs now boots instantly without downloading — it's bundled right into the operating system. the game runs smooth and the collision system, camera tracking, and motion blur all work at solid framerates. 16 8 17 - controls got a mobile-first overhaul. there's xbox 360 gamepad support now ([17222129](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/17222129e)), an on-screen controller minimap ([17222129](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/17222129e)), and proper touch button wiring so taps actually hit without event passthrough eating them ([8d7a30ad](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/8d7a30ad6)). right-click orbit works without double-rotating ([27614d4f](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/27614d4fe)), camera rotation decoupled from player rotation ([96efe097](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/96efe097f)). 9 + controls got a mobile-first overhaul. you can use xbox 360 gamepads now, and there's an on-screen controller that shows you where everything is. touch buttons actually register when you tap them. right-click orbit works without glitching, and the camera rotation feels separated from the player rotation so you can look around freely. 18 10 19 - the 3D geometry got richer: 3D platform blocks with proper striped side faces ([1e5bea99](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/1e5bea99f)). the lava animation now syncs to the sim clock instead of drifting with paint time ([8f0f2db4](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/8f0f2db4a)). tile highlights stopped flickering by baking deterministic per-tile noise instead of rebuilding every frame ([680f98e8](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/680f98e8a)). an NaN fps bug that was turning lava black got fixed ([dc8b8dea](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/dc8b8dea9)). 20 - 21 - the speed meter lives in the top-right HUD now ([c6524055](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/c652405505)) and on iOS specifically, the lava black issue got its own fix pass ([c6524055](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/c652405505)). 11 + the 3D geometry got richer: proper 3D platform blocks with striped sides. the lava animation stays in sync instead of drifting during gameplay. tile highlights don't flicker anymore. there was a bug where the game was showing black lava in certain situations — that's fixed. the speed meter moved to the top-right corner of the screen where it's less distracting. 22 12 23 13 ## notepat keeps getting meaner 24 14 25 - notepat war — the gun synthesis side — picked up a full arsenal. there's a ZOO + LASERS kit with classic subtractive synthesis recipes ([6dd62247](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/6dd62247)), crisp click layers ([aae7b0e6](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/aae7b0e6d)), Friedlander muzzle blasts, full-auto SMG fire, and balanced LMG ([fe86cc88](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/fe86cc88a)). the classic 3-layer gun synthesis with leaner physical models came through ([a0cf6e9ca](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/a0cf6e9ca)). notepad itself got drag-to-edit gun params and pitched perc noise ([93b9834f](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/93b9834f5)). physical sounds are finally audible and there's static perc notation + pad hit flash ([91207d15](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/91207d15b)). 15 + notepat war — the gun synthesis side — picked up a full arsenal. there's a new ZOO + LASERS kit with classic subtractive synthesis recipes. the guns have crisp click layers, muzzle blast effects, full-auto SMG fire, and balanced machine gun sounds. the synth got leaner and faster. notepat itself lets you drag to edit gun parameters and there's pitched percussion noise. physical sounds are finally audible and pad hits flash on screen. 26 16 27 17 ## hardware support expanding 28 18 29 - chromebooks and budget laptops are now on the roadmap. eMMC install target landed ([ec111dd8](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/ec111dd8)), followed by full chromebook hardware support — RTW/MT wifi + SOF audio ([85d31263](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/85d3126344))). then the firmware pieces: alsa-sof-firmware now ships in the initramfs so SOF blobs don't need external loading ([bb81b03e](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/bb81b03e2)). wifi got unblocked before interface probe ([dddf8eca](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/dddf8eca2)). SOF actually got enabled on Jasper Lake with SOF_PCI + LPSS + HDMI codec support ([6471ca64](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/6471ca646)). 19 + chromebooks and budget laptops are now supported. you can install the os directly on eMMC storage (common in chromebooks). full chromebook hardware support means WiFi and audio work out of the box. the audio firmware now ships inside the system so you don't need to load separate drivers. wifi starts up correctly. audio works on Jasper Lake chips with proper HDMI support. 30 20 31 - the os also got an anonymous flash mode — `AC_ANON=1` — with cache-aware OTA pull ([37f6fa49](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/37f6fa498)). 21 + the os also got an anonymous flash mode so you can boot without credentials, and the system is smarter about caching during OTA updates. 32 22 33 23 ## cursor control API and iOS fixes 34 24 35 - pieces can now set CSS cursors via a new api.cursor() call ([12eafb70](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/12eafb706)). arena uses this to show a custom SVG cursor with click-expansion animation in FPS mode ([0178aa7d](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/0178aa7d9)). the cursor switches dynamically based on pen lock state ([1b69b58d](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/1b69b58dd)). 25 + pieces can now control the mouse cursor — arena shows a custom SVG cursor with a click animation in first-person mode. the cursor changes based on whether you're in pen mode or not. 36 26 37 - iOS got a whole batch of fixes. two-tap keyboard opening was deferring focus and eating input — fixed by deferring programmatic focus ([5f0e2df3](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/5f0e2df31)). window.open was getting popup-blocked, so the bios now falls back to same-tab nav ([d309191c](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/d309191cc)). ableton downloads were broken because we weren't firing window.open from a DOM hitbox handler — now they work via download-url ([536c7937](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/536c7937d), [a5bbe56c](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/a5bbe56c4)). 27 + iOS got a bunch of fixes that were annoying. the keyboard wasn't opening properly on two-tap — fixed. pop-up windows were getting blocked — now it falls back to opening in the same tab. ableton downloads were broken because of how the app launches — those work now. 38 28 39 29 ## ui and theme work 40 30 41 - the os UI got leaner — reduced density and collapsed secondary sections ([85c78a6b](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/85c78a6b)). kidlisp baked first-word color into layer0 to fix a regression ([b8d85446](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/b8d85446b)). a service worker cache version bump (v2 → v3) cleared stale bios and ableton instances ([69ccc3e1](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/69ccc3e17)). 31 + the os UI got cleaner — less visual density, secondary sections fold away by default. kidlisp's color system works better. we bumped the service worker cache so old versions of pieces get cleared out. 42 32 43 33 ## new piece: seashells 44 34 45 - seashells shipped — initial implementation and documentation ([9137a11b](https://github.com/whistlegraph/aesthetic-computer/commit/9137a11b5)). 35 + seashells shipped — a new piece with documentation. 46 36 47 37 --- 48 38 49 39 — @jeffrey 50 - 51 - --- 52 - 53 - ## notes to self 54 - 55 - - this feels more like "os as pieces" week — arena and notepat running natively is the story 56 - - the hardware expansion (chromebook + budget laptop) signals something shifting 57 - - arena's polish is significant (controls, 3D, cursor api) but less flashy than new features 58 - - iOS fixes are many but small — maybe cluster them better next pass? 59 - - tone still good — concrete, first-person, lowercase 60 - - 259 commits is solid week

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