In any community, the balance between tradition and innovation is delicate. The interplay between nostalgia and progress often sparks debate. Sooo let me tell you what happened recently. The controversial decision was made: old school quiz form was refused to get the retro badge:
Having in mind that the judges are seasoned and wise tech veterans, we decided to come up with something more retro! We’re all familiar with the power of nostalgia, but sometimes, it takes a little extra magic to prove that something truly embodies the spirit of the past. So have a look into our /too much retro/ client:
One of the inspirations behind the Parselthounge language (aka. Python), and closely related to the language used to write Python itself; is the C++ language written in 1985, the same year Barty Crouch Jr.’s was imprisoned in Azkaban :O
We are using Arduino to control the physical howler, using code written in the classical language of C++:
And as Snape instructed us, we wrote the code in snake_case, of course! #HouseOfSlytherin
The Golden Snitches using PowerPoint to alter and edit SVGs that are being used in Power Apps. We have some Hogwarts House Banners that were in the wrong SVG format, and we got advice from Scott Durow to use PowerPoint to alter the SVGs insted of altering the code itself in Power Apps.
Also, notepad is used to open the image and get the SVG code.
There’s something inherently nostalgic about the old-school online quizzes we used to take. You remember the ones—basic designs, pixelated images, and simple blue buttons for starting the quiz. These quizzes might seem outdated by today’s standards of sleek, interactive experiences, but there’s a unique charm to them. They evoke a sense of simpler times when the internet felt more like a fun mystery than an overwhelming flood of information.
There’s something instantly recognizable about those early online quiz interfaces. From the bright, bold colors to the blocky text, they had a distinct, almost childlike quality that made them feel personal and welcoming. These designs weren’t trying to be high-tech or glossy; they were focused on functionality and fun.
This simplicity might seem outdated today, but it holds a certain charm—especially when we remember that the point wasn’t to create a perfect digital experience; it was to create something fun, something to immerse you in a world of magic and possibilities.
Bellow you can see our sweet page for choosing how you want to be sorted:
Admit that you got blast from the past! So remember: sometimes, the most magical experiences don’t require cutting-edge technology—just a little imagination and a lot of heart.
Meet Dobby – our digital assistant for the Wayfinder Academy employees. Isnt it cute?
And this is how we low code consultants edited for before sitemap editor was added to the system
while working on our solution, we’re taking a moment to celebrate the charm of retro tech—our trusty cabled mouse and earphones. 🎧🖱️
Why the throwback?
✅ Reliability: No low-battery warnings when we’re mid-sprint or presenting at events. ✅ Clarity: Whether it’s code reviews or customer conversations, the sound is always crisp, and the connection is solid. ✅ Control: Sometimes, the best way to stay connected is with a literal connection.
Retro tech may not be flashy, but it keeps us focused on what matters—delivering solutions that work.
And, let’s be real, there’s something nostalgic about untangling those earphones. Who’s with us? 🙌
Many people have faced the same problem, and the solution is to use the old retro component (Retro badge). To do this, you need the following superdirty hacks to achieve awesomeness (Nasty Hacker):
– Chatbot:
Control: Chatbot
Properties:
EnvironmentId: =”ADD YOUR ENVIRONMENT ID”
SchemaName: =”Add your Copilot’s Schema name”
Height: =602
Width: =555
X: =372
Y: =65
Right click on a new screen
Click Paste code
Change the environment ID
And just like that, the bots appear as if by magic!
(Yes, I tried the button create new on the Copilot component multiple times…)
Hackathons challenge us to think outside the box, and our project brought together modern innovation and retro charm. We’re claiming two badges that perfectly showcase this fusion: Embedding Numbnut and Reto Badge. Here’s how we earned them!
🪞 Embedding Numbnut
When you think of “embedding,” your mind might go straight to software and APIs. But why stop there? We decided to embed technology into a physical object: a mirror.
What We Did:
We started by building a physical frame for our smart mirror, creating a seamless combination of form and function.
Behind the reflective surface lies a digital interface, powered by a screen and fancy software. The result? A fully interactive experience that combines the elegance of a mirror with the power of modern technology.
This transformation – taking a humble, everyday object and embedding it with a rich digital experience – redefines what it means to “embed.”
Behold the mighty mirror of Noitceles. Note the QR code, its mentioned below!
Our smart mirror isn’t just tech slapped onto a frame; it’s a deeply integrated design that blurs the line between physical and digital.
🕰️ Reto Badge
Every great innovation owes something to the past, and our project embraces retro technology in creative ways:
The Mirror:
Mirrors are an ancient invention, going back thousands of years. By using this timeless object as the foundation of our tech project, we brought a sense of history into the digital age.
Retro Tools in Modern Tech:
We used jQuery on Power Pages to manage interactive elements. Sure, jQuery might feel like a blast from 2013, but it proved to be a reliable and efficient choice for this project.
Our project also includes QR code generation, another nostalgic yet practical feature that bridges past trends with current functionality.
Oh the jQuery
By blending modern capabilities with retro technologies, we’ve crafted a project that feels both forward-thinking and delightfully old-school.
Greetings, wizards, witches, and tech sorcerers! Team PowerPotters of House Slytherin is no stranger to the allure of old magic—or, in this case, old technology. While others shy away from dusty artifacts of the past, we see an opportunity to wield their power in new and innovative ways. This is the story of how we bridged the decades, connecting Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations (FO) to a legacy ETON packaging machine that speaks the language of yesteryear: ASCII.
Here’s how we brought this retro challenge to life and why we believe we deserve the Retro badge.
🕰️ The Challenge: A Journey into the Past
Working with legacy systems is like deciphering the spellbook of an ancient wizard. The ETON packaging machine, a relic of older IT architectures, required us to:
Deliver files in a specific ASCII format—a far cry from modern data outputs.
Operate within an on-premise environment, delivering files directly to a server the machine could access.
Transform data from Microsoft Dynamics 365 FO, which isn’t designed to natively output ASCII files.
This formidable challenge was the perfect playground for a Slytherin team armed with ambition and cunning.
🪄 The Solution: Crafting a Magical Bridge Between Eras
We designed a solution using Power Automate that seamlessly connects our modern ERP system with the legacy ETON machine, transforming workflows and breathing new life into an older technology. Here’s how we did it:
Trigger from FO:
The flow begins in FO, where a trigger fires upon production completion, signaling that goods are ready for packaging.
Data Collection and Transformation:
FO data is gathered and formatted to meet the ETON machine’s strict ASCII requirements.Using concat and substring operations (such as the example below), we transformed raw data into neatly formatted lines, ensuring compliance with the machine’s constraints:
File Creation:
After processing all production lines, the transformed data is written to an ASCII file.
The file is delivered to an on-premise server through a Power Automate File System connector using an on-premise gateway—like casting an ancient spell to bridge two worlds.
Delivery to the ETON Machine:
The ASCII file is deposited into the required server folder, where the ETON machine can access it immediately for packaging operations.
🐍 Why This Solution is Retro—and Why Slytherins Love It
Legacy Integration: The ETON machine’s reliance on ASCII files is a classic throwback to the days when ASCII reigned supreme, requiring a creative approach to bring it into the modern workflow.
On-Premise Connectivity: Employing an on-premise gateway harks back to older IT setups, blending nostalgia with cutting-edge automation.
ASCII File Format: Converting FO data into ASCII is a challenge that required precision, ingenuity, and a touch of retro magic to master.
Slytherins thrive on challenges like these, where cleverness and adaptability transform obstacles into triumphs.
🧙♂️ Why This Deserves the Retro Badge
This solution bridges the gap between the past and the future, showcasing the power of integration and automation:
Seamless Transformation: We automated the complex process of formatting and delivering ASCII files, eliminating manual errors and inefficiencies.
Legacy Meets Modern: By integrating FO with the ETON machine via Power Automate and a gateway, we proved that even the oldest systems can thrive in a cloud-connected world.
Slytherin Cunning: With resourcefulness and ambition, we turned a retro constraint into an opportunity to demonstrate the power of combining legacy systems with modern platforms.
🪄 Closing the Loop
House Slytherin knows that true magic lies in adaptability and resourcefulness. Our solution is a testament to the fact that the tools of the past, when used creatively, can still deliver value in a modern setting.
We humbly submit our case for the Retro badge and invite the judges to celebrate this triumph of cleverness, ambition, and integration. Follow our journey as we continue to bring the best of old and new technologies together: acdc.blog/category/cepheo25.
So, with Yurii the Wise, we are connecting our Bluetooth device to the internet.
This article describes implementing an IoT device: a Bluetooth to MQTT gateway. The idea is to implement a device with both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity. Then, all captured data from the BLE can be streamed to the IoT Gateway.
The controller is M5Stick C plus2, based on the ESP32 System on the Module.
We implemented the firmware in the Arduino IDE, which can be used to create a fallback Wi-Fi access point to initialize the Wi-Fi and MQTT connection details. The firmware was written in C++ language using the Arduino framework. We also flipped the bit to turn on the Bluetooth proxy oximeter automatically and turned on the screen to render average values of the SpO2 and BPM.
How does it work?
We used the following external library:
PulseOximeterLib library to interact with the Pulse Oximeter device. This lib provides the parsed pulse data as well.
WiFiManager facilitates the onboarding process when the device creates the Fallback Access point to configure the Wi-Fi and MQTT connections.
We are building the firmware with the Single-responsibility principle to encapsulate the logic of interaction with different peripheral devices and make the logic of main.ino file as clean as possible. Unfortunately, making it work in that couple of days was impossible, and the result was unstable. But stay tuned; we will release the repo with the worked code soon.
In the modern world of Power Automate, there is still a place for business rules
Our solution needs to only display a house and a school if the student is active, though there are more technical solutions, Javascript, we went old school.
A simple business rule checks the status of the record and hides or shows the House and School fields as appropriate. Simple! Clear! Low-code!
Showing the condition, checking status of the ApplicationShowing the House fieldActivating the Business RuleBusiness Rule in action
