Maybe you’ll enjoy this as well:
I still have one of my first modems, a Creatix LC 144 VF:
I think this was the modem that I used when I first connected to the internet, but I’m not sure.
I plugged it in again and it still works:
The firmware appears to be from 1994, which sounds about right. I don’t think we had internet access before that. We certainly did use local mailboxes, though. (Or BBS’s, as you might call them.)
I now want to actually use that modem again. For the moment, I can only use a phone to dial into it, I lack a second modem to actually establish a connection. Here’s a video:
Not spectacular, but the modem does answer after me entering ATA.
I bought another cheap old modem on eBay and am now waiting for it to arrive. Once it’s here, I want to simulate an actual dial-up session, hopefully from OS/2 or Windows 3.x.
On my blog: Developer Diary, Memorial Day https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/26/memorial.html #programming #project #devjournal
Is Trump’s ‘made in America’ iPhone a fantasy?
Donald Trump has said he wants Apple to manufacture its phones in the US, but experts say that’s almost impossible. ⌘ Read more
Buying an EV in Australia may be easy but getting one fixed isn’t that simple
While some shops are set up and ready to service electric vehicles, regulations and requirements can make it a struggle. ⌘ Read more
On my blog: Free Culture Book Club — Sówka w świecie dnia https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/24/owl-world.html #freeculture #bookclub
On my blog: Toots 🦣 from 05/19 to 05/23 https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/23/week.html #linkdump #socialmedia #quotes #week
we participated in the If, Then: Technology and Poetics Open Mic, talking about the qiudanz technique | https://compudanzas.net/talks_and_workshops.html
On my blog: Real Life in Star Trek, Season 6, TNG https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/22/ng-season-6.html #scifi #startrek #closereading
pondering my orb | https://nilfm.cc/orb.html
Machinist and Machine
Reading and “accepting/rejecting” so much AI generated code in the last months has made me a bit burned out and have somewhat of an identity crisis.
I have been making more and more time at night to reconnect with the craft.
I think more people in the community might be struggling, so I just wanted to share my way of dealing with it.
Please share how you are dealing with the tokens.
@movq@www.uninformativ.de Regarding https://www.uninformativ.de/blog/postings/2025-05-21/0/POSTING-en.html: Hahaha, that’s what I immediately thought, too! The pain of going back to CVS. :-D I used that back in school. Quickly after, I upgraded to SVN and even that was terrible in comparison to a modern VCS, such as git.
In any case, happy hacking!
On my blog: Firefox’s Tabs https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/21/firefox-tabs.html #programming #techtips
Google’s new features in Search, Meet and more escalate the AI war
Google and Apple are jostling for position in the AI arms race. ⌘ Read more
Google’s new features in Search, Meet and more escalate the AI war
Google and Apple are jostling for position in the AI arms race. ⌘ Read more
Google, Apple turn up the heat in the AI arms race
Google has officially created an AI chatbot for its search engine, while Apple plans to hand its AI models over for App Store developers to use as the AI arms race marches on. ⌘ Read more
It’s a $US450 billion industry, and Australia is in prime position to become a player
There is an accelerating need for nations such as the US to establish trusted supply chains for sensitive goods such as AI technology. Australia ticks many boxes. ⌘ Read more
On my blog: Developer Diary, Malcolm X Day https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/19/malcolm-x.html #programming #project #devjournal
On my blog: Copyright Thoughts https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/18/copyright-thoughts.html #copyright #freeculture #rant
Five home gadgets you think you don’t need but are secretly great
Some tech, like a talking toothbrush, doesn’t seem like much when you first hear about it, but can become indispensable once you’ve tried it. ⌘ Read more
On my blog: Free Culture Book Club — Pilogy, part 4 https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/17/pilogy-4.html #freeculture #bookclub
Fixing Unix/Linux/POSIX Filenames: Control Characters (such as Newline), Leading Dashes, and Other Problems (2009, 2024)
Comments ⌘ Read more
still here, making it happen | https://nilfm.cc/endless_amorphic_oxidation.html
On my blog: Toots 🦣 from 05/12 to 05/16 https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/16/week.html #linkdump #socialmedia #quotes #week
When does tracking become stalking? Tell your kids. There’s one key warning sign
For better or worse, young people live in a world of surveillance. The best we can do as parents is to make sure they know how to identify shifts in behaviour. ⌘ Read more
On my blog: Real Life in Star Trek, Descent, part 1 https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/15/descent-1.html #scifi #startrek #closereading
Gajim: Gajim 2.2.0
This release brings three new features: message retraction, blocking participants in group chats, and updated support for modern group chat avatars. Thank you for all your contributions!
Gajim 2.2 comes with support for retracting messages via XEP-0424: Message Retraction. This allow you to retract your messages, if you’ve mistakenly sent it to the wrong recipient or group chat. Please note that your counterpart needs to support … ⌘ Read more
Podman 5.5.0 released
Version\
5.5.0 of the Podman container-management tool has been
released. Notable features include the addition of a podman machine cp command to copy files into a running Podman\
VM, a podman artifact extract command to copy
contents of an OCI\
artifact to disk, and a --mount=artifa ... ⌘ [Read more](https://lwn.net/Articles/1021217/)
On my blog: Firefox’s Local Storage https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/14/firefox-local-storage.html #programming #techtips
Satechi X1 Slim
I bought a Satechi X1 Slim for dad’s iPad about a year ago. It’s a 60%
scissor switch Bluetooth keyboard that you can use wired (USB-C), too
(Fn + Eject). The feel is rather close to the Apple Magic Keyboard.
Yeah, not even mechanical! I know, I know.
For reasons dad’s not using this keyboard so when I recently visited I
brought it back with me. It’s decent enough but in the ISO version
some keys on the right side, close to the return key, are … ⌘ Read more
Tired of waiting on hold? Telstra thinks this might fix that problem
The telco wants everything from customer service to internal structure reimagined by AI. ⌘ Read more
Forgot to post these here: A bunch of Mandelbrot images using the trans, ace, and aro color palettes.
More and full res PNGs:
After 30 years of guns and gore this franchise is turning to story
Doom: The Dark Ages is the closest to a Hollywood blockbuster the series has come, though a human weapon destroying demons is still at the core. ⌘ Read more
Multiple security issues in Screen
The SUSE Security Team has published
an article detailing several security\
issues it has uncovered with GNU Screen. This includes
a local root exploit when Screen is shipped setuid-root, as it is in
some Linux and BSD distributions. The security team also reports [problems\
in coordinating disclosure … ⌘ Read more
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i got so emo about my site not being statically generated and instead hand coded but it's like i don't even know if i want that because i feel most SSGs are built for blogging and continuous posting and i don't want that i just want to make my silly pages....
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@kat@yarn.girlonthemoon.xyz Nothing wrong with handwritten HTML. That’s often superior to generated stuff I believe. :-)
i got so emo about my site not being statically generated and instead hand coded but it’s like i don’t even know if i want that because i feel most SSGs are built for blogging and continuous posting and i don’t want that i just want to make my silly pages….
that being said, the one i’d use if i did switch to one would be astro and that one is so flexible i could really do anything with it including keeping my pages as is mostly without doing the blog stuff. idk! something to consider
On my blog: Developer Diary, International Nurses Day https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/12/nurses.html #programming #project #devjournal
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made the HTML for one of my static handwritten sites semantic!
⤋ Read More
I just have to say the buttons page gives me the warm fuzzies with all the old school animated gifs. The internet seemed so fun back then…
made the HTML for one of my static handwritten sites semantic!
VPS troubles and the weekend
This weekend I went to the cottage with P on Friday. I hoped I would
have a nice weekend reading in front of the wood stove, but I had also
planned to spend at least a few hours trying to configure Maddy as the
new mail server for hack.org et al.
Then the web server I moved to the new VPS died. Again. I connected to
the VNC console and, like before, the Linux kernel couldn’t find its
root disk. A simple:
# mount /dev/vda2 /sysroot; exit
in the emergency shell solved thi … ⌘ Read more
You can now shop using ChatGPT, but is it worth the hype?
AI chatbots can now recommend products and link you to the purchase page. In the near future they’ll handle carts and checkout too. ⌘ Read more
On my blog: Free Culture Book Club — Pilogy, part 3 https://john.colagioia.net/blog/2025/05/10/pilogy-3.html #freeculture #bookclub