Ever wonder how the #FreeSoftware movement started? It began with a jammed printer 🖨️🚫

​In 1980, Richard Stallman couldn't improve the Xerox 9700's software because the code was closed. Frustrated that he couldn't make the printer alert users of a jam, he started the Free Software movement.

​https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_9700#Legacy

​#FOSS #GNU #Xerox #OpenSource #TechHistory #PaperJam

A random link I came across reminded me that one of my FOSS projects' README file references all of the following:

Tru64
HP-UX
Debian
RedHat
SuSE
Ubuntu
FreeBSD
NetBSD
Darwin

x86
AMD64
Alpha
PA-RISC
Itanium
PowerPC

I would like to issue a decades-late "thank you" to Hewlett Packard for operating their "Test Drive" program, that allowed me to do test builds on all of those platforms I had no other access to. [1] I was sad when they discontinued it, even if it was a pretty niche thing at the time.

I must have been one of about 3 people outside of Hewlett Packard, Intel, and Microsoft who'd ever bothered to try to build software on Itanium. [2]

How many of the above phrases would elicit blank looks from newly-minted engineers and #CompSci people these days?

[1] Meaning actual useful Hewlett Packard. The practically unrelated modern HP corporation can, of course, stick their overpriced, DRMed ink and toner in their paper-jam access holes.

[2] a.k.a. "Itanic"

#HP #HewlettPackard #TestDrive #platforms #architectures #OSes #Unix #CPUs #PaperJam #StickIt #WhereTheSunDontShine

PaperJam zine fair was fantastic. so busy! i think i sold at least twice as much as last time i tabled. the downside is i didn’t get a chance to shop for any zines myself. no haul this year 😮

big thank you to the tranzac and toronto zine library!

#zines #zineFair #paperJam

"Welcome to The International House of Jams. We've got the jams! What can I do for you?"

"I'd like a jar of traffic jam."

"Sorry. We don't carry this one."

"That's vexing. How about paper jam?"

"What paper weight do you want?"

#jam #TrafficJam #PaperJam #nonsense