Liam Proven
@lproven.bsky.social
Tall, dark, black-clad, atheist, skeptic, vegetarian, SF fan; writes (mostly about computers) for a living. All opinions expressed are my own & not those of any employer.
Why this country declared an ocean current collapse a national security risk
buff.ly/JeH8gpr
Climate modeling shows Icelandic winter extremes plunging to an unprecedented -50º F (-45º C). Sea ice could surround the country for the first time since it was settled by Vikings.
buff.ly/JeH8gpr
Climate modeling shows Icelandic winter extremes plunging to an unprecedented -50º F (-45º C). Sea ice could surround the country for the first time since it was settled by Vikings.
Why this country declared an ocean current collapse a national security risk
The disruption of a current that carries heat north from the tropics would make much of the world hotter, while turning Iceland into “one giant glacier.”
buff.ly
February 12, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Why this country declared an ocean current collapse a national security risk
buff.ly/JeH8gpr
Climate modeling shows Icelandic winter extremes plunging to an unprecedented -50º F (-45º C). Sea ice could surround the country for the first time since it was settled by Vikings.
buff.ly/JeH8gpr
Climate modeling shows Icelandic winter extremes plunging to an unprecedented -50º F (-45º C). Sea ice could surround the country for the first time since it was settled by Vikings.
The big FOSS vendors don't eat their own dogfood – they pay for proprietary groupware
www.theregister.com/2026/02/12/s...
That's… *not* a good idea
<- by me on @theregister.com
#OpenSourcePolicySummit2026
www.theregister.com/2026/02/12/s...
That's… *not* a good idea
<- by me on @theregister.com
#OpenSourcePolicySummit2026
SUSE exec blurts that the company uses Teams
Open Source Policy Summit 2026: That's not a good idea
www.theregister.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:21 PM
The big FOSS vendors don't eat their own dogfood – they pay for proprietary groupware
www.theregister.com/2026/02/12/s...
That's… *not* a good idea
<- by me on @theregister.com
#OpenSourcePolicySummit2026
www.theregister.com/2026/02/12/s...
That's… *not* a good idea
<- by me on @theregister.com
#OpenSourcePolicySummit2026
How Much of CP/M’s Design Ended Up in MS‑DOS?
buff.ly/zhTCTrW
MS-DOS was designed to be API compatible with CP/M. But how much of CP/M’s internal design carried over?
buff.ly/zhTCTrW
MS-DOS was designed to be API compatible with CP/M. But how much of CP/M’s internal design carried over?
How Much of CP/M’s Design Ended Up in MS‑DOS?
MS-DOS was designed to be API compatible with CP/M. But how much of CP/M’s internal design carried over?
buff.ly
February 12, 2026 at 1:40 PM
How Much of CP/M’s Design Ended Up in MS‑DOS?
buff.ly/zhTCTrW
MS-DOS was designed to be API compatible with CP/M. But how much of CP/M’s internal design carried over?
buff.ly/zhTCTrW
MS-DOS was designed to be API compatible with CP/M. But how much of CP/M’s internal design carried over?
Reposted by Liam Proven
There's no patriot like a Monaco-based patriot.
February 12, 2026 at 9:23 AM
There's no patriot like a Monaco-based patriot.
Reposted by Liam Proven
LOL. Possibly even a ROFL.
A Korean bitcoin market intended to give away prizes worth ₩620,000 or about $425. Instead, they gave away 620,000 bitcoins worth roughly $40 BILLION at the time—despite not actually holding that many tokens. It’s a massive failure of crypto safety protocols. Now they’re asking for the coins back.
February 12, 2026 at 9:59 AM
The Linux mid-life crisis that's an opportunity for Tux-led transformation
buff.ly/rE9yu09
Sudo make me a star
<- on the Reg, but not by me. Mr Goodwins here has a good idea, though.
buff.ly/rE9yu09
Sudo make me a star
<- on the Reg, but not by me. Mr Goodwins here has a good idea, though.
Linux mid-life crisis: A Tux-led transformation chance
Opinion: Sudo make me a star
buff.ly
February 12, 2026 at 9:53 AM
The Linux mid-life crisis that's an opportunity for Tux-led transformation
buff.ly/rE9yu09
Sudo make me a star
<- on the Reg, but not by me. Mr Goodwins here has a good idea, though.
buff.ly/rE9yu09
Sudo make me a star
<- on the Reg, but not by me. Mr Goodwins here has a good idea, though.
Reposted by Liam Proven
My favorite exchange on Twitter in the history of the site
February 12, 2026 at 5:53 AM
My favorite exchange on Twitter in the history of the site
Reposted by Liam Proven
What's so amazing about Jim Henson as a puppeteer is that he could literally be explaining that Kermit is made out of felt and ping pong balls and yet Kermit still feels alive the whole time he's doing it
February 11, 2026 at 10:03 PM
What's so amazing about Jim Henson as a puppeteer is that he could literally be explaining that Kermit is made out of felt and ping pong balls and yet Kermit still feels alive the whole time he's doing it
Don't Get Distracted
calebhearth.com/dont-get-dis...
«
I’m going to tell you about how I took a job building software to kill people.
But don’t get distracted by that; I didn’t know at the time.
»
calebhearth.com/dont-get-dis...
«
I’m going to tell you about how I took a job building software to kill people.
But don’t get distracted by that; I didn’t know at the time.
»
Don't Get Distracted
I’m going to tell you about how I took a job building software to kill people. But don’t get distracted by that; I didn’t know at the time.
calebhearth.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:24 PM
Don't Get Distracted
calebhearth.com/dont-get-dis...
«
I’m going to tell you about how I took a job building software to kill people.
But don’t get distracted by that; I didn’t know at the time.
»
calebhearth.com/dont-get-dis...
«
I’m going to tell you about how I took a job building software to kill people.
But don’t get distracted by that; I didn’t know at the time.
»
Reviving a CIDCO MailStation – the last Z80 computer
www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/l...
If launching it was crazy in 1999, then what's trying to use it today?
<- by me on @theregister.com
www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/l...
If launching it was crazy in 1999, then what's trying to use it today?
<- by me on @theregister.com
Reviving a CIDCO MailStation – the last Z80 computer
FOSDEM 2026: If launching it was crazy in 1999, then what's trying to use it today?
www.theregister.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Reviving a CIDCO MailStation – the last Z80 computer
www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/l...
If launching it was crazy in 1999, then what's trying to use it today?
<- by me on @theregister.com
www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/l...
If launching it was crazy in 1999, then what's trying to use it today?
<- by me on @theregister.com
Nobody knows how the whole system works
buff.ly/XxuQS7o
<- this is THE single key defining truth of 21st century computing
buff.ly/XxuQS7o
<- this is THE single key defining truth of 21st century computing
Nobody knows how the whole system works
One of the surprising (at least to me) consequences of the fall of Twitter is the rise of LinkedIn as a social media site. I saw some interesting posts I wanted to call attention to: First, Simon W…
buff.ly
February 11, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Nobody knows how the whole system works
buff.ly/XxuQS7o
<- this is THE single key defining truth of 21st century computing
buff.ly/XxuQS7o
<- this is THE single key defining truth of 21st century computing
River project swims against the Wayland tide with modular window management
www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/r...
Breaking a big hard problem up into smaller ones? That'll never catch on
<- by me on @theregister.com
www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/r...
Breaking a big hard problem up into smaller ones? That'll never catch on
<- by me on @theregister.com
River brings modular window managers to Wayland
FOSDEM 2026: Breaking a big hard problem up into smaller ones? That'll never catch on
www.theregister.com
February 11, 2026 at 12:09 PM
River project swims against the Wayland tide with modular window management
www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/r...
Breaking a big hard problem up into smaller ones? That'll never catch on
<- by me on @theregister.com
www.theregister.com/2026/02/11/r...
Breaking a big hard problem up into smaller ones? That'll never catch on
<- by me on @theregister.com
Screenshots from developers & Unix people (2002)
Screenshots from developers & Unix people (2002)
What did people's desktops look like?
buff.ly
February 11, 2026 at 9:53 AM
Screenshots from developers & Unix people (2002)
Reposted by Liam Proven
Reposted by Liam Proven
I drew a face on a paper plate. Who could even begin to understand how it perceives the world or what it dreams of?
Researchers working with the A.I. system Claude have come to understand that the model’s selfhood, like our own, is a matter of both neurons and narratives. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/kEX1vV
February 11, 2026 at 4:39 AM
I drew a face on a paper plate. Who could even begin to understand how it perceives the world or what it dreams of?
Reposted by Liam Proven
everything is vibes
Propaganda about 'AI' and the new age word calculators have supposedly ushered in, has fed the delusions of the LinkedIn brained. This coalition of dunces pretends IT operations are easy. Actual sysadmins and engineers have lost countless hours cleaning up these fools' messes
i can't tell what's satire at this point
February 11, 2026 at 8:12 AM
everything is vibes
Reposted by Liam Proven
Field Notes from a Senior Living Center
substack.com/@beccaselah/...
On confidence, confusion, and the quiet cost of bad design
<- the real message: this goes all the way to the top, including household-name CEOs
substack.com/@beccaselah/...
On confidence, confusion, and the quiet cost of bad design
<- the real message: this goes all the way to the top, including household-name CEOs
Farberisms
www2.cs.arizona.edu
February 10, 2026 at 1:40 PM
Field Notes from a Senior Living Center
substack.com/@beccaselah/...
On confidence, confusion, and the quiet cost of bad design
<- the real message: this goes all the way to the top, including household-name CEOs
substack.com/@beccaselah/...
On confidence, confusion, and the quiet cost of bad design
<- the real message: this goes all the way to the top, including household-name CEOs
"Farberisms" are sayings in the style of Dave Farber (whom you may have heard about with regard to Internet). Some of these are from the "master" himself. Others simply exemplify his style.
www2.cs.arizona.edu/icon/oddsend...
www2.cs.arizona.edu/icon/oddsend...
Farberisms
www2.cs.arizona.edu
February 10, 2026 at 9:57 AM
"Farberisms" are sayings in the style of Dave Farber (whom you may have heard about with regard to Internet). Some of these are from the "master" himself. Others simply exemplify his style.
www2.cs.arizona.edu/icon/oddsend...
www2.cs.arizona.edu/icon/oddsend...
Quality at speed
buff.ly/o2mzQsE
«
When you browse LinkedIn, you mostly see people drone on about "AI": How it made them more productive without sacrificing quality…
Software is getting worse, not better. Where exactly is the quality at speed?
»
buff.ly/o2mzQsE
«
When you browse LinkedIn, you mostly see people drone on about "AI": How it made them more productive without sacrificing quality…
Software is getting worse, not better. Where exactly is the quality at speed?
»
Quality at speed
When you browse LinkedIn, you mostly see people drone on about "AI": How it made them more productive without sacrificing quality. How they fear the pace at which things (tools) are changing and…
buff.ly
February 9, 2026 at 4:23 PM
Quality at speed
buff.ly/o2mzQsE
«
When you browse LinkedIn, you mostly see people drone on about "AI": How it made them more productive without sacrificing quality…
Software is getting worse, not better. Where exactly is the quality at speed?
»
buff.ly/o2mzQsE
«
When you browse LinkedIn, you mostly see people drone on about "AI": How it made them more productive without sacrificing quality…
Software is getting worse, not better. Where exactly is the quality at speed?
»
Reposted by Liam Proven
Many open source maintainers have already advised people how to engage with their projects. There are contribution guides and communication channels in which to engage. The problem is, people have chosen to ignore all of that, and have started behaving like code slinging bots using AI tools.
February 7, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Many open source maintainers have already advised people how to engage with their projects. There are contribution guides and communication channels in which to engage. The problem is, people have chosen to ignore all of that, and have started behaving like code slinging bots using AI tools.
More malware from Google search
buff.ly/RLwcZlt
«1st, distrust everything you see in search engines. Assess what they return critically, particularly anything that’s promoted. It’s promoted for a reason, & that’s money, so before you click on any link ask how that’s trying to make money from you.»
buff.ly/RLwcZlt
«1st, distrust everything you see in search engines. Assess what they return critically, particularly anything that’s promoted. It’s promoted for a reason, & that’s money, so before you click on any link ask how that’s trying to make money from you.»
More malware from Google search
Follow a sponsored result in Google to a page in Medium that provides a Terminal command that you will live to regret. And what is Marek’s disease?
buff.ly
February 9, 2026 at 1:40 PM
More malware from Google search
buff.ly/RLwcZlt
«1st, distrust everything you see in search engines. Assess what they return critically, particularly anything that’s promoted. It’s promoted for a reason, & that’s money, so before you click on any link ask how that’s trying to make money from you.»
buff.ly/RLwcZlt
«1st, distrust everything you see in search engines. Assess what they return critically, particularly anything that’s promoted. It’s promoted for a reason, & that’s money, so before you click on any link ask how that’s trying to make money from you.»