Lunduke
News • Science & Tech
Make Computers Fun Again - Linux, UNIX, Alternative Operating Systems, Computer History, and Retro Computing. Also dad jokes.
Interested? Want to learn more about the community?
January 04, 2023

This is my project this week.
Apple IIe
1st, while we had these computers in elementary school, I was only ever allowed to put a disk in, turn it on, then crunch numbers, draw pictures, type a report, or drown while crossing a river. I never got to try to do anything else. If I took the disk out, I got in trouble. So I have no idea how on earth to actually use an Apple II.
2nd, I did not pay anywhere close to $200 for this. I got it at VCF East last year. I was told it worked, and a few people, besides the seller, confirmed it had a serial card. It reeks of cigarettes, so its been out in my garage.
3rd, I have absolutely zero software. Several people told me there is a way to use that serial port to transfer disk images and make real floppies.

Goals this week:
1) clean the crap out of this thing. Check the refas, closely inspect everything and make it look nice and get rid of the smell.

2) get this to boot and learn how to use it.

3) get some floppy disks made with some of the games and software I remember playing.

Wish me luck.

Interested? Want to learn more about the community?
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
September 12, 2026
Lunduke Computer OS 0.4 is Here

The 90s inspired, No Age Verification, No Online Account Linux distro moves closer to a Beta release.

The LCOS Source & Downloads:
https://github.com/BryanLunduke/LCOS

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:15:31
September 11, 2026
GNOME Co-Founder Suggests Omarchy is Money Laundering Front for "Nefarious" Groups

"They probably want DHH to make personal, untraceable donations to nefarious groups," says GNOME Code of Conduct Chairman.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:09:18
September 10, 2026
Software Freedom Conservancy Rails Against Open Source Corruption

The past Executive Director of the Free Software Foundation says he has been called "fascist", sent copies of 1984, and threatened with doxing.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:16:42
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:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

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?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

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
6 hours ago

Now, this is brilliant.

As the big AI companies look to go public, the obvious problem of profitability is on the table. So, how can they corner the market and reduce competition so profit is more likely?

First step is to feign interest in saving anything except the bottom line.

He responded by saying he didn’t know how an estimate like that could be made but did say the risk was enough that AI companies and governments should not tolerate it.
“Whether it’s 10 or eight or six, ​the point is, we all have a tremendous amount of responsibility, and cannot let egos or incentives for profit or anything else get in the way,” Altman said.

The second is to regulate the competition away by creating guardrails only the biggest companies could meet.

“I’m bringing some of the world’s leading AI safety experts to Capitol Hill to brief Senators in both parties on what we can do to rein in AI—before it’s too late,” Sanders said. “The American people want action.”

...

22 hours ago

Rob Braxton Adopts AI

I do not see eye to eye with Rob on a good number of things. But he is another Lunduke forum hero based on his security and privacy videos. He hates all things cloud, and Apple and Google, and of course Msft.

And yet - he's using AI. He does as much local as he can, but uses cloud models too. This video he does a great job, IMHO, discussing just where local AI is, how he uses it, why (privacy, duh!) and where he has needs that local AI can't quite meet.

One thing the stuck out to me - he is using AI to manage his servers. Yeah, I do to, but I'm just running a home lab, he has customers.

Why? Because AI works for this task very well and saves time for more important work.

I don't have the hardware he has, but it's not exotic. It's a Strix Halo machine and will run $2-2.5k in these memory shortage days.

Visiting the Local vs Cloud LLM via Braxman's Lens

Coming out of the Rob Braxman video - thoughts on when to use local AI. And my thoughts.

Here are the specifics Braxman uses AI for.

He uses OpenClaw as his agent platform. I use Codex and Claude code and others. I've played with OpenClaw and Hermes, and I understand why he's attracted to them. I'm trying to learn AI to that I can sell my skills. He's trying to use AI to get work done. Building one's own AI Employee Factory like I have - isn't what most people should do. OpenClaw, Hermes or GrokBot are places to look into.

Brax.me is his commercial site and he uses a bot to handle tech support! This is a fantastic use case. It's also CLEARLY a use case you don't go to if you haven't developed a trust with the AI. He also says he uses only local models for this. Matches the supremacy of privacy for customer info that is his foundational concern.

He runs email and many other services across colocated servers across the country. If there are bugs, ...

Lunduke Lifetime Discount Ends in 1 Day; Zelda, Larry, SQ, & Keen Walls Available

TL;DR: Lifetime Subscription discount ends in one day. There are currently 4 “Lifetime Walls” with space available for more names (the Oregon Trail Wall is now full).

We’ve been running a massive discount on Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriptions for the entire months of June and July. And it has been an absolute blast. There are now 21 (twenty-one!) retro computer walls overflowing with your names.

Pure insanity. Huge thank you to everyone who has supported The Lunduke Journal.

But the discounted price only runs through July 31st… and that moment is just about here.

When the calendar ticks over into August (just a hair over 24 hours from now), the Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription price goes back to normal.

  • If the calendar still says it’s July, the Lifetime price is still discounted to $125.

  • If the calendar says August… the price returns to $300.

There are, as of this exact moment, 4 retro game themed “Lifetime Walls” which still have some space for more names (check Lunduke.com for the full list):

  1. Legend of Zelda

  2. Commander Keen 4

  3. Space Quest 4

  4. Leisure Suit Larry

Grab a discounted Lifetime Subscription (scroll down for the details), then email Lunduke (bryan at lunduke.com) with which Wall you’d like to appear on.

 

First come, first served. Once a Wall is full, it’s full. So if there’s a specific Wall you’d like to be on, don’t dilly dally.

How to Grab a Discounted Lifetime Subscription:

There are 3 different ways to pick up a Lunduke Journal Lifetime sub. All of them work great. Choose whichever works best for you!

Remember: These discounted prices go back up to normal ($300) on August 1st.

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Locals:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Locals.com/support.

  2. Select “Give Once“.

  3. Enter “125“ into the amount field.

  4. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

Get a Lifetime Subscription via Substack:

  1. Go to Lunduke.Substack.com/subscribe.

  2. Select the “Lifetime Subscription” option.

  3. After checking out, Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status. (This usually happens within a few hours.)

If you would also like full, Lifetime access to Lunduke.Locals.com (which is included):

  1. Make a free account on Lunduke.Locals.com.

  2. Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the email address you use on both Substack and Locals (can be different email addresses).

  3. Lunduke will toss you an email once your account is set to full lifetime status on Locals.

Get a Lifetime Subscription with Bitcoin:

Bonus: Save an extra $10 with the Bitcoin option, as Bitcoin processing has fewer fees associated with it.

bc1qyjakve8fywm8pz2v99v57yhjj0vzr2vjze6fcq

  • Email “bryan at lunduke.com” with the following information: What time you made the transaction, how much was sent (in Bitcoin), and the email address you use (or plan to use) on Locals.com or Substack.com.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
post photo preview
Oregon Trail, Keen, & Leisure Suit Larry Lifetime Walls

Holy frijoles! There are now 20 (twenty!) Lifetime Subscriber Walls, filled with the names of roughly one bazillion Lunduke Journal supporters.

Just amazing.

Two super quick updates:

  1. The “Desqview/X”, “NeXTSetp”, & “TRS-80 Model 100” Walls are now full! (Check them out on Lunduke.com and at the end of new shows.)

  2. There are 3 new Walls available to put your John Hancock on… and, just for kicks, these ones aren’t from Classic Operating Systems… they’re Classic Games:

    1. Oregon Trail

    2. Commander Keen 4

    3. Leisure Suit Larry

 

I don’t expect space on these Walls to last long. First come first served.

A huge thank you to all of The Lunduke Journal subscribers. Your support is deeply appreciated. You make this possible.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
post photo preview
TRS-80 Model 100 joins The Lunduke Journal Lifetime Wall party!

Buckle up, Buttercup. Because The Lunduke Journal is about to blow your mind.

  1. The “BeOS” Wall Lifetime Subscriber Wall is now full (see all of them on Lunduke.com)!

  2. We’ve added a new “TRS-80 Model 100” Wall (because we can)! That’s the 19th Lifetime Subscriber Wall! 19!

  3. The discounted Lifetime Lunduke Journal Subscriptions are still available through to the end of this month (July).

Which means there are, as of this exact moment, 4 Walls with space available (see Lunduke.com for the full list of Walls). But these fill up wicked fast.

  1. Emacs (only a few spots left)

  2. Desqview/X (a little less than 2/3rd’s full)

  3. NeXTStep (still plenty of space)

  4. TRS-80 Model 100 (just launched)

 

Nice, right?

Worth noting: The “TRS-80 Model 100” has very limited screen resolution (240 x 64), which means only a small number of names can fit on that wall. If you want on it, I’d let me know right away.

Grab a discounted Lifetime Subscription (if you don’t already have one), then let me know (email “bryan at lunduke.com”) which Wall you’d like to see your name on.

Huge high five to everyone who has already added their name to a Wall. At the current rate, we’ll have over 20 retro computer themed walls, filled with all of your names, by the end of the month.

And, doggone it, that’s amazing.

-Lunduke

Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals