So it’s interesting reading all the folks talking about permacomputing and the like.

And I think there’s merit to keeping those architectures around.

But let’s turn this on its head, shall we? Where do we get the people who still have that hardware who are willing to actively take part in Linux kernel development?

Like, to become facile enough with the process, tools and codebase to be able to bear the load of writing new security patches as vulnerabilities are found?

It’s a hard problem. The number of people actively contributing to Linux is large in aggregate but VANISHINGLY small when it comes to any particular area of interest.

Well, I sent an application email with my resume and the best proposal I could think of to volunteer@ a couple weeks back. We’ll see what happens I guess :)

Ooh thanks for the link that’s super helpful!

I don’t think Pascal is clunky! I think it represents a point on the evolution of programming languages and is still well loved by a LOT of people! Just google Free Pascal or Lazarus Pascal.

I love how much modern computing culture has its roots in the good old Amiga, and folks who didn’t own one are totally clueless about it.

One could, but I would argue that this idea pre-supposed a very ascetic class of programmer, and that depending on one’s goals in learning how to program, recursion can be a useful concept but saying it should be the one litmus test for any learning platforms seems highly questionable to me.

Are there any off the shelf available 68K based computers these days? I wasn’t aware of one but that would be cool :)

AMIGA 2023!!! :)

Or maybe there are people who find working in low powered environments that behave a certain way, more like computers did in the 80s enjoyable.

It’s not about boomers or what’s powerful and what’s not. Some things are just for fun and that’s all the justification they need IMO.

Also, how would that ‘weirdness’ impact using the device in a teaching context?

What would you like to see instead? Z80? Something else?

Oh I totally agree. The Lua idioms can be confusing and the documentation ecosystem is currently in a place where if you already know Lua well it’s incredibly helpful, but bridging the gap for beginners is a challenge - one worth embracing!

It’s not a distribution.

It’s a bag of Lua files you can use to get started.

Also, it’s not for you :) Users who know enough to hold such opinions aren’t the target audience.

That’s not just understandable but how could it be any other way?

Heck just Vim itself is layer upon layer of powerful functionality. Now layer in the immense potential of Neovim’s Lua based plugin ecosystem and client/server architecture? 🤯

Give yourself the time to learn. Focus on just the things you need to get the task you’re doing RIGHT NOW done, then focus later on things that can level up your knowledge and productivity.

I’ve been thinking about making Neovim tutorial videos for Youtube. If I did, what kinds of things would be useful to you?

Hello!

I joined the SDF a number of months back but got more involved about 2 months ago when I upgraded to a MetaARPA membership.

One of the things I just adore about the SDF is that, as a new comer, it seems to emphasize the creative, artistic and social aspects of computing rather than being yet another place for entrepreneur culture mavens to try out their new side hustle :)

I have nothing against making money, but I fell in love with computers in the 80s because they were bicycles for the mind, and I want people to remember that :)

I’ve been stumbling around the Boston area for close to 40 years now. I adore old computers, reading anything and everything I can get my hands on including but not limited to science fiction, urban fantasy and science/history.

It’s neat that MetaARPA members get PBX extensions - it would be neat to organize a voice chat every now and then if there isn’t one already!

Thank you to everyone who helps make this happen. I look forward to figuring out how I can pitch in helping to continue to make this place awesome :)

Hi!

kickstart.nvim maintainer here, please don’t follow the advice given in the video to just dump init.lua into place.

Please follow the instructions in the README for the repo and git clone it into your $XDG_CONFIG_HOME instead.

If you just copy pasta init.lua things will break. This is a result of converting Kickstart to lazy.nvim

Also, it’s a bit frustrating. That video is out of date as it’s prior to the conversion to lazy.nvim

You should rather than just dumping init.lua in place actually git clone the repo into your ~/.config directory. There are instructions for that in the README.

I appreciate your honesty about the README!

You say it didn’t make sense, was it:

1. Too long so you felt overwhelmed and stopped?
2. Too complicated in some way? Which bit caused you to stall out?

I feel like we need to do better here, but also I’m not a writer myself so I could definitely use all the specific feedback we can get.

Please feel free to file bugs, even if it’s “I don’t understand what <$tech_phrase> means” or similar. I’ll action ever single one of them :)

Remember Compute! magazine? :) I Lived for that thing :)

So much this!

I remember having to order tech books from Waldenbooks, and getting blank stares from the clerk, who’d basically tell me they were never going to actually receive it after I’d waited WEEKS.

Then I finally got to visit QuantumBooks, a technical bookstore in Kendall Square Cambridge, and it was like going to heaven :)

Oh MAN those magazine listings!

I remember my mom, bless her, reading them to me so I could type the bloody things in becauase, being partially blind, I couldn’t get the bloody page close enough to my face to properly read the infinite lines of DATA statements :)

And then, years later, they finally came out with checksum programs so you could see a number at the end of each line and compare it with what was in the magazine.

Crazy to think back, innit? :)