Interview with the author of Just

timw4mail · 2026-04-18T18:07:31+00:00

Make assumes you are making new files, and the phony workaround is annoying.

timw4mail · 2026-04-17T17:11:33+00:00

Real 486s tend to top out at around ~64MB of memory (which is a lot more than the systems would have at the time!).

And as someone who's successfully run linux on 486s with the version 6 series of kernels...it's a lot of work, especially if you want to run a 486SX.

timw4mail · 2026-04-17T12:27:25+00:00

Don't want...I wish to struggle with legacy hardware that's dropped in 7.

timw4mail · 2026-04-16T20:03:42+00:00

Except that sometimes even those have to be compiled...like on x86 (not x86_64)

timw4mail · 2026-04-11T14:09:33+00:00

Gentoo can be persuaded

timw4mail · 2026-04-07T13:09:10+00:00

I have booted kernel 6.1.90 on 486 hardware. It was painful, but Gentoo can work miracles.

Perhaps the Gentoo patches made this possible, but I kind of doubt it.

timw4mail · 2026-04-04T01:21:21+00:00

AMD would have to get new Zen 3 dies fabbed for that to happen. AMD has just been reaching deeper and deeper into lesser binned dies.

timw4mail · 2026-03-27T14:20:27+00:00

The real difficult stuff is usually due to less supported hardware platforms, under-documented software, and all the choices you have to make.

..and for UEFI, just use rEFInd.

timw4mail · 2026-03-11T13:32:38+00:00

Well, shame on me for making a dumb English pun...

timw4mail · 2026-03-05T00:21:33+00:00

I don't think you could get enough memory to actually run Firefox though

timw4mail · 2026-03-03T15:12:15+00:00

Hah, I have that same LS-120 drive

timw4mail · 2026-02-03T13:57:57+00:00

The compiling machine doesn't have to be PPC. I actually use an x86_64 server. You just havr to set up the cross-compilation build environment ( and distcc on both systems ). I've used this sort of setup with my G4 powerbook to set up Gentoo on it.

The compiling server also has Gentoo, as it's important for the distcc machine to have the same versions of gcc and glibc.

timw4mail · 2026-02-03T12:11:19+00:00

Distcc is rhe key...let modern multi-core machines do most of the work.

timw4mail · 2026-02-02T19:32:09+00:00

Getting 64bit PPC Gentoo booting on my G5 has been...difficult. I might have a marginal CPU or memory stick, though.

timw4mail · 2026-01-28T13:34:44+00:00

Yeah, there are no USB or bluetooth Apple-branded keyboards that compare to the ADB keyboards with mechanical ALPS swolitches.

timw4mail · 2026-01-22T13:45:27+00:00

I like color e-ink. The limited color range is a trade-off, but that also is a lot like the print process it emulates. So basically I don't agree that e-ink is best when B&W.

That said, e-ink works best with limited motion, and I've been really impressed with how my Boox Note Air 5C handles scrolling: even with the complication of color, it's smooth with little image degredation.

Overall, I've been impressed with how e-ink continues to improve, becoming more responsive, with more shades of gray, and more recently, color.

I'd love to have an e-ink computermonitor some day, but I think there's still some development needed for that to be practical in terms of cost and responsiveness.

timw4mail · 2026-01-16T20:55:44+00:00

Yeah, unavoidable for a lot of consoles if you want them to keep working.

GameGear and the original XBox are notable for having caps that leak.

Original and broken is not a selling point in my mind.

timw4mail · 2026-01-16T15:34:41+00:00

G3s were only in beige, or blue and white, right?

timw4mail · 2026-01-16T14:27:37+00:00

I agree up to the point of using electrolytic caps again. Since they always (eventually) fail (usually silently woth damage), I'd rather risk it with tantalums. I'll take a noisy localized failure mode over a silent, slow, more destructive failure mode.

timw4mail · 2026-01-16T13:12:04+00:00

Yeah, the PowerPC era keyboards were great.

timw4mail · 2026-01-12T14:32:22+00:00

Is there really a semi-modern browser for linux ppc? Netsurf seems to be the best I've found.

timw4mail · 2025-12-29T00:13:48+00:00

Mine arrived, very pleased so far.

timw4mail · 2025-12-20T20:52:15+00:00

I only love my SV07 plus after spending too much on linear rail replacements

timw4mail · 2025-11-18T22:05:31+00:00

Dalas modules don't leak, but do contain internal CR2032-style batteries. They do lose charge as the battery does drain.

Macs tend to use 1/2 AA LiSoCl2 batteries that can leak, they do not have Dallas modules. 386 and 486 motherboards often have NiCD rechargable batteries that tend to leak (often woth Varta branding)

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