People are boasting about Arch, but my first open-source OS was FreeBSD 4.2, fitting on a single CD-ROM.
It included a tiny base system and C compiler, and practically every other package had to be compiled from source, using the ports system, which was just a collection of makefiles, one for each package.
And you had to be careful to use gmake instead of make, because the default Make was BSD-specific tool incompatible with most of open-source software, which targeted Linux. And you had to make sure to use GNU versions of grep, sed, and awk, and remove all bashisms from shell scripts, because /bin/sh was of course incompatible with bash.
You had only about 50% chance that a given package would compile. Package manager? What package manager? Just run suand then make install.
And my PC was AMD K6, and it had Turbo button, which did absolutely nothing. And I was very proud of my TEAC CD drive.
and it had Turbo button, which did absolutely nothing
These old ‘turbo’ buttons actually did do something – they limited your CPU clock speed.
Because some old games (and perhaps other software) relied on counting CPU cycles for timing the game. The faster your CPU, the faster the game would run, and the faster things in the game would happen. When CPUs got too fast for this, such games became unplayable because everything was happening in such fast-forward speed that the player could never hope to keep up. The counter-intuitively named ‘turbo’ button would bridge a jumper on the motherboard and change your CPU clock speed to a lower value, slowing it down so these old style games could still run at a reasonable, playable pace.
Ironically enough, the ‘turbo’ button made your PC slower.
(Personally, I think turbo buttons are due for a comeback, but as fan control options. Use a ‘turbo’ button to switch between fan control profiles – turbo off for quiet profile, turbo on for maximum performance profile.)
Arch comments in 3, 2, 1 …
So you’ve all heard about rolling in your grave, but have you heard about rolling releases? No? Well it works like …
I came in here to say “Arch, btw” but now I don’t wanna.
Fine, Hannah Montana it is then.
People are boasting about Arch, but my first open-source OS was FreeBSD 4.2, fitting on a single CD-ROM.
It included a tiny base system and C compiler, and practically every other package had to be compiled from source, using the
portssystem, which was just a collection of makefiles, one for each package.And you had to be careful to use
gmakeinstead ofmake, because the default Make was BSD-specific tool incompatible with most of open-source software, which targeted Linux. And you had to make sure to use GNU versions of grep, sed, and awk, and remove all bashisms from shell scripts, because/bin/shwas of course incompatible withbash.You had only about 50% chance that a given package would compile. Package manager? What package manager? Just run
suand thenmake install.And my PC was AMD K6, and it had Turbo button, which did absolutely nothing. And I was very proud of my TEAC CD drive.
These old ‘turbo’ buttons actually did do something – they limited your CPU clock speed.
Because some old games (and perhaps other software) relied on counting CPU cycles for timing the game. The faster your CPU, the faster the game would run, and the faster things in the game would happen. When CPUs got too fast for this, such games became unplayable because everything was happening in such fast-forward speed that the player could never hope to keep up. The counter-intuitively named ‘turbo’ button would bridge a jumper on the motherboard and change your CPU clock speed to a lower value, slowing it down so these old style games could still run at a reasonable, playable pace.
Ironically enough, the ‘turbo’ button made your PC slower.
(Personally, I think turbo buttons are due for a comeback, but as fan control options. Use a ‘turbo’ button to switch between fan control profiles – turbo off for quiet profile, turbo on for maximum performance profile.)
The PC case with Turbo button was originally 486-DX, but there was no place on the new K6 motherboard to plug it into.
Arch-based, the path you choose, btw? Good.
Big endeavour it is.
Closer to the Force, you’ll feel… the more you learn.
The turbo button actually slowed down the pc.
https://www.howtogeek.com/678617/why-did-the-turbo-button-slow-down-your-pc-in-the-90s/
EDIT: Replied to the wrong post, fuck it, it stays as is.