UncleSlacky

1,046 karma · joined February 17, 2016

UncleSlacky··on It's a shame what's happened to radio

I quite like the "new" WKRP (in Cincinnati of course), it doesn't seem to be a corporate cookie-cutter kind of station, and it plays the kind of thing the TV version would probably play today (and they even use the same jingles):

https://www.iheart.com/live/wkrp-10724/

UncleSlacky··on Reviving a 15-year-old netbook with Arch Linux

You should run something like Void, Alpine or antiX on these. HaikuOS also runs really well on them if you don't need actual Linux.

UncleSlacky··on Linux on the Atari Jaguar

Also, honourable mention for the Sinclair QL (though it was a 68008 machine).

UncleSlacky··on WordStar: A Writer's Word Processor (1996)

https://github.com/lproven/usb-dos

"To get your work off the key, just insert the key into a computer that's already running any more modern OS than DOS."

UncleSlacky··on Linux on Older Hardware: The Complete Revival Guide

Haiku OS is a better choice. Runs great on my eeepc 701 4G with 512Mb RAM.

UncleSlacky··on Linux on Older Hardware: The Complete Revival Guide

Yes, I was surprised that MX didn't get a mention. It's great on anything with 2GB or more.

UncleSlacky··on Wolfram Language and Mathematica version 15

You can also emulate a Pi using QEMU to run Mathematica (slowly!) on other platforms, see e.g.

https://www.thelinuxvault.net/blog/how-to-run-the-raspberry-...

UncleSlacky··on A Nipkow Disk Mechanical TV Simulator

Obligatory mention for tvdawn.com, which I've just discovered has gone, but has been archived:

https://web.archive.org/web/20260413085517/https://www.tvdaw...

UncleSlacky··on Entanglement Builds Space-Time. Now "Magic" Gives It Gravity

Well, interesting things are expected to happen above the Schwinger limit:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schwinger_limit

UncleSlacky··on Testing the WWI concrete ships and WWII concrete barges

Reminds me of "pykrete" which was also a potential construction material for ships (notably aircraft carriers) proposed during WWII:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pykrete

UncleSlacky··on I hated writing–until I learned there's a science to it(2024)

Works for ChatGPT!

UncleSlacky··on I hated writing until I learned there’s a science to it (2024)

Something like Feynman's algorithm:

1. Write down the problem.

2. Think very hard.

3. Write down the solution.

UncleSlacky··on I hated writing–until I learned there's a science to it(2024)

It's essentially saying that you start with an outline, then progressively fill in the sections, iterating and providing more detail at each iteration. I do something similar, which is why I prefer to work in outline mode (e.g. in MS Word) as it is the most flexible and "minimalist" mode for structured writing.

UncleSlacky··on Mini Micro Fantasy Computer

Sounds like Scratch:

https://scratch.mit.edu/

UncleSlacky··on Mini Micro Fantasy Computer

You could just use RISC OS on the PI for BBC Basic.

UncleSlacky··on Ask HN: Why didn't the C64 come with Simons' BASIC in the box from 1983 onward?

Wasn't it because Jack Tramiel was too cheap and just wanted to make use of his existing MS BASIC licence?

UncleSlacky··on Time to talk about my writerdeck

Fonts are generally included in DOS applications, but the point of a "writerdeck" is to be distraction-free, hence no need for wifi.

UncleSlacky··on Time to talk about my writerdeck

Why not just use DOS? e.g.:

https://github.com/lproven/usb-dos

At least the laptops that can still run DOS natively tend to have fairly good keyboards...

UncleSlacky··on Lost Images from the 1945 Trinity Nuclear Test Restored

"MOISTURISE ME!"

UncleSlacky··on An Apple (II) for Teacher

They might be thinking of the Bell+Howell clone:

https://www.oldcomputers.net/bellandhowell.html

https://dfarq.homeip.net/the-bell-and-howell-apple-ii/

UncleSlacky··on How to make your text look futuristic (2016)

Not to forget the Orion Pictures logo:

https://logos.fandom.com/wiki/Orion_Pictures

UncleSlacky··on David Attenborough's 100th Birthday

You're not thinking fourth-dimensionally!

UncleSlacky··on We still don't have a more precise value for "Big G"

It's also a notoriously difficult experiment to perform. When I did it at university, the value of G I got was out by an order of magnitude - and that was considered a good result!

UncleSlacky··on I bought Friendster for $30k – Here's what I'm doing with it

Maybe you could get together with the SpaceHey guy:

https://spacehey.com

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25245740

UncleSlacky··on Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln in the same photo (2010)

Here's the link mentioned in the article:

https://web.archive.org/web/20090107061334/http://www.americ...

Apparently she was 4 at the time and lived next door:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Roosevelt#Childhood

UncleSlacky··on Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln in the same photo (2010)

Presumably Cornelius Roosevelt.

UncleSlacky··on Fixing a 20-year-old bug in Enlightenment E16