Mastodawn

Folks don't always realize the value of not making software extra smart.

I remember back at RIT it was a "rule" that student usernames were 3 letters and then 4 digits. (Originally initials of name and last 4 of SSN. They had moved to 4 random digits once the world became aware how bad it is to publicize even part of a SSN).

Then RIT started using an automated system for students to apply and that system didn't force an 'x' in for those without a middle name. So suddenly there were student account names that were two letters and then 4 digits.

The Computer Science department had built in all sorts of rules into various tools about how names behaved. Said tools exploded messily.

The tools I had made for my department didn't do all those checks. My tools assumed the given username was correct. So when the central system started feeding the new names in, it just accepted them and did their job.

The "smarter" software was only smart until the "rule" turned out to be more of a guideline.

Combat Unicorn 2d ago

I know. I'll spend several minutes writing and re-writing a response to something before deciding I can't express myself properly and giving up the idea of interacting with someone on the internet for now.

Combat Unicorn 2d ago

Charlie Stross 5d ago

About trans rights:

They're a wedge issue. If you think it's okay to deprive trans people of the right to exist in the public sphere then you're saying human rights are conditional and/or can be withdrawn. Which puts you on a slippery slope to no human rights for anyone.

When you trace the roots of the modern anti-trans movement they boil down to some combination of bigotry and billionaire bullshit— the oligarchs think rights are for the rich.

So: trans-rights are human rights. No exceptions.

Combat Unicorn 2d ago

"Many a frustrated user has sworn they'll launch Microsoft Outlook into space, but NASA has actually done it – on a journey around the Moon, where it's now causing problems for astronauts."

I know not everyone loves The Register, but the above paragraph is an example of why I've kept reading them for decades.

(from https://www.theregister.com/2026/04/02/artemis_astronauts_microsoft_outlook_broken/)

Artemis II astronaut: 'I have two Microsoft Outlooks, and neither one of those are working'

: In space no one can hear you scream, at Microsoft

The Register

Combat Unicorn 2d ago

abadidea 3d ago

IT'S HAPPENING

GITHUB, THE FIRST ENTERPRISE CLOUD SOLUTION TO REACH ZERO NINES RELIABILITY

https://mrshu.github.io/github-statuses/

#github

Combat Unicorn 4d ago

mhoye 4d ago

It’s sort of incredible that the core lesson of this chart is that if you’re considering migrating to Azure, you really, really don’t want the people who own and operate Azure helping.

https://techhub.social/@ironicbadger/116326155409620757

Combat Unicorn 4d ago

I can be a dangerous person sometimes. I will come up with funny nicknames for something and then use that repeatedly in front of some who probably _never_ wants to use my nickname in front of people related to that topic.

Combat Unicorn 4d ago

Bryan Steele

5d ago

Theo de Raadt has introduced a new hw.blockcpu sysctl to #OpenBSD -current to offer more control over which CPU core types (Performance, Efficiency, and SMT) are available to schedule processes on. Modern Intel (and ARM) CPUs additionally have slower LP-E (low-power) cores that severely hinder system performance.

deraadt@ modified src/sys/*: Some new intel machines have a new 3rd tier of cpus called LP-E which are E-core (Atom) without L3 cache. These cpus are Lethargic, and it sucks when processes migrate to them.
This introduces sysctl hw.blockcpu= which takes a sequence of 4 letters.
S (for SMT), P (regular performance cpu), E (efficient cpu) generally 80% to 50% as fast), and L (lethargic cpu) which are even slower.
By setting this, you can select cpus to kick out of the scheduler. The default is SL.
The hw.smt sysctl remains for now but we will eventually delete it.
hw.smt changes and follows hw.blockcpu=S.
ok kettenis mlarkin

Combat Unicorn 5d ago

Show thread

War and Peas 🧿5d ago

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Combat Unicorn 5d ago

War and Peas 🧿5d ago

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