* Posts by bolangi

15 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Jul 2022

The most important experimental distro you've never heard of gets new project lead

bolangi

Great design, needs critical mass of users

I've fooled around with Gobo. While it's got a neat design, without a critical mass of users, the project is lacking manpower to keep compile instructions for thousands of popular software packages ("recipes") up to date. Any smaller distribution its own packaging system will have this issue.

Genetic data repo OpenSNP to self-destruct before authoritarians weaponize it

bolangi

Somehow I think authoritarian governments *will" end up with the data. Is there a betting pool on this?

bolangi

Somehow I think authoritarian governments *will" end up with the data.

Blood boffins build billions of nanobots to battle brain aneurysms without surgery

bolangi

Self assembling nanobots already tested in humans?

A peer-reviewed article reports finding evidence: Real-Time Self-Assembly of Stereomicroscopically Visible Artificial Constructions in Incubated Specimens of mRNA Products Mainly from Pfizer and Moderna: A Comprehensive Longitudinal Study

However the structures were micrometers in scale rather than the nanometer scale mentioned by the blood boffins above.

Sacramento airport goes no-fly after AT&T internet cable snipped

bolangi

All it takes is someone with an angle grinder

with the curiosity and time needed to locate vulnerable conduits.

Starting over: Rebooting the OS stack for fun and profit

bolangi

Eumel/Elan, developed by Jochen Liedke of L4 fame

Eumel was the OS, Elan the language.

"The dream is a machine where you can just pull the plug and when you plug it back in, it picks up exactly where it left off."

Eumel was close to that. Paging to the backing store (disk) was managed by the OS. There was no C compiler. No concept of writing a file to disk. Concepts Liedke explored in Eumel led to the L3 OS and L4 family of microkernels, one of the latter being used in billions of cell phones.

AI flips the script on fingerprint lore – maybe they're not so unique after all

bolangi

There is no peer reviewed science of fingerprint forensics

Experts brought into court to compare fingerprints only compare a small set of features. By simplifying the way prints are compared, finding a match is also greatly facilitated. People have been convicted on the basis of a small part of a fingerprint, when the expert stands before the jury and solemnly declares that this small trapezoid matches that one, demonstrating, in the expert's experience, that the committer of the crime and the possessor of the finger are one and the same person.

Debian preps ground to drop 32-bit x86 as separate edition

bolangi

Re: Good thing too

> If you are still using a machine of that vintage for any other reason, chances are that you will do the environment a favour by replacing it with a more modern machine that will consume far less power to do the same job...

Ah, no. Most of the power consumed by CPUs during their lifetime is spent in manufacture. The longer you keep running old devices, the more energy you save.

How to deorbit the Chromebook... and repurpose it for innovators

bolangi

I installed debian on a chromebook for my dad

This was years ago, btw. It was tricky installing, and every boot came up with a choice that would exit developer mode, erasing your hard work in the process. He used it for a few years till one day he hit the wrong button and debian was defenestrated.

ASML caught in Dutch oven with China export restrictions

bolangi

I remember the good old days...

...when the refrain was "free trade, trade liberalization, we must have free trade."

Linus Torvalds to be 'more hard-nosed' as Linux 6.2 merge window meets Christmas

bolangi

Amazing how Linus has grown from a coder into a manager. Some criticize, but I like his acerbic wit.

bolangi

Amazing how Linus has grown from a coder into a manager. Hope he continues to express his acerbic wit!

Parody Elon Musk Twitter accounts will be suspended immediately, says Elon Musk

bolangi

Elon should read the Onion's brief to the Supreme Court on parody

Parody has a long history and should be protected, it argues here: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22-293/242292/20221003125252896_35295545_1-22.10.03%20-%20Novak-Parma%20-%20Onion%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf

Micro molten salt reactor can fit on a truck, power 1k homes. When it's built

bolangi

This is the loop that contains the fissioning uranium fuel that powers the reactor.

It seems doubtful that there is a system for removing all the daughter products.

How will it generate electric power? It will pass the heat off to a steam turbine which is not included in the 40' shipping container.

US EV drivers won't be able to choose vehicle safety alert sounds

bolangi

I like the idea of using African drumming loops as a warning sound / speed indicator. Faster drumming would indicate higher speeds, musical yet reminiscent of IC engine sound. So, yes, would like to be able to configure this.