zgs

I've still got mine. It's been well used but is hanging together still.

Seems like another way to deliver nukes to targets...

Under uClinux, executables can be position independent or not. They can run from flash or RAM. They can be compressed (if they run in RAM). Shared libraries are supported on some platforms. All in all it's a really good environment and the vfork() limitation generally isn't too bad.

I spent close to ten years working closely with uClinux (a long time ago). I implemented the shared library support for the m68k. Last I looked, gcc still included my additions for this. This allowed execute in place for both executables and shared libraries -- a real space saver. Another guy on the team managed to squeeze the Linux kernel, a reasonable user space and a full IP/SEC implementation into a unit with 1Mb of flash and 4Mb of RAM which was pretty amazing at the time (we didn't think it was even possible). Better still, from power on to login prompt was well under two seconds.

Out by a factor of five or more.

A $1 Linux capable ARM: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/microcontrollers/the-$1-linux-...

I'd expect that there were even cheaper processors now since it's eight years later.

I used decNumber in the WP 34S project (https://sourceforge.net/projects/wp34s/) and more recently in the C47 project (https://47calc.com).

You are correct in that the decNumber library doesn't support trig operations. Arithmetic, log, exp and square root plus rounding and some conversion functions.

My experience is that decNumber is generally slow. Logarithms are especially slow. Intel's decimal library is much faster & as you noted, it uses binary operations to start it's algorithms.

It might be shorter to do some multiplications:

0x08C0C166 = 2⁴ × 3 × 5⁵ × 11 × 89 + 1 = 10⁴ × 3 × 5 × 11 × 89 + 1

Plenty of values that can be reused (11 = 10 + 1 and 89 = 10² - 11).

Still, there is quite a bit of manipulation required and only 17 instructions to do them in.

The initial XOR instruction isn't required, registers are zeroed as per the problem statement.

Better check his pockets on the way out :)

I think there is a spurious "and H" in the title :)

Later uClinux was available on m68k platforms without memory managers. The approach taken doesn't seem close to the one in the article.

I managed to put in shared execute in place library support, the limitation being the number of shared libraries rather than what they supported.

My favourite mathematical problem looks to have been solved.

There is a second issue with the code. The calculation of the mean isn't numerically stable. Instead use:

mean_power = mean_power + (power - mean_power) / count

Algol 68 was to Algol as C++ is to C: trying to do too much resulting in over-complexity.

The two page spread showing a graph of the implicit type conversions was a masterpiece.

Kind of like the "install this software" as part of the interview process.

"My hourly rating for figuring out your bug is $X".

A division free integer in a range RNG has been developed: https://github.com/apple/swift/pull/39143

What a crazy idea.

Cost to orbit is huge. Power availability will depend on pushing enough solar up there. Data centres use lots of power.

Getting rid of excess heat is a major problem in space and data centres generate lots of it. Terrestrial cooling is trivial in comparison.

Hardware obsolesce will be a major hurdle as will repairing stuff that fails.

Radiation is a significant problem in space. Shielding will be very heavy or the hardware will have to be build tolerant which is much more expensive and results in a much slower solution.

Much easier and cheaper to install lots of solar and batteries in the middle of a sunny desert somewhere really cheap and build your data centre there. Then build fibre connections to wherever.

Every time I've seen similar done in the past, it has come back to hurt the instigator.

We're all upside down here and the blood rushes to our heads.

While living in the antipodes gives most of us genius level intelligence, it also prevents interpersonal relationships.

It's a trade off unfortunately.

If you live down under and want more friends, you need to do head stands for long periods to reduce the over oxygenated brain symptoms.

This is the easiest way to go but it's only obscuring the GUID. Format preserving encryption (FPE) would be another possibility if it's not simply a byte string.

Is California one of the more progressive states with regards to reductions?

This does not bode well for the world we share.

As a career programmer, I'm not in the least concerned that LLMs will replace me. At least not in the near to mid term future. The key is to have skills that LLMs aren't good at replicating. Writing secure code, numerically stable code, performance optimised code, resource tight code....

It would also be extremely inaccurate. The x^n numerators grow very quickly and digits get lost because unlimited precision isn't available. Likewise, the n! denominators also grow rapidly. Then the series is alternating which means cancellation is happening for every added term.

If you don't believe me try for x=10.

18 Indians have signed up with Russia.

More US citizens have been killed already: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/americans-killed-ukraine-rus....

This isn't a news story, it's propaganda.

I was far more used to the MacsBug screen of despair.

The programming language Beta took this way further many years ago:

https://beta.cs.au.dk

It's syntax didn't help it's spread unfortunately.

I wrote the boot loader for HP's StrongARM 1110 based calculator line.

Sadly the ACO was shut down before it's release.

Even though it was never released to the public a few escaped the labs and I've still got the dev kits they sent for boot loader work.

The only possibility is to cryptographically sign all videos using a White House private key.

Using a digest or MAC is not sufficient: it has to be asymmetric (i.e. public/private key).

Yes :)

Oh you want a reference. Sadly, I don't remember the text book we used three or so decades back. It was good. The title was simply: "Time Series Analysis".

This is kind of a counterexample for Betteridge's law.

A life?

I'm skeptical about one of the opening sentences in the article: "category 5 underestimates actual risk".

Category 5 cyclones/hurricanes are already assumed to essentially destroy everything in their path. This will still be true regardless of how strong the winds get.

Having experienced several lower category cyclones, there really isn't a lot to do except 1/ evacuate if you've got time and a place to go or 2/ bunker down and pray. It's just luck that I've not experienced a direct hit from a higher category storm.