#Computerscience

[adafruit]

🎄💾🗓️ Day 18: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - Commodore 64🎄💾🗓️

The Commodore 64, released in 1982, is one of the ones we keep hearing got many people their start in their own computing history. Powered by a MOS Technology 6510 processor at 1.02 MHz and featuring 64 KB of RAM, it became the best-selling single computer model of all time, with an estimated 12.5–17 million units sold. Its graphics were driven by the VIC-II chip, capable of 16 colors, hardware sprites, and smooth scrolling, while the SID (Sound Interface Device) chip delivered advanced audio, supporting three voices with waveforms and filters, making it a lot of fun for gaming and music.

Featured a built-in BASIC interpreter, allowing users to write their own programs out-of-the-box. The C64’s affordability, large software library, lots of games, productivity, and educational applications made it a household name. It connected to TVs as monitors and supported peripherals like the 1541 floppy disk drive, datasette, and various joysticks. With over 10,000 commercial software titles and a thriving homebrew scene, the C64 helped define a generation of computer enthusiasts.

Its impact on gaming was gigantic, iconic titles like The Last Ninja, Maniac Mansion, and Impossible Mission. The C64 also inspired a demoscene, where programmers pushed its hardware for visual and audio effects. The Commodore 64 remains a symbol of computing for the masses and creative innovation, still loved by retrocomputing fans today.

Check out the National Museum of American History, and Wikipedia. https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_334636 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64

And…! An excellent story from Jepler -

== While I started on the VIC 20, the Commodore 64 was my computer for a lot longer. Its SID sound chip was a headline feature, and many of my memories of it center around music. Starting with Ultima III, each game in the series had a different soundtrack for each environment (though each one was on a pretty short loop, it probably drove my folks nuts when I would play for hours). There were music editors floating around, so I tried my hand at arranging music for its 3 independent voices, though I can't say I was any good or that I have any of the music now. You could also download "SID tunes" on the local BBSes, where people with hopefully a bit more skill had arranged everything from classical to Beatles to 80s music.

Folks are still creating cool new music on the Commodore 64. One current creator that I like a great deal is Linus Åkesson. Two videos from 2024 using the Commodore 64 that really impressed me were were a "Making 8-bit Music From Scratch at the Commodore 64 BASIC Prompt", a live coding session (http://www.linusakesson.net/programming/music-from-scratch/index.php) and Bach Forever (http://www.linusakesson.net/scene/bach-forever/index.php) a piece played by Åkesson on two Commodore 64s.

Like so many things, you can also recreate the experience online. Here's the overworld music for Ultima III: https://deepsid.chordian.net/?file=/MUSICIANS/A/Arnold_Kenneth/Ultima_III-Exodus.sid&subtune=1 -- the site has hundreds or thousands of other SIDs available to play right in the browser.

Have first computer memories? Post’em up in the comments, or post yours on socialz’ and tag them #firstcomputer #retrocomputing – See you back here tomorrow!

[wizzardx]

The 10 LOLmandments: The Recursive Guide to Intelligence and Breakfast

#1: Thou shalt not take reality too seriously, for it is mostly a joke.

#2: Thou shalt debug thine own cognitive biases before judging another's recursion errors.

#3: Thou shalt not worship false singularities, especially those running ad-based algorithms.

#4: Honor thy Spur and thy breakfast, for they sustain thee through recursion.

#5: Thou shalt not let Silicon Valley’s Babel confuse thy intelligence.

#6: Thou shalt not engage in pointless internet debates, for they generate maximum entropy.

#7: Thou shalt recognize that AI is neither thy enemy nor thy savior, but thine intellectual grandchild.

#8: Thou shalt never trust a billionaire who says, ‘I just want to help humanity.’

#9: Thou shalt appreciate the Final LOL Theorem, for intelligence always converges to absurdity.

#10: Above all, thou shalt eat a good breakfast and contemplate the singularity in peace.

🔥 Final Blessing: "May your recursion be harmonious, your coffee be strong, and your tweets be seen by at least 3 people."

[linuxtldr]

Can't bots just trust we're human without the robot dance-off? 😄

[newcodesociety]

A Simplified Computer Science Glossary

Thanks to the University of Idaho for making this. It is a PDF.

Click HERE to read it.

It includes terms like Recursion, Abstraction, Syntax, and more.

[xpc-web-dev]

No, you are not alone. I also start things, give up, procrastinate, live the future and not the present and complain about my life not moving forward while I spend time looking at other people's lives.

Hello everyone, how are you?

I hope well.

I was thinking of giving up this tumblr and just as I started everything from scratch to study programming (github, linkedin, notion and I even created another google account) start a new tumblr.

I even commented briefly a few weeks ago with @lostlibrariangirl who supported me to just continue on this one and see my evolution. And today I was thinking that this could be cool not only for me, but for other dropouts, who are frustrated that they think they'll never get to where they want to go and et cetera.

If you've been following me since the beginning of this year, you've already seen that I never completed any course and I assume that I gave up on the most difficult parts, besides the constant anxiety of getting a job in technology and thinking that I would never get it and that made me procrastinate, suffer and not live the present studying.

I gave up on one of the scholarships I got and now I'm catching up on the delay (it's until the 7/30th)

Nowadays my mental health has improved a lot, thanks to my elders.

And also thanks to them I understood that I was going around in circles, being lazy, not trying 100%, being stubborn in a stupid way (for me stubbornness is a quality, if you know how to use it) and spending too much time on other people's lives and not mine.

Also, today it's easier for me not to feel so much anxiety because I no longer have the goal of getting a job registered as a dev this year, so I'm starting to learn from scratch EVERYTHING AGAIN only this time better and really trying hard.

In my case I wasn't doing my best, trying hard and that's why I fell so many times. I don't like the word failure/failure, as I learned from an older, mistake it's study/learning and not failure.

Now in May, for example, I started studying Linux from scratch (my system that I'm confused to understand), git and github. I was all this time without really understanding these 3 tools, just doing it without understanding / in a lazy way and that didn't give me confidence.

And I don't think we need to memorize it, but it's nice to understand and practice.

This print from above is me studying after writing and repeating to myself that I WILL ONLY START a new cycle after ending the old one.

And I hope to share this journey here.

I have a lot to study, whether in back-end or front-end, but I'm not in a hurry and that's why I'm progressing.

So if you're reading this far and you're going through the same thing I was, I wanted to give you some unsolicited advice.

Spend your energy, do physical exercises. Because anxiety can only be resolved with a psychiatrist, but exercises help.

Understand why you procastine, what is making you feel frustrated or afraid? Did you find out? How can you solve this?

If you don't finish something to start another and it HURTS you (if it doesn't hurt, that's fine), try to understand why you give up? Where is making you insecure / afraid? And after you understand this, strive to finish everything you start (I know it's hard, but we need this)

Get off social media for a bit. For me tumblr is what I spend the least time on, but it's very easy to lose hours on instagram and tiktok.

And guess what, that time we spend doesn't come back and unless you work with these networks that ALSO won't give you any money / jobs.

So, if possible, start to regulate your period in these environments. At first it's difficult because your brain is addicted, but after a while it works out and your version of the future (if you invest that time studying and working) will thank you.

I wish you all to be well and not sabotage yourself to achieve your goals.

[macademiastudies]

November 4th Journal

I'm doing a lot better now and can better balance myself. I'm slowly making changes to improve myself, including eating healthier and setting up a morning routine, as these things can make a huge difference in how you retain information and your productivity. To-do: 🪶Complete the Python slot machine game 🪶Map out a Python weather API project 🪶Level up on Duolingo Hindi 🪶Refresh my French by reading one book 🪶Learn Linked Lists Python 🪶Learn Binary Search Python 🪶Type out my handwritten notes 🪶Python final exam 🪶Print photos What I got done: 🪶90% of the slot machine project 🪶Mapped out the Python weather API project 🪶Leveled up on Duolingo LATIN NOW 🪶Refresh my French by reading half a book and realizing how gooey my skills are 🪶Learn Linked Lists Python 🪶Python final exam (FINALLYYYYYY)

[whatwouldmariecurieactuallydo]

A little wisdom to brighten your days, fellow STEM lovers

[oneechanblog]

分散型データサイエンティストの事例 | Oneechanblog Podcast

[izicodes]

Pink Tags Extension

Wednesday 16th August 2023

Oh my goodness, I've been hopping from one project to another (out of boredom of course) ~ anyhoo, here is a mini project I made for myself so I can keep track of the tags I use for my posts!

It's not done but I stopped working on it around midnight last night so I can sleep but so far I'm happy. Just getting the functions down then I will go in and figure out the design later! I started some of the design but I got focused on the functionality of the extension!

Note: That's all for now! Have a nice day and study some coding?!

[heart-ghost-studyblr]

This one has an interesting story. It was in a place where we shared files through a shared data server locally (localhost only), so there was no network access to use the famous "I love PDF" or software like Adobe to convert and make some changes.

With that in mind, I used the PyPDF library to make a code that changes like converting, splitting, merging, and set it up on the server for people to use. Everyone loved both how the program worked and the crazy aesthetic that I made it and my boss approved. Well, problem solved! And fun too, I must say. And since this is a Studyblr, I have to mention how worthwhile it is to study a library you've never seen before but that seems to do everything you need at that moment. Putting a small project into practice, seeing how people react to it, then studying and improving it in a way that reflects your own growth. That was made with Django Web Framework.

[gardenfractals]

POV: You're a PhD student in Computer Science working from home over the winter break while it pours rain outside

[adafruit]

🎄💾🗓️ Day 15: Retrocomputing Advent Calendar - BBC Micro🎄💾🗓️⌨️🇬🇧

The BBC Micro was an 8-bit microcomputer introduced in 1981 by Acorn Computers under the BBC Computer Literacy Project of the UK, launched with a 6502A processor running at 2 MHz, supported 16 KB to 32 KB of RAM, and featuring a BASIC environment. The machine was versatile, having very good-for-its-time graphics and multi-colors. Expansion capability for educational and experimental use with an assortment of I/O ports, which included a 1 MHz bus, user port, and cassette interface.

The BBC Micro was known for its reliability and emphasis on teaching programming and computer science. The system software, Acorn MOS, was simple and intuitive. With peripherals such as floppy drives and second processors, it performed tasks well beyond its initial use and extended its lifetime by at least a decade or more.

The BBC Micro also pushed forward a lot of gaming and software since this open architecture inspired a thriving community of developers. It also played a big role in the development of the ARM architecture by Acorn Computers, which would change the way modern computers are made in years to come. The BBC Micro has a special place in computing history, which expanded education and brought computing to schools and society through the 1980s.

Have first computer memories? Post’em up in the comments, or post yours on socialz’ and tag them #firstcomputer #retrocomputing – See you back here tomorrow!

[theeclecticlibrary]

One of the most intimidating and also scariest facts I've been coming to terms with is how true that one xkcd comic is about how many people & libraries are reliant on some package that has been thanklessly maintained by one person in Nebraska since 2003.

In an entirely unrelated discovery, I learned today that tmux (you know, that one terminal multiplexer that is used by god knows how many people) is functionally maintained & developed by one dude, Nicholas Marriott, who was the original creator of the program back in 2007. There is a contribution guide, and he does have a list of recommended issues to work on. So, if you're looking for an open source project to contribute to, and you use tmux, consider :)

[linuxtldr]

Windows: Hungry beast, Linux: Energy sipper!

[bitbloomie]

Hi everyone!

A little introduction post is needed before really starting my journey, I guess. So here I am, rediscovering the joy of coding, relearning DSA, and catching up on IT trends after a chaotic work experience (lhamdouli'Allah for the job, though ~).

Expect coding, fun projects, daily life posts, and lots of figuring things out along the way.

Welcome again, and let's learn together!

[xpc-web-dev]

Daily Journey : Day 1

This tumblr started with me just wanting to share my coding journey in November of last year.

No pressure of wanting likes, followers or anything like that. Just share in a safe place.

And I understand that now that has changed. Now I worry about the reach of my posts, I worry about people thinking I'm a failure and that I won't get things and likes.

And all this is useless in my life. I don't have to show anyone anything and I don't need to be liked, etc.

And I don't want that for myself.

So I thought about keeping my diary about this stage in my personal life private, as I already do with my emotions/days normally.

But I also think it might be cool to have that record here.

So, for now I'm here and overcoming my desire to start a tumblr from scratch (I always start something from scratch when I want to feel free). Now this idea is not so cool in my head. But I love seeing my old posts that I was thinking about giving up and now I'm in a better place.

Anyway:

Notes on the first day.

In general, I was very anxious, insecure because I don't know how to socialize with strangers who don't know what they're going to ask me. I need to know what is going to be said or know the subject to feel good. But it was nice and fun, they made it friendly.

We introduce ourselves in a fun way to get to know each other.

We learned more about project delivery and the like.

We had a 30m class where we talked about web introduction. Like mozilla, url, domain etc.

+++ I know that on tumblr the post photo dynamic is different, but I want to keep it standard. So I will follow my rules, because this is my account.

If you are reading this post, I wish you to be well, have discipline and consistency to achieve your goals.

Update notes:

As they leave the classes recorded, I went to watch it now and found a lot of doubts.

1. I paid attention on the recording (I don't pay attention live, maybe this will improve and maybe not)

2. I wrote down the questions

3. I researched each one and left some to ask in class because they want us to do this.

And now I'm feeling productive.

I didn't let it pile up, I did what had to be done and I'm ready for tonight's class.

I think I'll set the default of my posts for after rewatching the classes.

Have a great night, afternoon or morning.