Hacker News: rbc

New comment by rbc in "TI-74 Basicalc"

rbc — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:12:21 +0000

With all the buzz about the return of the Commodore 64, the days of 8-bit computing and the BASIC programming language are probably getting more attention than usual.

Managing to get caught up in retro computing, I've recently bought the TI-99/4A that I always wanted as a kid. It was a 16-bit competitor that initially competed with the Apple II and TRS-80. Though the TI-99/4A failed in the market, Texas Instruments followed it with the similar but smaller Compact Computer 40, and finally the TI-74 BASICALC.

I'm highlighting the TI-74, because TI made a fair number of them, and the keyboard is a bit bigger than other pocket computers of the era. The TI-74 case is very sturdy.

To use the TI-99/4A, I had to buy a media adapter to plug it into my HDMI monitor. Though fun, it doesn't get used very much unless I'm playing old game cartridges.

My TI-74's get much more use, though basically as a calculator. If you have a thing for 8-bit computing, the TI-74 is satisfyingly sturdy, has a fairly complete BASIC, and is a bit easier to type on than its pocket computer peers with its larger keys. The display is limited, so its not a gaming platform however.

TI-74 Basicalc

rbc — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:12:21 +0000

Article URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TI-74

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49473232

Points: 3

# Comments: 1

New comment by rbc in "Emacs Is a Lispboard"

rbc — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 16:35:03 +0000

GNU Emacs is probably the easiest way to capture the spirit of working on the Lisp machines. Interlisp is an ongoing project that takes you even further down that road.

Return of RSS Feeds

rbc — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:09:06 +0000

This brief missive regards a response to the impact of AI on Internet publishers. As search engines move toward providing AI summaries as part of their search results, where does that leave Internet publishers who never get the click?

The proposal is to promote RSS feeds as an alternative to search engine optimization, or social media sharing. Once a return user has added a feed to their feed reader, the publisher and the user have a direct link that won't be subject to the whims of search and social media algorithms.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48785156

Points: 5

# Comments: 1

The Legal and Policy Fallout from Data Center Strikes in the Middle East War

rbc — Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:19:45 +0000

Article URL: https://www.techpolicy.press/the-legal-and-policy-fallout-from-data-center-strikes-in-the-middle-east-war/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47664783

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by rbc in "The death of social media is the renaissance of RSS (2025)"

rbc — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 13:08:59 +0000

I'm using KDE Akregator. It's nice to have a consistant interface for checking the headlines, and only opening web pages to give them a closer look.

New comment by rbc in "Emails to Outlook.com rejected due to a fault or overzealous blocking rules"

rbc — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 17:48:01 +0000

This is one of those articles that demonstrates why email should be distributed. Letting Google and Microsoft run email for the planet is just asking for problems. There are some technical demands to running email services, but they are still in reach of the technically inclined individual or organization. If for no other reason, it would help keep the big mail service providers honest.

New comment by rbc in "Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux"

rbc — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 22:54:42 +0000

At work, my employer is still running Microsoft products for the desktop environment. At home, assuming I'm using Microsoft products at all (rare), it's from inside the Chromium web browser on Linux or BSD.

New comment by rbc in "Younger Futhorc (ᛡᛟᛝᛖᚱ᛬ᚠᚢᚦᚩᚱᚳ)"

rbc — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 03:34:11 +0000

An attempt to write English based on Anglo-Saxon runes (Futhorc) devised by Nothelm Hurlebatte.

Younger Futhorc (ᛡᛟᛝᛖᚱ᛬ᚠᚢᚦᚩᚱᚳ)

rbc — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 03:34:11 +0000

Article URL: https://www.omniglot.com/conscripts/youngerfuthorc.htm

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46213716

Points: 36

# Comments: 7

New comment by rbc in "Moving from OpenBSD to FreeBSD for firewalls"

rbc — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 00:31:13 +0000

I think it depends on your needs. Working corporate environments with 1000+ hosts, LTS operating systems are big help. On the other hand, for smaller cases, call it a work group or smaller, I think OpenBSD provides a base system that doesn't typically make drastic changes, along with a ports collection that does a pretty good job of keeping up with the third party applications. It's a good balance. I've recently seen some "Immutable" Linux distributions that are basically spins of upstream distributions. They leave the inherited distribution mostly alone and load the extras using Flatpak or the like. Sounds similar to BSD ports in a way.

The Lambda Papers: When Lisp Got Turned into a Microprocessor

rbc — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 19:16:23 +0000

Article URL: https://hackaday.com/2025/10/20/the-lambda-papers-when-lisp-got-turned-into-a-microprocessor/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45660326

Points: 27

# Comments: 0

New comment by rbc in "KDE is now my favorite desktop"

rbc — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 14:49:06 +0000

The Trinity Desktop Environment is still carrying the KDE 3.5 torch. The Q4OS Linux distribution (Debian based) provides it as a primary desktop.

New comment by rbc in "The "personal computer" model scales better than the "terminal" model"

rbc — Thu, 03 Jul 2025 02:04:47 +0000

Another way to think about it is that the terminal has become software, like many other things. Web browsers have become a terminal of sorts too.

New comment by rbc in "Microsoft suspended the email account of an ICC prosecutor at The Hague"

rbc — Sat, 21 Jun 2025 21:32:46 +0000

This clearly shows the risk of letting someone else run your email services.

New comment by rbc in "Reasons I self-host everything but my own email server"

rbc — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 17:06:47 +0000

I read this with some interest because I've self hosted personal email since about 2001, with experience in email management going back to 1995. The challenges presented are certainly true enough, but I still think self hosting is still worth it. I'd rather not share the management of private keys with DNS (DNSSEC) and email service providers (STARTTLS, SMTPS, DKIM, POP3S, IMAPS). I'd like to keep them, well, private. It also provides the opportunity to see the mail queue, and mail server logs. I find that helpful.

Reasons I self-host everything but my own email server

rbc — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 16:51:30 +0000

Article URL: https://www.xda-developers.com/reasons-self-host-everything-own-email-server/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44218053

Points: 6

# Comments: 4

New comment by rbc in "Emacs dired-mode as a file manager"

rbc — Fri, 23 May 2025 22:12:19 +0000

I'd call it more than a shell. It's more like a text oriented Lisp (Emacs Lisp to be specific) runtime environment with built in editing, interpretation, compilation, and debugging tools. It's also been a popular home for numerous applications that have found lives of their own, far beyond editing text.

GCL 2.7.1 Release Notes

rbc — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 17:11:57 +0000

Article URL: https://www.gnu.org/software/gcl/RELEASE-2.7.1.html

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43656129

Points: 3

# Comments: 2

New comment by rbc in "The Landscape of Lisp"

rbc — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 13:23:07 +0000

Regarding the Common Lisp writings, I rather liked the third edition of LISP by Patrick Henry Winston and Berthold K.P. Horn (1989).