Did we lose our way in making efficient software? – ~30 MB doc file vs. browser

Re:Did we lose our way in making efficient software? – ~30 M... by jedisct1 on Sunday April 28, 2024 @01:00PM (#40189973)

Remember the QNX demo floppy?

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Re:Did we lose our way in making efficient software? – ~30 M... by nappy-doo on Sunday April 28, 2024 @01:16PM (#40190097)

I recreated that in grad school, also using QNX. We set it up to run a paging (POCSAG) system that you could put the floppy into any computer, hook up a DSP board and modulator, reboot the machine and you'd have a paging system. My advisor showed it to Andrew Viterbi, and got us grant.

When I went to recreate it, I contacted QNX and asked if I could speak to the guy who did the work, and he had died the year before. So, I just took apart his floppy, and figured out how he did it.

The things you can do when you invest your time 100% in something.

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Re:Did we lose our way in making efficient software? – ~30 M... by seanparsons on Sunday April 28, 2024 @01:03PM (#40189991)

Yup, that felt incredible even at the time, let alone now.

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Re:Did we lose our way in making efficient software? – ~30 M... by trollerator23 on Sunday April 28, 2024 @10:46PM (#40193886)

What's this? Now I want to know.

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