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Harder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need [video]

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Re: Harder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need [video]

#31

Post by fps_doug »

nowahe wrote: post #26
mixmix wrote: post #24

Can anyone recommend other hidden gems like Tom's channel? I've been following him for years and still have not seen a merrier hacker. George Hotz's livestreams ( https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFUMGbVxlQs5s-LNAyKgcq5S... ) were as good perhaps, but the format is quite different, and he doesn't do them anymore.

Here is a list of some channels (in no particular order) that are similar to Tom's, in the knowledgeable host talking about niche/complex subjects : - Huygens Optics[1] : Retired Philips' research scientist that worked on OLED development and makes highly detailed videos on different subjects, all relating to light (eg: Making optical logic gates using interference, DIY photolithography, Making a Mirror with a Variab…

I was recently pleasantly surprised by the YT algorithm and was recommended Tech Time Traveller's video about Miniscribe, which just blew up for this guy for reasons unknown to mortals. ;-)

The Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TechTimeTraveller/videos

Videos mostly about retro computers and companies from the 70s and onwards.

It's amazing how high quality the videos are and how much effort this guy puts into them even thjough he only got about 2k views per video up until the latest vid. Seems the persistence finally payed off.

Re: Harder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need [video]

#32

Post by fps_doug »

GuestHNUser wrote: post #2

Tom7 is brilliant for anyone that hasn't seen him before. His Reverse Emulation video ( https://youtu.be/ar9WRwCiSr0 ) and Weird Chess Algorithms ( https://youtu.be/DpXy041BIlA ) are a must watch. His dead pan delivery coupled with the ridiculous amount of effort he puts into things that don't _really_ matter is honestly inspiring.

I'm anticipating his video every April 1st, and was already fearing he might have skipped this year when it wasn't uploaded in time. One of the people with the perfect mix of funny, smart and bat-shit crazy.

Re: Harder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need [video]

#33

Post by iicc »

rhn_mk1 wrote: post #29

Could anyone provide a text summary?

http://tom7.org/papers/murphy2022harder.pdf

>6 Conclusion

>In this paper, we decided that sometimes it’s more fun to do things the hard way, and then did so. Using several different techniques and some needless digressions, we created block devices that could support small filesystems, which then could host a fitting file. Each filesystem was bad when considered as a regular hard drive, but good when considered as a Harder Drive. We also compared these drives to the most popular cryptocurrency. The idea was to make the point that cryptocurrency is so egregiously bad that it resembles a “SIGBOVIK joke gone wrong” more than something one would make on purpose. This part may not have been as fun.

Re: Harder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need [video]

#34

Post by progbits »

nowahe wrote: post #26
mixmix wrote: post #24

Can anyone recommend other hidden gems like Tom's channel? I've been following him for years and still have not seen a merrier hacker. George Hotz's livestreams ( https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFUMGbVxlQs5s-LNAyKgcq5S... ) were as good perhaps, but the format is quite different, and he doesn't do them anymore.

Here is a list of some channels (in no particular order) that are similar to Tom's, in the knowledgeable host talking about niche/complex subjects : - Huygens Optics[1] : Retired Philips' research scientist that worked on OLED development and makes highly detailed videos on different subjects, all relating to light (eg: Making optical logic gates using interference, DIY photolithography, Making a Mirror with a Variab…

> Technology Connections [10] : Hard to describe the style

To the contrary, it is very easy to describe: it is an entire channel dedicated to the latent heat of water.

(For those who haven't seen it, he goes into refrigeration and heat exchangers a lot and this topic constantly comes up, becoming a running joke)

Re: Harder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need [video]

#36

Post by shreddit »

drpixie wrote: post #3

I had a large collection of hard drives that had caused uncountable grief, we would relieve the stress by abusing the drives. Unfortunately they have long since been disposed of, but the collection included: * subject drive to 100t press (it got thinner!) * immerse drive in acid (little change) or base (drive dissolves!) * subject drive to industrial guillotine * warm drive with oxy torch * drop from 300 ft tower (li…

I always wondered how "thin provisioning" works behind the scenes. You learn something new every day.

Re: Harder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need [video]

#38

Post by mixmix »

AstroNoise58 wrote: post #35

The escape velocity on the surface of the Earth is approx. 11.2 km/s, not 11000 km/s. Factor of 1000x error. But nice video :)

Tom's really mastered his skill of casual misleading, he adds these "wait, what?" moments to every video. A more notorious example will be his explanation of how optical reflection works, check out his "30 Weird Chess Algorithms" (https://youtu.be/DpXy041BIlA) around 10:20.

Edit: spelling.

Re: Harder Drive: Hard drives we didn't want or need [video]

#40

Post by sellyme »

wodenokoto wrote: post #39

The effort put into this video I’ve only seen matched by on YouTube by “Stuff Made Here” While I can’t say I understand everything that’s going on, I am simply amazed by the creators talent and knowledge.

> The effort put into this video I’ve only seen matched by on YouTube by “Stuff Made Here”

Captain Disillusion is definitely up there. His Flight of the Navigator video is one of the most remarkable things I've ever seen on the internet.

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