David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more
When Commodore introduced its PET line of personal computers in 1977, they needed a bus to connect peripherals. Rather than do something proprietary, they chose an industry standard, the IEEE-488 bus originally designed by HP. It suited Commodore’s needs at the time, even though it’s pretty obscure today.
We don’t typically associate the ginormous 8-inch floppy disks with Commodore. But Commodore produced no fewer than four different models of 8-inch floppy drive for its PET/CBM line of computers.
I don’t think it’s any secret that race relations in the United States are at a pretty low point right now. A Twitter post from a college professor who happens to be black hit home with me. So I’m going to relate his story to my own experience, in hopes this helps other white males like me gain a sense of understanding.
Unisys was once the second largest computer company in the world, and the name of one of its products, Univac, was briefly synonymous with the word “computer.” It’s no longer the force it once was, but Unisys survives today, in a slimmed-down form.
Unisys still produces computer hardware, including mainframes. But like its rival IBM, it makes most of its money in software, service, and integration.
I’ve advocated learning Python, and the best way to learn it is with a useful example. Here’s a very simple Python program that does something useful. It queries the Shodan API to tell you who owns an IP address.
At least two of the most popular operating systems of today are based on Unix. But what about Windows? Is Windows Unix based?
While Windows has some Unix influences, it is not derived or based on Unix. At some points is has contained a small amount of BSD code but the majority of its design came from other operating systems.
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, I’ve heard some business consultants speak of something called an “infinite game” or “infinite mindset.” This, they say, is the key to surviving setbacks or even thriving in the midst of them. What is an infinite game, and what’s special about it?
The infinite mindset, or infinite game, simply means not caring about winning or losing in the short term. An opponent who is just playing to stay in the game is hard to defeat.
The Atari 800/XL//XE series may be the most underrated 8-bit computer line of the 1970s and 1980s. Yes, I said 1970s, as it debuted in 1979. But while the Atari 800XL is perhaps the most popular machine from that family, and it’s better in most ways than the Atari 800, the 800 has its own advantage too. Let’s look at the Atari 800 vs 800XL.
When troubleshooting machines, I was trained to routinely reseat every board and every chip in the case. Especially if there was nothing visibly wrong with the machine, it was amazing how often that worked. So why does reseating RAM work? Why does reseating anything else work?
Reseating works because it improves conductivity. Connectors can get dirty or oxidized, and if that interferes with conductivity, it causes malfunctions.
If your lawn mower bogs down in thick grass or under any other heavy load, there are a couple of possible reasons for it. Fortunately they are also things you can fix yourself.