Hmm, I know there's Whitespace, but is there an #esolang that's the opposite, without any whitespace? BASIC almost got there, I think.
(And no, just replacing whitespaces with some unused ASCII or Unicode would be a boring solution)
writing is hard! it requires discipline, determination, and persistence.
trying to palm it off to a computer has always struck me as a bizarre thing to do.
you're telling me this thing produced coherent writing but does not actually grasp any of its meaning?
writing is frequently a laborious process--and i think it has to be that way. i should be forced to consider my meaning.
we're cheapening the effect of the language we share with others by using AI. we are not really treating people as "ends in themselves".
to be sure, "automatic writing" is possible, but it is--despite what silicon valley says--unnecessary for mass human communication. automatic writing is also insufficient as a form of intelligence.
people's permacomputer project as of today (long)
things i wanna do:
permacomputer $0Ci4L M3D14Z
- fully update the @permacomputer project social media, which means:
- updating the hackaday profile;
- updating the master project page;
- releasing a new statement on the mastodon profile.
- (i think that covers it)
the permacomputer hardware itself
build the first MC6847 video display 'warmup' computer.
- i have found three projects based on 6502 which make use of the MC6847 and have published their schematics. so far so good. when the parts arrive i have to trust my breadboards and little wires are of a sufficient quality as not to bounce and ring, we're dealing with sub-1 MHz TTL-level digital signals so.... maybe my dodgy tools and components will be good enough.
build the first permacomputer prototype
- the next step after i have honed my practicals skills on a simpler task is this: construct a custom video display for the permacomputer, based on the information contained in don lancaster's cheap video cookbook or here if you wanna support the internet archive?
- the reason for using custom logic for the display is the limited number of columns the MC6847--it is my hope to have 40 columns, not a mere 32. i wish i could say more, but the short story is this: using EEPROMs in place of discrete logic is the ticket to having a simple design.
the permacomputer software
- it is still my plan to get lisp running on the permacomputer (much thanks @50htz 🙏 🙏)
- to this end see this disassembly of Acornsoft LISP for the BBC Micro. the beeb is a 6502 machine. it is my hope it can be easily ported to the permacomputer and enable a suitable operating system environment.
- the problem is, this will make the permacomputer more like the beeb. it may not be a simple matter of reproducing the memory map of the beeb--it could require reproducing large parts of the beeb data pathways inside the permacomputer. watch this space.
- i do not want to get too involved in writing a lisp for the permacomputer, so i am postponing this possibility until the very last moment. if i have to do everything myself, sigh, i will.
the overall 'permacomputing' approach
what is a permacomputer? what does a permacomputer do?
the ultimate goal of the project is to construct computers which will last a really long time, and still stay operational.
are you serious?
i largely regard this project to be a piece of art. if someone finds some practical use for what i am building, however, that would also make me overjoyed.
is this a kit project?
it is my pipe-dream to end up manufacturing permacomputer units at a kind of cottage-industry level, perhaps something for my worker's co-operative to do--friendly computers. i want to make these babies really, really cheap--if it's not cheap, it's not accessible to the poor.
why 80s TTL micro-electronics?
it should be taken as given that 80s micros are one of the last generations of computers that people could have a hope of comprehending and mastering every element of its specification, from hardware to the top of the software stack.
@theruran lol i sat on a cheap wooden IKEA chair for years until i got another chair this year
what am i, some sort of ascetic monk???
@vidak You could be interested in reading my browser-dev blog...
I'm not sure what else right off...
@alcinnz do you have anything more i could read?
i might dabble in this area for a bit, personally i dislike HTML's syntax
@alcinnz could you elaborate a little further, if you have time?
what would you remove?
i am discovering all the time that i am re-inventing the wheel 😅😂
@ftg thank you for such a helpful response.
i have purchased some MC6847s just to play around with for now while i refamiliarise myself with physically constructing digital electronics
was also informed about don lancaster's cheap video cookbook, which i am currently stepping through and is proving useful
it is my hope i will be able to design the simplest circuit possible for composite video output, so that when i try and popularise the permacomputer project further, people will be able to join in along by themselves.
neocities is really one of the best things on the web, embodying so much of the spirit of what it means to use hypertext
makes me think if the solution to leaving web is to 'do a gemini' but for HTML--deliberately designing a protocol that is incompatible with the worst parts of HTML.
it's not altogether that difficult--just look at the simplicity of the gemini RFC
just wondering about it--from memory, most of the coding back during the geocities/myspace era was probably just copying and pasting little snippets here and there
i suppose the methodical way would be to step through the HTML5 standard and removing every element that contradicts our requirements
anyway, food for thought...
- all the BASIC media resources required to make an educational series are ready
- i am reactivating the people's @permacomputer project
- need to add the rest of the blog posts to vidak.solarpunk.au
I call this meeting of the Shadowy Cabal of Consumer Enshittification to order. Welcome to our new member Number Seven.
Uh, hi. Wait, is that really what SCCE stands for. That’s unbelievable.
We know, it makes our job so much easier that people who try to blow the whistle on our existence sound like cranks. Number One Emeritus, who crafted our brand, is a marketing genius.
In today's picture: Corvus brachyrhynchos (known as American crow). #CORVUSPHERE #CorvusBrachyrhynchos #AmericanCrow 
Intel ME? How about Intel YOU?
Yes, you.
Sorry, this was in my head and I needed to dump it somewhere.
New Libreboot release coming soon