ZenoArrow (u/ZenoArrow)

ZenoArrow commented on Desktop Linux Keeps Winning the Wrong Battles howtogeek.com/desktop-lin... · Posted by u/the-mitr

blueflow · a day ago

Its not about competition. RedHat employees pushed their idea of things and the volunteers either ate it up or left.

RedHats and Canonicals paying enterprise customers are whats keeping the Linux ecosystem alive. No one else brings the required manpower to the table.

ZenoArrow · a day ago

> Its not about competition. RedHat employees pushed their idea of things and the volunteers either ate it up or left.

This is a narrow view about how innovation happens in Linux and related software. Yes, Linux-focused companies are driving many of the changes, but there is plenty of exploration of ideas that happens outside of those companies.

ZenoArrow commented on Desktop Linux Keeps Winning the Wrong Battles howtogeek.com/desktop-lin... · Posted by u/the-mitr

ZenoArrow · a day ago

This article is full of nonsense. The Linux desktop push isn't failing because it has experiences and apps that are similar to Windows and macOS. Being able to run Windows apps on Linux is a benefit, not a failure. As for religious wars over init systems, desktop environments and package managers, competition is making the options stronger, not weaker. Competition is a reason why package management on Linux is far better than equivalents on Windows and macOS.

The main reason for Linux not taking off on the desktop is because most users don't care about what OS they run, they just want a computer that works. If the PC they buy comes with Windows out of the box, they're going to stick with that. Until you get manufacturers shipping PCs with Linux as the default OS, you're mainly going to see desktop Linux as an enthusiast-only option. It's no accident that one of the devices helping to spread Linux (the Steam Deck) comes with Linux as the default option.

ZenoArrow commented on Reverse Engineering All the Raspberry Pis jeffgeerling.com/blog/202... · Posted by u/speckx

sneak · 3 days ago

Why doesn’t the foundation release schematics? Their moat is buying hundreds of thousands of SoCs from broadcom, not their motherboard designs.

ZenoArrow · 3 days ago

To clarify, while Broadcom is a key partner for the Raspberry Pi Foundation, they don't own all the key silicon that makes it onto Raspberry Pis. For example, the "RP1" chip that is effectively a Southbridge on the Pi 5 was designed by and owned by the Raspberry Pi foundation/company, and the same is true of the chips used on Pi Pico boards. I wouldn't expect a new Pi to use all their own chips, but in theory it's possible.

ZenoArrow commented on .NET 10 Preview 6 brings JIT improvements, one-shot tool execution infoworld.com/article/402... · Posted by u/breve

moron4hire · a month ago

That's not "embedding C#". That's runtime loading of .NET assemblies, which every .NET language--including PowerShell--can do.

ZenoArrow · a month ago

It is embedding C#, if it was embedding assemblies it would be embedding compiled code. It's no different from inlining assembly in C.

ZenoArrow commented on .NET 10 Preview 6 brings JIT improvements, one-shot tool execution infoworld.com/article/402... · Posted by u/breve

jug · a month ago

My favorite .NET 10 feature so far is not within the .NET library itself, but `dotnet tool exec` to run C# files as scripts without a build step. This has been available in F# for a long time via `dotnet fsi`, and for C# also via the third party cs-script tool. It took a surprisingly long time to officially reach the primary .NET language!

I only really wish C# would’ve been directly integrated as an alternative scripting language in PowerShell. You may balk at the idea for causing a ton of cruft for people who don’t need it; ”a whole new scripting language!” But the thing is — PowerShell already builds upon .NET so supporting a new language is a rather small effort (relatively speaking) if it happens to be a .NET language. And C# just feels so much better for me to code in when the scripts grow in size. I’m not sure I’ll ever become friends with the implicit returns. C# has become particularly suitable for scripting with the recent developments in the language: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/csharp/fundamentals...

ZenoArrow · a month ago

> I only really wish C# would’ve been directly integrated as an alternative scripting language in PowerShell.

You can embed C# in PowerShell scripts, and you have been able to do so for a long time. This webpage has a couple of examples of how this can work:

https://blog.nuvotex.de/run-c-inside-powershell/

ZenoArrow commented on Alto turns Apple Notes into a website alto.so/... · Posted by u/colinprince

ZenoArrow · a month ago

For anyone that doesn't use Apple Notes, and keeps their notes in Markdown or Org format, good news for you, there are tons of existing tools to do the same thing (converting your notes into webpages) and you don't have to pay for them.

For example: https://bloggrify.com/

ZenoArrow commented on TSMC to start building four new plants with 1.4nm technology taipeitimes.com/News/fron... · Posted by u/giuliomagnifico

godelski · a month ago

  > they're under the impression that I'm seeking to undermine their intelligence

No, we're under the impression you aren't reading our comments. Or only reading the parts that you want and ignoring the rest, even if it was the main point of the comment in the first place.

Take our conversation. What did I say[0]? I said you can't explain everything by the increasing die size. And added information that scaling is a non-trivial technological challenge than your previous comments suggest.

How do you respond? You ignore the second part, which is actually the most important part. Provide die sizes and transistor accounts to prove your point that it is 'essentially increasing die size'. So I did the math. I agree, 75% is "most" but my comment was, again, about how that 25% is non-trivial. So how do you respond? You again focus on the first part and ignore the second.

I don't feel like you're calling me dumb or undermining my intelligence or something. I feel like I'm talking to someone who only bothers to read half of what I say and questioning myself for why I'm even bothering to respond. So I don't know, I still feel like you're going to reinterpret this as my intelligence being insulted when I really couldn't care less. My real name isn't attached, I really don't care if you think I'm dumb. I'll refer you to my prior comment. You can figure out which one...

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44628241

ZenoArrow · a month ago

> What did I say[0]? I said you can't explain everything by the increasing die size. And added information that scaling is a non-trivial technological challenge than your previous comments suggest.

Scaling is a non-trivial challenge, but that doesn't mean the "Moore's Law" rate of progress is being kept up, or rather it isn't if you treat it as a way to track transistor density. In other words, I don't deny that progress is still being made, but the Moore's Law speed of progress is not.

As for die size not accounting for everything, I've already explained that it doesn't account for everything, but it does account for a large part in perceived technical progress. If you think about it it's quite simple, if the rate of transistor shrinkage has decreased in real physical terms (not in the "5nm", "3nm", etc... marketing terms), there's only a few different ways that can happen and you still end up with chips with a larger number of transistors...

1. You can build out vertically, i.e. stacking multiple transistor layers.

2. You can build out horizontally, i.e. increase the width of the die size.

3. You can try to optimise routing or remove non-transistor components from the chips to free up room.

All three are valid options, but they're not equal in terms of achieving a large boost in transistor count. Option 1 is being worked on and is likely to be more of a feature in upcoming process nodes. Option 3 is useful but limited, in the sense that the routing for these chips is already strongly optimised, and unless you couple it with Option 1 the scope for improvements are limited. This leaves you with Option 2, which is both the easiest and cheapest to achieve with current technology.

With these factors in mind, it's obvious that a large part of how transistor counts keep going up with a slowed rate of improvement in transistor size is going to be through increasing die size.

To help illustrate the point further, take a look at this table of Nvidia GPU die sizes. Note that although the growth is not linear, there is a clear trend towards larger die sizes over time.

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/major-nvidia-die-...

ZenoArrow commented on Tokyo's retro shotengai arcades are falling victim to gentrification theguardian.com/world/202... · Posted by u/pseudolus

nitwit005 · a month ago

These older districts were also doubtless considered bland and character-less when built.

There are small homes near me that were built right after WW2. They were built as quickly and cheaply as possible, with almost no effort made at looking pretty. Now considered charming.

ZenoArrow · a month ago

> These older districts were also doubtless considered bland and character-less when built.

It's not about the buildings, it's about the human interactions. The buildings that replace the ones at risk may be more aesthetically pleasing, but it seems very unlikely to support something that is as interesting to visit as what they currently have in that area. Gentrification rarely leads to a blossoming of culture.

ZenoArrow commented on TSMC to start building four new plants with 1.4nm technology taipeitimes.com/News/fron... · Posted by u/giuliomagnifico

godelski · a month ago

  > It's really not that hard to understand what I'm saying when you take my comments at face value.

You're right. But the problem isn't understanding you, it's you understanding others.

ZenoArrow · a month ago

> You're right. But the problem isn't understanding you, it's you understanding others.

The impression I've got from the conversation is that, for the most part, people have agreed with me (after I've clarified my thoughts), but they have disagreed with the way that I've said it (because they're under the impression that I'm seeking to undermine their intelligence). Have I understood what you're referring to?

ZenoArrow commented on Tokyo's retro shotengai arcades are falling victim to gentrification theguardian.com/world/202... · Posted by u/pseudolus

rtpg · a month ago

> What's the end game with this? Identikit cities with little to no character, all created to prioritise convenience.

People say this but Tokyo preserves _way more_ weird subculture stuff and small stores than other major cities IMO, despite constant rebuilding. My theory is basically that because it's nice and dense, and the real estate is extremely liquid by my understanding, stores and restaurants can get their 100 superfans that support the business.

Like I moved to Australia a couple years ago and I have no idea how anyone could afford to open a small independent shop, and you see loads of chains.

Tokyo it's harder than before, but places like these shopping arcades offer some respite (along with other shopping centers).

I am worried that the Tokyo government isn't particularly interested in preserving these places though. They have openly said they want more places to be redeveloped like Ginza of all places.

ZenoArrow · a month ago

> People say this but Tokyo preserves _way more_ weird subculture stuff

> I am worried that the Tokyo government isn't particularly interested in preserving these places though

You're basically agreeing with me. The fact that Tokyo has interesting places now doesn't mean it will in the future.