Posts by kzimmermann@c.im
(DIR) Post #AvxZDrKmM1owv22HDc by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-07-07T15:14:03Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
In my warmup for #OldComputerChallenge 25, I dusted off ol' pal #RaspberryPi model B and burned #NetBSD 10 on an SD card to set it up.It all went well (slow, but hey) but one thing that I still can't get around (that I didn't experience so much last time I tried it) is the console. Control chars get printed instead of arrow and home/end keys, no colors, etc. Hate to say it, but all in all, it feels backwards compared to a modern, full-fledged console environment of #FreeBSD or Linux. And it's starting to wear me out.But I have a feeling that this is somehow my fault for not configuring the console properly or using the right output or something. I never had to deal with this before, so anybody knows how I can configure this so I can have a modern env in NetBSD?#unix #askunix
(DIR) Post #Aw6tG8fubDCOmlvMpc by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-07-14T02:30:41Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
I dunno who can read this, but here's me saying hello from my dandy RPi Model B with #NETBSD with the #nanotodon minimalist client!
(DIR) Post #AwFW6nzFsAZDQkIVua by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-07-16T02:01:57Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
I guess you haven't really experienced web page bloat until you try to load Github through a Raspberry Pi 1 with the Elinks web browser.Seriously, shit is ULTRA slow. And I have no idea why, as loading it through the similar links2 browser seems to be quite fast. Perhaps user-agent throttling? Or trying to load javascript (AFAIK Elinks used to offer support for a small subset) in the background?#oldcomputerchallenge
(DIR) Post #AwRNOwh1fv1lxArihE by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-07-23T19:18:21Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Heh, I'm going overtime with the #OldComputerChallenge, but #NetBSD is SO FUN to use on the Pi1!I'm now running JWM, the dillo browser, Pidgin and PCManFM in addition to my busy multiple pane tmux session, and yet the RAM does not go over 260MB! It's amazing, this is like hooking up a motorcycle to pull a wagon of load, adding more and more weight and that motorcycle never slows down despite the load!Props and props to the devs, this is definitely my new favorite OS for the raspberry pi!
(DIR) Post #Awnc8lkCa4YI9a24ci by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-08-03T16:44:55Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Most people take Freedom 0, the freedom to use the program for any purpose and way you want, for granted in the light of everything else.And then shit like this happens.Then they wonder why I use #FreeSoftware.
(DIR) Post #AwsgjSDrUnEXviSBO4 by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-08-06T03:40:20Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Heh, talk about those "meaning-to-but-never-getting-to" projects!A few years ago I read up on C programming and was super pumped to start developing things but soon felt like "meh" and went back to doing shell scripts and Python because it was just so much quicker to write. When I think about learning Go/Rust/etc, I can't help but think about this scenarioAt least I've been a lot better in exploring operating systems!
(DIR) Post #Ax6i07sfCRHHvlUUeu by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-08-12T04:02:22Z
1 likes, 4 repeats
I have no option but to once again going to praise the #NetBSD on an amazing operating system.Since I installed it on the Pi 4, the experience has been so smooth that I don't even realize I'm using a supposedly "cheap and underpowered computer" as it was the case with previous OSes. Nope, not anymore.Instead, there are packages for everything, my architecture is treated as first-class, the performance is always high, and the more I learn about how to use it, the better my experience becomes. No other Linux or BSD met all of these points.And to top it off? Booting up takes no more than 15-20 seconds. It's less than in my mom's Macbook Pro running Linux Mint!Again, I can't praise the NetBSD team enough for such achievements. Thank you so much for your hard work that clearly shows that you dogfood your development!#RunBSD #BSD
(DIR) Post #AxaDaVSbjvYjeMy7k0 by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-08-23T03:13:28Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Man, #NetBSD continues to be super smooth!Today I picked up my old Dell D620 and remembered that I had it installed from a few weeks before I tried seriously the Old Computer Challenge. And to no surprise from me, NetBSD continues to be amazing - even in this almost 20-year-old hardware.And it wasn't even me who bought this computer. My parents bought it for me to finish my High School studies with Windows XP, and when I went to college, it was the computer that brought me to Linux. And I thought a Linux-based OS would be the last one that this computer would support until it finally gave out - until this year. And now I see that in a world slowly giving x86 the boot, NetBSD might as well be the only reasonable alternative in the future (well, until 2038, at least).#OldComputers
(DIR) Post #AxaDaX4DlZEydJZg0W by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-08-24T15:14:11Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
@chongliss hi there! Sorry, I didn't see your reply until now for some reason (I didn't get a notification, possibly because the "@" got clobbered?)I once owned a netbook with similar specs (albeit, more than 10 years ago). The sad truth that I can't sugarcoat is this: FOSS OSes do not speed up hardware. So while I'm cheering loudly for my D620 from 2006 that's running on NetBSD, I didn't mention that for some things, it's actually pretty darn slow. Namely: browsing with Firefox (Of course, we could say that this is more of a problem of Firefox rather than NetBSD, but the end result is the same). However, you can still browse rather OK with #Dillo. The point I'm trying to make is this: #NetBSD won't "speed" a computer up. It's not performance-oriented like FreeBSD, and it may actually look like it's less responsible in terms of resource usage than Linux (it seems that it pools memory for future use instead of allocating it on demand). But you're going to gain in other aspects, like the simplicity of the OS structure, stability, the community and other stuff.If you value more performance over the rest, from my experience Linux is a tad faster. A super slim system like #AlpineLinux is probably a great match, also with more drivers if your WiFi isn't well-supported in BSD. But it also won't speed up a sluggish application like a modern browser.Anyway, hope this helps, and happy hacking! :)
(DIR) Post #AxuufM6K9BjpGEIpyS by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-09-06T02:48:04Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Turbulent experience over the last two days in #Debian Sid. A few crashes and freezes on the desktop, particularly when running firefox. Thankfully, it seems to have stabilized now. I wonder if it has to do with either kernel 6.16 rolling in or a bug in mesa-vulkan drivers? (Which got me to put it on hold temporarily).Either way, I think I should update my ol' notes about daily-driving Debian (and #Devuan) unstable. I learned *a lot* over the last 2 years I've been doing it.https://kzimmermann.0x.no/articles/running_debian_sid.html
(DIR) Post #AzD7ozVYnK5nmVJ4mu by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-10-14T20:17:59Z
0 likes, 2 repeats
Happy throw-away-your-perfectly-usable-computer-due-to-arbitrary-CPU-restrictions day! Anybody manage to save any by installing a real OS on it? I did, even if it was only one.#EndOf10 #Windows10 #foss
(DIR) Post #AzRxdDfKFMgI2p1O9A by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-10-22T00:05:44Z
1 likes, 1 repeats
#TIL that #prosody, the lightweight super easy to install #XMPP server has a native #conversejs module. This is something I've got to test myself!https://hg.prosody.im/prosody-modules/file/30adcea825c3/mod_conversejs
(DIR) Post #AzWMqvqIaGlCJ9d4AC by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-10-24T03:03:48Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Gave #Dino a try since Gajim was too heavy for this machine. I kind of like it, but for some reason I can't find a way to change the font size, which kind of sucks. I wonder if there are other modern desktop clients that are written in compiled languages.#xmpp
(DIR) Post #B0dqrsxPMz7G49KMJU by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-11-26T14:01:42Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Had the displeasure to use #Windows11 at the office of my new job.Like, What the Fuck. Ads and shameless spying everywhere. Is this a business OS or a marketing OS?And to top everything off? The right Ctrl button on the laptop's keyboard has an "Ask Copilot" function built-in. LIke, fucking forget pressing Ctrl+Pg Up or whatever. Copilot down your throat, motherfucker!Guess FOSS OSes are so good we take their goodness for granted.#spyware #privacy #AI
(DIR) Post #B0drMGaW4kFE2j6gCG by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-05-05T19:14:37Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
#Introduction Hello Fedi, I'm kzimmermann, and now it's no secret that I just moved here from #Fosstodon. Perhaps my reasons for doing so were not clear. Yes, everyone had a personal reason, but I think mine were a little different, as I had been planning this move for a few months now.I tried to summarize them here, but ended up writing something of a novel instead. Oh well. Here it goes:https://kzimmermann.0x.no/articles/moving_to_cim.htmlMirror for those without IPv6: https://tilde.town/~kzimmermann/articles/moving_to_cim.htmlCopying my bio information:I'm an amateur hacker who works towards the advancement free software. Advocates for privacy and user freedom. Enjoyer of casual FOSS Gameplay. Historically, a fedizen since 2015.I have a backup blog (in tilde.town) and a Peertube channel for those who like bad FOSS gameplay.Please boost this so people get the news of my new home!
(DIR) Post #B0drML7HEspK5UStoe by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-05-09T15:27:08Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
And #migration complete! Thank you @vazhnov for the link. This reeeeally made the process a lot easier than I thought it would. I'm now fully hosted by C.IM!
(DIR) Post #B0uQ3pKDIzbFCVmawq by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-12-04T14:41:38Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
Hell yeah! I was able to connect a Horipad gamepad device to my Devuan system, and it worked right out of the box. After configuring it to behave "like" a mouse (thumbsticks) and keyboard, I was able to hook it up to GZDoom and have a Fully-free gaming station in 15min!Granted, it's a lot harder to play it this way, but soon I'll be able to hook more Free games in it. Thank god for Linux!
(DIR) Post #B0ygxJvRbvHFvsWJLU by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-12-06T16:06:33Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
I may be a little late to the party, but the #Dillo web browser team got back to use their own domain to showcase the project: https://dillo-browser.org/Awesome! And they also took steps to breaking away from the Github dependency. Double awesome. I still miss the days of their old dillo[.]org domain, but this revival feels good nonetheless.Announcement: https://dillo-browser.org/news/migration-from-github/#smolweb
(DIR) Post #B1Nt0ojFb65UjoFTdI by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-12-11T10:00:24Z
0 likes, 0 repeats
Hey fedi, what do y'all think about the L-series #Thinkpad s? They are not listed in that famous used thinkpad buying guide, and I've found mixed opinions as to their quality vs price values.I've found some good (but not spectacular) deals on used ones, so just wondering whether to consider them next. Comments appreciated! #askfedi
(DIR) Post #B1eRybn1bg09QCoHZI by kzimmermann@c.im
2025-12-26T15:39:54Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
@bob I'd say yes. But that wouldn't be too fair, since I barely used either Me or Vista, mostly on friends' computers.I'm now using W11 daily at work and can feel firsthand the suffering that so many other users had... everything from bloated animations draining the CPU to CoPilot being shoehorned into literally anything sucks. And with so much budget available, W11 fails to do even basic things like setting up the OS locale correctly (so my laptop can have two languages depending on the application).On the other hand, I can only remember fun times playing games on my friend's PC running Me.