Cory Doctorow
boosted
I've been reading about and by necessity mucking about with UEFI boot-related matters the past while as I get settled with Linux, reorganize partitions, etc., which led eventually to this – a sobering & still-topical read on the hardware/firmware-level erosion of your privacy and control of your own IT:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/18/descartes-delenda-est/#self-destruct-sequence-initiated
More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFI#Secure_Boot_criticism
I've been reading about and by necessity mucking about with UEFI boot-related matters the past while as I get settled with Linux, reorganize partitions, etc., which led eventually to this – a sobering & still-topical read on the hardware/firmware-level erosion of your privacy and control of your own IT:
https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/18/descartes-delenda-est/#self-destruct-sequence-initiated
More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFI#Secure_Boot_criticism
Cory Doctorow
and 1 other
boosted
Rest in peace, Rebecca Heineman. I wish I had known you more than just as a fan.
#RebeccaHeineman #AppleII #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #vintageapple #Apple #RIP #computing #gaming #retrogaming #retrogames
Rest in peace, Rebecca Heineman. I wish I had known you more than just as a fan.
#RebeccaHeineman #AppleII #vintagecomputing #retrocomputing #vintageapple #Apple #RIP #computing #gaming #retrogaming #retrogames
Azure hit by 15 Tbps DDoS attack using 500k IP addresses
#HackerNews #Azure #DDoS #Attack #15Tbps #Cybersecurity #Cloud #Computing #Tech #News
Charlie Stross
boosted
@cstross @skjeggtroll Moore’s Law is dead for now. I did a study a few years ago to look at what is happening and will happen in microprocessors. Short story is that traditional processor architecture is hitting end of life. Feature sizes are so small now that quantum effects are a significant factor. High speed and small size also means we are up against a thermal barrier as well. Clever approaches with System-On-a-Chip ( #SOA), 3D stacking, maybe Processor-In-Memory ( #PIM) and distributed multiprocessing will squeeze out more progress for maybe a decade. After that comes the next computing revolution — a shift to non-Von Neumann #computing. #Quantum has the spotlight because that’s the really big win, but there are other approaches that are likely to be commercially viable before quantum is mature. I’m optimistic about the tech, less so about the rate of adoption and change that will be required, especially if the most talented early- career computer scientists and engineers keep chasing the associative/statistical methods that include LLMs.
@skjeggtroll Of course it will. It's the consequence of the taper-off of Moore's Law rippling through the consequential supply chain it propped up for 50 years, ie. semiconductor products reliably doubling in performance every 18 months. That's now slowed to a trickle and they're squeezing the last drops out of the toothpaste tube of optimistic investors:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiconductor_device_fabrication#Feature_size
@cstross @skjeggtroll Moore’s Law is dead for now. I did a study a few years ago to look at what is happening and will happen in microprocessors. Short story is that traditional processor architecture is hitting end of life. Feature sizes are so small now that quantum effects are a significant factor. High speed and small size also means we are up against a thermal barrier as well. Clever approaches with System-On-a-Chip ( #SOA), 3D stacking, maybe Processor-In-Memory ( #PIM) and distributed multiprocessing will squeeze out more progress for maybe a decade. After that comes the next computing revolution — a shift to non-Von Neumann #computing. #Quantum has the spotlight because that’s the really big win, but there are other approaches that are likely to be commercially viable before quantum is mature. I’m optimistic about the tech, less so about the rate of adoption and change that will be required, especially if the most talented early- career computer scientists and engineers keep chasing the associative/statistical methods that include LLMs.
FPGA Based IBM-PC-XT
https://bit-hack.net/2025/11/10/fpga-based-ibm-pc-xt/
#HackerNews #FPGA #IBM #PC #XT #Retro #Computing #Hardware #Innovation
Stefano Marinelli
boosted
Just wild. While cleaning out a university basement, staff found a tape of what's believed to be the only remaining copy of Bell Labs #Unix v4 from 1973.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/07/unix_fourth_edition_tape_rediscovered/
Sabrina Web :privacypride: 📎
boosted
Maybe we need to update #RTFM. Actual manuals are rare beasts these days. You’re more likely to find the information you need online, whether it’s in the form of PDF datasheets, forum posts or Git gists.
It should really be RTFAI, in which the AI isn’t what you think but stands for ‘Available Information’. But that’s a bit of a mouthful, so perhaps just RTFI. Or we could just say ‘Read’, followed (if you feel strongly about it) by FFS. RFFS?
Michał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦
boosted
Sunday Trivia Question:
What is this object? 🤔
Describe it's cultural importance in the history of computing 😌🤷♂️
Maybe we need to update #RTFM. Actual manuals are rare beasts these days. You’re more likely to find the information you need online, whether it’s in the form of PDF datasheets, forum posts or Git gists.
It should really be RTFAI, in which the AI isn’t what you think but stands for ‘Available Information’. But that’s a bit of a mouthful, so perhaps just RTFI. Or we could just say ‘Read’, followed (if you feel strongly about it) by FFS. RFFS?
Sunday Trivia Question:
What is this object? 🤔
Describe it's cultural importance in the history of computing 😌🤷♂️
alcinnz
boosted
🖱️ Building like it's 1984: Scrollbars in web applications
https://web.archive.org/web/20250110081649/https://height.app/blog/scrollbars-in-web-applications
#scrollbars #ux #ui #computing #software #gui #hci #programming
Just wild. While cleaning out a university basement, staff found a tape of what's believed to be the only remaining copy of Bell Labs #Unix v4 from 1973.
https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/07/unix_fourth_edition_tape_rediscovered/
🖱️ Building like it's 1984: Scrollbars in web applications
https://web.archive.org/web/20250110081649/https://height.app/blog/scrollbars-in-web-applications
#scrollbars #ux #ui #computing #software #gui #hci #programming
52 Year old data tape could contain Unix history
https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/07/unix_fourth_edition_tape_rediscovered/
#HackerNews #UnixHistory #DataTape #Rediscovered #TechNews #Computing #Archives
#OpenAI Signs $38 Billion #Cloud Computing Deal With #Amazon
After signing agreements to use computing power from #Nvidia, #AMD & #Oracle, OpenAI is teaming up with the world’s largest cloud computing company.
#tech #AI #law #antitrust #technocracy #plutocracy
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/technology/openai-amazon-cloud-computing.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
After signing deals to buy hundreds of billions of dollars in computing power from the chipmakers #Nvidia & #AMD & the #cloud #computing company #Oracle, #OpenAI has reached a multibillion-dollar agreement with #Amazon.
OpenAI said on Monday that it had agreed to purchase $38 billion in cloud computing services from Amazon over the next 7 years. The additional computing power will help OpenAI build & deploy its #ArtificialIntelligence technologies, including the #ChatGPT #chatbot.
#tech #AI #law