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Microsoft's bad history disrespecting classic video games (a firsthand account)
The Redmond giant just purchased some of the most historically significant video games... but will they respect them?
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/microsofts-bad-history-disrespecting
Microsoft now owns: Zork, Kings Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, and After Dark
And Pitfall! Plus River Raid. Also Heretic and MechWarrior. Wait. Wait. WHAT?!
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/microsoft-now-owns-zork-kings-quest
Microsoft acquires Daniel Radcliffe in historic $73 Billion deal
Suggests MS-Radcliffe integration with Call of Duty, World of Warcraft.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/microsoft-acquires-daniel-radcliffe
The most magical words in all of computing...
(Besides "Turn it off and on again"...)
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-most-magical-words-in-all-of
"Turn Your Android Phone Into the Ultimate Retro Computing Battlestation" - Jan 29 at LundukeFest
Joining “Linux Sucks 2022”, “The (True) Untold History of the Internet”, and “Weird Tales of Linux Weirdness”. With more announcements to come.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/turn-your-android-phone-into-the
"The early days of Unix at Bell Labs" presented by Brian Kernighan
The early history of UNIX... from a man who was there.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-early-days-of-unix-at-bell-labs
Lunduke's Proverbs of Programming #1
Search your feelings. You know it to be true.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/lundukes-proverbs-of-programming
Remembering the Linux-based Commodore OS
In 2011, Commodore USA LLC released "Commodore OS Vision" based on Linux Mint.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/remembering-the-linux-based-commodore
Elon Musk decides to make his own Linux distro
Other Space Tycoons had a Linux Distribution. He felt left out.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/elon-musk-decides-to-make-his-own
NFTs: The Good, The Bad, & The Goofy
There are valid criticisms of NFTs... but there are some solidly good (and fun) uses of the technology.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/nfts-the-good-the-bad-and-the-goofy
Finding our Nerdy Happy Place
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/finding-our-nerdy-happy-place
daedalOS - the crazy Desktop environment in the browser
Complete with emulators, terminals, media players, live desktop wallpaper... and DOOM. All in a web browser. It's both disturbing and wonderful.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/daedalos-the-crazy-desktop-environment
We've had the live tv package for Hulu for quite a while now... but it's just too darn expensive for what we use it for (classic movies and news). Close to $80/month for that just seems silly. Also every time I load up the Hulu main screen, they're advertising a show that is inappropriate for the kids to see. And I can't turn that off. Which is annoying.
It's set to renew on Sunday, so we're going through and downsizing our streaming services we subscribe to. Take it back down to a core set.
Peacock has been great. Lots of classic TV on there. Combine that with the Roku channel and the "F2V TV" (which is just OTA channels streamed... has MeTV) and we're 90% to what we watch most days.
Peacock Premium is only $5. So that's an easy one.
Then add in Disney+... because we have kids. And Star Wars / Marvel stuff. Another $8.
So far, at $13 buckazoids, we have just about everything we could want.
... except news.
I like watching Fox News for one hour each night. It's a routine for me. Unfortunately live streaming requires a cable subscription package. Even with their "Fox Nation" service (which actually has a lot of great 1980s movies in it... which I find funny).
The cheapest way I've found to stream Fox News so far is Sling at $35 / month.
35 + 13 = 48. Still a heck of a lot cheaper than Hulu live streaming. So a good win.
But now I feel driven to find a cheaper way to live stream Fox News. hehe. Any ideas?
Long time Linux YouTuber tries to use Windows.
Determines Windows "not quite ready for average user".
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/long-time-linux-youtuber-tries-to
Spending some time investigating Wendin-DOS lately. Fascinating OS.
Developed by a small company (maybe one man?) in Spokane in the 80s. A semi-MS-DOS compatible system. Only multitasking and multiuser.
With source code included.
Unfortunately the developer seems to have passed away some years back. Been trying to track his family down for a retrospective piece (as it's really interesting)... but no luck so far.
Anyone ever use or hear of this system?
Lunduke Journal about to hit subscriber goals... for NEXT month.
Woah. Apparently people really like articles about Linux and retro computers!
(Couldn't help posting about it. Felt like a victory lap was in order.)
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/lunduke-journal-about-to-hit-subscriber
We are three annual Locals subscriptions worth away from hitting Lunduke Journal subscription goals for NEXT month. 😎
Anyone feel like changing their Monthly subscription into a Yearly? 🤣
If we hit these numbers... dude. I won't even need to bring up subscriptions or anything for the next two months. That's CRAZY! Wonder if we can do that today?
This shows how to change a subscription type if anyone is interested in saving a few bucks and helping us hit that goal:
https://support.locals.com/en/article/how-do-i-subscribe-to-communities-xvw67j/
That would be so rad. Then we could just consider this week to have been our Pledge Drive Week. 🤪
Covid Round 2 is still raging in the Lunduke home. But, honestly, it's not terrible. Very manageable this time around. The crew and I are just staying cooped up inside, resting, drinking lots and staying away from other humans.
On the Lunduke Journal front... wooooooah.
This was the biggest week ever in terms of new free and new paid subscribers. And for total article reads.
By like... a lot.
I mean, The Lunduke Journal isn't making me mega rich or anything like that... but it's totally self sustaining. That's just so awesome. I feel really lucky to have such amazing people like you around to help make this all possible. You're pretty darn rad.
Feeling good. But sick. 😋
"The (True) Untold History of the Internet" -- only at LundukeFest
Think you know the story of TCP, WWW, and the Internet? Think again.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-true-untold-history-of-the-internet
Most outstanding! The Lunduke Journal smashes subscription goals in just 3 hours!
3 hours! That's crazy!
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/most-outstanding-the-lunduke-journal
Including a full pass to LundukeFest, tons of free eBooks and more goodies... plus Linux Tycoon if we hit our goal!
(Heck yeah. If we hit a goal of 14 subs today, I'll post a custom version of one of my old games, Linux Tycoon, just for subscribers.)
Locals subscribtions count towards the goal... I just don't have as many options for doing discounts here on Locals. 🤪
Shooting for 14 new subscribers by end of day. Locals or Substack. Can we do it?
You bet we can. If you've been on the fence, now's the moment.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/just-for-today-15-for-one-year-of
Linux Sucks 2022 - Jan 29, 4pm Pacific
Streamed live at LundukeFest.
This is going to suck more than anything has sucked before.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/linux-sucks-2022-jan-29-4pm-pacific
Pine64's e-Paper tablet now booting mainline Linux
That's right. An e-Ink tablet that you can run Neofetch on.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/pine64s-e-paper-tablet-now-booting
lol.
Round two is, thus, far much less difficult than round one was. No idea what variant I have now, but either it's a less gnarly (more evolved and mutated) variant or my immune system was prepared enough by the last round to tackle this a bit better.
Honestly just feels like the wife and I have a cold. Like... not the easiest cold I've ever had... but not the worst either. Pretty middle of the road.
I'm gonna take it kinda easy for today and tomorrow, see how it goes. But, so far, no biggy. The way I feel right now I can still do a little writing while laying in bed and sipping some tea. Probably not going to be recording any new episodes for at least a day or two though.
Game Boy gets WiFi... and video streaming! Seriously!
Why? Because it's awesome. That's why.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/game-boy-gets-wifi-and-video-streaming
Announcing the first LundukeFest - "Make Computers Fun Again"
The January 29th virtual conference will include "Linux Sucks 2022" and many other fun-filled presentations and breakout sessions.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/announcing-the-first-lundukefest
Compiling QuickBASIC's Gorillas on Linux... surprisingly tricky.
Even with QB64 and FreeBASIC, compiling the classic GORILLA.BAS is not easy... but it works!
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/compiling-quickbasics-gorillas-on
Laptops Powered by AA Batteries (Seriously).
And some of them run an impressively long time on a single set of Double-A's.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/laptops-powered-by-aa-batteries-seriously
The History of the Graphical User Interface -- 1945 to 1980
A visual, historical tour of the early years of computer GUI's... starting in 1945.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-history-of-the-graphical-user
The CDE-look-a-like desktop gets a 2.0 release
The Not so Common Desktop Environment (NsCDE) has old-school looks... and it is gorgeous.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/the-cde-look-a-like-desktop-gets
NFTs, Net Neutrality, & Emotional Reactions to Technology
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/nfts-net-neutrality-and-emotional
Make the Linux shell look like DOS.
Why would you want to make your Linux terminal look like DOS. Well. Why not?
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/make-the-linux-shell-look-like-dos
Why is "Spaghetti Code" called "Spaghetti Code"?
The answer will shock you.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/why-is-spaghetti-code-called-spaghetti
First NFT sold for "Tux on Tour"? The Amiga one. Naturally.
%5 of every "Tux on Tour" transaction (sales and re-sales) is donated to Open Source projects.
(I really got a kick out of the Amiga one being first. Had a sneaking suspicion it would be!)
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/first-nft-sold-for-tux-on-tour-the
The list of Lunduke Journal perks grows ever larger. More on the way. Like... this week.
Plus new shows starting back up. Some of which are going to be exclusives.
If you're not a full subscriber (either here on Locals or over on Substack)... man... you gotta get on that. It is... so choice.
Tux on Tour - Raising money for Open Source projects using nerdy NFTs
A percentage of all sales (and re-sells) goes directly to Haiku and PCLinuxOS.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/tux-on-tour-raising-money-for-open
What do you guys think? Made about 20 of these so far. Thinking start with... 12? Then add a new on each day for the first week? Keep the momentum going.
Reached out to the full time Haiku dev. He seemed to like the idea (as Haiku could use a funding influx to keep paying for full time dev).
After talking to a few NFT people, they suggested a 5% royalty that gets donated. That way it's still attractive to NFT investors. Made sense to me.
Still need to figure out what initial price to set them at. $20 maybe? Maybe have each one different? Any suggestions? :) Once I figure that all out I'll write up an announcement and whatnot.
Here's the collection page so far:
https://opensea.io/collection/tuxontour
Was talking to a bud who works on an open source project about the difficulties they've had with funding. Donations have been hit and miss and corporate backing has been declining the last few years.
So I've been brainstorming ways fundraising for open source, "smaller" (read: not corporate) projects could be done. Trying to think outside the box.
One weirdo idea: NFTs have this feature where a percentage of every transaction can be sent to a crypto wallet. So, say, 10% (or whatever, maybe even higher) of every time an NFT changes hands (not just the first one). It's meant to be a sort of royalty system. But what if we had a set of NFTs (something goofy like pixel art tux in different outfits or whatever). Then have the collected crypto from the royalties forwarded to different projects every month. Haiku, OBS, smaller ones, whatever the community thinks. Or maybe have a voting system.
Not sure if that all really makes sense. Kinda just spitballing... and could be an actually good use for NFTs. Hehe. The NFT investors could still get into it (like they do with their monkeys or whatever)... but it has a real, direct benefit to the open source software world.
Honestly, that would be the first NFT that I would be actually excited to buy.
Thoughts?
Christmas Demos of the 1980s (for C64, Atari, Apple II, DOS, & Amiga)
Christmas demos were a staple of 1980s computer culture. Here are some of the best.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/christmas-demos-of-the-1980s-for
Happy Christmas Eve, everyone!
My family doesn't do much for Christmas (we do Hanukkah up big). But we like to do a little something for the kids on Christmas Eve and Christmas day... just so they don't feel left out. 😉
Stockings with some yummy treats, and a little something fun for each of them.
This year we're in central Texas. Which means it'll be 80 degrees and sunny on Christmas day. 🤣 Might take the kids down to the creek to go fishing. Then maybe some grilling in the afternoon. Heck. Might even go swimming. A Christmas Day Swim. hehe.
Anyone have fun plans over the next two days?
Finished watching the Hawkeye series on Disney+.
... and... I rather enjoyed it! (Not TOO many spoilers ahead... unless you count talking about the comic books from years back as spoilers...)
It wasn't yet another "We need to save the entire Universe!!!OMG!" storyline. Felt more human than most of the recent shows.
I'll be honest. I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it after the first episode. At that point it could have gone a lot of different ways. But they really surprised me with how much I enjoyed it... especially the last episode.
And, bonus, I don't recall a single political-y or culture-war-y thing in the whole series. Being as they were introducing Kate Bishop (who, in the comics, was the most recent "not Clint Barton" person to be called Hawkeye), they could have gone down a number of roads that would have been simply annoying to watch. But they didn't! They handled it with class and heart and style. Impressed.
I'm not a huge fan of the Kate Bishop character in the comics. They created that character like 15 years back... and, honestly, her storylines stunk and the character was really blah in the comics. But the writing here in the TV show was 10x better than the comics (which usually isn't the case) and the actress did a bang up job. Made me actually rather like Bishop!
Sidenote: So glad they just skipped Wyatt (the other "Hawkeye" from the comics). Golden Archer / Black Archer (depending on how the writers were feeling at the moment) was just... not great. Didn't love the character. Or the stories. Or, heck, even the art. Never felt like real "Hawkeye" to me.
Oh oh oh!
And Jacques Duquesne! Totally blew me away when they introduced that character. Though they renamed him to "Jack" in the MCU. Which... is totally fine. I wasn't 100% sure I was going to like how the character was portrayed (either by the actor, or the writing... which changed some significant things about him from the classic comics)... but, in the end, I approve. It was an excellent way to introduce him and I really hope they bring him back.
Historical sidenote: Duquesne was one of the early villains that the Avengers faced off against in the 1960s. Then he stopped being a jerk and actually joined the Avengers in the 1970s. At least for a while. Then he was Cotati-ified (that was a fun story line... hope they bring that in with the Kree stuff)... then he became a villain again in the 80s. Then there was Chaos War, about a decade back, where they made him a key player. But that storyline was annoying. hehe. Anyway, long story short: Duquesne is fun in the comics and I want more of him in the MCU.
I think Hawkeye might be my favorite of the Disney+ MCU shows so far. Lightyears better than "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" (which, on further consideration, was a trainwreck and the worst thing out of the MCU... a major blunder in story telling). Better than WandaVision (which was a fun retelling of one of the darkest comic story lines I've ever read). And better than Loki (which, despite a few small complaints and continuity issues, was a fun little romp).
Good show. Recommended
Well... the results of my bare metal Haiku test went... less than stellar.
The Surface Go boots, video, sound, keyboard/mouse. Those work. Speed is actually quite good. MicroSD and WiFi don't work.
The Dell XPS 13 gets through most of the boot process then hard hangs at the last step. Tried a few times.
Ah well. Close with the Surface Go!
Every month or two I grab the latest nightly build of Haiku and see how it runs on my two laptops (a Dell XPS 13 and a Surface Go).
As soon as one works with sound and WiFi... I'm going to try running Haiku as my daily driver for a few weeks.
Last time I tried was in late October I think. Neither laptop was quite ready.
Today is the day to try again. I don't think there's been a lot of activity in the specifically needed areas for my hardware... but worth a shot!
10 Stories that Rocked the Tech Industry in 2021
From the Apple App Store to Bill Gates' poop, it's been a pretty nutty year.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/10-stories-that-rocked-the-tech-industry
"So one day I asked: ‘Boss I am confused, isn’t this about working on techniques?
"He replied: ‘If I keep it going we will miss Tom and Jerry cartoons.’"
https://www.the-sun.com/sport/4306880/mike-tyson-ko-sparring-partners-tom-jerry/
Holy smokes. I mean. 2021... Absolutely bonkers.
We're up to 3,765 total members here on Locals. Most are free accounts (obviously), but very happy with the steady growth.
And the Substack has really exploded as well. Articles there are regularly clocking in over 10K reads (some much more). And the growth rate is fantastic. Way beyond what I have expected, and way beyond the total traffic that any of my past publications (including Linux Journal, and Network World) hit.
I am, without a doubt, keeping both Locals and Substack around. I love the two platforms (for different reasons). And I'm going to keep publishing everything to both.
I do have three challenges ahead of me, over the coming months. Figured I'd talk about it with all of you... cuz we're all buds here.
1) The smallest challenge is a short term one. I'm about 34 total paying subscribers short of my end-of-year goal. I've got about a week and half to hit that number... which seems super doable. Maybe I'll do a sort of pledge drive thing. Any ideas? Figure I'll come up with something and start on that tomorrow. If I can hit that (or close to it), I can keep everything ad-free. Which is worthwhile. Open to suggestions! Definitely achievable... just don't want to badger folks to pull it off. 😎
2) Looking into January, I want to get regular shows going again. Articles have had a great cadence and the results have been wonderfully good. But issues with being "mobile" has made recording shows a lot trickier. I miss the regular shows, and I know many of you do too. Steady, weekly, fun shows. I've been working to get things set up to make this easier (and better) over here. First week of January should be rocking and rolling. This is a challenge that I've almost finished taking care of... just figured I'd mention it because it was a lot of work. 😂
3) Which brings me to a longer term challenge that I don't yet have a solution for. Live, in person shows. I have 3 shows written (plus a start on a new Linux Sucks)... that just won't be anywhere near as fun if they're just me sitting or standing in an empty room talking to a camera. These shows need a live audience. Those are always more fun. Unfortunately there just aren't many live conferences going in the next 6 months. Texas Linux Fest is still "on hold", for example. And, because flying is out of the question for me right now... I'm limited to conferences happening in driving distance of "The South". Texas to Florida, essentially. Heck, even if I could fly... events like Linux Fest NW are dead now (they're going to try to do a fully virtual event next year... but even that doesn't look certain). So. What to do? If I can find a conference going (that will have me), I could do a whole bunch of big shows at it. But, so far, no dice. Putting this out into the universe in case anyone has an amazing idea! 😜
So... yeah! Great year! Amazing year, in so many ways. Thanks, really, to all of you. You, and your support, has made all of this possible.
Seriously. You are amazing. The best group of nerds on planet Earth.
Super stoked to see what we can accomplish in 2022.
Family friendly, Sci-Fi adventure comic book series... with some nerdy jokes mixed in.
These are available right here on Locals to all of the full supporters (as well as Substack). Just like all of the exclusive perks. :)
Huge thanks to all of you who are supporters (either here on Locals or over on Substack). You make all of this possible. And for those of you who haven't taken the plunge yet... chop chop. ;)
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/road-sign-hank-and-the-aliens-available
Linux Foundation releases Linux as NFT
Each Linux kernel source code file will be auctioned off as an NFT on the Etherium blockchain.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/linux-foundation-releases-linux-as
Creator of Javascript apologizes for "screwing up a good thing and ruining, like, basically everything"
"Yeah. That's my bad."
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/creator-of-javascript-apologizes
Local man switches to Arch, tells no one
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/local-man-switches-to-arch-tells
My thoughts on log4j summed up in one picture...
(One very snarky picture.)
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/my-thoughts-on-log4j-summed-up-in
FreeDOS 1.3, the first major release in 5 years, edges closer to a full release
The last major FreeDOS version (1.2) was released in December of 2016... five years ago.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/freedos-13-the-first-major-release
Man. Life on the Oregon Trail was rough!
So many ways to die.
(This joke needed some retro-authenticity I felt.)
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/man-life-on-the-oregon-trail-was
The number of social media type sites that have banned, shadow banned, or otherwise censored me keeps on growing. Twitter, Reddit, Hacker News... they just about all do it.
So glad I moved to Locals (and also Substack now). Despite the attempts at censoring me, my articles are now reaching more people than at any time in my career.
All thanks to these two lovely platforms and the support of all of you.
Linux Foundation spends just 3.4% of its money on Linux.
Where does the Linux Foundation spend the rest of its $177 Million in revenue? Let's take a look.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/linux-foundation-spends-just-34-of
Sonic the Hedgehog for the C64.
Seriously.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/sonic-the-hedgehog-for-the-c64
Oh my heavens. Linux Foundation annual report.
So much UCK in here. I'll need to write up details later.
https://www.linuxfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021_LF_Annual_Report_120721c.pdf
I have no idea what I'm doing... let's sell some NFTs!
Time to see what this NFT fuss is all about.
( The article was ready, so just went ahead and published it tonight. Because I don't have a boss. Or a schedule. And why not. :) )
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/i-have-no-idea-what-im-doing-lets
Ok, took the suggestion from @acl302 and made the pricing of the NFTs nice and nerdy. .0256, .0512, and .1024. Because... why not? 😁
I'll do the official post about it tomorrow, but this is what I'm publishing. Four goofy images. How will they sale? An NFT collection for sale with absolutely no shenanigans or price fixing (just one nerdy guy publishing some art)? Who knows! But we're about to find out!
Let me know what you all think. I have zero NFT experience, so I'm open to suggestions.
Visi On : The failed 1983 GUI that came before Windows or Macintosh.
The legendary company behind VisiCalc produced a graphical desktop for PCs that shipped before Windows or the first Macintosh.
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/visi-on-the-failed-1983-gui-that
https://github.com/waddlesplash/BeXlib
"The project is a wrapper around Xlib for BeOS. I wanted to be able to make it easier to port X11 apps to BeOS."
COOL!
