Since it’s summer time, may as well enjoy another olde computer based flick, Triumph of the Nerds.
Granted its pretty revisionist no Commodore or Atari.. I wonder if Apple PR always slipped these kinds of documentaries some uh ‘contributions’ to write out the 80’s and 90’s competition.
So basically this is a once in a lifetime event to catch Venus passing in between Earth and the Sun from our POV. Â Sigh I wish I had a scope, but I guess I can always use an iPhone???
I’m going to have to do some kind of backup/restore of all my crap, and just format this VM.. bumpy rides ahead!
it’s 8PM EST and its now running in a VM in my apt…. there is more stuff I want to extract from my host VM, before I try to put things back, but in the meantime…
don’t you hate it when…
[3057891.088022] [<ffffffff804354a7>] io_schedule+0x5c/0x9e
[3057891.088027] [<ffffffff802648b1>] sync_page+0x3c/0x41
[3057891.088032] [<ffffffff8043561a>] __wait_on_bit_lock+0x36/0x66
[3057891.088037] [<ffffffff80264862>] __lock_page+0x5e/0x64
[3057891.088043] [<ffffffff8023f757>] wake_bit_function+0x0/0x23
[3057891.088048] [<ffffffff8026bd80>] pagevec_lookup_tag+0x1a/0x21
[3057891.088053] [<ffffffff8026a48b>] write_cache_pages+0x10c/0x2b1
[3057891.088058] [<ffffffff80269fb1>] __writepage+0x0/0x23
[3057891.088065] [<ffffffff80221555>] __wake_up_common+0x41/0x74
[3057891.088071] [<ffffffff80223845>] __wake_up+0x38/0x4f
[3057891.088076] [<ffffffff8026a673>] do_writepages+0x27/0x2d
[3057891.088082] [<ffffffff802a81f5>] __writeback_single_inode+0x181/0x2da
[3057891.088087] [<ffffffff80222e6b>] __dequeue_entity+0x25/0x69
[3057891.088092] [<ffffffff80222ec7>] set_next_entity+0x18/0x3a
[3057891.088098] [<ffffffff802a8714>] sync_sb_inodes+0x1b1/0x2b1
[3057891.088103] [<ffffffff802a8c18>] writeback_inodes+0x87/0x11c
[3057891.088108] [<ffffffff8026af30>] background_writeout+0x87/0xbb
[3057891.088114] [<ffffffff8026b432>] pdflush+0x0/0x2bc
[3057891.088121] [<ffffffff8026b608>] pdflush+0x1d6/0x2bc
[3057891.088126] [<ffffffff8026aea9>] background_writeout+0x0/0xbb
[3057891.088131] [<ffffffff8023f5fb>] kthread+0x47/0x74
[3057891.088136] [<ffffffff802282ec>] schedule_tail+0x27/0x5c
[3057891.088141] [<ffffffff8020be28>] child_rip+0xa/0x12
[3057891.088147] [<ffffffff8023f5b4>] kthread+0x0/0x74
[3057891.088151] [<ffffffff8020be1e>] child_rip+0x0/0x12
[3057891.088154]
[3057897.531668] INFO: task kjournald:553 blocked for more than 120 seconds.
[3057897.531681] “echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs” disables this message.
[3057897.531687] kjournald D 000000000a10e348 0 553 2
[3057897.531694] ffff880001649e10 0000000000000246 ffff88000056f540 ffff880029848f68
[3057897.531702] ffff88003e1da9c0 ffff88003fd1a900 ffff88003e1dac40 00000000802acd7e
[3057897.531709] ffff880000000005 0000000000a884f1 0000000300000000 ffff88000000000f
[3057897.531716] Call Trace:
[3057897.531729] [<ffffffff80223845>] __wake_up+0x38/0x4f
[3057897.531740] [<ffffffffa000d00b>] :jbd:journal_commit_transaction+0x10c/0xe5d
[3057897.531748] [<ffffffff8023f729>] autoremove_wake_function+0x0/0x2e
[3057897.531754] [<ffffffff80235cf6>] try_to_del_timer_sync+0x51/0x5a
[3057897.531763] [<ffffffffa0010bef>] :jbd:kjournald+0xd5/0x25a
[3057897.531768] [<ffffffff8023f729>] autoremove_wake_function+0x0/0x2e
[3057897.531776] [<ffffffffa0010b1a>] :jbd:kjournald+0x0/0x25a
[3057897.531781] [<ffffffff8023f5fb>] kthread+0x47/0x74
[3057897.531786] [<ffffffff802282ec>] schedule_tail+0x27/0x5c
[3057897.531791] [<ffffffff8020be28>] child_rip+0xa/0x12
[3057897.531796] [<ffffffff8023f5b4>] kthread+0x0/0x74
[3057897.531800] [<ffffffff8020be1e>] child_rip+0x0/0x12
[3057897.531804]
[3057906.119712] INFO: task apache2:3184 blocked for more than 120 seconds.
[3057906.119727] “echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs” disables this message.
[3057906.119733] apache2 D 0000000000703dc7 0 3184 1577
[3057906.119740] ffff88001c54bbd8 0000000000000282 ffff880028ea2438 ffffffff80222e6b
[3057906.119747] ffff880028ea2400 ffff88003e1da340 ffff880028ea2680 000000003f3b8a38
[3057906.119755] ffff880000000005 0000000000bcc611 ffff880001933ee0 ffff88000000000f
[3057906.119761] Call Trace:
[3057906.119773] [<ffffffff80222e6b>] __dequeue_entity+0x25/0x69
[3057906.119781] [<ffffffff8020e7bc>] get_nsec_offset+0x9/0x2c
[3057906.119786] [<ffffffff8020e818>] local_clock+0x39/0x83
[3057906.119797] [<ffffffffa000bc36>] :jbd:start_this_handle+0x26d/0x3f0
[3057906.119804] [<ffffffff8023f729>] autoremove_wake_function+0x0/0x2e
[3057906.119812] [<ffffffffa000be54>] :jbd:journal_start+0x9b/0xd2
[3057906.119825] [<ffffffffa0020982>] :ext3:ext3_dirty_inode+0x28/0x7b
[3057906.119831] [<ffffffff802a8a1b>] __mark_inode_dirty+0x29/0x19f
[3057906.119837] [<ffffffff8029ea33>] touch_atime+0x109/0x112
[3057906.119843] [<ffffffff80266506>] generic_file_aio_read+0x44f/0x4b7
[3057906.119850] [<ffffffff8028a6bb>] do_sync_read+0xc9/0x10c
[3057906.119856] [<ffffffff8023f729>] autoremove_wake_function+0x0/0x2e
[3057906.119862] [<ffffffff8028aeac>] vfs_read+0xaa/0x152
[3057906.119867] [<ffffffff8028b28d>] sys_read+0x45/0x6e
[3057906.119872] [<ffffffff8020b528>] system_call+0x68/0x6d
[3057906.119877] [<ffffffff8020b4c0>] system_call+0x0/0x6d
[3057906.119881]
[3057914.712397] INFO: task apache2:3222 blocked for more than 120 seconds.
[3057914.712414] “echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs” disables this message.
[3057914.712420] apache2 D 001280d2005f32cf 0 3222 1577
[3057914.712428] ffff880018357bd8 0000000000000282 ffff88003cb2ce78 0000000000000000
[3057914.712436] ffff88003cb2ce40 ffff8800109a40c0 ffff88003cb2d0c0 0000000000000002
[3057914.712443] 0000000000000005 000000000098b722 0000000000000003 ffffffff0000000f
[3057914.712449] Call Trace:
[3057914.712467] [<ffffffff8020e7bc>] get_nsec_offset+0x9/0x2c
[3057914.712480] [<ffffffffa000bc36>] :jbd:start_this_handle+0x26d/0x3f0
[3057914.712488] [<ffffffff8023f729>] autoremove_wake_function+0x0/0x2e
[3057914.712494] [<ffffffff80311f73>] __up_read+0x13/0x8a
[3057914.712502] [<ffffffffa000be54>] :jbd:journal_start+0x9b/0xd2
[3057914.712516] [<ffffffffa0020982>] :ext3:ext3_dirty_inode+0x28/0x7b
[3057914.712523] [<ffffffff802a8a1b>] __mark_inode_dirty+0x29/0x19f
[3057914.712529] [<ffffffff8029ea33>] touch_atime+0x109/0x112
[3057914.712535] [<ffffffff80266506>] generic_file_aio_read+0x44f/0x4b7
[3057914.712543] [<ffffffff8028a6bb>] do_sync_read+0xc9/0x10c
[3057914.712548] [<ffffffff8023f729>] autoremove_wake_function+0x0/0x2e
[3057914.712555] [<ffffffff8028aeac>] vfs_read+0xaa/0x152
[3057914.712560] [<ffffffff8028b28d>] sys_read+0x45/0x6e
[3057914.712565] [<ffffffff8020b528>] system_call+0x68/0x6d
[3057914.712569] [<ffffffff8020b4c0>] system_call+0x0/0x6d
[3057914.712573]
[3057938.332843] INFO: task apache2:3241 blocked for more than 120 seconds.
[3057938.332859] “echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs” disables this message.
[3057938.332865] apache2 D 00000000005ee63f 0 3241 1577
[3057938.332873] ffff8800096d9bd8 0000000000000282 ffff880034d91638 ffffffff80222e6b
[3057938.332880] ffff880034d91600 ffff8800109a40c0 ffff880034d91880 0000000015389438
[3057938.332888] ffff880000000005 000000000098b722 ffff880001933ee0 ffff88000000000f
[3057938.332894] Call Trace:
[3057938.332911] [<ffffffff80222e6b>] __dequeue_entity+0x25/0x69
[3057938.332920] [<ffffffff8020e7bc>] get_nsec_offset+0x9/0x2c
[3057938.332925] [<ffffffff8020e818>] local_clock+0x39/0x83
[3057938.332937] [<ffffffffa000bc36>] :jbd:start_this_handle+0x26d/0x3f0
[3057938.332945] [<ffffffff8023f729>] autoremove_wake_function+0x0/0x2e
[3057938.332954] [<ffffffffa000be54>] :jbd:journal_start+0x9b/0xd2
[3057938.332968] [<ffffffffa0020982>] :ext3:ext3_dirty_inode+0x28/0x7b
[3057938.332976] [<ffffffff802a8a1b>] __mark_inode_dirty+0x29/0x19f
[3057938.332983] [<ffffffff8029ea33>] touch_atime+0x109/0x112
[3057938.332989] [<ffffffff80266506>] generic_file_aio_read+0x44f/0x4b7
[3057938.332997] [<ffffffff8028a6bb>] do_sync_read+0xc9/0x10c
[3057938.333003] [<ffffffff8023f729>] autoremove_wake_function+0x0/0x2e
[3057938.333008] [<ffffffff802796d7>] vma_merge+0x104/0x18f
[3057938.333014] [<ffffffff8028aeac>] vfs_read+0xaa/0x152
[3057938.333019] [<ffffffff8028b28d>] sys_read+0x45/0x6e
[3057938.333024] [<ffffffff8020b528>] system_call+0x68/0x6d
[3057938.333028] [<ffffffff8020b4c0>] system_call+0x0/0x6d
[3057938.333032]
[3057942.627651] INFO: task apache2:1577 blocked for more than 120 seconds.
[3057942.627664] “echo 0 > /proc/sys/kernel/hung_task_timeout_secs” disables this message.
[3057942.627670] apache2 D ffff88003e0837d8 0
What is love?
Turns out from an interesting thread on the SIMH mailing list, is that the Windows volume shadow copy service, and other ‘system’ protecting services may tag files like .dsk to be monitored, and to save a difference of every write to the file.
Yes that is right, on top of NTFS’s transaction log and rolls, you have the OS doing the same thing which in turn makes your disk access slower than hell.
The fix?
Quite simple, dont use TLA (three letter acronym) file extensions, or no extensions at all and suddenly you’ll find that your disk based emulation is significantly faster.
I came across this site, which drops this bomb:
February 29, 2012: updated for Qemu-1.0.1 – Still a “to be tested” version. See bug report win32: git rev 59f971d crashes when accessing disk (coroutine issue). In my version a workaround was to compile coroutine-win32.c without optimisation (-O0): contains qemu-system-arm.exe, qemu-system-i386.exe, qemu-system-ppc.exe, qemu-system-sparc.exe, qemu-system-x86_64.exe and the linux-0.2.img image
Well isn’t that amazing… I know I’d given up on it as as soon as some OS’s accessed the hard disk once they’ve initialized in protected mode it’d just lock up…
I may well have to revisit my Win32 builds of Qemu 1.0.1
From Jason Scott
I cannot stress enough how so many people sitting on disks (sealed even) are going to be shocked that they simply do NOT WORK anymore…..
Archiveteam.org also has great resources on the whole floppy debacle… And I’ve mentioned this before.
“Why Didn’t the Internet Take Off In 1983?”
Well I’d say it was a few simple reasons. First the internet in 1983 was a very limited ARPANET, which was a big deal for an institution to get onto, let along an individual.
In the quick Slashdot post, they go on about the Viewtron service offered by AT&T. And why did it not become such a major success, where the internet trumped everything?
Its quite simple, nobody likes a walled garden. You can bet that AT&T wouldn’t allow people to just spout off their opinion wherever on their network. Even today there is a limit on what you can say on corporate networks, and on corporate systems. The big thing about the internet is that anyone can not only register a domain, but easily get access to server software and become their own ‘site’ on the internet independent of what large corporations may think, or wish.
The other thing to remember is the state of personal computing in 1983. While the rise of personal eight bit computing, there was no ‘open’ networking standards on which to build large scale networks. Because everything had to be licensed, and people were expected to pay big money for those technologies, people (hackers!) ended up writing them on their own. Even the mighty internet today is more so because of hackers, and not from major corporations. And fill the gap they did with what limited systems were available with BBSes and FIDONET.
What about UNIX?
While UNIX was a popular OS and the hackers dream, in 1983, getting a PC to run UNIX was a BIG endeavor, as the hardware was super expensive, and licensing was very restrictive. The big ‘player’ of course was Microsoft via SCO with Xenix. For example in 1983, an Apple Lisa was $9,999. And Xenix could easily set you back some $2000 for the OS alone.
Even by 1987 a decent Xenix machine could still set you back some $15,000! That would be $27,567.45 in 2010 dollars! And that is just a ‘runtime’ machine, no STREAMS, TCP/IP, and NO COMPILER!
$14,559 for UNIX in 1987!
This of course raises me to the next point about the lack of affordable 32bit general computing in 1983, and software. Even at the university level the kind of machine that was going to be connected to the internet was a massive ‘mid’ range machine like the VAX 11/780 running BSD Unix. Even back then BBN was trying to get its proprietary TCP/IP stack into a ‘base’ UNIX, which would further encumber the distribution of UNIX, while Bill Joy freed us all by providing BSD 4.2, and licensing it for free with only four clauses to be redistributed, and altered at will. Which was fantastic, but the hardware requirements vs what anyone could buy off the shelf was.. a massive gulf. While a VAX with 8 MB of ram, a 500MB disk, and an Ethernet adapter (which was again an open standard) would cost several hundred thousand dollars, the 68000 chip from Motorola was changing everything, and was democratizing network stations first with Apollo, then with SUN.
Heck even SUN was founded on trying to bring BSD 4.2 to the masses, and the SUN-1 didn’t even run BSD UNIX but rather a UniSoft port of UNIX v7. Even from the business plan, the expected price at retail was $7000.
Of course as good as the hardware was getting “affordable” where a workstation would cost as much as a mid level car, the software however was *NOT* free. This is where Richard Stallman stepped in with the FSF, and started to replace piece by piece all the software on SunOS with free & open equivalents. It wasn’t until 1991 that there was enough GNU/Free software from that end to even start to bootstrap a free system (Linux). Even the BSD people with their NET/2 release wasn’t ready until 1991 as well.
In addition take a look at this computer from 1991:
It is comparable to the $14,500 IBM PS/2 model 80, but at $2,295 it is something that the average user could afford. And even in 1991 there was the beginnings of free & Open UNIX via Linux & 386 BSD to run.
So as you can see with the rise of affordable 32bit computing, open software with open networking standards in software and hardware that made an open network prevalent.
As we move into the future the larger question to me is, are people going to accept the big networks trying to turn the clock backwards to these ‘gardens’ where you must obey your corporate owners, never speak ill of them, and live with all the censorship.. I still believe that what made the internet unique is that not only could you participate in a global network, but you could with little investment become part of it. Just as someone like me who had an issue with blogger being down for a protracted amount of time, was able to take my content and host it myself. Something you cannot do in the walled garden of networks.
🙁 indeed.
I don’t know what has been going on but my PC has been acting weird. Â Windows 7 didn’t do squat to even help to identify what on earth was going on, but now I guess the hint is DPC_WATCHDOG_VIOLATION