Good point about the socket strips.

The point? Well, it gives you an appreciation for digital layout(crosstalk, trace capacitance, etc). You also understand intimately how the pieces fit together, so when you encounter them in an integrated package you have a better feeling for what's going on. I get you though - I wouldn't try to use a wirewrapped 68k for anything I need to rely on.

Getting it working on a breadboard is no small feat. Kudos. I'm sure it helps to only run at 2MHz.

Rather than, as has been suggested, spin a PCB for it, why not try wire-wrapping next time? Less capacitance than a breadboard and a bit more permanent.

Back at DeVry(haha) we built 7MHz 68k systems using wirewrap. Great times. I freaking love 68k assembly. We(well, the smart ones) also used 22V10 PALs for address decoding to save on 74 series logic chips.

Another next step - find a chip with an MMU so you can run real linux. I think a 68020 or '030 has one. Much higher clock speed too. The pin density is still low enough(I think it's 0.1 but in a grid) that you can work with it. Check old electronic stores' back shelves for sockets.

Don't get me wrong, reddit sucks... it's just better than slashdot in some of the technical subreddits.

The smart folks left /. years ago.

I still use /. as a news aggregator, as they *sometimes* post stories that I don't find elsewhere.

In the olden days you'd find some real insights in the comments section. Nowadays you're better off on reddit(*shudder*).

Microsoft should really consider a re-org that puts their consumer focused products(xbox, phones, etc... not the windows OS though) in a separate division with a different name.

Put aside all of your feelings for Microsoft and just consider for a second how terrible a name like Microsoft is when it comes to cool, fashionable devices. Micro... soft... that's not a name I'd like associated with any kind of status symbol purchase. Sure, it's fine in the enterprise software space where image is less important, but if they ever want to seriously consider competing in the personal electronics space they'll need to change not only their branding but their name.

Nope, just an old ('08?) 24" iMac. I'm not sure retina would make their poor color choices(the blue folders are horrendously loud) or lack of gradients/shadows.

Nope, didn't backup. It's the wife's desktop, so if it died, nothing of importance would be lost. Besides, I backed up a few months ago when I upgraded to a SSD.

Upgraded yesterday. I can't comment on the internal changes, but IMHO the new look is ugly. It even looks like the 'X' in the close button isn't centered. I want my old look back.

I've tried taking SSRIs a few times over the years for depression/anxiety/OCD. I haven't been able to last longer than 36 hours. I feel like I am experiencing all of the anxiety and uncontrolled mental energy of LSD without any of the good feelings or positive emotions. I think I have a wacko serotonin system. Tramadols get me reallly high(like taking an E pill) and I am very sensitive to serotonin-system drugs like LSD and psilocybin.

A lot of folks at work are switching to these and they seem happy.

I'm going for a stand-up desk first. I'll look into the 4k monitor early next year and see how things are then.

People wonder how we'll ever convince Americans to give up ownership and switch to rented, self-driving cars...

We'll do it by:
a) Jacking up insurance rates on people who still want to drive
b) Jacking up the price of vehicles by mandating expensive equipment

In 30 years, you won't be able to afford a car, much less afford to drive it. I'm not making a moral judgement here, I just think it's bound to happen.

I don't have a dog in this race, but I've got to point out that California is actually in a relatively wet period and if it returns to it's formerly dry state then California will be fine. The people, maybe not so much, but California has been much drier in the past.

Yep... and my work machine as well. It all depends on the apps you use. If you are like most people nowadays and only need a web browser then Linux is probably sufficient as a desktop OS.

I should admit that my work desktop does host a windows 7 VM, but that's only because my company chose an IE-only solution for our timetracking tool.

I had a feeling someone would say something like this...

According to TFS, the program is for open source code. You know, the code that is already open and scannable by a web crawler. If the NSA wanted to do this for nefarious purposes(and I'm sure they do), they would have(and probably have) started their own program years ago. They don't need you to upload your open source project for them.

I'm willing to bet the NSA has all the closed-source software source they want as well. I doubt my company's shitty security, for example, is any hindrance to them.

Actually, my first thought is why isn't the NSA doing this?

Securing our nation's information infrastructure is one of their core missions(along with spying on OTHER nations, which I also think they should be doing, instead of spying on US). They have the talent to be able to do it effectively.

So the poor general can't participate in the usual dance of former Washington insiders who use cronyism and connections to enrich themselves after 'serving' in government?

There should be a name for that... like 401(c)... where c stands for crony capitalism.