Author Archives: pappp

I Wrote This on a 30-Year-Old Computer – and It Was Awesome

Source: Hacker News

Article note: Several of the things I hammer on, wrapped up in a fun retro-computing package. Ubiquitous computing is not a good thing - though I don't take the problem as "continuous" like the author implies, but "without consideration or control." Simpler tools are usually better, from systems to editors. Pay attention to the ergonomics of that thing you spend most of the day in front of (which, on the other hand, weakens the screen size and resolution point). and, as always, as Alan Kay puts it "The lack of interest, the disdain for history is what makes computing not-quite-a-field. "
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The touchscreen infotainment systems in new cars are a distracting mess

Source: OSNews

Article note: Touchscreens are a disaster, but it's especially obvious in cars. Predictable, learn-able (deep knowledge-in-the-hand learnable), controls with haptic feedback that never change out from under you because of subtle context? Why would we want those? /s

When I’m in charge of a car company, we’re going to have one strict rule about interior design: make it so it doesn’t cause you to crash the car. You’d think this would already be in effect everywhere, but no. Ever since the arrival of the iPhone, car designers have aspired to replicate that sleek, glassy aesthetic within the cabin. And it never works, because you tend to look at a phone while you use it. In a car, you have this other thing you should be looking at, out there, beyond the high-resolution panoramic screen that separates your face from the splattering june bugs. If a designer came to me with a bunch of screens, touch pads, or voice-activated haptic-palm-pad gesture controls, I’d trigger a trapdoor that caused the offender to plummet down into the driver’s seat of a Cadillac fitted with the first version of the CUE system—which incorporated a motion sensor that would actually change the screen as your finger approached it. And I’d trigger my trapdoor by turning a knob. I wouldn’t even have to look at it. I couldn’t agree more. One of the things I dread about ever replacing my 2009 Volvo S80 are these crappy touchscreens that are added to every car these days, often of dubious quality, with no regard to user interface design or driver safety. For instance, I don’t want to take my eyes off the road just to adjust the temperature of the climate control – there should be a big, easy to find knob within arm’s reach. This just seems extremely unsafe to me.

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‘Collection of Mana’ brings classic action RPGs to Switch

Source: Engadget

Article note: OOooh, a real English release of Seiken Densetsu 3 branded as "Trials of Mana" (which, played in fan-translation, was one of my favorite JRPGs, just because of it's interesting party, class, and menu systems). One more reason I need to ~~not~~ have a Switch to sink time into.
Square Enix's RPG nostalgia isn't just limited to revamping Final Fantasy games. The developer is releasing Collection of Mana, a bundle of the first three games in the Mana series, on the Nintendo Switch later on June 11th (that's today, if you're r...
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Apple is making corporate ‘BYOD’ programs less invasive to user privacy

Source: Hacker News

Article note: I can't believe people do BYOD employer-managed phones. I understand cost and only-carrying-one-device aspects, but unless there are really, really good privilege separations between the personal and managed, that's insane. Users and work profiles on Android make things a _little_ less absurd, but the general wisdom seems like it should be "If you want me to carry a leash, you can pay for it."
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The US Government’s Database of Traveler Photos Has Been Compromised, CBP Says

Source: Hacker News

Article note: Of course.
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Maker Faire halts operations and lays off all staff

Source: Hacker News

Article note: Taking VC with the assumption of infinite, unsustainable growth kills all things that do a good job filling a niche.
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Aneng AN8009 DMM with Hacks

Aneng AN8009 DMM

I just picked up an Aneng AN8009 DMM as an upgrade to the cheap, cheap (but surprisingly OK) Circuit Specialists branded MY-68 I’ve had as my home on-desk approxometer for ages. It’s a nice meter for $30ish, and can be readily hacked to improve its performance. I tend to point people to mid-range Uni-T DMMs when they asked for decent hobby meters, but now I might switch to one of these plus one of those little $10 Atmega328 based component testers cloned everywhere for ~$10 as basic electronics lab instruments.

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Schools Are Deploying Digital Surveillance Systems. The Results Are Alarming

Source: Hacker News

Article note: That is some creepy fuckin' shit we are acclimatizing students to for dubious benefit. It seems like something ripe for civil disobedience DDOS campaigns...
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What does $9bn buy you? For Infineon, a Cypress hill of California semis

Source: The Register

Article note: The drumbeat of semiconductor consolidation continues. I know people at Cypress and UK has a bunch of relationships with the local office, so this one is closer than usual.

Mega-chips ahoy: German chip biz takes over piece of US real estate

Munich-based Infineon has said it will cough €9bn for California's Cypress Semiconductor.…

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Behavioral Ad Targeting Not Paying Off for Publishers, Study Suggests

Source: Hacker News

Article note: Article suggests "There is no pony in your pile of shit," please stop surveilling and storing. Stop using the "value" to justify and enable surveillance. Also, die.
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