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December 08, 2022

#PDAweek
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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OpenAI Buys Seat on Rust Board for $600K

How much is it worth, to the maker of ChatGPT, to have control of The Rust Foundation? $600,000 apparently.

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00:09:10
SteamOS Ditches X11 for Wayland

Valve's Arch-based SteamOS Linux distro (primarily for Steam Decks) has switched to Wayland by default to comply with KDE's upcoming "Wayland Only" policy.

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00:10:57
Islamic Terrorists Attack Disney+

The Iran & Hamas aligned "313 Team" is claiming credit for a Disney+ outage this evening. The same Islamic cyber terrorists previously attacked Ubuntu, Microsoft, OpenAl, Cloudflare, & others.

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00:08:37
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.

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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! 🤣

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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
3 hours ago

Heavy Metal Classical Shredding!!

3 hours ago

Shredding Deluxe!!

3 hours ago

Eye candy to go with your ear candy!

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"C64" & "BeOS" Lunduke Journal Lifetime Walls open!

The “TempleOS” and “Macintosh System 1” Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber Walls are full! Those suckers filled up in a single week! (You can check them all out at Lunduke.com.)

But, behold! The “Commodore 64” and “BeOS R5” Walls are now available to add your names to!

  • Windows 2000 : 2 spots left

  • Commodore 64 : Space available

  • BeOS R5 : Space available

 

Those last two spots on the Windows 2000 Wall won’t last long. And, honestly, I expect the C64 Wall to by full pretty quickly.

Don’t have a Lifetime Subscription yet?

Already have a Lifetime Subscription to The Lunduke Journal?

  • Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with which Wall you would like to be on, and how you’d like your name displayed (nickname, full name, etc.).

There are roughly 12 days left in June. How many Retro Computer themed Lifetime Walls can we fill up before the end of the month? Let’s find out!

Huge thank you to each and every one of you! You make The Lunduke Journal possible.

-Lunduke

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Lunduke's Week in Tech : June 7 - June 13, 2026

It has been, yet another, weird and wild week in the world of Tech and Open Source.

Filled with awesome and inspiring stories (Linux logos on Race cars!)… mixed with bizarre, Woke politics and concerning technical news.

And, as usual, all but one of the big stories this week were completely ignored by the other of the Tech News outlets.

Here are the major stories from the last week, with direct links to X and Substack. You can also watch / listen on a bunch of other platforms (Rumble, RSS Audio Podcast, etc.), listed on Lunduke.com.

  • Rust-Based Malware Hits 1.4% of Arch User Repository (X, Substack)

  • Godot Game Engine Promotes Extreme, Pro-Trans "Pronoun Palace" Game (X, Substack)

  • GNOME in Damage Control Mode After Revelations from Ex Board Member (X, Substack)

  • Proton Mail Apologizes for Sponsoring "Far Right French YouTuber" (X, Substack)

  • Ex Board Member Reveals Corruption & Dysfunction at GNOME Foundation (X, Substack)

  • AI Generated Patches to Linux Kernel Hits New Record High (X, Substack)

  • Linux Logos on Racecars (X, Substack)

  • XLibre Turns One Year Old (X, Substack)

Huge thank you to all of The Lunduke Journal’s subscribers. You make all of this possible.

-Lunduke

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TempleOS arrives on The Lunduke Journal Lifetime Wall

“When are you going to add a TempleOS Lifetime Wall??!”

I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve received that request over the last few weeks. Well. What the heck! Why not?

There are now three Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber Walls (displayed both on Lunduke.com and the end of all new shows) with space available:

  • Macintosh System 1

  • Windows 2000

  • TempleOS

 

A few quick notes:

  1. The Windows 2000 Wall, which was introduced only 2 days ago, is already about half way full. At the current rate, that one will likely be full by the end of the week. Still plenty of space on the Mac System 1 Wall.

  2. The discount on Lifetime Subscriptions ($125… discounted from the normal $300) runs through the end of June.

  3. One Lifetime Subscription = Name Listed on One Wall. These Walls are crazy popular and fill up super fast, so I have to put that limit in place.

  4. Want your name on more than one Lifetime Wall? Grab a second Lifetime Subscription (use the discounted rate) and you can have your name added to one of the Walls with space still available.

Massive high five to everyone who has supported The Lunduke Journal and made these retro-computer Lifetime Walls so much fun to do!

-Lunduke

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