TheAmazingRace

IBM Power is technically still around, albeit it's not quite as easy to find these days. I'm thinking of getting some kind of Power11 box, just to keep the monoculture out of my home lab for as long as possible.

You are technically correct. I suppose I should clarify and state that I mean the rise and fall of the original incarnation of the NeXT platform under the NeXT Computer Inc. (later NeXT Software Inc.) company.

Because I was born right around the time the first NeXT Computer was announced in late ‘88, I wasn’t cognizant of the rise and fall of the NeXT platform, but I did come to appreciate the projects that were based on it, like the early WWW.

As a matter of fact, the first time I even heard of NeXT was a decade later in around ‘98, when PC Magazine or Computer Shopper (I can’t remember exactly which one) made a brief and snarky mention of the NeXT Cube in a retrospective blurb as a novel yet highly incompatible computer system, no doubt penned by John C Dvorak (RIP) who always had it out for Steve Jobs. It stuck with me, because the image of the NeXT they used looked like no other computer I was familiar with at the time and I was head over heels for it. I even tried procuring one for many years but was ultimately unsuccessful.

Frog did an outstanding job on the design language for the NeXT hardware. They then went on to help design the look of the Packard Bell PCs from the early to mid 90s too.

These are really cool photos and, honestly, I’d love to travel back to this past even briefly, just to experience it in person if I could.

I wouldn't say "pretty much nobody" uses cryptocurrency.

The truth lies somewhere in the middle. But in terms of mass adoption? I wouldn't say that has happened, because there is still too much friction in terms of dealing with your own opsec, keeping your keys secure, etc. Like I don't see average Joes going into it en masse. But anyone with enough determination will use it.

I say this as someone who is personally opposed to the technology on principle, but I'm not deluded to think that nobody else is using it either. It has a market.

Yeah. To me, I feel like Theo de Raadt is being a comedian here, and the joke probably went over some heads.

Gives me fun memories of installing the Intel Indeo codec on Windows 3.x and Windows 95 PCs to play videos from a CD-based encyclopedia.

Nice pro-tip! Thanks stranger.

I wonder if we have an AI LLM equivalent to Moore's Law. Like how often do we expect improvement in this technology and with what timing?

I should preface my comment with the fact that I’m ultimately neutral on the AI space right now. I’ve gone back and forth on the topic.

That said, I think this article underscores the fact that software engineering as a discipline is already unrecognizable from what it was like even a few years ago. You now have to be more into architecture and directing how the AI development tools write out your code.

I know a guy who works at Amazon, and the models at OpenAI and Anthropic are so good that he doesn’t even really write code in the classic sense anymore. However, because of his background and experience, he does know what he should expect and if an output matches the quality he wants, versus just blindly trusting the AI tool.

In our world, you have to adapt or die. It’s that simple.

I am also considering an LTO solution of some kind, but I also found out that LTO drives seemingly need some TLC and maintenance if you don’t want your tapes to jam up. I feel like at least with optical media, it’s nearly impossible to screw it up.

I really wish a multi-terabyte optical media solution took off, because that would be the path I’d ultimately take, instead of going with expensive LTO devices and media.

New idea... cannonball run in an EV as fast as possible.

On most SB16s, yes! It really depends what you were rocking.

Also, some later DSP’d SB16 cards used CQM instead of OPL3 for the FM MIDI, so it could sound a touch harsher and raspier, if that makes any sense.

Yep. Count me in as another fan of the AWE64 Gold. The DSP chip they used on that board, version 4.16, also patched the MIDI hanging note bug that was present since the SB16 era. As an aside, I believe the very earliest SB16s didn't have this hanging note bug, but they were incredibly noisy.

I imagine the author saw this release as "macOS Tahoe but not sucky"

I liken it to Windows Vista and Windows 7. Although fundamentally similar operating systems under the hood, Windows 7 smoothed out Vista's kinks and brought forth additional polish.

I have so many fond memories playing on an Apple IIGS from 1995 to 1997 at the Catholic grade school I attended before I was homeschooled. Yes, they used Apple IIs in some schools clear up to the early 2000s if you'd believe it!

Only if you install the Shell Technology Preview from Microsoft. NT 3.51 came with the classic Win 3.x look and feel as well as Program Manager.

I think we can safely assume that AGI is still a good ways out then.

These AI LLM products really do well on the illusion of seeming intelligent to regular folks, but I'm not fully convinced they can replace human brains... yet. ;)

Indeed. I find myself going back to older games anymore. Aside from maybe looking forward to GTA 6, I can't say I'm terribly interested in many modern titles. It's becoming more soulless.

Lik Sang was awesome back in the day for procuring accessories like classic XBOX controller to USB adapters that weren't dodgy duct tape jobs. Hard to believe they were forced out of business by Sony two decades ago.

Tell me about it. Those OS X versions you mentioned for Tiger, Snow Leopard, and Mavericks were some of the best releases of OS X ever.

Thankfully, macOS Golden Gate is proving to be a decent release so far in my tests of the public betas, but I do yearn for the simplicity (and more power user friendly aspects) of the aforementioned OS X releases.

Ah. I stand corrected then.

The UI found in WorkBench 1.x was designed to be the way it was so that owners could plug their Amigas into television sets of the day and still be able to make out something without requiring a pristine purpose-built CRT monitor.

I'm late to the party with my comment here, but it should probably be said.

Experiencing my formative years in the 90s, and having a PC buff for a dad, we periodically paged through the PC Magazine issues that we would receive by mail, and it was always a fun time. John's articles were funny in a way, and I enjoyed his curmudgeon-y writing. He was also the person I found out about IBM's ill-fated OS/2 from and looked into it in my spare time.

Later on, I discovered he was on a podcast with Adam Curry called the No Agenda Show. I wouldn't say I particularly like the podcast these days, but in the mid 2010s, it got me through some rough times and was like a fun conversation I got to listen to for hours on roadtrips I'd take in California.

RIP Mr. Dvorak.

Also, I’m impressed at some of the up scaling techniques that some players use to help improve the quality of DVD movies. Sure, it’s not native, but it’s certainly not bad looking either.

Hilariously, DVD production could potentially outlive Blu-Ray discs, since DVDs are still popular enough 30 years later, and surpass the sales of Blu-Ray movies.

Honestly, one of my colleagues said it best.

"Do you want friends? Or do you want to be right?"

Sometimes there really is no glory on those hills you die on.

Ross Ulbricht being let go as part of some quid pro quo with crypto-libertarians was certainly a huge miscarriage of justice. He should not be walking free, but alas.

I think he was referring to Carmack's note on Burger Becky when she passed away.

It doesn't say in the blog post, but will this be released for MS-DOS?

Luckily, for gaming purposes in 2026, 32 GB of RAM is perfectly fine for the foreseeable future. I'd only consider 64 GB and up if you're using your system heavily for virtual machines or high end workstation level tasks.