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The Poop Window Story

Posted by takyon on Wednesday September 06 2017, @06:06PM (#2606)
5 Comments

Another HD-article

Posted by takyon on Tuesday September 05 2017, @06:15PM (#2603)
2 Comments
Hardware

Looking for this article about high dynamic range:

Netflix confirms HDR compatibility with Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and LG V30

Found this article with some nice historical and technical details:

Believe the Hype: HDR Is the Real Deal

HDR seems like a bigger deal than 4K for games with moody atmospherics or stealth mechanisms, as well as certain films. I doubt it will die and recede into the background like 3D did.

Work is going well

Posted by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday September 01 2017, @07:12PM (#2599)
14 Comments
Career & Education

I'm working on a USB video driver. The way it works is quite complex so I ported from Linux rather than writing from scratch:

#define spin_lock_t IOSimpleLock *

Some things didn't have such simple ports, so I guarded them with #ifdefs. Then my coworker removed all the Linux-specific code as well as the ifdefs. Sucks to be him when it's maintenance time.

I get a big check when it goes to beta. I'm going to donate a good chunk of money to homeless shelters, soup kitchens and rescue missions.

And I'm going to buy a car.

The car won't help much with getting to work - because of the all-day rush our here in Portland, I'll stick to the light rail. But it might be worthwhile to drive instead of taking two busses to get from home to the North Portland light rail station. I expect that will cut my commute from two hours to ninety minutes.

More important to me in the short term is that I can go places where the busses don't go. Like the beach, the desert and the mountains.

I like to camp in the desert.

Say that ---^ in Reno and you get a 10-day involuntary hold for being a danger to yourself. That's because "camping in the desert" is a local euphemism for "committing suicide".

"But I'm not from Reno! I really _do_ like to camp in the desert." My pleas fell on deaf ears.

A good chunk of Eastern Washington, Eastern Oregon and Northeast California is a desert.

I get another big check when we ship. There will be quite a lot of work between beta and shipping; I have to support multiple dongles, as well as harmony with the competitor's dongle, as well as some other featureful things.

I'm going to get my stuff out of storage in Canada. I don't know yet how much that will cost but I'm guessing three grand.

I'll get my piano back. I mean like a real piano, with wires and wood.

It was way out of tune when I recorded this. I later had it tuned, but I wanted to record its memory in case tuning it broke some of the strings. While they could be replaced, the new wires would spoil the distinctive voice of the piano that I had lived with since I was a toddler.

In my experience, if you enjoy my recordings, you're not right in the head. One of my two biggest fans has Borderline Personality Disorder - I met her by playing a piano in a nuthouse - and Schizotypal Personality Disorder.

I also have a Fatar controller in storage. It doesn't make sound, I have to use a MIDI Sound Module for that. But it has a hammer-action mechanism that makes it feel like a real concert grand.

I also - presently - have an M-Audio ProKeys 88sx Lightweight Stage Piano. I bought it for playing open mics.

The Hell am I going to do with three pianos? My apartment is tiny! But I cannot bear to part with any of them.

Lately I've been writing down my favorite artists when they're played on Radio Paradise. Then ever couple of weeks I go to a real good record store and buy a half-dozen CDs. I've got over a hundred artists in my list, I'm going to be enjoying lots of new music, with the approval of the MAFIAA.

Ah! The privileged life: a couple weeks ago I bought parmesan cheese for my spaghetti.

Boy Scouts Accused of "Covert Campaign to Recruit Girls"

Posted by takyon on Friday August 25 2017, @10:46PM (#2591)
9 Comments

Trump-Faced Ecstasy Tablets Seized in Germany

Posted by takyon on Tuesday August 22 2017, @09:15PM (#2581)
4 Comments

Joss Whedon: "Woke Bae" No More

Posted by takyon on Tuesday August 22 2017, @12:44AM (#2578)
3 Comments

Seeking Beta Testers for Warp Life for iOS

Posted by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday August 21 2017, @06:58PM (#2575)
6 Comments
Code
It runs on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Warp Life is a particularly fast implementation of Conway's Game of Life. Golly may be faster but it doesn't run on the smaller devices, just the iPad.

If you're willing to help, I'll need the UDIDs of each device you want to test with. Follow these instructions to obtain your device's UDID.

Mail your UDID(s) to mdcrawford@gmail.com.

You could really help a brother out if you would forward the URL to my beta test page to anyone you genuinely feel would be interested in or would benefit from it:

http://www.warplife.com/beta-testing

My Clients Are Happy Therefore I Am Happy

Posted by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday August 17 2017, @11:46PM (#2566)
3 Comments
Code

I'm working on a macOS - it's not Mac OS X anymore - USB Video driver. This is by far the most complex driver that I've ever developed.

It works now, but only for a hardwired resolution and pixel depths. There are lots of other problems, the worst one being that it doesn't play nice with power management. There are vast quantities of "// TODO:" comments.

When I get it to beta - hopefully Real Soon Now - I'll be getting a huge paycheck. When it's completely finished, I'll get another one.

My client is a fabless semiconductor firm. They sell chips to manufacturers who sell finished products to end-users. Hopefully my whizzy new driver will enable them to sell lots more chips.

We're big in China.

I told my client about my mental illness. They were totally cool with it. But I haven't mentioned my experience with homelessness.

In other news, I have a mad crush on a barista, but as yet she doesn't seem to return my interest.

Samsung Portable SSD T5

Posted by takyon on Wednesday August 16 2017, @02:15PM (#2563)
0 Comments
Hardware

An external SSD has become Samsung's first drive to hit the market with 64-layer V-NAND. It includes a 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C connection and capacities ranging from 250GB to 2TB:

Moving on to the pricing aspect, it must be remembered that the Portable SSD T5 is a pilot vehicle for Samsung's 64-layer V-NAND as its production ramps up. Samsung naturally expects this to be a low-volume, high-margin part. Therefore, despite the higher density, consumers should not expect much difference in the cost per GB compared to other external SSDs in the market. The 2TB variant will have a MSRP of $800 and the 500GB will retail at $200. At 40 cents/GB, it is priced close to other such products currently in the market.

Also at Samsung, PCWorld, The Verge, PCMag, and YouTube.

Not a submission because: Intel First to Market With 64-Layer 3D NAND SSDs

Benjamin Lay

Posted by takyon on Sunday August 13 2017, @12:29AM (#2561)
1 Comment