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December 04, 2024
Fell short in the December Fundraiser... but not by much!

The December Lunduke Journal Fundraiser officially ended last night. A huge thank you to everyone to pitched in (both now and in the past). Seriously. None of this is possible without you amazingly generous nerds.

First, the bad news.

We fell short of the goal.

And that funding goal isn't some arbitrary number -- falling short of the goal means that, long term, The Lunduke Journal may need to find other funding sources. Which could jeopardize our independence.

And now, the good news.

We only fell short of that funding goal by a teeny, tiny amount!

After tallying everything up, we hit 85% (and change) of our target. Which means we only need to make up an additional 15% (give or take) in order to stay "in the black" and keep our lights on here at The Lunduke Journal.

Absolutely doable.

Not sure exactly how we'll go about tackling that final 15% yet -- maybe a livestream telethon type event, maybe some sort of smaller (shorter) promotion, or maybe something else -- but I'll figure that out in the days ahead.

I feel confident enough that we can easily hit those numbers... that I think we can safely declare the December Fundraiser ended. šŸ˜Ž

Oh! Everyone who picked up a Lifetime Subscription: You should have an email confirmation in your inbox. If you don't have one, email me (bryan at lunduke.com) and I'll make sure you're all set.

Once again: Thank you to everyone who pitched in -- you make all of this possible. I was talking just a few weeks ago with another Tech Journalist who is about to lose his job -- because the site he writes for is having a hard time staying afloat (and is replacing him with AI). That site is almost entirely dependent on Big Tech advertising... and the advertising spending has been decreasing a lot lately.

We don't have that problem. Because of you. You rule.

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NeXTStep, Desqview/X, & TRS-80 Model 100 Walls!

The Lunduke Journal now has close to 20 retro computer themed walls, filled with the names of subscribers. And that number is growing fast.

NeXTStep, Emacs, Desqview/X, & TRS-80 Model 100 Walls:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/8056105/trs-80-model-100-joins-the-lunduke-journal-lifetime-wall-party

Get on The Wall with a Massively Discounted Lifetime Sub:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/50-off-yearly-and-massively-discounted

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

00:14:16
Rust is the Paper Straw of Computers

It solves a problem nobody had and makes everything worse. And those in power demand that you use it.

NeXTStep, Emacs, Desqview/X, & TRS-80 Model 100 Walls:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/8056105/trs-80-model-100-joins-the-lunduke-journal-lifetime-wall-party

Get on The Wall with a Massively Discounted Lifetime Sub:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/50-off-yearly-and-massively-discounted

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

00:13:44
Linux Mint Says Wayland Worse Experience than X11

"We worked really hard on Wayland"... "and the experience is almost on par with X11."

NeXTStep, Emacs, Desqview/X, & TRS-80 Model 100 Walls:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/8056105/trs-80-model-100-joins-the-lunduke-journal-lifetime-wall-party

Get on The Wall with a Massively Discounted Lifetime Sub:
https://lunduke.substack.com/p/50-off-yearly-and-massively-discounted

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

00:03:59
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
4 hours ago
20 hours ago

AI Automation Helping My Job Search

Codex can now work with Outlook. I have a LinkedIn Job Board bot that's been running since I've been unemployed. Today I could ask:

go through my outlook email today and look for all the LinkedIn and Ladders job emails, evaluate and curate a list I should be applying to. Prepare to do the applications for me.

And off it goes, combing through all the email today, evaluating the jobs for suitability (is this work I do at the pay I need).

The applying for me has been a mixed bag so far. Still, it is definitely saving me time.

I've also had bots evaluating prospective clients within commuting distance from home and give me a prospecting list. After identifying companies, it found humans for me to contact, then wrote the opening pitch. After my review and approval, sent out the emails.

20 hours ago

High End and Workhorse Models Appear: GPT 5.6 Sol and Grok 4.5

OpenAI released their Mythos/Fable competitor GPT 5.6 Sol. Word is that it’s not quite AS good at the most difficult tasks as Anthropic’s Fable 5, but for almost all tasks it’s just as good and 70% cheaper to run and faster. xAI released Grok 4.5 that is now in the hunt for the top. It’s not QUITE there, but it’s allegedly very good and a LOT cheaper. Cheaper per token and more efficient in getting work done using less tokens.

We are well into the ā€œlabor pyramidā€ of AI models. You have your expensive human solutions architect, supported by a cheaper project manager, then a set of mid level workers and some cheap newbies. Nobody staffs a project with just the highest priced most capable humans. Likewise with AI these days.

I wanted to make significant refactor of my personal website. I used GPT 5.6-Sol to take my long list of changes I wanted to my website and asked it to evaluate it’s use as a public portfolio and my own personal ...

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 ā€œBeOSā€ Wall Lifetime Subscriber Wall is now full (see all of them on Lunduke.com)!

  2. We’ve added a new ā€œTRS-80 Model 100ā€ 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)

Ā 

Nice, right?

Worth noting: The ā€œTRS-80 Model 100ā€ 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 ā€œbryan at lunduke.comā€) 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

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Vim beats Emacs!

Well, we’ve done it.

We’ve answered the eternal question: ā€œWhich Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscriber Wall would fill with names quicker? Emacs or Vim?ā€

The answer, it turns out, is ā€œVimā€. And it takes just 8 days.

Ā 

A hearty ā€œThank Youā€ to everyone who supports The Lunduke Journal by getting Lifetime Subscriptions (massively discounted throughout July) and getting on these walls! You make all of this possible!

Now. How long will it take for Emacs to fill up (matching the same number of names as the Vim Wall)?

Well, right now the Emacs Wall is a hair over 2/3rds of the way full. So we’ll find out!

Welcome NeXTStep Wall!

With the closing of the ā€œVimā€ Wall (and the BeOS Wall only having the space for 1 name left), now seemed like a good time to add a new retro computer wall: The NeXTStep 1.0 Wall.

Right now, there are 4 Walls available to add your name to (*cough* massive discount *cough*).

  • NeXTStep (just opened)

  • Emacs (about 2/3rds full)

  • BeOS R5 (1 spot left)

  • Desqview/X (1/2 full)

Ā 

Once again, huge thanks to everyone who supports The Lunduke Journal!

-Lunduke

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Lunduke's Week in Tech : June 28 - July 4, 2026

Lunduke’s Thoughts of The Week

Yesterday was the 4th of July.

As such, time that I normally would have spent writing up some thoughts on the Tech News of the Week (tm) was, instead, spent eating hamburgers, watching fireworks, and generally goofing off with my kids.

So allow me to briefly summarize my thoughts using as little effort as possible:

Rust is weird, Sony sucks, and America is awesome.

… Yup. That just about covers it.

I hope all of my fellow Americans had a truly splendid Independence Day.

Biggest Tech Stories - June 28 - July 4, 2026

Here are the major stories from the last week, with direct links to X and Substack.

See Lunduke.com for all other platforms (Rumble, RSS Audio Podcast, etc.).

  • Git Takes Another Step Towards Making Rust Mandatory (X, Substack)

  • 74 Million User Accounts Exposed in Breaches During June (X, Substack)

  • BCacheFS Adding Rust Dependency Even Though ā€œRust doesn’t have a stable ABIā€ (X, Substack)

  • Git Without Rust From Dev of XLibre (X, Substack)

  • Sony Says No More Physical PlayStation Games (X, Substack)

  • Ubuntu Sponsors Rust Clone Foundation (X, Substack)

  • Like Computers? Thank America. (X, Substack)

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

-Lunduke

Ā 
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