skissane (u/skissane)

skissane commented on BBC Micro, ancestor to ARM retrogamecoders.com/bbc-m... · Posted by u/ingve

skissane · 6 days ago

Thanks, I stand corrected about the CPU

So Sun Network Computers were JavaOS on SPARC, Oracle were NCOS (Acorn RiscOS derivative) on ARM – and I think IBM's had a similar tech stack to Oracle's...

were there any others?

skissane · 6 days ago

Correcting myself:

IBM Network Station used PPC

And although its OS was called “NCOS”, it was completely different from Oracle’s NCOS. It was apparently a closed source derivative of NetBSD

skissane commented on BBC Micro, ancestor to ARM retrogamecoders.com/bbc-m... · Posted by u/ingve

xyzzy3000 · 7 days ago

The various Sun 'JavaStation' NC models retain the SPARC CPUs of their workstation line - they definitely do not use ARM.

JavaOS was in ROM, on a module that can be removed (SIMM-style form factor). At one point people started to use BOOTP to run Linux compiled for SPARC as a replacement, as JavaOS was unpleasantly slow on JavaStation hardware.

skissane · 6 days ago

Thanks, I stand corrected about the CPU

So Sun Network Computers were JavaOS on SPARC, Oracle were NCOS (Acorn RiscOS derivative) on ARM – and I think IBM's had a similar tech stack to Oracle's...

were there any others?

skissane commented on BBC Micro, ancestor to ARM retrogamecoders.com/bbc-m... · Posted by u/ingve

hnuser123456 · 7 days ago

GTE: General Telephone & Electronics

CMD: Commodore Micro-Devices

skissane · 7 days ago

CMD in this case being California Micro Devices, who bought GTE’s microprocessor business in the mid-to-late 1980s, and then was acquired by onsemi in 2009. The BBC Master used their CPUs

There is another CMD, Creative Micro Designs, who sold aftermarket peripherals for Commodore 64/etc

skissane commented on BBC Micro, ancestor to ARM retrogamecoders.com/bbc-m... · Posted by u/ingve

jacquesm · 7 days ago

I didn't know that, thank you.

RiscOS simply had to start the whole OS cycle from scratch, it wasn't as good as what was already available on the Amiga and it wasn't Unix. It was fun to work with if you came from the BBC Micro it all made good sense and was a step up. But when looking at it from a corporate angle it wasn't quite what you'd expect from a workstation and it didn't run anything that you needed right there.

Did Oracle port any applications to it?

skissane · 7 days ago

It was part of the Oracle-led Network Computer project, the main thing ported to it was the JVM, to run Java business apps. IBM also sold them (IBM Network Station), and Sun - although I believe Sun Network Computers ran JavaOS not NCOS, but still used ARM CPUs

skissane commented on BBC Micro, ancestor to ARM retrogamecoders.com/bbc-m... · Posted by u/ingve

jacquesm · 8 days ago

Acorn didn't so much drop the ball as that the industry took off in a way that they simply could not have dealt with for the exact same reason that your EU start-up that is successful usually ends up being acquired: lack of access to easy capital. SV was well established by the time that the personal computer took off and even though they found their own nice niche (education) they never started out to conquer the world, they achieved their goals - and then some, see linked article - and managed to pivot fast enough and well enough to eventually give intel a run for their money, which is no mean achievement.

RiscOS wasn't even on the table for the likes of IBM and that is what it would have taken to succeed in the business market. But for many years the preferred machine to create Videotext or ATEX (automatic typesetting system) bitstreams was to have a BBC micro and there were quite a few other such interesting niches. I still know of a few BBCs running art installations that have been going non-stop for close to 45 years now. Power supplies are the biggest problem but there are people that specialize in repairing them, and there are various DIY resources as well (videos, articles).

skissane · 7 days ago

In the 1990s, Acorn had a big deal with Oracle... Oracle NCOS was rebadged Acorn RiscOS

But I just don't think Oracle were able to sell it – and Oracle's sales people are really good, if they can't sell your product, the problem is likely the product or market fit not their sales ability

skissane commented on BBC Micro, ancestor to ARM retrogamecoders.com/bbc-m... · Posted by u/ingve

cperciva · 8 days ago

The article... well, it doesn't bury the lede, but it does completely omit it outside of the headline. For anyone who doesn't know the context: The BBC Micro was built by Acorn Computers, which proceeded to design the Acorn RISC Machine -- later renamed to Advanced RISC Machine and thence to simply "arm".

In many ways, the tuple (BBC Micro, Acorn Computers, arm) is analogous to (IBM PC, Intel, x86).

skissane · 7 days ago

> In many ways, the tuple (BBC Micro, Acorn Computers, arm) is analogous to (IBM PC, Intel, x86).

There was a radical difference in the relationship between the two corporations in each tuple. In the BBC-Acorn relationship, Acorn designed and manufactured the computer; BBC just offered their brand, did marketing, and supplied some high-level requirements. In the IBM-Intel relationship, IBM designed and manufactured the computer, and Intel was the CPU vendor, with many other customers. The 6502s used in the pre-ARM BBC systems were from MOS Technology–or one of their licensees, such as GTE/CMD–so those companies were really the Intel equivalent here

skissane commented on ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes bmj.com/content/390/bmj-2... · Posted by u/bookofjoe

wahern · 9 days ago

That document is quite confusing, at least when skimming it. There's actually a bullet point on one page that says, "The current interruption to supply is NOT related to any DEA production quotas or restrictions on API."

That may be technically true, or perhaps it's just a false assertion included in the document dump. But AFAIU the issue is that the DEA tightly controls production and distribution of bulk amphetamines. There's just not a global quota, but per manufacturer quotas as well as requirements for allocation for each product. For example, the DEA sets a supply quota for 40mg pill production separate from a 50mg prescription. So if a particular manufacturers supply for 40mg pills is exhausted but they have tons for 50mg pills, too bad unless and until you go through an onerous process with the DEA to reallocate. It gets even worse across manufacturers. If manufacturer A has to shut down their production facility for some reason, manufacturers B and C can't easily pick up the slack. That's because reallocation of amphetamine supply to another manufacturer not only requires navigating a bureaucracy (that the DEA may very well slow walk given their present attitude), but it requires manufacturer A to voluntarily relinquish their quota, which they never do as there's zero benefit to them.

TL;DR: Technically global supply is more than adequate, but DEA rules, which effectively operate extraterritorially, create huge distribution problems. So the DEA can technically claim quotas aren't the problem, but that's at best highly misleading. If manufacturer A has to shutdown production (which, from the document, seems to have been one of the issues with Takeda), the end result is less production even though other manufacturers could theoretically pick up the slack.

skissane · 9 days ago

> There's just not a global quota,

There is no global quota. There are national quotas set by every country's government. US law nominates the DEA as the agency which does that for the US. Each country's government reports their national quotas to a UN agency (the INCB), but the UN agency has no power over them – at the very worst, they might criticise your quotas, but probably not even that; and more powerful countries (not just the US, even middle powers like Australia) can ignore what UN bureaucrats think with impunity – some poor developing country it may be a different story, especially if aid decisions are tied to getting a "good report card" from those bureaucracies.

And while for the DEA, setting these quotas is part of some grand moral/ideological crusade, for EU governments and Australia it is just technocratic paperwork – so of course those governments approach the issue much more reasonably than the DEA does.

> but DEA rules, which effectively operate extraterritorially, create huge distribution problems.

I don't see how they do. Lisdexamfetamine sold in Australia is manufactured by Takeda in Germany and Ireland. The DEA lacks jurisdiction over what a Japanese company does in EU and Australia. Although the drug was originally developed in the US, the Australian patent is currently owned by the Japanese parent company, not its American subsidiary, while the American subsidiary owns the "Vyvanse" trademark in Australia; anyway, DEA jurisdiction is based on manufacture in the US or US import/export, not country of development or IP ownership.

> If manufacturer A has to shutdown production (which, from the document, seems to have been one of the issues with Takeda), the end result is less production even though other manufacturers could theoretically pick up the slack.

In Australia's case they can't because lisdexamfetamine is still under patent, so other manufacturers are illegal – not because of the DEA, because Takeda will sue them. Takeda could license other manufacturers voluntarily, but why would they do that? That might be great for patients, but probably not so great for their shareholders.

I'm no fan of the DEA, but blaming the DEA for something that happens in Australia appeals to people emotionally even if it isn't true, whereas blaming patent law and the business decisions of a Japanese corporation is more truthful but less emotionally satisfying.

skissane commented on ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes bmj.com/content/390/bmj-2... · Posted by u/bookofjoe

Maxious · 9 days ago

The shortages are due to the DEA, you can read the documents on the TGA FOI website what "manufacturing issues" really means https://www.reddit.com/r/ausadhd/comments/1mhdmgs/foi_250162...

skissane · 9 days ago

Since last year, lisdexamfetamine sold in Australia has been manufactured in Germany (API) and Ireland (packaging). The DEA has zero jurisdiction over a drug manufactured in Germany/Ireland and then exported from there to Australia–US quotas do not apply, the relevant quotas are the German/Irish/Australian quotas set by their respective governments (which governments appear to take a much more flexible and responsive approach to doing so than the DEA does). Takeda said that GMP issues in the Irish plant were causing supply problems – and I don't see any reason to disbelieve them; GMP is a TGA/FDA/EMA issue not something the DEA has any authority over.

The biggest cause of Australia's lisdexamfetamine supply issues isn't the DEA, it is patent law – the US patent expired in 2023, the Australian patent doesn't expire until 2028, which gives Takeda a continuing near-monopoly on lisdexamfetamine in the Australian market – so if Takeda is having problems meeting the growing demand, it is legally very difficult for other firms to step in. The TGA did for a period allow emergency parallel import – but I don't know if that included generics, and my own experience was it wasn't clear how to even access it – my impression is that for most patients it was more of a theoretical allowance than something practically helpful to them.

I think the biggest thing the DEA is doing here is damaging the US' own pharmaceutical manufacturing industry by pushing controlled substances production out of the US and into friendlier countries in Europe and Asia. The DEA can't cause any lasting issues with controlled substances availability in Australia because their jurisdiction is legally limited to the United States. Even if we suppose the DEA may have temporarily contributed to supply issues in Australia – surely equal blame lies at Takeda for being too slow at moving manufacturing out of the US.

skissane commented on ADHD drug treatment and risk of negative events and outcomes bmj.com/content/390/bmj-2... · Posted by u/bookofjoe

baby_souffle · 9 days ago

> Which online doctor? I've had the same frustrating experience with "real" psychiatrists but didn't know you could arbitrage the prescription like that.

There are a few providers out there. The DEA is cracking down on them (they call them "pill mills") and that crackdown is - depending on who you ask - partially/fully responsible for the stimulant shortages the past few years. The /r/ADHD sub has some good discussion(s) from time to time on the latest action(s) taken by the DEA.

---

When I was seeing medical help to confirm or refine my suspected/self-diagnosed ADHD, it was a _pain_ to jump through all the hoops. I was nervous getting my first Rx filled but oh my god was it a night and day difference. Within 45 min, it was _clear_ that the medication was working ... exactly how it's supposed to for people with ADHD. That "validation" was my prize for attempting to navigate the american health care system.

If I could have replaced dozens of hours / 6+ months of phone-tag/paperwork/assessments for a monthly subscription and a 30 min video call, I'd have jumped at the chance.

skissane · 9 days ago

> and that crackdown is - depending on who you ask - partially/fully responsible for the stimulant shortages the past few years.

Australia has been experiencing psychostimulant shortages in recent years, but they haven’t been due to the DEA (or Australian equivalent thereof-most of the DEA’s functions are state government responsibilities in Australia), they’ve been explained as due to manufacturing issues and growing demand - https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/further-adhd-medic... - while I totally believe the US is facing additional issues due to its own regulatory regime, if Australia is having supply issues independent of that factor, why wouldn’t the US too?

Since controlled substances prescribing is a state issue in Australia, each state has its own policies - but I know my state (NSW) has been loosening regulation not tightening it - https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/clinical/first-phase-of-gp-...

skissane commented on Trump Orders National Guard to Washington and Takeover of Capital’s Police nytimes.com/live/2025/08/... · Posted by u/Tadpole9181

cafard · 13 days ago

Are we working from your private dictionary, or from the history books? My recollection is that Italian industrialists got along just fine with with Mussolini, and that he did not much tamper with private property.

skissane · 13 days ago

Mussolini forced businesses to join fascist-controlled employer groups, and workers to join fascist-controlled labour unions - Trump appears completely disinterested in doing such a thing.

Hitler banned all youth groups except for the Nazi Party’s Hitler Youth. Mussolini tried to do the same; but the entrenched power of the Catholic Church meant he was forced to tolerate its youth groups competing with the fascist ones. I haven’t heard of any “Trump Youth” and Trumpism appears to lack the fascist focus on banning all civil society groups except those formally affiliated with the ruling party.

Both leaders enacted explicitly antisemitic legislation - Hitler with enthusiasm; Mussolini possibly more due to pressure from Hitler and a desire to please his Nazi allies than genuine antisemitic conviction. I’m not sure what Trump’s answer to Hitler’s Nuremberg Laws and Mussolini’s Leggi Razziali (Racial Laws) is meant to be

Calling Trump a fascist requires ignoring many things which Hitler and Mussolini had in common but which Trump lacks