Until you run out of RAM, then randomly shit starts dying.

Here you go: No, California Didn't Turn Away Fire Trucks From Oregon Over Smog Certification

Our biggest customer bought what was left post-implosion. Mainly for the intellectual property that went with their core business, plus a select few to keep things working. Eventually that meant just me.

...laura

I've worked from home for nearly a decade. When the company imploded in 2001 we went from 1000-odd people to around 30, then down to two. The final two worked from a smaller office until one of them was laid off and it was just me.

We tried a shared office space. This worked, for a while. It gave me somewhere to go, got me out of the house. In the end we decided the cost wasn't worth the benefit, I packed up my company computer systems and took them home. I've worked from home ever since.

Not everybody can work from home. It takes a certain discipline. It can be liberating. It can be bloody lonely. I make sure I have reasons to get out. Lunch at my favourite restaurant once a week, work out at the local gym three nights a week, and so on. I do what I can. I visit head office once a year. The Powers That Be have decided face time with us remote types is a good thing. I agree.

Would I want to work from an office again? I'm not sure. But I'd love to try and find out.

...laura

That's because no beans were served at the canteen at lunch.

The nightlife on the Moon is lousy anyway. There's no atmosphere.

...laura

This is news?

Many systems had genuine issues but they were recognized, fixed, tested, ready to go when the time came. The panic was totally unnecessary.

I observed 0000 1 January 2000 three times: New Zealand UTC+13, first place west of the International Date Line with lots of computers. 0000 UTC (of course...), then 0000 local (Toronto, UTC-5). I was doing my Master's research in satellite data communications at the time and noted in mid-December that one of the satellites I was working with would be in the sky at 0000 UTC 1 January 2000. I logged the telemetry downlink and watched the timestamps with interest.

...laura

They really should use quantum-resistant algorithms alongside a traditional algorithm for now so that you have to crack both. Quantum algorithms are very new compared to our old favorites. One of the NIST finalists for quantum-resistant crypto was cracked using classical computing near the end of the standardization process, highlighting the danger of relying on these alone.

She should have used her broom. Especially on that day!

All the at-work goodies encourage you to be at work every waking minute. Your work is your life.

...laura

The time I actually spend typing Swift in to Xcode or Kotlin in to Android Studio is just part of my day. The rest of my day is thinking. Research. Testing. Paperwork.

No point in mindlessly pounding on a keyboard if I have nothing to add to whatever I'm working on...

...laura

Wake me when I can factor 1024-bit RSA keys. The Nintendo DSi and I have unfinished business.

I'm a pessimist, so I'm guessing--with no evidence--that we will find out that keeping N qubits coherent requires energy exponential in N, meaning that quantum computers are mostly useless.

They'd have to give AI the same personal hangups that produced songs like Blank Space and Delicate.

Personally, I like her. She's not musically innovative nor is she the most technically capable singer, but what she does, she does well. A "whole package" performer, if you will. She's a gifted live performer. I saw her in Seattle last year and am flying to Vancouver tomorrow.

She seems like a nice person. You could do worse. I actually did my Swiftie thing backwards: I had always respected her as a person and admired her style. I only warmed to her music recently.

...laura

If all you want is endless rehashes of your favourite music of days gone by, AI is the answer.

If you want something new, AI is not the answer. You could train an AI model on classic rock (say, late '60s to mid '70s) and get all the "new" Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Steely Dan tunes you want. Such a model would never create Gary Numan. Or Daft Punk. Or Nirvana.

...laura