Breaking Down 2026

Pedro Torres
Feb 2
5 min read

The new year has begun and there's quite a bit to cover between good stuff and something quite spooky.

Starting with the results of the outlook survey!

I made a video showing the results with your responses and my responses to you. Catch it on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/08l-WsyrLHQ. Thank you to everyone who participated!

Here's a super TLDR in case you short on time to watch the vid

Primary Product Focus: USB-C Mods
Secondary Product Focus: Replacement Parts
Custom Casted Buttons: Yes
Accessory Materials: Casted Resin
Keychains, Pins, etc.: No
New Inbound Service: NanoFlowX PCB Coating
Services you want to see: Check out the vid; it's decent conversation piece
E-Waste Management Send-In Service: Yes
Option to be provided a shipping label for Send-In services: Yes
Improvements, Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, Customer Service, Transparency: Check out the vid; because THANK YOU!

There's a lot to do and things will roll out as they will. Replacement parts are currently in the works. Estimated timelines are in the video for what I believe things will be a thing.

WiiU and Fat PS2 USB-C Mod updates

The video for the WiiU mod is in the works and will be out soon!

The PS2 one will be getting it's next board revisions this month and hopefully close out the project. New components have been finalized as well as their arrangements. It's taken a long time, but it'll be great to get it out there as it also serves as a basis for other consoles.

Trademark

Gamers Antiquity TM - it's a thing! It's live and currently pending full on registration. UPSTO is slow, but at least I do have a means to start protecting my goods and services provided.

International Shipping

Etsy is off the table, and Ebay will be a thing in Q1 2026 for international shipping support

New shop stuff

With more mods USB-C mods for the DS family having hit the shop, I got a source of AV cables!!

The next part is long, but important as this topic has a far reaching consequences that will impact people directly and indirectly.

Dangerous Legislation

Be aware of what's going on! There are state legislations in WA and NY slowly rearing their head regarding manufacturing capabilities that not only impact ALL 3D printer owners and operators, but also impact all computer assisted additive and subtractive manufacturing machine; CNCs, Laser Cutters, etc.

TLDR

Aim: gun control, but writing includes a much wider scope beyond primarily mentioned 3D printers
Impacts: Everyone
Government mandated spyware to be utilized in the software operations - firmware / slicers
Designs sent to government DB to have an algorithm ensure a design is compliant before being allowed by the software to render the job
Generates countless tones in e-waste due to non-compliant machines and billions in cost for machine manufacturing facilities
Sellers of products they manufacture and general owners of computer driven manufacturing machines must be compliant if selling to a state with said passed legislation else face felony penalties per infringement even if the operating state does not have said legislation. This includes being able to evidence adherence to compliance.
Renders homebrew open-source computer aided machinery illegal for non-compliance
Current States with bills in process: WA HB2321 - 2025 -26 and NY A2228
WA Link: https://app.leg.wa.gov/BillSummary/?BillNumber=2321&Year=2025&Initiative=false
NY Link: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A2228
Will lead to existing machine to be vulnerable to follow-up legislation to be made illegal to own because of inability to become compliant

How will this impact my shop regarding the current two states should they be made into law? I will stop selling products and services to those states plain an simple without a second thought.

I am not a fan of increasing passes in being a surveillance state as our 4th Amendment rights to privacy are eroded away. Other dangers erode right to repair as companies could opt-in to join in to protect IP and then all things identical products to say - 'NOPE you can't make that.' It's never about the spirit of legislation, it's always about the technical wording that matters.

Freedoms and Privacy are easy to lose. Advocate to your legislators RESPECTFULLY about how damaging those types of laws are to your personal privacy, the every person who do hobby work with computer ran machines, and businesses that might even have to shut down because the costs to become compliant are too great - customers are ones that would foot the bill.

It's something that's being covered by a number of people. Here are two that provide a simple run down of what's going on

Can it be bypassed? Maybe - I haven't read in the documents how it impacts overseas manufacturers. That leads to the risk (which will and does happen) to having designs stolen by foreign actors with little means to protect your designs. That's something I'm not willing to do as that needlessly increases costs.

There's also WA HB2320 which is in convert with HB2321 in the guise of gun control legislation with a USA first data contraband law. Regardless of use, ability or lack there of to use, or having a file collect dust - with the dreaded "may" wording; 0's and 1's that make up your data can be used to slap you with Class C Felonies. If a file suspected of possibly being used with computer aided manufacturing regardless of it's purpose will see you to be a felon is any of it can be used to make or resemble firearms or parts for firearms. Oh - and it goes into affect immediately once it's passed with section 3 of the bill to be made active in July 2027. Link to WA HB 2320: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/?BillNumber=2320&Year=2025&Initiative=false

To my peeps in WA and NY; everyone really

Should such legislation pass in your state, I will no longer sell to your state regardless of platform and will not be able to honor any active warranties to those states due to the invasion of privacy and cost to become compliant. For that, I'm terribly sorry.

Advocate respectfully to your legislators about the negative consequences that directly impact the every day person and businesses. Customers will brunt the costs of compliance if business don't simply close their doors, unimaginable amounts of waste will be generated due to forced obsolescence brought by legislation, guilty before proven innocent due to forced privacy invasions through algorithm dependency of the every person, and further erosion of proper expectation of ones privacy protected under the 4th Amendment.

As constitutes of the sates in this country, it our duty to yell out loud what the government is doing wrong in service to us as residents and tax payers. We pay them to provide law and order. If we let them do as they want without voicing against the abuse of power, then we can't complain - I'M COMPLAINING. I'M ADVOCATING. I'M reaching out to YOU as an every day person, as someone in the maker community, as someone in manufacturing, as someone who has a small business trying to stay afloat day-to-day to add your voice to stopping dangerous legislation.

If you're active members of maker communities regardless if you reside a state looking at these kinds of bills, please spread the awareness. If the voices of the general public got the head chair of UPSTO to order a reconsideration of troll patents granted to Nintendo of America because they were something that shouldn't have been granted in the first place impacting gaming, then we can also do something about this.

If you made it this far

I hope you had snack or something; get up, stretch, hydrate, pop a squat because this was a long read, and your body needs activity now. You only have one so treat it well so it treats you well. Stay safe out there in these increasingly stressful times.

Thank you for reading. I appreciate every single one of you, and will see you next time!

Sincerely,

Pedro