Author Archives: pappp

The rule says, “No vehicles in the park”

Posted on 2023-06-23 by pappp

Source: Hacker News

Article note: This is kind of clever. It's a short quizgame that shows you how you answered relative to the majority at the end, to make a point in support of an opinion piece I mostly agree with. And the HN Bros are pedantically arguing about it, which probably means it does a good job at making its point. It would ruin the experience to say more.
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Lab-Grown Chicken Is Now Legal for Sale in the US

Posted on 2023-06-23 by pappp

Source: Hacker News

Article note: The tech isn't fully there now, but I've been hopeful about lab grown meat products (particularly, more so than non-meat meat-like products) for some time, and the FDA rules around them look sane.
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Windows NT on 600MHz machine opens apps instantly. What happened?

Posted on 2023-06-23 by pappp

Source: Hacker News

Article note: Layers upon layers upon layers of expensive cruft and abstraction. Who wants to run their desk calculator in a container that has more runtime overhead than a whole ass reasonable operating system?
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Putting out the hardware dumpster fire

Posted on 2023-06-23 by pappp

Source: Hacker News

Article note: Holistic system design is an anathema in the current culture of computing. It doesn't work with proprietary/closed systems. It requires a breadth of knowledge that is ...rare and difficult to cultivate... that requires a respect for expertise that our culture doesn't really have. It's _hard_ and _detail oriented_ in a way that the culture around computing has decided isn't worth it. It's also _almost certainly the right thing to do._
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All Electronics is Going out of Business – Everything is on Clearance

Posted on 2023-06-22 by pappp

Source: ToolGuyd

Article note: This is a huge bummer, I've bought all kinds of stuff from them over the years. Especially a bunch of quality electromechanical bits and bobs for way less than they would cost normally.
All Electronics Out of Business Sale 2023

I just received an email newsletter about All Electronics having a final clearance sale as they close the business.

All Electronics is an electronics discount store. They carry surplus parts and misc supplies, such as switches, wiring, LED modules, and more.

I first learned of the company years ago, probably through a magazine ad, and fondly remember going through their slim booklet-style catalogs.

All Electronics says:

After 56 years supplying surplus and new electronic parts and supplies, we have decided to call it quits.

They expect to fully close shop before the end of August, 2023.

Browsing All Electronics is kind of like going through a tinkerer’s spare and harvested parts rack. They’ve got a bunch of useful stuff for prototyping with, but I’d never buy parts or components to spec from there.

Most products have some basic info, but don’t expect to see a typical datasheet.

I’ll be sure to browse the store a couple more times before they close.

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Red Hat cutting back RHEL source availability

Posted on 2023-06-21 by pappp

Source: Hacker News

Article note: Hrm. The tension here is that IBM thinks the value proposition of RHEL is "Supported" and (I suspect) almost everyone else regards the value proposition of RHEL as "standard base." I think it's more likely that the "standard base" for srs bsns Linux in the markets where RHEL is the standard would rebase than IBM having any success trying to squeeze customers, and if that happens the value of "Owning RHEL" suddenly shrinks dramatically. Honestly, all it would take is the RHEL-likes like Alma and Rocky to agree on a coordination mechanism that isn't matching RHEL - could be through a major public interest like CERN, could be through an existing commercial interest like coordinating with Oracle (ew), could be via one of the several entities that does commercial support for RHEL-likes ... there are options. Oracle being a gigantic litigious parasite on society is a broader issue, and I understand regarding commercial RHEL-likes as more of a problem, but even they have been funding a lot of backport-to-LTS type work.
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Gear Patrol has acquired DPReview

Posted on 2023-06-20 by pappp

Source: Hacker News

Article note: Well, that's probably better than disappearing. At least as long as it doesn't get overrun with SEO spam sponsored link farming type shit.
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RIF developer counters Reddit CEO’s claims that he didn’t want to work with Reddit

Posted on 2023-06-16 by pappp

Source: The Verge - All Posts

Article note: Oh look, Reddit's leadership were lying about their interactions with _all_ the biggest App developers. And, from 2012 until the "Reddit is Fun" -> "RIF" renaming in 2016 they had a revenue sharing relationship that included some , which really casts doubt on the whole "never intended 3rd party apps" claim.
A landscape screenshot of rif is fun for Reddit.
A screenshot of rif is fun for Reddit. | Image: TalkLittle

On Thursday, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman told me that the developer of rif is fun for Reddit (RIF), a popular third-party Reddit app for Android, did not want to work with Reddit on the company’s planned API pricing changes. However, the developer, Andrew Shu, tells me that’s not the case — and shared emails with The Verge that appear to back him up.

During the interview, I asked Huffman if Reddit could give developers more time to implement the API changes, which Shu has already said are forcing him to shut down RIF at the end of the month. Here’s exactly what Huffman said in response (emphasis mine):

I said we are working with everybody who is willing to work with us, which includes many of the other third party apps. The three you...

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My 24 year old HP Jornada can do things an iPhone still can’t do

Posted on 2023-06-15 by pappp

Source: Hacker News

Article note: The little computers of yesteryear that you controlled instead of the other way around were so pleasing and optimistic. iPhones and Android devices are technically Unix underneath but you really have to go out of your way to run your own software or even see the filesystem. The Nokia Maemo devices (I miss you n810!) and Sharp Zaruses and hacked HPs and such that were empowering in the hands of sophisticated users instead of coercive in the hands of the mass market are a vision that didn't go great, but I'd like back. Yes, there are occasional devices like those fxtec, planet, and cosmo phones, and software workarounds like sideloading termux, but they are painfully swimming upstream.
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Effective June 7, 2026, Autodesk will no longer sell nor support EAGLE

Posted on 2023-06-13 by pappp

Source: Hacker News

Article note: I should probably look back, because when they bought it in 2016 I'm pretty sure I made a remark about ruining the standard entry level EDA tool to force people into their SaaS roach motel, and hoping KiCad or a similar foss competitor would spread into the gap. KiCad is bigger and better, and eagle is being discontinued in favor of the EDA builtins in the always online cloud attached (but still rather demanding on the local host) subscription only f360 offering, so yup.
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