linguae

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121.
by linguae 10mo ago
Assuming this post is real (it’s a screenshot, not a link), I wonder if Rob Pike has retired from Google? I share these sentiments. I’m not opposed to large language models per se, but I’m growing increasingly resentful of the power that B
122.
Words Matter: Alternatives for Charged Terminology in the Computing Profession(acm.org)
1 points by linguae 10mo ago|8 comments
123.
by linguae 10mo ago
As a fan of older Macs, I didn't know there were any 64-bit PowerPC chips made after the Power Mac G5 and the Cell processors used in the XBox 360 and PlayStation 3. This is cool; it would be cool to play with a modern, hobbyist 64-bit
124.
by linguae 10mo ago
Some honorable mentions: 1. Lotus 1-2-3 for MS-DOS 2. WordPerfect for MS-DOS, especially version 5.1 3. Aldus PageMaker, which predates Photoshop 1.0. It jumpstarted the desktop publishing revolution, and it also arguably saved the Appl
125.
by linguae 10mo ago
Security and upselling are orthogonal; I can make a secure operating system that doesn’t notify the user of OneDrive, iCloud, and other services. Things get more nuanced when we talk about other types of notifications and about whether upda
126.
by linguae 10mo ago
I miss the days when personal computers were simply tools, akin to pencils and handheld calculators. I remember the days of Macintosh System 7 and Windows 95. No upselling services. No automatic updates. No nagging. You turned your com
127.
by linguae 10mo ago
I feel a major shift happened in the 2010s. The tech industry became less about making the world a better place through technology, and more about how to best leverage power to make as much money as possible, making a world a better place
128.
by linguae 10mo ago
Is it dead because people don’t want the desktop, or is it dead because Big Tech won’t invest in the desktop beyond what’s necessary for their business? Whether intentional or not, it seems like the trend is increasingly locked-down devices
129.
by linguae 10mo ago
I enjoyed this talk, and I want to learn more about the concept of “learning loops” for interface design. Personally, I wish there were a champion of desktop usability like how Apple was in the 1980s and 1990s. I feel that Microsoft, Appl
130.
by linguae 10mo ago
Some job positions are so competitive to get that a candidate with good data structures and algorithms skills but who hasn’t seen a specific LeetCode problem before and needs to solve it on the spot may lose out to a candidate who “grinded
131.
by linguae 10mo ago
I wonder if part of the problem is the lack of color in these examples? I remember Microsoft Office 97 and 2000, which had icons in their menus (albeit only for a few actions, not for every action). However, those icons were colored and a
132.
by linguae 10mo ago
I believe Microsoft Office 97 for Windows was the first time I saw icons next to menu items. Office 97 had highly customizable menus and toolbars. Each menu item and toolbar item could be thought of as an action with an icon and a label,
133.
by linguae 10mo ago
Having an iBook or a PowerBook with Mac OS X was a big deal at a time when driver support for Linux was less commonplace than it is today. Even today there are driver issues with Linux on some laptops. Part of the reason I bought a Core Du
134.
by linguae 10mo ago
On the flipside, there were the days of the Power Macintosh 6100, 7500, 8500, 9600, and other models. It’s very easy to look up different models using these names, and there was also logic to the naming scheme, but it was confusing for peo
135.
by linguae 10mo ago
It's not just you; I would also love a modern ThinkPad x220. I have a Framework 13 and I enjoy it, though I wish it had better battery life. The perfect laptop for me would be my Framework 13 with a classic ThinkPad keyboard.
136.
by linguae 10mo ago
I’ve taken graduate-level courses in databases, including one on DBMS implementations and another on large-scale distributed systems, and I also spent two summers at Google working on Cloud SQL and Spanner. Database research goes further th
137.
by linguae 10mo ago
I sympathize, but I feel compelled to point out that the parent didn’t say that the interface had to look like a contemporary desktop. In my opinion, I believe the Tiny Core Linux GUI could use some more refinement. It seems inspired by 90
138.
by linguae 10mo ago
This is a good video comparing the Apple Lisa to the Xerox Star: https://youtu.be/pBiWtJJN5zk
139.
by linguae 10mo ago
I'm not the parent poster, but in my experience it depends on the location. I live in the Bay Area. We had Fry's Electronics before it closed, and when Fry's closed I shifted to Central Computers. We finally have a Micro C
140.
by linguae 10mo ago
Exactly! Apple wouldn't have existed without access to the MOS 6502 and other electronics, which allowed Woz to carry out his dream of building a personal computer. Microsoft might not have existed without the Altair 8800. Many 1990
141.
by linguae 10mo ago
Even the hand-me-down situation has been changing. I remember in the 2010s being able to shop at Weird Stuff in Sunnyvale, which was a treasure trove of old enterprise equipment, a heavenly place for a retrocomputing enthusiast like me. I
142.
by linguae 10mo ago
I'm sad. I'm a software guy, not much of a hardware expert, so please bear with me if I"m too pessimistic. However, I feel that if trends like this continue, it might be the end of enthusiast-level personal computing as we
143.
by linguae 10mo ago
My initial thought was that I wanted someone like Bruce Tognazzini or Don Norman to return, but then I looked up their ages; the former is 80 and the latter is in his 90s. They’re probably enjoying their retirements. As a long-time Mac use
144.
by linguae 10mo ago
As much as I love Jobs-era Mac OS X, particularly Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard, I wholeheartedly agree with you: there’s something about the classic Mac OS and its ecosystem of applications that felt truly like “a computer for the rest
145.
by linguae 10mo ago
I concur. I have a Framework 13 I use as my personal laptop and a work-issued M3 MacBook Pro. While I love the freedom that my Framework 13 provides in terms of user serviceability and operating system choice, the MacBook Pro feels more p
146.
by linguae 10mo ago
This isn’t the first time Apple’s been in this situation. The first PowerPC Mac was released in 1994, but core elements of the classic Mac OS remained written for the Motorola 68000. Pink/Taligent and Copland never panned out. It to
147.
by linguae 10mo ago
Apple’s reputation for user-friendly software comes from the 1980s, when Windows was very primitive and when the Mac’s biggest competitor was MS-DOS, which was never known for user-friendliness. To be fair to Apple, Apple worked very hard
148.
by linguae 10mo ago
It’s sad to see the one area of life that has long resisted inflation (computing) now succumb to inflationary forces. Other than emergency situations such as COVID-19, I’m used to seeing prices going down over time for computers and thei
149.
by linguae 10mo ago
I agree with you. The problem is that many young Americans for the past 30+ years has been told that a bachelor’s degree is the prerequisite for a job that pays well enough to afford a middle class lifestyle, which I’ll define as being able
150.
by linguae 10mo ago
I’d feel better about not recommending college for everybody if our high schools were more rigorous. I personally feel that the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate curricula should be the minimum for high schoolers to gradua

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