Wasted Neurons Wednesday - COM and EXE files

Submitted by Philip Storry on Wed, 24/04/2013 - 20:33

These days, all Windows programs are .EXE files. But back in the days of DOS, there were also .COM files.

Why no .COM files anymore?

The answer lies with the precursor of MS-DOS - CP/M.

MS-DOS was not actually written by Microsoft - IBM had tried to get CP/M for their new PC, but couldn't agree on the royalty rates. As a hedge bet, they asked Microsoft for an operating system - so Microsoft first licensed, then bought outright someone else's CP/M clone and resold it to IBM!

Wasted Neurons Wednesday - Intel's forgotten processor

Submitted by Philip Storry on Wed, 03/04/2013 - 22:07

Intel really struck it big when IBM's PC design used their 8088 as it's CPU.
The Intel 8088 was a budget version of the Intel 8086 - the money was saved by only giving the 8088 an 8-bit data bus instead of a 16- bit one.

So here's the thing...

SMWS New List Tasting 2013-03-02

Submitted by Philip Storry on Thu, 28/03/2013 - 20:49

An impressive outturn from the SMWS this month, with plenty of older (and therefore more expensive) bottlings.

Wasted Neurons Wednesday - RAM and the IBM Compatible PC

Submitted by Philip Storry on Wed, 27/03/2013 - 21:22

The IBM PC was powered by an Intel 8088 processor.

That processor could address 1Mb of memory. Yes, a whole luxurious megabyte! Trust me, that was a big figure in 1981.

However, you didn't get the whole megabyte. Oh no. Things like video cards and the built-in BASIC need some RAM to use, so IBM reserved the upper 384Kb of RAM for that purpose. That gave the machine 640Kb of RAM to play with.

Resolutions

Submitted by Philip Storry on Thu, 03/01/2013 - 09:30

It's that time of year - resolutions time.

Why?

I'm quite serious. And this isn't an attempt to shirk anything.

(I'm making no resolutions this year because I'm more of a fan of kaizen. So when I needed to start running, I didn't wait - I just started. I'm simply wondering about why we make resolutions at New Year.)

Despite preferring continual improvement, I can see that having a time to take stock of things and set new goals is positive. I just don't see why it should be January 1st.

Flattr - Initial Impressions

Submitted by Philip Storry on Tue, 11/12/2012 - 23:14

Today, I got my first ever tip, via Flattr.

It was (predictably) for vCardSplit. My gift that just keeps on giving... the cockroach of software!

Flattr isn't quite like other payment systems. This isn't a donation of a fixed amount - with Flattr you put money into a tip jar on a monthly basis, and go round "Flattring" things.

Echo Chambers

Submitted by Philip Storry on Thu, 15/11/2012 - 08:52

Do you live in an echo chamber?

It's easy to. And it only seems to get easier.

Flaming Heart

Submitted by Philip Storry on Mon, 17/09/2012 - 20:01

The Flaming Heart is a fine whisky by the excellent folks at Compass Box.

At the launch there was some pyromania:

There are a few more photos in this set, but that's the one I like the most.

Couch 2 5K

Submitted by Philip Storry on Tue, 07/08/2012 - 23:15

I don't think I ever expected to be writing a review of an exercise programme, much less something like Couch 2 5K.

Back in March I had a health check, and discovered I was clinically obese. (To be honest, the huge belly I had was also a hint, but one I was studiously ignoring.)

After some time looking at my options, I was surprised to find that running was my best bet, and that C25K (as it's known) was probably the best way to start.

A depressing discrimination

Submitted by Philip Storry on Sun, 01/07/2012 - 18:08

This week I read a very depressing thing - this editorial on a ruling against Netflix.

It's depressing because it rails against the idea that Netflix should have to make their products accessible to the deaf without charging them extra.

But you should read the comments that this attracted.