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Halt and Catch Fire

unstack.io

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Re: Halt and Catch Fire

#101

Post by Defletter »

b3lvedere wrote: post #75
caned wrote: post #60

This show captures much of what I miss about computing in the 80s and 90s. You could get your hands on hardware, be able to largely understand what all the hardware and software was doing. You mostly used computers as tools, which only accepted commands and didn't try to affect your decisions or workflow (yes, there was Clippy). The leaps forward in computing power, memory and storage were more impactful to the every…

One thing i found very interesting over the years is that when people seem to abuse systems ( key activation, share netflix accounts, vpn, torrents) it’s considered a serious crime, but when companies openly abuse systems ( unsubscribe maze, addiction, fraud ) it’s frowned upon. That should be the other way around. Until then systems will always try to rule over people and people will adapt for better or for worse.

While I sympathise with the sentiments here, it's just not true, or at least is a gross exaggeration. While IANAL, nor have I read every jurisdiction's laws, I'm fairly certain we have yet to see someone prosecuted for sharing a Netflix password. This place would've been inundated with posts about it.

Also, the EU and other jurisdictions have already passed laws and regulations about dark patterns, and continue to do so. iirc, there are jurisdictions considering laws regarding content algorithms. There are laws regarding certain addictive patterns (remember the whole debacle regarding micro-transactions targeted towards children?). None of this is to say that these things don't still happen, but rather to refute the notion that these patterns are merely frowned upon.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire

#102

Post by rigonkulous »

WalterBright wrote: post #96
rigonkulous wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, I have so many of my own experiences to tell in this regard, but .. I'm a little curious .. if you still have the schematics, why not build it again and pick up where you left off? (Disclaimer: I speak as one who has kept almost every computer I've ever hacked on since 1978...)

I could, but the list of projects I want to do is very looooonnnnggggg and reconstructing that machine would be nice to show off, but of no utility. I also no longer have the software I wrote for it, nor the keyboard or monitor. It's all gone. My other regret is I gave away my H11 computer. Sigh.

Oh, well at least scan your schematics in and put 'em on a repo somewhere! That might be inspiring to someone, you never know ..

Re: Halt and Catch Fire

#103

Post by vpribish »

tptacek wrote: post #5
burnte wrote: post #3

It was a fun show. I really enjoyed it, a fictional run through the 80s and 90s computing industries.

Same showrunner is doing the current season of The Terror (a/k/a "North Pole Bear Show" in my review notes; that first season was excellent).

the terror was excellent! glad it's continuing

Re: Halt and Catch Fire

#105

Post by WalterBright »

rigonkulous wrote: post #102
WalterBright wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could, but the list of projects I want to do is very looooonnnnggggg and reconstructing that machine would be nice to show off, but of no utility. I also no longer have the software I wrote for it, nor the keyboard or monitor. It's all gone. My other regret is I gave away my H11 computer. Sigh.

Oh, well at least scan your schematics in and put 'em on a repo somewhere! That might be inspiring to someone, you never know ..

You might be right!

It would be better if I'd just taken a photo of it. There is a photo of my H11 on my twitter profile.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire

#106

Post by antonkochubey »

MrDarcy wrote: post #91
treyd wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That IPv8 proposal that was circulating a few weeks ago was not a serious proposal (written entirely by a single person with no substantial involvement in IETF before then) and has no roadmap to any kind of adoption.

A reasonable proposal from a single person outside the IETF seems most likely to succeed. It’s not like the IETF have any obvious success managing or deploying solutions to IP problems known for over 30 years.

It’s not like that proposal offers a solution for any of those problems.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire

#107

Post by burnte »

mandw wrote: post #22
timenotwasted wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah a truly fantastic show all the way through the end. One of my favorites by far.

I have to admit, when a specific person died I was feeling so bad about it I never watched the last episode. I still have it on the drive how many years later.

I could see it coming and HATED EVERY SECOND of it. Then it happened even sooner than I expected and the impact was huge. The actor really gave that character life, and impact when the death happened, great talent.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire

#108

Post by burnte »

Unai wrote: post #53
0xCMP wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a shame that it is such a niche show in practice. The acting of Lee Pace and Mackenzie Davis in particular are so good across all 4 seasons. I recommend it at every chance I get, but few people ever watch it. They're more likely to give Silicon Valley a try.

Lee Pace is just bigger than life, and Mackenzie Davis is electric in every scene, but my favourite on the show was Scoot McNairy's character. A very specific type of nerd that's rarely written with such depth and nuance. Although I guess that could be said of all the main (and not so main) characters in the show. If anyone else loved these actors watching HACF, I would recommend watching The Fall (Pace), Fargo S3 (M…

> Scoot McNairy's character. A very specific type of nerd that's rarely written with such depth and nuance.

AGREED! I became an instant favorite of that actor just from this part. I'm the rare nerd type who is extremely outgoing and comfortable in any kind of social situation, very capable of getting along and communicating with both the business types and nerds, but I'm still extremely technical to a degree that surprises the jocks and the nerds. "Gordon", the character, is the exact type of nerd that I wind up getting along best with, and I loved that character in the show.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire

#109

Post by burnte »

sph wrote: post #69
burnte wrote: post #3

It was a fun show. I really enjoyed it, a fictional run through the 80s and 90s computing industries.

I don't get why it's so praised. Everybody says it's about the rise of computing, and all I got was a shoehorned romance story with computers in the background. Just like all those sci-fi shows where the sci-fi is only a background to family drama.

Even companies that create computers are still run by people, and the relationships of those people are just as impactful as the business decisions.

Re: Halt and Catch Fire

#110

Post by cman1444 »

brookst wrote: post #90
sph wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get why it's so praised. Everybody says it's about the rise of computing, and all I got was a shoehorned romance story with computers in the background. Just like all those sci-fi shows where the sci-fi is only a background to family drama.

All good stories are about the characters. Genre-first gets old quick.

This is why a lot of my favorite shows/movie series are ones only a few episodes long, but which really give a good feel for the world they take place in.

Bladerunner and HBO's Chernobyl are two of my favorites that fit this.

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