jonjacky

7 ms·

61.
by jonjacky 8mo ago
It wasn't a coincidence, or an accident. C was specifically designed to write Unix, by people who had experience with a lot of other computer languages, and had programmed other operating systems including Multics and some earlier ve
62.
by jonjacky 8mo ago
It's not the number of actions, it's because the slide rule is analog and physical . The smaller numbers are to the left, the larger to the right, and you have to slide the rule to the first number, then the hairline cursor to
63.
by jonjacky 8mo ago
Yes. I don't recall doing this, though. Maybe because in scientific and engineering calculations we often worked in scientific notation so 'digits to the left of the decimal point' wasn't meaningful - we had to keep t
64.
by jonjacky 8mo ago
With a slide rule you always have to estimate the expected answer in your head before you begin any calculation. So you develop a feel for how quantities scale with multiplication. With a slide rule you can only multiply the significant di
65.
by jonjacky 8mo ago
I followed the original post to the project at https://historical-moviemap.inneuro.ai/ It's a fascinating idea and the web site looks very nice. BUT it isn't clear how to use it. How do I see what the movies ar
66.
by jonjacky 8mo ago
Previously on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45525804
67.
by jonjacky 8mo ago
In addition to the code, the README here is exceptionally well done. It distinguishes this from many other learning projects.
68.
by jonjacky 8mo ago
> we can't reject progress "progress" is a loaded term, it carries connotations of good. Not everything from the tech industry is an example of progress. I agree with the authors of the linked article that programs des
69.
by jonjacky 8mo ago
Right, the linked article clearly and vehemently opposes AI chat technology. It says: "Clergy and laymen alike must become aware of the threat that AI poses and take steps to minimize or eliminate its use." And even s
70.
by jonjacky 9mo ago
Here is another page about Ivrea, with some history and many many large photos: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/ivrea-industrial-cit...
71.
by jonjacky 9mo ago
Back in the 1950s Olivetti was famous for its striking, modernist showrooms, with typewriters and calculators displayed on pedestals like works of art. It's been said that they inspired the Apple stores. https://www.archdail
72.
by jonjacky 9mo ago
See also Rogaway's Moral Character of Cryptographic Work [0], which is a more technical talk for an audience of cryptography researchers. It's been noted several times on HN, most recently in 2023 with 56 comments [1] and in 201
73.
by jonjacky 9mo ago
Its low cost and being completely self-contained made the KIM-1 unique among the 6502 computers of the 1970s. It was a small fraction of the cost of an Apple, Pet, Atari etc. which made it practical to build into an embedded controller a
74.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
I, too, made something similar in Python -- but simpler and less polished: https://jon-jacky.github.io/FLiP/www/ https://github.com/jon-jacky/FLiP/
75.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
Oh sure, he might have made several, or many, drafts on scratch paper. But even then it is impressive. Many of these are around 12 pages of hand written text and math in ink with no corrections -- he famously used a Mont Blanc fountai
76.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
Many of these EWD notes are hand written with a lot of mathematical notation, and no corrections . For example: https://www.cs.utexas.edu/~EWD/ewd10xx/EWD1063.PDF I am reminded of Salieri's reaction to Mo
77.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
I look forward to the blog post.
78.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
It looks like these are notes for a research project leading to a paper, a thesis, or even a book. Is there any more information about that?
79.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
Possibly of interest: 'Linux kernel MicroPython port', last updated four years ago. https://github.com/Jongy/micropython/tree/linux-kernel/ports... https://medium.com/@yon.golds
80.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
This makes me sad because I recall seeing many of these at the late lamented Living Computer Museum in Seattle. Here we see its collection being auctioned off piecemeal. The back story is here: https://news.ycombinator.com&#x2
81.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
A surprise, from the README: "HiRTOS is formally specified using the Z notation. The Z specification can be found here [link]." I used Z years ago. I haven't seen any new work in Z for many years -- but the linked specificat
82.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
This same author's Aquinas OS also looks interesting -- although it is not in Latin. https://github.com/farant/aquinas
83.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
Very impressive - there is a lot of work here! But why? They explain it in docs/latina.h.md | In include
84.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
Thanks! -- Jon
85.
by jonjacky 10mo ago
I understand that they had access to other computer culture, too ... some of the nonsense noises that Dr. Memory makes as Clem hacks into the backend of the ‘President’ are terms that come from the DEC PDP-10 ... Around 1970, the Firesign
86.
by jonjacky 11mo ago
Severo Ornstein called his memoir of the 1950s - 1970s Computing in the Middle Ages . Ornstein worked on SAGE, TX-2, LINC, and the Arpanet IMP among other things, before moving on to Xerox PARC. https://worrydream.com/refs
87.
by jonjacky 11mo ago
Coetzee writes a bit about his early programming career in his autobiographical novel Youth . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Youth:_Scenes_from_Provincial_...
88.
by jonjacky 11mo ago
CuBit is another operating system in SPARK/Ada. 1. https://blog.adacore.com/cubit-a-general-purpose-operating-s... 2. https://github.com/docandrew/CuBit
89.
by jonjacky 11mo ago
Story idea: on one of his many cross-country drives to Los Alamos, von Neumann stops into a remote diner out West where he runs into ... Kerouac and the others on one of their On The Road journeys! They get to talking, and von Neumann tel
90.
by jonjacky 11mo ago
There is Wirth and Gutknecht's Oberon System. It's still available but is older than Visopsys -- it was created around 1990, then updated in 2013. I think it's now considered an historical artifact. https://ww

More ›