Bryan Lunduke's Blog, page 8

Annie Lennox (Eurythmics) was a TRS-80 Model 200 user

That computer, right there, is a Tandy TRS-80 Model 200.

It debuted in 1985 and features:

2.4 Mhz 80C85 CPU24K RAM (upgradable to a whopping 72k)240 x 128 pixel, mono displayAn RS-232 port that could handle up to 19,200 baudA wicked nice keyboard (one of the best ever in any laptop)

This beauty ran on 4 AA batteries… and lasted 16 hours! Seriously!

No built-in floppy drive… but you could purchase an external, 3.5″ drive for around $200.

Oh, and that person using this glorious machine? That’s none other than Annie Lennox (with her partner in the Eurythmics, Dave Stewart… most likely having some sweet dreams that are made of… 8 Bit, historically significant laptops).

Spacesuit needed to be turned off and on again

On Tuesday, June 16th, during a spacewalk… a spacesuit had to be rebooted.

Because, among other things, the display and controls weren’t working right.

To be clear: This is absolutely real and not a joke.

From NASA: “About three hours into today’s spacewalk, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough made his way back to the Quest airlock at the International Space Station to reconnect his spacesuit to an umbilical connection and restarted it. The reset corrected the issues with his spacesuit’s display and controls module that provides him information about the status of his spacesuit.”

In the absence of specific information as to the cause of the software needing to be rebooted, we are left to speculate. I see two possibilities:

The spacesuit lost bluetooth connection to the controller orWindows 10 had completed installing updates and needed to restart.

Regardless of the cause, it’s reassuring to know that, in the future — when we are all travelling in space — the guys on the I.T. Crowd will still have a job.

Microsoft trolls Internet with “leaked” Windows 11 … that is actually Linux + KDE

Earlier this week, epic prankster and Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadela managed to troll the entire Internet by taking a version of the KDE Plasma Desktop Environment, running on Linux, and releasing it as a DVD image named “Windows-11-Beta-Wink-Wink.iso”.

“This looks so much nicer! Can’t wait to upgrade from Windows 10!” remarked an excited Twitter user upon seeing the leaked screenshots.

“Woah! They really put a nice fresh coat of paint on Windows!” stated popular YouTube channel, Linus Tech Tips. “And it plays Windows games really well! Best Windows release ever!”

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“Bazinga!” declared an amused Nadela, from his super sweet gamer chair with wicked nice built-in speakers. “What a bunch of newbs. That’s not Windows. That’s GNU/Linux and KDE. Or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux plus KDE.”

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Despite Microsoft CEO’s unambiguous declaration of “Bazinga”, the screenshots — which are obviously KDE running on Linux, I mean, come on — continue to make the rounds with Tech Journalists convinced they are truly a leaked Beta version of Windows 11.

“I mean. These are Windows 11 to ME,” stated Microsoft Windows aficionado, Paul Thurrott. “I choose to perceive these as Windows 11. That’s my truth. Calling these screenshots ‘KDE’ is literally violence.”

The Lunduke Journal Podcast – Ep 2 – “Thoughts on Replacing Linux”

Supporters of The Lunduke Journal at Lunduke.Locals.com can listen to this episode right here:

https://lunduke.locals.com/post/773241/the-lunduke-journal-official-podcast-ep-2-thoughts-on-replacing-linux

Finding a Replacement for Desktop Linux

I love Linux.

Linux has been my primary desktop operating system for roughly 15 years. I’ve been reporting on, and editorializing about, Linux for almost that entire time. Heck, I dabbled in Linux-y-ness for a good decade prior to that.

For me — like many of you — Linux has been a reliable (mostly) and fun (mostly) computing companion. For a good, long time.

But what if… we don’t want to use Linux anymore?

What operating system could we move to for our desktops (and laptops)?

This isn’t a purely hypothetical exercise. Now, in 2021, many have grown concerned about the future of the projects, organizations, and companies that make up the Linux world — and, hence, about the future of Linux, itself.

Non-viable Linux Replacements

If we’re leaving Linux behind… that means Android and ChromeOS are getting left behind as well. Those are both sitting on top of Linux, after all.

And let’s assume that both Windows and macOS are also off the table. Because… Windows and macOS.

Plus… let’s only consider modern, currently supported operating systems. I, like so many of you, have a big soft spot for the operating systems of yesteryear. But, realistically, as fun and amazing as some of those systems (many from the 80s and 90s) are… they lack modern software (most notably, modern web browsers) that would make them truly viable Linux replacements. At least for most of us.

Let’s also leave FreeDOS out. As wonderful as it is, it doesn’t exactly have the modern web browsing that most people need.

Likewise, we’ll be leaving FreeBSD off the list. Their leadership outlawed “virtual hugs” and made all sorts of weird statements like that. Just plain odd. While those sorts of things are not directly related to the quality of the software, they don’t instil a great deal of confidence in the leadership and future of their platform.

There are quite a few modern, actively developed systems that do not have a viable, modern web browser. We’ll be ignoring those, for the moment as well.

Luckily there are a few viable contenders! In no particular order, here are the systems that I consider to be the best options for those looking to jump from the Linux ship.

OpenBSD

What if we want to leave Linux… but stick with a system that is, more or less, familiar? Going with an open source BSD based system could make sense!

We could certainly do a lot worse than OpenBSD. We can run many of the same desktop environments we’ve become used to on Linux (XFCE, GNOME, i3, and many others). Web browsers are mostly current — with Firefox, Chromium and many other options available.

It lacks many of the software packages available on Linux, and does not have direct Linux compatibility (having dropped the Linux compatibility layer many years back). Playing Steam games, for example, is straight out of the question.

Luckily there are plany of applications that have been ported over from Linux… just not everything we might have been used to.

Haiku

Haiku, being the open source reimplementation of BeOS, is a pretty different beast than Linux. Looks different. Feels different. Is different.

It, like all the other options we’re looking at, doesn’t give us binary compatibility with Linux software (meaning we can’t simply install a Linux application).

Luckily many major Linux projects have been ported over — including many of the KDE applications along with LibreOffice and tons of others. Likewise ther are a few browsers, in various states of development, that make using modern websites on Haiku pretty doable.

Plus a UNIX-y shell. So the experience will not be entirely foreign to any experienced Linux user. And the amazing speed and excellent design of Haiku certainly won’t make Linux users sad.

OpenIndiana

What about… Solaris? That’s some hardcore UNIX-y-ness right there.

After Solaris was abandoned it was released as open source (OpenSolaris).

Then OpenSolaris was abandoned and illumos was born to continue development.

Then OpenIndiana was created to take illumos and add on top of it.

In a sense, OpenIndiana is the modern, open source incarnation of Solaris. As such it will be quite comfortable to most Linux pro users. Heck, you can even run the MATE (read: GNOME 2) desktop environment, along with most popular Linux software packages and even a few browsers.

There’s certainly something cool about running workstation-class UNIX as your personal desktop…

ArcaOS

IBM’s OS/2 has been dead and burried (at least by IBM) for quite some time. But a small company called Arca Noae secured the rights to sell a version of OS/2 with significant patches, drivers, updates, and new software.

That includes multiple more modern web browsers that are quite capable of using the modern web.

I hesitated adding ArcaOS to this list, as the company behind it does not have full access to the original OS/2 source code from IBM — instead they rely on referse engineering portions and replacing others entirely. So it’s not 100% actively developed… but still supported and expanded upon.

ArcOS is the only option on this list that you need to pay for. Not a deal breaker (I’m not opposed to paying for things that make my life better), but worth noting for any Linux user who is used to getting everything for free (as in beer).

So… which to go with?

Honestly? These are four very different systems with very different software ecosystems aorund them. And they’ll all let you do your web browsing, and your office suite-ing. So, for most people, all of these are viable.

Personally… I’ve decided that I need to spend a little time with each of them. None are entirely new to me, but I haven’t truly evaluated these specific systems as full Linux replacements.

So, starting this week, I’ll be installing OpenBSD and attempting to use it as my primary system. How will it go? Will it be a confident replacement for my Linux desktop? Will it make me smile when I turn my computer on?

Let’s find out.

The Best Big Tech Replacements of 2021

Big Tech spies on you. Big Tech manipulates you. Big Tech treats you like a product instead of like a human being.

Let’s face it… Big Tech sucks.

What follows are my current recommendations — as of June, 2021 — for replacing some of the most prominent Big Tech services and software platforms.

Note: I know there are others. These are the ones I recommend. And I recommend each for their own, individual reasons. Feel free to disagree with my list. That’s your freedom.

YouTube Replacement

There are a few “YouTube Alternative” video sharing platforms out there. Some have good qualities. But only one of them hits all the right marks for me: Odysee.

Odysee is built on top of the LBRY network. And LBRY, itself, is a blockchain-y, Crypto-y, uncensor-y platform for sharing all sorts of content. Videos, blogs, images, and the like.

I publish nearly all of my content to Odysee (and, hence, LBRY) and it works like a charm. Lots of open source. Doesn’t treat users like cattle. Can’t go wrong.

GMail Replacement

Lots of email services out there. The one I have enjoyed using the most is, without question, Kolab Now.

It’s a paid email service. Doesn’t advertise to you or sell your data. Built on open source parts. Easy to back up and self-host (if you should want to).

I find paying a small fee for a high quality email service that doesn’t spy on me to be well worth it.

Google Search Replacement

My current favorite search engine is Startpage. With DuckDuckGo right behind it.

But I’m also hearing great things about the upcoming Brave Search. Once that gets out of Beta I’m eager to see how well it’ll work for me as my primary search engine.

Twitter / Facebook Replacement

Sure, you can replace Facebook or Twitter with an open, federated system like Mastodon (and “The Fediverse” )… but… why? It’s almost as bad. Worse in some ways.

I say nuke the entire idea of a network like Twitter from orbit. We, as humans, were not meant to communicate with 5 Million strangers — with 99.9999% not knowing or caring who you are — at all times. It just doesn’t work.

If you need a social network — and there’s nothing wrong with that — I recommend smaller, focused groups. Locals-based social networks are the way to go.

Patreon Replacement

Patreon has some funky policies. And they’ve censored some people in seriously uncool ways. But the core idea is a good one: subscribe to and support independent creators. Podcasts, authors, artists, developers. This is good stuff! If only Patreon weren’t so stinkin’ yucky.

Locals. Locals is the way to go here, too. Lots of community options, no crazy censorship.

Dropbox / Google Drive Replacement

Dropbox. Google Drive. Microsoft One Driveinator (or whatever it’s called). And there’s Apple’s thing. Used to be called iDrive (part of their .Mac / iTools suite).

Anyway, all of them are owned by Big Tech and have funky policies.

If you have data to store, you deserve to have control over that data. Keep away prying eyes… and make you responsible for, well, your own stuff.

Nextcloud — preferably self-hosted — is the way to go. Though there are some great Nextcloud hosting options out there as well. While those don’t give you as much control as self-hosting… they’re also a lot easier. And, honestly, are wildly more powerful and private than the Big Tech online storage options.

Microsoft Office Replacement

Don’t use Microsoft Office. I used to work on Microsoft Office. And, let me tell ya, it’s not what it used to be.

Need spreadsheets and presentation tools? The answer is simple.

LibreOffice. Just use LibreOffice.

Windows / MacOS Replacement

Looking to replace Windows or macOS? If you’d asked me two years ago, I would have said “Use Linux.”

Nowadays? In 2021? There are some concerns there.

But Linux is still a better way to go. Regardless of which Linux distribution you choose. Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, PCLinuxOS… all great.

I replaced all of those! Now what?

Rejoice! Pat yourself on the back! You are now quite a bit more private, your data quite a bit more secure. There are now less companies treating you like cattle. Your humanity, at least partially, restored!

But aren’t there more problematic Big Tech services and whatnot?

You bet! Tons of ’em!

But, think of it like this…

You don’t need to eat 100% healthy for every meal… in order to get the benefits of eating a few veggies at dinner.

[PROJECT NAME] IRC Channel leaves Freenode. Outrageous!

BREAKING NEWS:

Today, [PROJECT NAME] has announced it is officially taking its IRC channel away from Freenode.

[RANDOM PERSON WHO MAY OR MAY NOT BE INVOLVED IN PROJECT BUT ONCE LOGGED INTO THAT IRC CHANNEL] says, in a statement, “The actions of Freenode have been outraegous! Scandalous! Not running that specific IRC server the way I want it to be run is literally violence! We had no choice but to take our [PROJECT NAME] channel off of Freenode and move it to [RANDOM OTHER IRC SERVER]!”

This move was applauded by several Twitter accounts which have cartoon animals for avatars.

“About [CENSORED] time! Freenode is literally the devil. I heard they are all Nazis there now,” stated [ANONYMOUS CARTOON ANIMAL TWITTER USER WITH 12 FOLLOWERS]. “And I should know. I am the most important and experienced person in the open source world.”

The Lunduke Journal Podcast – Ep 1 – “The Linux Foundation has lost its way”

Supporters of The Lunduke Journal at Lunduke.Locals.com can listen to this episode right here:

https://lunduke.locals.com/post/760914/the-lunduke-journal-podcast-ep-1-the-linux-foundation-has-lost-its-way

British computer terms are weird

I mean. Crikey. That’s a British one, right?

Haiku OS on RISC-V making progress

There are some mightily cool things happening with Alternative Operating Systems nowadays.

Case in point: Haiku OS.

Not only has this open source reimplementation (and expansion) of the legendary BeOS been rapidly gaining in terms of both stability and usability (and availability of software)… but is now seeing extraordinary progress in being ported from x86… over to RISC-V.

The primary developer of the RISC-V port, a dev who goes by “X512”, recently had this to say on the Haiku OS message board:

“Haiku with “riscv” platform is running on Qemu. The same “haiku_loader.riscv” and Haiku disk image is working with both TinyEMU and Qemu. “efi” platform is not ready yet.“

Followed by some additional fantastic news:

“Network operation is confirmed in Qemu“

Check those links for some truly drool-worthy screenshots. Sure. It may look just like Haiku running on x86 platforms… but the fact that this is running, at that level, on RISC-V is pretty marvelous.

An open source operating system. One that is not Linux or BSD based. Running on an open standard CPU. Doesn’t get much more exciting than that.

Oh. And a little birdie tells me that Haiku Beta 3 is due to be released real soon now…