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atomicpoet, to random
@atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org avatar

Often, when people see me using “old” tech, this conversation happens…

STRANGER: Why are you using that format?

ME: Because it’s cheap and plentiful and I benefit from it.

STRANGER: Why do you still use it when a superior format exists?

ME: Because this format has features that the other format doesn’t have. Also, I like it.

STRANGER: Well, I’m not going back to that old format.

ME: I’m not telling you to go back to it, I’m just telling you why I use it.

The stranger then goes away, only for another stranger to re-appear – who triggers this exact same conversation with me again.

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@atomicpoet is the old format XML?

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@atomicpoet there are a lot of things where there is no substitute for XML. Specifically it's the only standardised format that allows you to not only have comments, but also lets you parse and edit them.

stux, to random
@stux@mstdn.social avatar

They shouldn't be cheaper, the company should pay you by the hour if you're wearing a shirt with their logo in public

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@stux that's how I explain why I always remove all logos from my bikes.

Well that, and it looks cleaner.

x00001, to random
@x00001@corteximplant.com avatar

Hertz caught attention last week for how it handled a customer whom it had charged a "Skip the Pump" fee, which allows renters to pay a premium for Hertz to refill the tank for them. But of course, this customer's rented Tesla Model 3 didn't use gas — it draws power from a battery — and Hertz has a separate, flat fee for EV recharges. Nevertheless, the customer was charged $277.39 despite returning the car with the exact same charge they left with, and Hertz refused to refund it until after our story ran. It's no isolated incident either, as other customers have written in to inform us that it happened to them, too....

Some People Who Rented a Tesla from Hertz Were Still Charged for Gas: https://www.thedrive.com/news/hertz-is-charging-tesla-model-3-renter-277-fee-for-gas-wont-back-down

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@x00001 whenever I have rented an EV (in Sweden) from cogent providers, you never have to charge it before returning. It's that a thing in other places?

jannem, to random
@jannem@fosstodon.org avatar

Methinks the rainy season has started on #Okinawa .

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@jannem pretty standard here. This is what the whether forecast looks like pretty much all the time.

jeffjarvis, to random
@jeffjarvis@mastodon.social avatar

Guardrails are futile, like suggesting a printing press can be prevented from publishing lies. Generative AI is a general machine that will do what it is told. The issue is the actor. Get used to it.
AI chatbots’ safeguards can be easily bypassed, say UK researchers
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/20/ai-chatbots-safeguards-can-be-easily-bypassed-say-uk-researchers

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@jeffjarvis you are off course not wrong. But people don't know this, and keep issuing these tools as if they were able to provide reliable information. I see those articles as attempts to rectify that misinformation. Just like all journalism, they simplify, and honestly I don't know how I would be able to explain it better.

schratze, to random
@schratze@todon.nl avatar

It's so weird how many sci-fi stories will have technology that is hundreds, thousands, even ten thousands of years old and still just works, whereas in real life, it is a challenge to find 30+ year old technology that is still in an operable state

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@jens @schratze just look at the age of the B52 and how long they are planning to keep them flying.

etchedpixels, to retrocomputing
@etchedpixels@mastodon.social avatar

The elegance of the DG Nova instruction set really becomes apparent when you write emulation code for it. The entire core CPU emulation (no devices) is 250 lines of C, including comments and not even written to be small.

Nova 3 and 4 will probably add another 50-100 lines at most

#retrocomputing

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@etchedpixels Your post made me go and read the documentation for the instruction set. I found this nice summary: http://users.rcn.com/crfriend/museum/doco/DG/Nova/base-instr.html

Now, after reading it, I have one question you might be able to explain.

It says the following:

Hence, location 1 must contain the start address of the interrupt handler. When an interrupt happens, further interrupts are disabled until they are explicitly re-enabled. A return from the interrupt is performed by jumping indirectly through location zero (i.e. JMP @0).

Earlier in the document, it's explained that interrupts are enabled using the INTEN instruction, so if I read the correctly, the end of the interrupt handler should be an INTEN followed by JMP @0.

But what happens if there is another interrupt after enabling it, but before the jump is done?

Does the jmp implicitly reenable interrupts?

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@etchedpixels @0 Thanks, that explains everything. I'm not sure it would be possible to create a reliable interrupt hander without that feature.

At least I couldn't think of a reasonably straightforward way.

jannem, to sweden
@jannem@fosstodon.org avatar

There's no post offices any longer? What's going on with this place? #sweden

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@jannem You visiting Sweden? I'm going there for a week in July, and it'll be interesting to see what else have disappeared since last I was there.

ruud, to android
@ruud@mastodon.world avatar

After 15 years of using an iPhone, I'm considering switching to Android. I've ordered a cheap Samsung just to try it for a while before buying a top-end model.
Let's see if I can get used to it.

(I'm also a Mac user so there will be some trade-offs..)

I really like the Busycal iOS app, does anyone know a good #Android alternative? It syncs with my calendar & tasks on Nextcloud.

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@ruud it has one feature that even a lot of seasoned Samsung users don't know about. If you connect it to a USB-C docking station with a monitor, keyboard and mouse you get a full desktop experience where you can run your applications in windows. Or works better than you might think.

EUCommission, to random
@EUCommission@ec.social-network.europa.eu avatar

Today, we step up our enforcement actions against Microsoft.

After not having received an answer to our request for information from 14 March regarding specific risks stemming from Bing's generative AI features, Microsoft has now until 27 May to provide it or could face fines and periodic penalties.

Bing may pose risks linked to generative AI, such as so-called ‘hallucinations’, deepfakes, and the automated manipulation of services that can mislead voters.

More: https://europa.eu/!HdmDYq

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@mrtn @EUCommission I don't know if you were working in the industry a few decades ago, but let me assure you that old Microsoft was no better.

There was a time, perhaps 10 or so years ago, when they were unusually good at hiding their bad behaviour, but ever since the "letter to hobbyists" back in the very early days, Microsoft has never really strayed from their vision of being an absolutely horrible company.

loke, to random
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

So I watched the two first episodes of Andor (the Star Wars TV series).

Why were people raving about this? After two episodes there should be at least one likeable character, and I would have hoped at least something would have happened?

It may be because I have a general dislike for TV series which are not episodic. But, I get the feeling that this is something that was meant to be a movie, but the writer was told to stretch it out into a TV series. The stuff that happened in the first two episodes could have been 5 minutes.

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@lispegistus thanks, and even though your comment hints that I likely won't enjoy it, it was very helpful.

I think I should read the synopsis on Wikipedia before watching any further. If the story is actually to my liking, I'll watch more of it.

atomicpoet, to random
@atomicpoet@atomicpoet.org avatar

Today, 65 games were released on Steam. These are the games I found most interesting:

I’m grouping all these games together because they’re re-releases in the same series.

Close Combat

Close Combat 2: A Bridge Too Far

Close Combat 3: The Russian Front

Close Combat 4: The Battle of the Bulge

Close Combat 5: Invasion: Normandy - Utah Beach to Cherbourg

  • this is a World War II simulator series, originally released in the 90s, each which is a tactical RTS
  • price: individually, each game is C$7.79, but there’s currently a -15% discount at C$6.62. You can also buy all games as part of a bundle, which has a regular price of C$38.95, but there’s currrently a -43% discount, available right now at C$22.20

I’m also grouping the following games together since they’re part of the same series:

Warlords I + II

Warlords III: Darklords Rising

  • a fantasy turn-based strategy series where empires struggle for supreme power
  • price: individually, each game is C$7.79, but there’s currently a -15% discount at C$6.62. You can also buy all games as part of a bundle, which has a regular price of C$15.58, but there’s currrently a -32% discount, available right now at C$10.60

Deep Beyond

  • a first person interactive thriller about a sea explorer and the mystery of her father’s disappearance, featuring low poly cell-shaded graphics with attractive dithering
  • gamepad supporded
  • price: C$6.49, but currently discounted -15% and selling for C$5.51

SMYS : Show Me Your Stairs

  • a party game where you race your friend to build a tower to the top – with almost reverse-Tetris gameplay
  • gamepad supported
  • shared/split screen PvP and co-op
  • demo download available
  • costumes and soundtrack available as DLC
  • price: C$13.99, but currently discounted -25% and selling for C$10.49

Baladins

  • a choose-your-own adventure 2D RPG with cute paper-like graphics
  • gamepad supported
  • online and shared/split screen co-op
  • price: C$32.50, but currently discounted -10% and selling for C$29.25

MULLET MADJACK

  • a cyberpunk boomer shooter FPS with low poly graphics inspired by anime
  • gamepad supported
  • demo download available
  • artbook and soundtrack available as DLC
  • price: C$25.95, but currently discounted -10% and selling for C$23.35

Squab

  • a 2D precision platformer starring a pigeon
  • gamepad supported
  • price: C$3.89

Banana Cowboy

  • a 3D platformer starring a banana cowboy in a fruit-themed unitiverse, rescuing people from your evil twin
  • price: FREE!

Cento

  • a rogue-like deckbuilder with rhythm characteristics, featuring pixel art graphics
  • gamepad supported
  • demo download available
  • price: C$12.99, but currently discounted -10% and selling for C$11.69

Wayfarer

  • an action-adventure game where you explore labyrinthine caves, featuring low poly graphics
  • price: C$1.29

Byte Hack

  • a 2D cyberpunk puzzle platformer about hacking your way through an infected computer tower, featuring 16-bit style pixel art graphics with CRT effects
  • gamepad supported
  • demo download available
  • price: C$6.49
loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar

@atomicpoet nice. Thanks. I think I'll buy two of those.

denham, to random
@denham@aus.social avatar

Web devs who do this need their computer license revoked

loke,
@loke@functional.cafe avatar
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