Here's one @JohnBlood might enjoy.
This is an ad from 1983. Yes, ram mattered THAT much.
We had a huge debate in our house over whether to get the Atari 800 or the Commodore 64, and one of the main discussion points was 48K versus 64K. Mostly, we had no idea what we were talking about, and ultimately the Atari won because of games and brand recognition (we had a VCS). But still, TINY FRACTIONS of ram were enough to influence purchasing decisions, back in the early 80s.
Also, it's hilarious to read at the very bottom of this ad, all the ridiculous places you could find the Commodore 64:
Folks back then had no idea how to classify a "home computer". Was it a piece of furniture? Was it a radio? Was it a television? Was is a calculator? Was it a toy? Was it for books? Was it a telephone? Was it hobby gear or an educational tool? Was it a cash register? Was it a dangerous weapon?
The answer to all these questions was tentatively "yes". So, what exactly was this thing, and how should we think about? Because of that initial uncertainty, anyone and everyone who was selling to the retail public, was selling computers.
Regarding a recent ruling, in SFC v. Vizio, Karen Sandler (SFC Director, former GNOME Director), responds to the Linux creator by saying "maybe you didn't read".
More from The Lunduke Journal:
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A Microsoft rep made the statement, saying the company would use Al to hit a target of "1 engineer, 1 month, 1 million lines of code". Then quickly went into damage control.
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In the Linux Foundation's 2025 annual report, AI is mentioned 150 times. Linux is only mentioned 40 times. Also: Linux Foundation boasts about scholarships to Trans & DEI orgs.
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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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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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Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
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After 20 years together (18 years married), I was finally able to get my lovely wife to watch Die Hard. She never had any interest because of how violent it was, but for whatever reason she was open to it this Christmas. I’m happy to report that she loved it! Yippee-ki-yay everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and have a happy New Year.
Woah!
The end of December is almost here!
That means the “$89 Lifetime Lunduke Journal Subscription” deal is about to end!
When the ball drops on New Years Eve, and the calendar clocks over to 2026, the Lifetime Subscription price goes back to normal.
So, you know, grab one before that darn ball drops! (Then check out all of the Lunduke Journal Subscriber Perks.)
Because that deal is re-DONK-u-lous.
-Lunduke
Two quick tidbits on this glorious Sunday:
Lifetime Subscriptions to The Lunduke Journal are currently discounted to $89. For life. Which is… insane. That’s less than 1/3rd of the regular price.
Monthly and Yearly subscriptions are 50% off. Which is also pretty darned snazzy.
On Tuesday I will be recording a long-overdue episode of “Lunduke’s Nerdy Q&A”.
Got questions you’d like asked in the show? No guarantees, but I’ll get to as many as I can!
Retro computing. Current computer news. Ridiculous hypotheticals. Any question is fair game... just make sure it’s good and nerdy.
To make it simple for me, there are two ways you can submit questions for this week’s Q&A:
Add a comment to this thread on Forum.Lunduke.com.
Reply to this thread over on X.
Ok. I lied. There are three ways. You can also reply to this post, right here, on Locals.
Note: Only Lunduke Journal subscribers can access to Forum.Lunduke.com. All of the details on how to gain access are on the Lunduke Journal Subscriber Perks page.
-Lunduke
Time for some Fun Lunduke Journal Facts of Fact-ly-ness!
The “per-month” cost of a Lifetime Subscription to The Lunduke Journal is an asymptotic line. The longer you have that subscription, the closer it gets to $0.00.
The Lifetime Subscription was first introduced 3 1/2 years ago… and is still going strong.
The price of a Lifetime Subscription is currently discounted to $89. For life. That’s less than 1/3rd the normal price.
The earlier you pick one up, the quicker that asymptotic line begins approaching zero. Which is fun.
If you think you might ever want a Lifetime Subscription, now is the time.
Imagine missing this discounted price and missing out on months of, mathematically certain, asymptotic line fun. This is one of those scenarios where Future You (tm) would want to travel back in time to tell Present You (tm) to snag a Lifetime Subscription.
Go. Grab the Lifetime Subscription for $89. That deal is good all December long.
There’s a video of me yammering about it too. Just for good measure.
You’re welcome.
-Lunduke
