2025-01-26
Steam Brick: No screen, no controller, just a power button and a USB port
The Steam Brick Mod is a custom project that modifies a Steam Deck to be smaller and lighter by removing the screen and controller, leaving only essential components. The modification uses a 1TB OLED Steam Deck and involves creating a custom case with a 3D printer, resulting in a device about a third the size and 24% lighter than the original. Despite its portability benefits, the mod has limitations, such as no BIOS access and difficulty determining if the device is on, and it is not officially supported by Valve, posing risks of damage.
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The Steam Brick is a modified version of the Steam Deck, featuring no screen or controller, only a power button and USB port, designed for portability and ease of use. It utilizes XReal glasses for display, offering a unique approach to gaming without the need for traditional screen protection. This mod is a personal project and not officially supported by Valve, sparking discussions on various tech setups and educational systems.
It's not a crime if we do it with an app
Big food companies are allegedly using apps to engage in price-fixing, a practice termed "greedflation," by coordinating pricing through third-party data brokers like Potatotrac. This issue is not limited to the food industry but also affects housing and other sectors, drawing attention from antitrust authorities. Cory Doctorow's new book, "Picks and Shovels," delves into these themes, with the author making several appearances to promote it.
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The US justice system often shows leniency towards corporations, allowing them to avoid significant penalties for misconduct, while individuals face harsher consequences for minor infractions. Corporations exploit legal loopholes and employ lobbyists and lawyers to reduce fines and manipulate systems, as seen in Uber's use of algorithms to avoid paying drivers a minimum wage. The complexity of proving corporate crimes compared to individual offenses makes it challenging for the justice system to hold corporations accountable effectively.
Every HTML Element
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The blog post provides an analysis of HTML tags and attributes using a large dataset, offering a downloadable SQLite database of popular tag-attribute combinations. It compares different approaches to exploring HTML elements, discussing topics like HTML parsing, deprecated tags, and the use of labels in forms. The post also delves into the history of XHTML, the semantics of HTML, and the use of custom elements, with some users reminiscing about older web design practices.
The South Vietnamese pilot who landed a Cessna on a carrier to save his family (2019)
In April 1975, Maj. Buang-Ly, a South Vietnamese pilot, executed a daring escape with his family in a small plane during the fall of South Vietnam. Captain Lawrence Chambers of the USS Midway made the unprecedented decision to clear the deck for Buang's landing, even discarding helicopters, allowing Buang to land safely. This event was part of Operation Frequent Wind, the final phase of the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, and Buang's plane is now displayed at the National Naval Aviation Museum.
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A South Vietnamese pilot landed a Cessna on a U.S. carrier to save his family during the fall of Saigon, illustrating personal struggles and resilience during the Vietnam War. Many South Vietnamese soldiers fled using any available aircraft, highlighting the desperation and chaos of the time. The USS Midway, now a museum, was pivotal in these events, reflecting the broader human impact of war and complex geopolitical issues.
YC Graveyard: 821 inactive Y Combinator startups
The YC Graveyard lists 821 inactive startups from Y Combinator, a prominent startup accelerator, highlighting the challenges faced by new ventures. These startups, from 39 batches and 50 industries, include sectors like finance, healthcare, retail, and technology, demonstrating the broad scope of Y Combinator's influence. Notable companies such as Blume Benefits, Fileforge, and Celest are among those that have ceased operations, reflecting the high-risk nature of startup ventures.
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YC Graveyard has identified 821 inactive Y Combinator startups, underscoring the high failure rate in the startup ecosystem. Investors often prefer a definitive failure over a "lifestyle business" that doesn't scale, as it allows them to write off losses, while some startups are "acqui-hired" for their talent or assets. The discussion delves into the nature of small businesses, investor roles, startup success challenges, and the broader implications of venture capital, including startup funding dynamics and founder compensation.
An invalid 68030 instruction accidentally allowed the Mac Classic II to boot
Doug Brown identified a bug in the Macintosh Classic II's ROM that should have stopped it from booting, but an undefined instruction on the Motorola MC68030 CPU allowed it to proceed. Using the MAME emulator, Doug discovered that the Classic II failed to boot in 32-bit mode due to a bus error from an invalid address, corrected by an undocumented instruction on actual hardware. This finding underscores the role of emulators in uncovering hidden hardware bugs and the intricacies of undocumented CPU instructions, with real hardware tests confirming the undocumented instruction's importance for booting.
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An undocumented instruction in the MC68030 CPU allowed the Mac Classic II to boot by bypassing illegal instruction detection, altering the A1 register unexpectedly. This discovery underscores the existence of undocumented instructions in CPUs, akin to those found in 6502 and x86 architectures, which can lead to unexpected behavior. The 68030 architecture, known for its elegance, was used in various systems, but its complexity eventually hindered its scalability.