Graham Lee, D.Phil9h ago
SICPers podcast episode 56 on Niklaus Wirth's "A Plea for Lean Software": what it is, what makes it a good idea, and why it'll never happen. https://www.sicpers.info/podcast/episode-56-a-plea-for-lean-software/ #computerhistory #softwarehistory #podcast
Episode 56: A Plea for Lean Software

The topic for this episode is Niklaus Wirth's A Plea for Lean Software. The episode is sponsored by…your generous support. Head over to https://www.patreon.com/chironcodex/redeem/A31E3 to get a free month of Insider access to my Patreon, with my gratitude! Links: Project Oberon Sophie Wilson: The Future of Microprocessors Type-checking for JavaScript: TypeScript and Flow. Principia Softwarica...

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programmers
techUpdate.ioApr 29

MS-DOS 4.0 ist Open Source: Ein tiefer Blick in die Betriebssystem-Geschichte

https://techupdate.io/microsoft/ms-dos-4-0-ist-open-source-ein-tiefer-blick-in-die-betriebssystem-geschichte/51147/

#technews #microsoft #opensource #retrocomputing #msdos #softwarehistory

MS-DOS 4.0 ist Open Source: Ein tiefer Blick in die Betriebssystem-Geschichte

Microsoft veröffentlicht den Quellcode von MS-DOS 4.0 unter MIT-Lizenz. Entdecke die Geschichte hinter Multitasking-Versuchen und digitaler Archäologie.

techUpdate.io
vga256Apr 27

Harry McCracken's article about the life and death of multimedia cd-roms provides a good retrospective of its glory days.

i wonder how many people today can remember a time when they did not have to be suspicious or skeptical about facts they were reading, because it was written by a team of editors with research and writing standards?

https://www.fastcompany.com/91128052/history-of-cd-roms-encarta-myst

#multimedia #cdrom #softwareHistory

The short, happy reign of CD-ROM

In 1994, multimedia discs—from encyclopedias to magazines—flooded the market, and felt like the future. It was fun while it lasted.

Fast Company
vga256Apr 25

MS Dinosaurs and Encarta are often fondly remembered, but i personally think that Oceans had some of the best multimedia design. it's very book-like in presentation, with zero scrolling. every page is carefully written to exploit the limited space, and the sheer amount of hyperlinking between pages makes exploration *fun*.

here's a 2 minute quick tour of Oceans. i'm not sure how many people ever saw it back in the day. top-tier edutainment imo.

one of the most painful aspects of wikipedia is that due to its layout and allergy to brevity/density, it's about as fun to explore as a phone book. i'd love to some day see a redesign focused on the joy of exploration.

#multimedia #softwareHistory #history #win95 #win31

vga256Apr 25

a roundtable with several developers who worked on the MS Encarta cd-rom encyclopedias. it's surprisingly in-depth about what it was like trying to cram a bookshelf onto a single disc in the 90s. you can tell they really loved working on it.

part 1:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/shows/retro-tech/microsoft-encarta-let-wizard-do-it

part 2:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/shows/retro-tech/remembering-microsoft-encarta

#multimedia #encarta #softwareHistory #history

Microsoft Encarta: Let Wizard Do It

In this two-part series, some of the original Microsoft Encarta team explain what it was like to work on the revolutionary product from the '90s. Anthony Keller, Brian Manthos, Andy Woods, and Lisa Woods talk about what they miss most and what was the most difficult part of shipping Encarta.[02:14] Encarta's design process and challenges[06:44] Navigating with the back button[08:17] Encarta bugs, testing, and bug court[14:00] Shipping Encarta and releases[18:22] Encarta customer memories and Encarta's impact[23:20] Country disputes in Encarta with maps[25:03] Mindmaze Game[31:37] the Encarta familyFollow Misty on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mistymadonnaFollow Channel 9 On Twitter - https://twitter.com/ch9

Hacker NewsApr 20

10 years ago, someone wrote a test for servo that included an expiry in 2026

https://mastodon.social/@jdm_/116429380667467307

#HackerNews #servo #test #expiry2026 #softwarehistory #technews #programming

Hacker NewsApr 1

Windows 95 defenses against installers that overwrite a file with an older one

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20260324-00/?p=112159

#HackerNews #Windows95 #Installers #FileOverwrite #SoftwareHistory #TechSecurity

Windows 95 defenses against installers that overwrite a file with an older version - The Old New Thing

A very primitive version of recovery.

The Old New Thing
N-gated Hacker NewsMar 30
🚀 Wow, someone dug up a dusty old software relic from 1977 and decided it belongs on #GitHub, because why not clutter the internet with ancient code? 🤖 Meanwhile, modern developers are busy trying to remember what a "mathematician" even is, while GitHub's AI tools wonder if they can make this fossil run on Windows 11. 🦖
https://github.com/white-flame/am #softwarehistory #ancientcode #relics #AItools #Windows11 #HackerNews #ngated
GitHub - white-flame/am: Douglas Lenat's AM (Automated Mathematician) from SAIL archives circa 1977

Douglas Lenat's AM (Automated Mathematician) from SAIL archives circa 1977 - white-flame/am

GitHub
TechLİfeMar 25

Python 3.2 and concurrent.futures: The Release That Made Python 3 Worth Using

https://techlife.blog/python-3-2-and-concurrent-futures-the-release-that-made-python-3-worth-using

#Python #Python3 #Programming #SoftwareHistory #TheStoryOfPython #OpenSource #TechHistory #Developer #CodingLife

TechLİfeMar 19

Cleaning the Slate: The Radical Engineering Behind Python 3.0 - The Story of Python Series - 1

https://techlife.blog/posts/cleaning-the-slate-the-radical-engineering-behind-python-3-0-the-story-of-python-series-1/

#Python #Python3 #Programming #SoftwareHistory #TheStoryOfPython #OpenSource #TechHistory #Developer #CodingLife

Cleaning the Slate: The Radical Engineering Behind Python 3.0 - The Story of Python Series - 1

Python 3 deliberately shattered backward compatibility to fix years of design debt. Here's what changed, why it hurt, and why it was totally worth it.

TechLife