#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.

[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

[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 :)

[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!

[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.

[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!

[walker-dev]

Introduction

About

I'm Jason, a computer science student, therefore I'm not really that interested in making a game or being a part of the games industry. At the end of the day I'm suppose to complete certain units in my IoT and Mobile Technologies minor one of which is IGB120, and my actual industry pathway is towards cybersecurity, network infrustructure, and data centres (probably).

My goal is to take what I learn from this unit and to then maybe apply it to a secondary project while I'm pursuing my primary career in cybersecurity. Hopefully I'm able to learn enough of the basics to maybe create a game for fun or help a friend who's interested in creating a game.

IF I was working towards a game development career (let's pretend), I'd be interested in indie projects especially in line with the internet community and culture. I'm already pursuing an online audience with YouTube/Twitch as a side hustle so I'd be interested in being a part of a team to make something that the internet would really enjoy.

Note that when I mention the internet it'd be the western, English speaking side of the internet. However, a good portion of western internet culture does enjoy internet culture from other parts of the world so even being a part of a game that accesses different internet circles and brings them together would be a pretty impressive goal to work towards.

Games that I have in mind that have had an impact on internet culture recently would be MiSide, Helldivers 2, Palworld, and The Confin of Andy and Leyley as examples. There are some older titles like Stardew Valley, No Man's Sky, and Dokidoki Literature Club which have had an impact 5-10 years ago but are not as relevant today.

Next post will be about an elevator pitch for the game I'm required to design.