Some random thoughts, but I sometimes feel there are two different and mutually exclusive strands of techno-optimism about computers. I'm referring here to people who want to use computers to liberate, not to the claim that this has already been achieved.

On one hand, what we could call the Smalltalk strand. Don't get hang up on the name: it might as well be Lisp or Unix or free software or Emacs strand. This is the most radical position, and holds that computers are 1) sui generis (their own thing), 2) and the full potential of computing is the common heritage of humanity. So this is the view of infinite customisability, of trusting that users can, should and will write their own software and tweaks.

The other version is the Apple strand: again don't get hang up on the name. This is an optimistic but less radical position that computers are universally able to substitute every other machine, but that they should behave like the machines they substitute for the sake of simplicity and ease of use. So while the Smalltalk strand looks at computers as their own special thing that brings new affordances, the Apple strand focuses on making computers useful for specific tasks, with an appropriate UI.

I think both are legitimate views. My sympathies are more with the Smalltalk strand, and I find it frustrating when it is seen as elitist or exclusionary, because our precise point is everyone can program, and that software should be optimised for modifiability. On the other hand, the Apple strand gets accused of dumbing down, which I also think is not warranted.

What I?m trying to get at is we can work on both visions, though inevitably there are points of divergence. Computers should be general purpose, flexible and customisable. People should be able to modify their own systems to suit their needs. But also, computers should be manageable and easily understood, and it should be possible for people to use them.

What's your favourite punctuation?

#FunPolls

• Semicolon (;) (36%, 22 votes)
• En dash (–) (26%, 16 votes)
• Question mark (?) (13%, 8 votes)
• Exlamation mark (!) (24%, 15 votes)

We have reached peak absurdity

#Covid #Covid19

Zitra nas ceka velky Unreleased den. Dva nove Unreleasy jejichz Unrelease oslavime vypustenim noveho webu. (driv to nejde, neb tam s nimi flexime)

Jako znamka toho, ze to s umelci myslime vazne jsme se placli pres kapsu a natocili reklamni video.

Je pekne.

Nalakame na nej Justina? Uvidime.

#music #video #art #startup

I wrote a pure python gradle wrapper this afternoon :3

github.com/obfusk/gradlew.py

(for those who prefer not to have a binary blob wrapper.jar in their repos and would like to ensure checkums match those published on gradle.org)

GitHub - obfusk/gradlew.py: gradlew.py - pure python gradle wrapper

gradlew.py - pure python gradle wrapper. Contribute to obfusk/gradlew.py development by creating an account on GitHub.

^GitHub

En unos minutos comenzará la presentación del Informe Político de Antonio Maíllo en la Coordinadora Federal de Izquierda Unida.

📌 Puedes escuchar la ponencia de comienzo del órgano en este enlace: youtube.com/live/8nLFb5FquIY

🔻Coordinadora Federal del 20 de octubre de 2024

II Coordinadora Federal de la XIII Asamblea. El Coordinador General Antonio Maíllo presenta su informe político para abrir el debate del órgano.

^YouTube

Sensitive content Click to open/close

Another listeria warning! Frozen waffles from several brands, including those sold at Target, Walmart, and Publix, may be contaminated with listeria. If you have any frozen waffles, please check if they're on this list before eating them!

cbsnews.com/news/treehouse-foo…

#FoodRecall #health #safety #USNews

Frozen waffles sold at Target, Walmart and other major retailers recalled over listeria risk

The frozen waffles, made by Treehouse Foods, were sold under store brands including Walmart's Great Value and Target's Good and Gather.

^{Aimee Picchi (CBS News)}

It's time for BEE FACTS

For every donation to this link, I will post one (1) fact about bees!

secure.actblue.com/donate/mast…

Join us!

This is a campaign for every North Carolinian, and we won't get anywhere without support from as many of our neighbors as possible.

^ActBlue

The article discusses the importance of operating systems adapting to modern hardware advancements for better performance and efficiency. It emphasizes the need for OS research and development to keep pace with hardware evolution. The speaker highlights the potential benefits of rethinking the OS-hardware relationship.

Link: usenix.org/conference/osdi21/p…
Comments: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4…

Just heard about this new terminal, Ghostty.

Seems pretty cool.

github.com/ghostty-org

youtube.com/watch?v=RGlj4dcdWg…

Patiently awaiting an invite to the beta.

Ghostty

A new terminal, started by @mitchellh 👻. Ghostty has one repository available. Follow their code on GitHub.

^GitHub

The article discusses how QUIC, a protocol designed for fast internet connections, faces performance challenges under certain conditions. Through experimental data, the authors conclude that QUIC is not optimal over fast networks and suggest potential improvements to enhance its speed and efficiency.

Link: arxiv.org/abs/2310.09423
Comments: news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4…

QUIC is not Quick Enough over Fast Internet

QUIC is expected to be a game-changer in improving web application performance. In this paper, we conduct a systematic examination of QUIC's performance over high-speed networks.

^arXiv.org

This article was published on the 10th anniversary of the article "40 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says."

And on the 20th anniversary of the article "30 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says."

And on the 30th anniversary of the article "20 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says."

And on the 40th anniversary of the article "10 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says."

And on the 15th anniversary of the article "35 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says."

And on the 13th anniversary of the article "37 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says."

And on the third anniversary of the article "47 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says."

And on the 44th anniversary of the article "Six years of tax cuts for the rich failed to tric

cbsnews.com/news/tax-cuts-rich…

50 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down, economics study says

Tax cuts for the wealthy didn't boost the economies of the U.S. and 17 other countries — but they did worsen income inequality.

^{Aimee Picchi (CBS News)}