Posts by Uncle Slacky

The 'End of 10' is nigh, but don't bury your PC just yet

Re: Not obsolete if you monotask singlemedia

Yes, I ran it for a while (though I prefer Exe GNU/Linux for my Trinity needs as it doesn't have systemd) - I think it may have been one of the ones that didn't get on with my BIOS.

Re: Not obsolete if you monotask singlemedia

Yes, I ran Alpine on it for a while, until an update borked the wifi for some inexplicable reason. I reinstalled it recently and tried to add an X environment but gave up as it seemed to be more complicated than it used to be (ISTR there used to be a single command/script to install XFCE which doesn't seem to be in the wiki any more).

Re: Not obsolete if you monotask singlemedia

I'll have to try that on mine - it's difficult to find anything that will fit in 4Gb and still be stable with the somewhat dodgy BIOS I'm using to right-clock it to 900MHz (DSL and Haiku OS are my go-tos at the moment).

Maybe Pinta, or run an old version of Paint Shop Pro with WINE?

So your [expletive] test failed. So [obscene participle] what?

Re: Buono estente

Boutros Boutros-Ghali!

People find amazing ways to break computers. Cats are even more creative

"Do not meddle in the affairs of cats; for they are subtle and will piss on your computer."

As US scientists flee Trump, MP urges Britain to do more to nab them

Re: Hmm

> DUI rejects

They get to be Secretary of Defense...

The final bookworm-based Raspberry Pi OS update arrives

No love for x86?

Still waiting on an update of their last version for x86 from 2022...

You'll never guess which mobile browser is the worst for data collection

Re: I use Brave

I use Fennec, which is essentially Firefox with the privacy settings already dialled up for you: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/

Linux kernel to drop 486 and early 586 support

Re: Hubble Telescope.......

There's also AOSC Retro, which manages to run recent kernels on ancient hardware: https://lunduke.substack.com/p/aosc-osretro-a-linux-distro-for-486

Commodore OS 3 is the loudest Linux yet

Re: I'm going to try it

I should have specified - it's a USB joystick (from TIME Computers!) dating from the turn of the century which Windows has no problem with, but it lacks a Linux driver.

Re: I'm going to try it

Me too, I've got an old C2D gaming laptop it should work well on. Now, if only there was a Linux driver for my old Time PC joystick...

X marks the drop for European users

Re: Keep it up...

Agreed, they should be using Mastodon instead (via instances they own/control).

Re: Just wanted to delete my account

Found the nazi.

Re: Just wanted to delete my account

I deliberately got myself suspended instead (by publishing Stonetoss' real name - Hans Kristian Graebener, of Spring TX, btw).

FBI steps in amid rash of politically charged swattings

I hear he walks on the cracks in the pavement too!

30 percent of some Microsoft code now written by AI - especially the new stuff

Re: Only 30%?

You mgiht be thinking of the (original) Lotus Symphony: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Symphony_(MS-DOS)

Build your own antisocial writing rig with DOS and a $2 USB key

Re: DOS Connectivity and Apps

Same here, notably a 1st gen i5 business laptop (Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook E780) with an admirably complete set of ports (both on the machine and its docking station).

Re: Descent and Doom

This might help with SoundBlaster emulation: https://github.com/crazii/SBEMU

Still browsing like it's 1999: Fresh tools that keep vintage Macs online and weirdly alive

Re: Quality HW

The 2,1 is great for Librebooting if you're so inclined. I have a black one, running Trisquel.

Re: Quality HW

I was given a mid-2012 MacBook Pro for free (with a damaged HD cable, which was probably why it failed - a common issue with them). Replaced the DVD drive with an SSD in a caddy; upped the RAM and it's been my daily driver for over a year now (running Solus Budgie).

BOFH: There's a fatal error in the blinkenlights

Re: As i read the passage

Thorin sits on a rock and starts singing about gold.

Vivaldi bakes Proton VPN into browser to boost privacy

Re: Proton's "neutrality"

I use uBlock Origin and didn't notice anything like that when I visit. Here's an archived link: https://archive.is/8ohG8

Proton's "neutrality"

I would be wary of anything using Proton products given this:

https://theintercept.com/2025/01/28/proton-mail-andy-yen-trump-republicans/

Trump fires Democrat FTC commissioners, presaging big tech policy shifts

Re: a native born foreigner and the other one is a non-man

Poe's law: "Without a clear indicator of the author's intent, any parodic or sarcastic expression of extreme views can be mistaken by some readers for a sincere expression of those views."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poe's_law

Is NASA's science budget heading for a black hole?

Re: Wow

Just leaving this here for the downvoters: https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2025/03/18/musk-has-discovered-modern-monetary-theory/

Re: Target your audience

Not to forget the documentary "Iron Sky": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Sky

Re: Wow

In the US (and other countries whose debts are denominated in their own sovereign fiat currency, e.g. the UK, Japan etc.), (federal) taxes don't pay for anything, they serve only to remove excess money from the economy. Politicians like to pretend that a government is like a household, but households can't print their own money. The US literally cannot run out of money, spending is a purely political choice. it's only when it exceeds the productive capacity of the economy that you get inflation. Read up on Modern Monetary Theory.

Amazon to kill off local Alexa processing, all voice requests shipped to the cloud

Microphone blocker

There's PilferShush Jammer: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/cityfreqs.com.pilfershushjammer/

Flang-tastic! LLVM's Fortran compiler finally drops the training wheels

As I always say...

If it can't be done in Fortran, it's not worth doing.

And yes, I can write Fortran in any language...

France offers US scientists a safe haven from Trump's war on woke

Re: Yes, come to France!...so I take it you never lived in France then...

> a huge drop in standard of living / disposable income.

When you factor in the "socialized medicine" you'll find you don't need such a high income in order to live reasonably well.

> having to deal with government functionaires.

Are the things I've heard about the DMV not true, then?

CISA pen-tester says 100-strong red team binned after DOGE canceled contract

Re: Sorry, folks, but you should look at the facts

They can print as much money as they want/need.

Glitchy taxi tech blew cover on steamy dispatch dalliance

Clearly the sandwich van wasn't the only one to "arrive"...

Google's 7-year slog to improve Chrome extensions still hasn't satisfied developers

Re: Chrome

I still do - well, I use Seamonkey Composer nowadays, which is fine for simple, static sites.

CompSci teacher sets lab task: Accidentally breaking the university

Re: I crashed one of two graphics domains

Not UKC by any chance? I remember watching fractals being generated in real time on the MCS there circa 1990.

FuriPhone FLX1: A Debian-powered brick that puts GNOME in your back pocket

RedReader availability

RedReader is on F-Droid, I'm surprised you didn't know:

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.quantumbadger.redreader/

Windows 10's demise nears, but Linux is forever

Re: Installed Mint yesterday and it wasn't easy...

I thought Rufus was the tool to use on Windows, not Etcher?

Re: thought HandBrake would work

Interesting, I'd not heard of DVD angles before. It looks like Handbrake can read them, but can only output one: https://handbrake.fr/docs/en/latest/technical/video-angles.html

Re: All true, but one thing must really be mentioned

> back up my wife's metric ton of copy-protected CDs and DVDs

I would have thought HandBrake would work (for the DVDs at least): https://handbrake.fr

Re: Linux is forever?

This is why I recommend Solus as it has a "curated rolling" model (weekly updates, no need to do anything other than check for updates forever, with very little risk of problems). They did have a "bus factor" issue a couple of years ago but that has been resolved. There are a few other distros with a similar model, Opensuse Tumbleweed and some of the Arch-based distros like Endeavour come to mind.

Google Maps to roll out Trump-approved Denali and Gulf of Mexico rebrands

Re: Not for the developed world, shirley

It was (briefly) New Angouleme before it was New Amsterdam (Verrazzano claimed the area for France in 1524).

China's DeepSeek just emitted a free challenger to OpenAI's o1 – here's how to use it on your PC

John Scalzi put it best

"Oh no the Chinese are doing the useless thing that gives wrong answers cheaper!"

https://mastodon.social/@scalzi/113901059516657875

Re: "How many "R"s are in the word strawberry?"

Bertrand Russell has entered the chat:

https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/pageviewer-idx?c=umhistmath&cc=umhistmath&idno=aat3201.0002.001&frm=frameset&view=image&seq=126

Linux rolls out the welcome mat for Microsoft's Copilot key

Re: It

Or show the message "Please do not press this button again".

Microsoft to force Windows 11 24H2 on Home and Pro users

Re: self-defense

Smug Linux user checking in.

Debian 12.9 arrives, quickly followed by MX Linux 23.5

It also runs well on MX.

Haiku Beta 5 / In tests it's (Fire)foxier / It pleases us well

Good for old netbooks

As stated, it's not for the security-conscious, but if you need to use an old netbook in a pinch it runs well, even on original eeePCs.

Now Trump's import tariffs could raise the cost of a laptop for Americans by 68%

Re: Replacing Imports

Luckily corn syrup already comprises about 90% of the American diet...

Eutelsat OneWeb blames 366th day for 48-hour date disaster

Re: OneWeb blames 366th day

The extra day should be January 0th, shirley?

Nick Clegg steps down as Meta's top flack in favor of more Trump-friendly candidate

Re: As much use as a chocolate teapot

> There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and we’re winning.

― Warren Buffett