Off-Topic > Off-Topic - Tiny Tux's Corner
System-RescueCD and UEFI surprise!
nick65go:
hm, hard-core do we want to get?
RAM could be the main bottleneck. If we want 486 compatibility, then we talk about small RAM, like 32-64 MB.
It is no point to trim few KB from utilities, which anyway run sequential, not in parallel. And the RAM came (in the past) in blocks of 32 MB (pair sticks); so we talk about categories of 32 / 64 / 96 /128 /256 MB. Over these categories, like 512 MB or 1 GB, there is no need for any tiny/small anything. We are limited only by bloated applications (vlc instead of mplayer-nodep, or LibreOffice instead of gnumeric, etc).
Storage is not a problem anymore. As long as we have just one USB port, then using a USB hub (cost 4 euros?) we can plug over 10 USB. so no need for internal 1 Terra bytes HDD/SDD.
Today most of us can not buy a new laptop without UEFI64. And the minimum is 2 - 4 GB RAM, I think.
So, for UEFI64 the goals of 486 compatibility and tiny/small size is near useless. It remains for didactic purposes. And for optimized qemu machines!
BTW: Who can afford a "modern" UEFI64 machine? Ex: my laptop from 2015 (7 year old) cost was 400 GBP. It has UEFI64, 8 GB RAM, 999 GB HDD, etc. Today work is 10-50 euro/hour (nobody will do something for me for less than few beers). So we talk about few days work / year! to own a new UEFI64 machine, which you use for (near) a decade? And then you spend weeks/moths/years to "customize" a tool (linux kernel) or a USB utility stick to do what? To use bloated (easy available) applications. Ole torro! How about Pareto principle: 20% work for 80% performance.
PDP-8:
Hi Nick! - we may see TC from a different angle, but I believe for the most part we are on the same page!
But we can't stop progress. If you were to put your laptop up for sale today, I may not feel it's worth more than only $40. :)
But don't feel bad - back in the day, corporations paid millions of dollars for a large timesharing system, and within 4 years it was totally obsolete. Minicomputers and all that. Which also had a real-term lifespan of only a few years at most unless you handed them off to uni's to run basic with.
So these days, with near disposable super/mini personal computers at our disposal, with crazy high clock speeds, ram and storage ...
What used to be tight, efficient, and elegant code partly mandated by limited resources, could today be seen not from a technical viewpoint, but a transition from science to art!
That is, with unlimited disposable computer resources, one can simply make it a large unmaintainable mess, OR still create tight, efficient, and elegant code simply as a personal choice! Almost an artistic choice, be it the code itself, or the group of like-minded people creating it.
It's a luxury. Which leads to possibly making decisions not based solely on hardware limitations, but "What's the most *elegant* way to handle an issue?" be it code or group involvement. Perhaps some things could be made a *tad* larger if it doesn't impose a hardship or be harder to digest - but always keeping an eye for creeping-featurism.
We've got that luxury now as users or developers to find that "balance" between minimalism and bloat. Extremes on either side are inelegant.
PDP-8:
Getting way OT again, but you might find this interesting ...
I've had the great pleasure of communicating with some REAL OG's of unix. Some of our forefathers so to speak.
Quite a few these days have resigned themselves to just running the terminal inside their Apple Macs. Some may be doing likewise in an Ubuntu or sometimes a *BSD box. Lamenting about how there are too many "distributions" are out there, or simply giving up with a big-box computer.
If forced to reveal what I like, I tell them what gets my juices flowing: TinyCore.
Whether they take advantage of that is unknown and I don't press it like a fan-boy.
nick65go:
--- Quote from: PDP-8 on December 03, 2021, 07:25:58 PM ---If you were to put your laptop up for sale today, I may not feel it's worth more than only $40. :) .
--- End quote ---
You love OT (out of topics) inserted allover the places, so here is mine to your pleasure.
Out of curiosity, did you check the cost today for a laptop with display 17 inch, 8 GB RAM + 1 TB HDD SATA, etc? I think you did not, because only a battery cost is 30+ euros (transport included). None of the laptop display is less than 50-70 euros.
When I replace something (laptop) the goal is minimal OPPORTUNITY cost (= buy less sell) to keep the same (perceived) performance that I need (not to upgrade, not to keep with the crowd). And is not about the purchase price, is about TCO (total cost of ownership, plus maintenance).
PS: Lucky me that I do not outsource my finances management, or else you would bankrupt me with your experience in sales. Please, do not salivate to my old laptop, you will not get the 40$ gift from me :)
Very few people find the (relative and moving) point of enough in live, if ever. (Buddhist monks are excluded). Basically if you want something really hard, then it means that you feel the missing that thing -- and when things are missing from someone life, then that person is not so happy, right?
vinceASPECT:
Hello Forum,
Great.
Keeping a Learning opportunity.
New technology will be abound for learning. Meta? ......verse and World Wide Web Learning.
thanks .......t C L ....festive wishes ,
C
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