Hacker News: timthorn

New comment by timthorn in "Scientists solve 1840s space weather mystery"

timthorn — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 23:25:21 +0000

> 1. If it were true, I expect it would be a national security concern, and quickly remedied

The UK rates severe space weather as one of the most significant, most likely events on the National Risk Register: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6a50d66b1228e...

New comment by timthorn in "Fujitsu launches made-in-Japan next-generation CPU FUJITSU-MONAKA"

timthorn — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 07:26:50 +0000

It's seriously underselling ICL to call it a consulting company, though by the time of the Fujitsu acquisition that might be accurate.

New comment by timthorn in "Europe's last regular standard-gauge steam passenger service"

timthorn — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 08:57:45 +0000

Yes, though I think it's being positioned as a commuter service for the people of Bewdley to get to Birmingham and back rather than for visitors to get to Bewdley.

Cave Radio – Talking Through Solid Rock

timthorn — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:33:36 +0000

Article URL: https://makezine.com/article/electronics/cave-radio-talking-through-solid-rock/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49436753

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by timthorn in "CIA funding helped keep NeXT afloat in the 80s"

timthorn — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 07:59:18 +0000

It's a rhetorical device to emphasise the reason for cancellation, not a revision.

New comment by timthorn in "Beware Management Consultants"

timthorn — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 21:23:49 +0000

Richard Walker tried to become a Conservative MP, but when no constituency party selected him as their candidate defected to Labour, who put him in the House of Lords.

New comment by timthorn in "IBM Simon (1994): the original smartphone, explained in its own ad [video]"

timthorn — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:47:46 +0000

> I probably missed a lot of them

Psion is the big one - the Organiser, Series 3 and Series 5 in particular. The latter was the genesis of Symbian, which Motorola was also a partner in.

New comment by timthorn in "Twenty Years of RISC OS Open"

timthorn — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:13:18 +0000

Paul Fellows absolutely claims that. From https://astrospeakers.org/provider/paul-fellows :

> He worked on the first generation of home computers and lead the design of the RiscOS operating system for the ARM processor, including inventing the apps and icon bar user interface that has since spread to phones and computers across the world

New comment by timthorn in "Twenty Years of RISC OS Open"

timthorn — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:10:38 +0000

Well, a reminder of the origin story of RiscOS: https://binarydinosaurs.co.uk/Museum/Acorn/fellows.php

Paul Fellows later went on to be the CTO of AlertMe, which became the basis of British Gas' Hive service, and then Lowes' Iris product line.

UK Online Safety Consultation: Giving users more choice control and trust online

timthorn — Fri, 10 Jul 2026 18:16:05 +0000

Article URL: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/giving-users-more-choice-control-and-trust-in-their-online-experience

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48863347

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

Frank Land obituary: programmer of the first business computer

timthorn — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 15:14:44 +0000

Article URL: https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/frank-land-obituary-programmer-of-the-first-business-computer-52w8s0csz

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48599577

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

New comment by timthorn in "Ask HN: What old developer tool do you still miss?"

timthorn — Wed, 27 May 2026 07:27:40 +0000

Dot matrix printers + fanfold paper

New comment by timthorn in "The greatest shot in television: James Burke had one chance to nail this scene (2024)"

timthorn — Mon, 11 May 2026 13:18:32 +0000

> Connections, Cosmos, Civilization, The Ascent of Man and Attenborough's Life on Earth

Civilization and The Ascent of Man were both commissioned by Attenborough - he had a major impact on the broadcast landscape well beyond natural history.

New comment by timthorn in "The gay jailbreak technique (2025)"

timthorn — Sat, 02 May 2026 07:51:07 +0000

It's the same Greek root as Kubernetes

New comment by timthorn in "IrDA"

timthorn — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:00:13 +0000

The article is a great read. Though it talks about OBEX, and how Bluetooth wiped out IrDA, but not that Bluetooth took OBEX straight out of the IrDA stack.

Not IRDA, but there was also IRTalk built into some of the Power Book series, allowing native AppleTalk to a diffuse IR access point. I really wanted to try that out but never had the opportunity.