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December 08, 2022

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TI - Graphing Calculators

If you went to school in the US during the 1990s, and in to the early 2000s, you probably owned, or at least used, a Texas Instruments 80s Series calculator.

The TI-81 was released in 1990 and immediately gained ground in schools across America. This z80 based hand-held computer was able to do anything a scientific calculator could do. It even included TI Basic, a Basic language which allowed users to write in programs to solve very complex problems. None of this was really new. Programmable calculators had been out for years. But the new trick up this calculator's sleeve, was the ability to draw graphics; specifically graphs.
This was obviously something that was typically reserved for more capable computers at the time.
For less than $150, you could own a hand held computer.
School districts across the country began purchasing class sets. TI made it easy by bundling sets with a teacher's edition of the calculator. The teacher's edition was specially modified so it could connect to an external lcd screen and be projected on the wall. (More on those another day.)

But the TI-81 had one fatal flaw. Something that really kept it from becoming the defacto standard.
Every single person had to manually enter in thier own programs. This meant that if you came up with something amazing, you couldn't share it. Worse, changing the batteries wiped the full memory.

This limitation didn't last long as Texas Imstruments released the TI-85 in 1992.
This new model used the same z80 processor, bit was somehow now many times faster.
This new calculator corrected many issues with the TI-81 including adding a backup/coin-cell battery (they added this to the TI-81 around the same time. But it wasn't there originally.) And the greatest improvement of all...
TI-Link
This new, little cable, meant that programs could be shared between students and teachers. The cable, which was simply a 3-wire cord with a 2.5mm jack on each end, changed the world for students.
Very soon after the release of the calculator, Texas Instruments released the TI-Graph Link cable, a serial cable allowing users to connect the TI-85 to a windows 3.11 or Mac OS computer, copy files and even write programs on the computer.

This new calculator came at a much higher price, preventing it from gaining mass adoption.

To be continued....

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IBM Sued for Discrimination. Again.

A 61 year old white man was fired from IBM, yet "a black woman with identical territory, quota, and performance" was not. Plus: IBM & Red Hat are settling lawsuits behind the scenes.

The IBM / Red Hat Leaks: What we've learned so far:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/5515346/the-ibm-red-hat-leaks-what-weve-learned-so-far

$89 Lifetime Lunduke Journal Subscriptions all January:
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00:12:18
Anti-ICE Activists Mistake Programmers for ICE Agents

A few software engineers were having lunch at a deli in Minneapolis. Leftist activists thought, because they were all white, fit males, that they must be ICE agents. They used Signal to organize a mob.

$89 Lifetime Lunduke Journal Subscriptions all January:
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00:06:16
ICANN: "Make Lunduke Angry, Program in Rust"

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the $150 Million / Year corporation which manages IP addresses and Top Level Domains, has a new goal: "Make Lunduke Angry".

$89 Lifetime Lunduke Journal Subscriptions all January:
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00:06:08
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
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The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
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openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

Have you ever heard the joke, "I went to a fight, and a hockey game broke out"? I've always found that hilarious, because (a) I never fought anyone when I played, not even my brothers; but (b) when I got stranded in a place where there are no rinks, I ended up filling the gap by getting into martial arts. 😆

But with @leebase talking up how AI is helping speed up his work so much (and btw dude, kudos, that is awesome), I got to thinking... how much faster could it make me? And more importantly, would the quality of the code be as good as what I would write myself? I have to find out. So tonight, I'm standing up to the big goon from Big Tech. I want to see, how much better would I do with AI on my team?

The challenge: Coding a C64 game

It's been way, WAY too long since I coded a new game. Oh, I've made many attempts - a sequel to Darkest Hour, an outer-space-themed game for my Star Trek loving best friend, and numerous shorter VIC-20 title (one of which I did actually finish, kinda, ...

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Lifetime Subscriber Wall 4!

And it has a fancy-shmancy new background! Pulled from the "PDA Screen" I use in a bunch of my comics.

This 4th wall is going to fill up fast.

If you want to get your name on it, and you're already a Lifetime Subscriber, email me now. bryan at lunduke.com.

If you're not a Lifetime Subscriber yet, grab one now while they're nice and cheap:

https://lunduke.substack.com/p/89-lifetime-lunduke-journal-subscriptions-c1b

... Then, after you get a confirmation email, reply and tell me you want to be on the wall!

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Old Computer Nerd Show #3: A Tribute To Steward Cheifet

Tuesday 20 January, 20:30PM GMT

Get your popcorn ready, because we're doing a watch-along of a handful of some of the most engaging and entertaining episodes of his program "Computer Chronicles" to pay tribute to this man, who's work on that show is an indispensable resource for historians of computing.

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January 16, 2026
Lunduke Journal Week In Review - Jan 16th, 2025

Whew! It’s been another wild week for Tech News!

Here’s a crazy stat for ya:

We are currently 16 days into 2026, and The Lunduke Journal has already recorded 19 shows (17 of which have been published on every platform, and 2 others to be published this weekend everywhere… but are already available via the MP4 download page). And that’s with taking New Year’s Day off (and getting the flu this week).

It’s a heck of a lot of Tech News, to be sure.

Lunduke’s Top Stories for the Week

If you only have time to watch a few of shows, I recommend these 3 as being the most interesting (or important… or just… strange) from the last week:

In other words: A pretty gosh-darned crazy week for Linux.

(Those links are to Lunduke.Substack.com, but you can watch all of those shows on any other platform. As always.)

Other Tidbits of Awesomeness

A few other notes on this, most excellent, Friday!

And, with that, I leave you with a screenshot of the MP4 listing of the shows so far in 2026. Bonkers.

 

-Lunduke

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January 14, 2026
Lunduke's Lifetime Subscriber Wall 3 is almost full!

Holy moly.

This afternoon I sat down to update the 3rd Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber wall — adding in all of you who sent in requests over the last week or so.

And, boy howdy, were there a lot of you! So many, in fact, that the 3rd Lifetime Wall only has room for around 6 or 7 more names (depending on the name lengths)! That’s crazy!

If you want to make it onto “The Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber” Wall number 3… send me an email (bryan at lunduke.com) with the way you would like your name to be displayed.

Or, if you’re not already a Lifetime Subscriber, remedy that for $89. (Which, you know, is a pretty gosh darned good value.) … Then send me that email requesting to be added to the wall.

Once Wall 3 is full, we’ll start in on Wall number 4 (that’s nuts). At the current rate, I expect Wall 4 to debut this week.

And, as always, thank you for your support. Whatever kind of subscription you have, it is deeply appreciated. Monthly, Yearly, or Lifetime. All are amazing. You make The Lunduke Journal possible.

You rule.

-Lunduke

 
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January 13, 2026
Lunduke Out Sick Tomorrow

I’ve got the flu (or something else yucky) and need to take the day off tomorrow.

But I don’t really have a normal “boss” to email. Heck, all of you are sort of like my collective boss.

So I’m emailing you:

Boss, *cough cough* Lunduke is out sick tomorrow.

Which means no new shows on Wednesday. Hoping to rest up and be back with new shows on Thursday.

If you’ve missed any shows over the last few weeks, now’s a good chance to catch up.

And feel free to grab one of those fancy-shmancy $89 Lifetime Subscriptions while you’re at it. That won’t make my flu go away any faster… but it definitely won’t hurt.

Unrelated note: Buying stock in Nyquil might not be a bad idea. I think I’m about to increase their profits.

-Lunduke

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