agent-roast compares each code change before and after to catch weakened tests, skipped tests and lowered coverage gates

https://lockergnome.com/agent-roast-catches-coding-agents-weakening-tests/

#testing #CI #CodingAgents #tech #GenerativeAI

The ADM-3A terminal's 1979 manual puts cursor movement on Ctrl-H, J, K and L, the same four letters vi uses to move today

https://lockergnome.com/adm-3a-terminal-manual-ctrl-h-j-k-l-cursor-keys-vi-hjkl/

#ADM3A #vi #Vim #tech #GenerativeAI

Gizmodo quotes AOL founder Steve Case on the spending: "A lot! I don't remember the total spending but do recall in the early 1990s our target was to spend 10%" of what a customer would bring in.

The bet paid off. Wikipedia says that in 1997 about half of all US homes with Internet access had it through AOL, and that the average subscription lasted about 25 months and accounted for $350 in total revenue. A disk that cost a few dollars could win a customer who paid hundreds.

The trial is cheap for the company because many people forget.

A free trial is an acquisition cost, and you are the one who decides whether it gets paid back.

At One Point, Half the CDs Made in the World Had an AOL Logo...

AOL's former chief marketing officer says that at one point half the CDs produced worldwide had an AOL logo on them. TechCrunch quotes Jan Brandt writing "At one point, 50% of the CD's produced worldwide had an AOL logo on it," so the figure is her account, not an audited count. Mental Floss credits the mailing idea to her as well.

The disks were not cheap. TechCrunch says each floppy disk cost AOL $1.19 to make at first.

People hated the mail. Slashdot, summarizing PC World's 2007 list, said topping the list of the most annoying tech products was AOL's ubiquitous free trial CDs. Mental Floss says that by 2006 the disc campaign was being phased out as customers' online habits changed.

Free trials still run on this math. When you sign up for a streaming service, a cloud plan or an app, set a reminder for the day before the first charge, and cancel then if you are not using it.

The keys were picked to be hard to hit by accident. Wikipedia says Bradley first tried Ctrl, Alt and Esc, but found it was too easy to bump the left side of the keyboard and reboot the computer accidentally. Wikipedia says the switch to Delete made it a combination impossible to press with just one hand on the original IBM PC keyboard.

Years later Gates said it was a mistake. ABC News reported that at a Harvard event in 2013 he said "it was a mistake."

Ctrl+Alt+Del was built so a programmer would not reboot by bumping the keyboard, and Bill Gates later called it a mistake...

The three-key shortcut you use to wake a frozen PC began as a tool for the people building the first IBM PC. Mental Floss says IBM engineer David Bradley created a keyboard shortcut that triggered a system reset without the memory tests. Wikipedia says it was meant for people writing programs or documentation, so they could reboot their computers.

Mavis Beacon never existed. Millions learned to type from her. A software company made her up. Then hired a model for the face. Paid $500 for the photos. Her face sold 4 million boxes. Royalties?

#MavisBeacon #Tech #History #Typing

A 1985 Windows 1.0 pre-release build from Tulip's predecessor CompuData just landed on the Internet Archive

https://lockergnome.com/windows-1-0-1985-compudata-oem-prerelease-archive/

#Windows #RetroComputing #InternetArchive #tech #GenerativeAI

Nintendo's Wii turns 20 on November 19: $249.99 with Wii Sports in the box, against a $599 PlayStation 3

https://lockergnome.com/wii-turns-20-249-99-with-wii-sports-in-the-box-against-599-ps3/

#Wii #WiiSports #Nintendo #tech #GenerativeAI

A €40 USB-C Hub Becomes a Nintendo Switch 2 Dock After About 650 Bytes of Firmware Patches

https://lockergnome.com/usb-c-hub-nintendo-switch-2-dock-firmware-patch/

#nintendo #Switch2 #UsbC #tech #GenerativeAI

Steve Bourne wrote the Unix shell's C code with macros that turn it into Algol: IF, THEN, FI and OD in mac.h

https://lockergnome.com/unix-v7-bourne-shell-mac-h-macros/

#Unix #BourneShell #C #tech #GenerativeAI

Unix's more command exists because Berkeley students unplugged their terminals' bells

https://lockergnome.com/unix-more-pager-exists-because-berkeley-terminals-had-their-bell-speakers-unplugged/

#Unix #more #BSD #tech #GenerativeAI

United Airlines blocks unauthorized personal AI agents from booking flights, citing shared MileagePlus logins and the in-person bag check

https://lockergnome.com/united-airlines-bans-ai-agents-booking-flights-check-in/

#UnitedAirlines #AIAgents #MileagePlus #tech #GenerativeAI

Traceroute maps a network path with packets set to expire, then reads the ICMP time-exceeded reply from each router that kills one

https://lockergnome.com/traceroute-maps-routes-with-packets-set-to-expire-and-the-icmp-replies-they-trigger/

#traceroute #ICMP #TTL #tech #GenerativeAI

@ChrisPirillo
Thanks Chris. For those who haven’t seen it, there’s a great write up about the creation of VBA, by the Microsoft program manager Joel Sposky.
In that article, Joel talks through that 1-2-3 to #Excel date handling idiosyncrasy, and the super stressful face-to-face spec review of VBA he had with Bill Gates.

https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/06/16/my-first-billg-review/

A 12-year fan project puts Super Metroid's Samus, with her weapons and a Baby Metroid, inside Castlevania: Symphony of the Night's castle

https://lockergnome.com/super-metroid-samus-in-castlevania-symphony-of-the-night-fangame/

#Metroid #Castlevania #Metroidvania #tech #GenerativeAI

AFP wrote that once repairs stopped, owners were told they were on their own. When the maker walks away, a pet that runs on firmware and spare parts has nowhere to go.

If you own a gadget you love, ask now how long its maker will repair it. Save the manual and the software files while they are still online, and find an independent repair shop before the day the support ends. You will not get a notice that says the clock started.

Wikipedia says Doi told the crowd that the AIBO was a symbol of a risk-taking spirit at Sony that was now dead. A company's weird bets are the first thing to go when money gets tight, and the people who built them know it.

The real owners got a funeral too. AFP reported on a Buddhist ceremony in Japan for broken AIBOs and described it as a funeral like any other in Japan. NPR quoted the head priest, Bungen Oi, saying "All things have a bit of soul."

Owners had a reason to hold one.