HP van Braam
@hp.tmm.cx.ap.brid.gy
@godotengine developer, http://prehensile-tales.com. They/Them.
Lover of old technology. Sometimes also new.
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://mastodon.tmm.cx/@hp, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Lover of old technology. Sometimes also new.
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://mastodon.tmm.cx/@hp, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Pinned
HP van Braam
@hp.tmm.cx.ap.brid.gy
· Nov 28
Oh dear, am I an ... influencer now?!
Thanks for all of the follows people! I'm super happy you all like my retrocomputing nonsense. ♥️
Thanks for all of the follows people! I'm super happy you all like my retrocomputing nonsense. ♥️
RE: https://infosec.exchange/@catsalad/115884862952831507
Sadly I live in The Netherlands. Lack of humidity is RARELY the problem.
Sadly I live in The Netherlands. Lack of humidity is RARELY the problem.
infosec.exchange
January 13, 2026 at 1:56 PM
RE: https://infosec.exchange/@catsalad/115884862952831507
Sadly I live in The Netherlands. Lack of humidity is RARELY the problem.
Sadly I live in The Netherlands. Lack of humidity is RARELY the problem.
January 13, 2026 at 2:50 AM
Dear #retrocomputing #lazyweb
I'm in need of a stand-alone Hayes software modem emulator that I can hook up to a virtual com port with qemu. A pipe, perhaps?
The emulator should let me forward a static number to a particular host:port, or just all numbers to a host:port. Kind of like what […]
I'm in need of a stand-alone Hayes software modem emulator that I can hook up to a virtual com port with qemu. A pipe, perhaps?
The emulator should let me forward a static number to a particular host:port, or just all numbers to a host:port. Kind of like what […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 12, 2026 at 6:52 PM
Dear #retrocomputing #lazyweb
I'm in need of a stand-alone Hayes software modem emulator that I can hook up to a virtual com port with qemu. A pipe, perhaps?
The emulator should let me forward a static number to a particular host:port, or just all numbers to a host:port. Kind of like what […]
I'm in need of a stand-alone Hayes software modem emulator that I can hook up to a virtual com port with qemu. A pipe, perhaps?
The emulator should let me forward a static number to a particular host:port, or just all numbers to a host:port. Kind of like what […]
January 12, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Reposted by HP van Braam
How CP/M-86's delay handed Microsoft the keys to the kingdom
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/12/why_cpm86_was_late/
A late operating system, a stopgap deal, and the accident that made DOS dominant
<- by me on @theregister
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/12/why_cpm86_was_late/
A late operating system, a stopgap deal, and the accident that made DOS dominant
<- by me on @theregister
How CP/M-86's delay handed Microsoft the keys to the kingdom
: A late operating system, a stopgap deal, and the accident that made DOS dominant
www.theregister.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:43 PM
How CP/M-86's delay handed Microsoft the keys to the kingdom
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/12/why_cpm86_was_late/
A late operating system, a stopgap deal, and the accident that made DOS dominant
<- by me on @theregister
https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/12/why_cpm86_was_late/
A late operating system, a stopgap deal, and the accident that made DOS dominant
<- by me on @theregister
Day 8 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
(I didn't code every day, and I forgot to write on day 7)
Currently on 1800 lines of code, 125 test passes.
I feel like a rust programmer now, I still have to frequently look at the (excellent) documentation. I'm sure I'm not doing things […]
(I didn't code every day, and I forgot to write on day 7)
Currently on 1800 lines of code, 125 test passes.
I feel like a rust programmer now, I still have to frequently look at the (excellent) documentation. I'm sure I'm not doing things […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 11, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Day 8 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
(I didn't code every day, and I forgot to write on day 7)
Currently on 1800 lines of code, 125 test passes.
I feel like a rust programmer now, I still have to frequently look at the (excellent) documentation. I'm sure I'm not doing things […]
(I didn't code every day, and I forgot to write on day 7)
Currently on 1800 lines of code, 125 test passes.
I feel like a rust programmer now, I still have to frequently look at the (excellent) documentation. I'm sure I'm not doing things […]
I'm thinking of maybe purchasing a #3dprinter in the next month or two.
My absolute requirements are that *using* the printer should require 0 proprietary software. That is, the minimum level of openness is like a postscript laser printer.
I want something that can print stuff like around a […]
My absolute requirements are that *using* the printer should require 0 proprietary software. That is, the minimum level of openness is like a postscript laser printer.
I want something that can print stuff like around a […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 11, 2026 at 5:50 PM
I'm thinking of maybe purchasing a #3dprinter in the next month or two.
My absolute requirements are that *using* the printer should require 0 proprietary software. That is, the minimum level of openness is like a postscript laser printer.
I want something that can print stuff like around a […]
My absolute requirements are that *using* the printer should require 0 proprietary software. That is, the minimum level of openness is like a postscript laser printer.
I want something that can print stuff like around a […]
I bought a #compaq Armada m700 at the thrift store yesterday! It's a really nice pentium III laptop (1999 thin and light)
HOWEVER there's one terrible OCD triggering design compromise on this thing.
Why did it have to be this way Compaq... WHY?!
#retrocomputing #unsatisfying
HOWEVER there's one terrible OCD triggering design compromise on this thing.
Why did it have to be this way Compaq... WHY?!
#retrocomputing #unsatisfying
January 11, 2026 at 2:19 PM
I bought a #compaq Armada m700 at the thrift store yesterday! It's a really nice pentium III laptop (1999 thin and light)
HOWEVER there's one terrible OCD triggering design compromise on this thing.
Why did it have to be this way Compaq... WHY?!
#retrocomputing #unsatisfying
HOWEVER there's one terrible OCD triggering design compromise on this thing.
Why did it have to be this way Compaq... WHY?!
#retrocomputing #unsatisfying
Dunking on people and companies is more popular than saying anything positive, but, #mozilla with #firefox created the web as we have it today.
Without them, without Gecko, we might be trying to run Internet Explorer 6.1 service pack 15.
Y'all don't remember how broken the web was with ie6 as […]
Without them, without Gecko, we might be trying to run Internet Explorer 6.1 service pack 15.
Y'all don't remember how broken the web was with ie6 as […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 11, 2026 at 2:18 AM
A ringing in endorsement of #linux by #compaq in 1999. Am excerpt from their operating system support document.
#retrocomputing
#retrocomputing
January 10, 2026 at 5:04 PM
A ringing in endorsement of #linux by #compaq in 1999. Am excerpt from their operating system support document.
#retrocomputing
#retrocomputing
RE: https://mastodon.social/@edbilodeau/115860199075171748
Strong implication that OneDrive runs on frontpage in the backend.
#microsoft #onedrive
Strong implication that OneDrive runs on frontpage in the backend.
#microsoft #onedrive
mastodon.social
January 8, 2026 at 9:37 PM
RE: https://mastodon.social/@edbilodeau/115860199075171748
Strong implication that OneDrive runs on frontpage in the backend.
#microsoft #onedrive
Strong implication that OneDrive runs on frontpage in the backend.
#microsoft #onedrive
Can someone familiar with #rustlang on #fedora help me with something please?
I'm trying to work out how to build my project against the dnf installable rust dependencies. I've been trying to google how this is supposed to work but without any success.
I'm considering maybe using meson to try […]
I'm trying to work out how to build my project against the dnf installable rust dependencies. I've been trying to google how this is supposed to work but without any success.
I'm considering maybe using meson to try […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 8, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Some observations about #rustlang from the perspective of a reasonably competent #cplusplus developer:
TL;DR: It is good, if you looked at Rust before 2017 last (before the ? operator) have a look at it again!
Stuff I really like:
* rustc's error messages are some of the best I've ever seen […]
TL;DR: It is good, if you looked at Rust before 2017 last (before the ? operator) have a look at it again!
Stuff I really like:
* rustc's error messages are some of the best I've ever seen […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 7, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Some observations about #rustlang from the perspective of a reasonably competent #cplusplus developer:
TL;DR: It is good, if you looked at Rust before 2017 last (before the ? operator) have a look at it again!
Stuff I really like:
* rustc's error messages are some of the best I've ever seen […]
TL;DR: It is good, if you looked at Rust before 2017 last (before the ? operator) have a look at it again!
Stuff I really like:
* rustc's error messages are some of the best I've ever seen […]
Reposted by HP van Braam
January 3, 2026 at 10:48 PM
Reposted by HP van Braam
I'm watching people in my feed screaming at each other over Firefox's "AI kill switch" this morning with some trepidation.
As far as I'm concerned, Firefox already has an AI kill switch. It's called `browser.ml.chat.enabled`, I set it to `false` more or less the day it appeared, it hasn't […]
As far as I'm concerned, Firefox already has an AI kill switch. It's called `browser.ml.chat.enabled`, I set it to `false` more or less the day it appeared, it hasn't […]
Original post on social.treehouse.systems
social.treehouse.systems
January 7, 2026 at 10:55 AM
I'm watching people in my feed screaming at each other over Firefox's "AI kill switch" this morning with some trepidation.
As far as I'm concerned, Firefox already has an AI kill switch. It's called `browser.ml.chat.enabled`, I set it to `false` more or less the day it appeared, it hasn't […]
As far as I'm concerned, Firefox already has an AI kill switch. It's called `browser.ml.chat.enabled`, I set it to `false` more or less the day it appeared, it hasn't […]
End of day 5 writing a complex program in #rustlang - addendum
I just learned of regex:: 's "Verbose mode"
Why doesn't every #regex engine have this? This really makes using more complex regexes way more reasonable, and means you can "get away" with using them for far, far longer.
Not gonna […]
I just learned of regex:: 's "Verbose mode"
Why doesn't every #regex engine have this? This really makes using more complex regexes way more reasonable, and means you can "get away" with using them for far, far longer.
Not gonna […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 7, 2026 at 12:22 AM
End of day 5 writing a complex program in #rustlang
test result: ok. 93 passed; 0 failed; 0 ignored; 0 measured; 0 filtered out; finished in 0.01s
Things are going pretty well now, I'm still kinda slow compared to c++, but I'm definitely gaining speed.
1002 lines of probably not terribly […]
test result: ok. 93 passed; 0 failed; 0 ignored; 0 measured; 0 filtered out; finished in 0.01s
Things are going pretty well now, I'm still kinda slow compared to c++, but I'm definitely gaining speed.
1002 lines of probably not terribly […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 6, 2026 at 11:39 PM
End of day 5 writing a complex program in #rustlang
test result: ok. 93 passed; 0 failed; 0 ignored; 0 measured; 0 filtered out; finished in 0.01s
Things are going pretty well now, I'm still kinda slow compared to c++, but I'm definitely gaining speed.
1002 lines of probably not terribly […]
test result: ok. 93 passed; 0 failed; 0 ignored; 0 measured; 0 filtered out; finished in 0.01s
Things are going pretty well now, I'm still kinda slow compared to c++, but I'm definitely gaining speed.
1002 lines of probably not terribly […]
Day 5 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
I'm really appreciative of the various ASCII related functions on str, and u8. It's nice to not have to guess about it.
Slowly beginning to like the Result<> pattern combined with the ? operator. It's not quite as flexible as "real" exceptions […]
I'm really appreciative of the various ASCII related functions on str, and u8. It's nice to not have to guess about it.
Slowly beginning to like the Result<> pattern combined with the ? operator. It's not quite as flexible as "real" exceptions […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 6, 2026 at 6:23 PM
Day 5 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
I'm really appreciative of the various ASCII related functions on str, and u8. It's nice to not have to guess about it.
Slowly beginning to like the Result<> pattern combined with the ? operator. It's not quite as flexible as "real" exceptions […]
I'm really appreciative of the various ASCII related functions on str, and u8. It's nice to not have to guess about it.
Slowly beginning to like the Result<> pattern combined with the ? operator. It's not quite as flexible as "real" exceptions […]
Day 5 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
Spirits are high: cargo test is great, although I did end up using a crate to generate test cases as function decorators.
I wrote my first macro! I didn't think that I'd ever miss c++ template syntax, but here we are. 😅 It's nice that's it's more […]
Spirits are high: cargo test is great, although I did end up using a crate to generate test cases as function decorators.
I wrote my first macro! I didn't think that I'd ever miss c++ template syntax, but here we are. 😅 It's nice that's it's more […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 6, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Day 5 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
Spirits are high: cargo test is great, although I did end up using a crate to generate test cases as function decorators.
I wrote my first macro! I didn't think that I'd ever miss c++ template syntax, but here we are. 😅 It's nice that's it's more […]
Spirits are high: cargo test is great, although I did end up using a crate to generate test cases as function decorators.
I wrote my first macro! I didn't think that I'd ever miss c++ template syntax, but here we are. 😅 It's nice that's it's more […]
End of day 4 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
I'm beginning to have a pretty good time. Cargo clippy telling me of better ways to do things, the rust docs are pretty good, starting to get a "feel" for what methods are likely available.
This is the first day where I'm not thinking […]
I'm beginning to have a pretty good time. Cargo clippy telling me of better ways to do things, the rust docs are pretty good, starting to get a "feel" for what methods are likely available.
This is the first day where I'm not thinking […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 6, 2026 at 12:03 AM
End of day 4 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
I'm beginning to have a pretty good time. Cargo clippy telling me of better ways to do things, the rust docs are pretty good, starting to get a "feel" for what methods are likely available.
This is the first day where I'm not thinking […]
I'm beginning to have a pretty good time. Cargo clippy telling me of better ways to do things, the rust docs are pretty good, starting to get a "feel" for what methods are likely available.
This is the first day where I'm not thinking […]
Day 4 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
I just learned about .transpose(). I understand why it is here, but I do think that when that was added maybe instead the designers should've thought "What can we do to make sure you don't need this horror"
Thanks, I hate it. I think I'll just […]
I just learned about .transpose(). I understand why it is here, but I do think that when that was added maybe instead the designers should've thought "What can we do to make sure you don't need this horror"
Thanks, I hate it. I think I'll just […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 5, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Day 4 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
I just learned about .transpose(). I understand why it is here, but I do think that when that was added maybe instead the designers should've thought "What can we do to make sure you don't need this horror"
Thanks, I hate it. I think I'll just […]
I just learned about .transpose(). I understand why it is here, but I do think that when that was added maybe instead the designers should've thought "What can we do to make sure you don't need this horror"
Thanks, I hate it. I think I'll just […]
Day 4 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
Not having to deal with manual pointers is helping, the code is simpler now and zero copy (again). I can use regex and matches fearlessly as the compiler will yell at me if I leave a pointer somewhere, and I don't have to explicitly put lifetimes […]
Not having to deal with manual pointers is helping, the code is simpler now and zero copy (again). I can use regex and matches fearlessly as the compiler will yell at me if I leave a pointer somewhere, and I don't have to explicitly put lifetimes […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 5, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Day 4 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
Not having to deal with manual pointers is helping, the code is simpler now and zero copy (again). I can use regex and matches fearlessly as the compiler will yell at me if I leave a pointer somewhere, and I don't have to explicitly put lifetimes […]
Not having to deal with manual pointers is helping, the code is simpler now and zero copy (again). I can use regex and matches fearlessly as the compiler will yell at me if I leave a pointer somewhere, and I don't have to explicitly put lifetimes […]
January 5, 2026 at 12:36 AM
I was thinking the other day, is me playing with #retrocomputing me trying to recapture youth, or whatever. Getting computers that when I was a kid looked impossible to own.
But then I remembered that my main desktop is a threadripper, my main laptop is similarly ridiculous (and would be on my […]
But then I remembered that my main desktop is a threadripper, my main laptop is similarly ridiculous (and would be on my […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 4, 2026 at 11:19 PM
I was thinking the other day, is me playing with #retrocomputing me trying to recapture youth, or whatever. Getting computers that when I was a kid looked impossible to own.
But then I remembered that my main desktop is a threadripper, my main laptop is similarly ridiculous (and would be on my […]
But then I remembered that my main desktop is a threadripper, my main laptop is similarly ridiculous (and would be on my […]
Nearing the end of day 3 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
So far:
1) I am deeply suspicious of the deep dependency trees. I have 2 dependencies in my cargo.toml yet 23 locked packages. This feels *bad* approaching "this seems like an actual huge problem" levels of bad.
2) Rustc's […]
So far:
1) I am deeply suspicious of the deep dependency trees. I have 2 dependencies in my cargo.toml yet 23 locked packages. This feels *bad* approaching "this seems like an actual huge problem" levels of bad.
2) Rustc's […]
Original post on mastodon.tmm.cx
mastodon.tmm.cx
January 4, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Nearing the end of day 3 of writing a complex program in #rustlang
So far:
1) I am deeply suspicious of the deep dependency trees. I have 2 dependencies in my cargo.toml yet 23 locked packages. This feels *bad* approaching "this seems like an actual huge problem" levels of bad.
2) Rustc's […]
So far:
1) I am deeply suspicious of the deep dependency trees. I have 2 dependencies in my cargo.toml yet 23 locked packages. This feels *bad* approaching "this seems like an actual huge problem" levels of bad.
2) Rustc's […]