RE: https://oldbytes.space/@alexshendi/117474755790586580

You might want to get in on this one @thegibson

LOAD "ESCHATON",8,1

#fnord

I'll repeat it again and loudly for the people in the back of the room: just because someone doesn't know what you're outraged about and asks for sources so they can form their own opinion doesn't necessarily mean they're acting in bad faith. It is 2026. The Internet is full of disinformation and other people acting in bad faith. Search engines deliver increasingly bad results that are full of slop.

Giving help to someone who asks for context and sources is a kindness. Name calling and sarcasm, even if they are acting in bad faith, is not the way.

And... blocking folks who are asking you to be polite is never a good look.

@vga256 we played this as a fun break while getting training at a call center in 1995. We were getting hyped about this new operating system coming out that year.

The other distributing thing about the success of Linux is that people now think of open source as this magical wishing well where loud complaints turn into features and fixes.

Look at the board of the Linux foundation. There was a time where Microsoft was one of the largest contributors to the kernel.

Linux has the power of big tech, with an industry built around it and dependant on it. Linux, like the PC clone, slipped through a crack that the industry has been closing for the last 4 decades.

Linux has tons of paid development because it runs the Internet by and large. Your favorite open source project does not have the might of big tech behind it.

Bear this in mind before you go on a rant about how people aren't trying hard enough to make the software you want to see work.

It bothers me that people forget that Linux's success has significant help from a combination of external events:

• PC clones
• AT&T / BSD lawsuits
• Microsoft antitrust suits
• Microsoft and IBM infighting (OS/2 and "Nextgen" OS development)
• HURD languishing, but GNU had solid build tools and libraries.

Now look at the state of getting an "Open Source" phone. I'm reminded of internal memos that came out where Bill Gates was wanted to lock open source out of ACPI: https://www.osnews.com/story/17689/bill-gates-on-making-acpi-not-work-with-linux/

Big tech has a vested interest in keeping their stuff closed off and beyond the skills and time available to volunteers.

Holy moly Matt Damon is in 30% of the top ten Apple TV movies. That's just wild.

And... Yeah here that shit is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topper_(TV_series)

Now, it was ancient when I saw it. That channel was also running Star Trek ToS in reruns if I'm remembering right.

Now I look at the wiki for this and see it only ran for two seasons and... holy shitballs... 78 episodes. I'm guessing this is before the industry unionized.

I'm disappointed to hear that one of the smartest people I've run into on the fedi, as well as one of the nicest, got laid off today.

There's so much free floating talent out there. It feels like we should all band together and, idk, topple the technocracy. Just spit balling, at random or course.

Growing up there were three mainstream channels, PBS, and whatever local freakshows operated in UHF. this phenomenon was the premise for Weird Al's movie of the same name.

For those who didn't know, the V and U stand for Very and Ultra High Frequency. When Fox muscled into the market they took over it local channel 50. I would stay up past my bedtime to watch an oldies show that had Mr. Ed and Topper. The host would rant about how much he hated Topper.

For those who remember...

VHF in the streets, UHF in the sheets.

I'll close out today with this:

The death of user replaceable, non proprietary batteries (or their rarity) is the biggest insult to consumers and the environment.

The laws against planned obsolescence should absolutely apply. We have landfills of toxic detrius that could still be useful.

Dang it I'm probably going to have to make a RPi AP and proxy for this little monster.

I should not be surprised that setting up sync between a palm pilot that could buy beer in the US and a modern Linux.

Tools I'm fighting:

• Palm T|X
• kpilot
• Fedora 44

I may still have a working T|X config on my Thelio, but I'm really trying to make this laptop my stunt rig.

I love this because there's no simple Google/AI solve on a lot of this.

All the video footage guts me. I remember most of this shit going down in living memory and you'll have to forgive the rhetorical (and caps) but...

WHAT THE FUCK is wrong with humanity?!?!

Do you want a crash course on 80s history? Watch this video (the song rocks AND predates "Come As You Are")

#music #80s #wedidntStartTheFire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1U1Ue_5kq8

LOAD "ESCHATON",8,1

#fnord

So yeah, uh. Thanks for coming to my unintentional solar/perma/retro computing rant? I know I'm not breaking new ground here, which is the point on so many levels.

In short:

1. It's fun to see what you can do with scarcity
2. In computing and consumer electronics it can free us from the planned obsolescence cycle.

Be resilient because as much as we've been lead to believe otherwise, technology is difficult, and supply chains and greed are making it harder.

(3/3)

These kind of headlines draw me back to my array of retro and retro future gadgets.

I am reminded of training in martial arts or sports, or the privations of monks: self development through intentional difficulty - loosely "shugyo".

I'm going to continue using my Palm Pilot. I'm going to start journaling on my C64. I'm sure you can think of ONE thing leverage modern tech for that something that doesn't lock you into an upgrade/obsolescence pattern.

Many of us came from an era where we took machines that shouldn't be able to do amazing things and really innovated.

We need to embrace the elegance and power of working within arbitrary limits so that when we are forced to, we not only survive but thrive.

(2/x)

Eight months ago I did all my RAM and phone upgrades. Based on what I was reading and seeing at the time, it seemed things might get bad.

I had no idea HOW bad, but if some idiot mid level system engineer in Kansas could see it coming:

1. Why are we seeing industry leaders and tech pundits acting surprised? They have the numbers, projections, and a better data set in general.
2. Knowing that this would be a problem that could accelerate inflation and market instability, why didn't any of them sound the alarm and slow down?

Greed. It's all greed and selfishness.

(1/x)