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Comic for 2024.07.22 - Self-Depreciating
Missing XENIX Disks
The previously mentioned warez mega dump contains disk images of SCO 286 XENIX 2.1.0.
The release appears to be from February 1986. It is the oldest SCO 286 XENIX release that I know of. But there’s a hitch.
The warez archive only contains the system disks, N1 to N4 (all in 360K format of course). To install the system, the Basic Utilities disks (B1 to B3, most likely) are also required. Attempting to use a newer B1 disk from XENIX 2.1.3 failed, presumably because the older 2.1.0 kernel lacks some required interfaces. So it’s possible to boot 286 XENIX 2.1.0, but not possible to properly install it.
Who has more XENIX 2.1.0 disks? The ‘B’ disks were almost certainly the same between XENIX 286 and XENIX 86.
On a more positive note, the warez archive also contains images of 386 XENIX 2.2.2f. An archive of 386 XENIX 2.2.2f disks does exist… but those are of the 386PS kind, designed to run on PS/2 machines.
The warez dump contains images (1.2MB floppies) of 386 XENIX 2.2.2f in the 386AT variant, obviously designed for standard PC/AT compatibles.
As of this writing, this is the oldest surviving 386 XENIX, released probably in November 1987 (just about the same time as OS/2 1.0). It is also one of the oldest 386 operating systems overall.
Now what else is hiding out there?
Trump campaign desperately hoping Democrats replace Biden with a different frail 81-year-old
WASHINGTON DC – With Joe Biden announcing his plans to drop out of the US presidential race, Donald Trump’s campaign has publicly asked the Democrats to nominate a similarly ineffectual octogenarian who will fit seamlessly into the GOP’s carefully crafted campaign messaging. “If you Democrats could do us one small favor, we’d really love it […]
The post Trump campaign desperately hoping Democrats replace Biden with a different frail 81-year-old appeared first on The Beaverton.
1989 Networking: NetWare 386
Thanks to the recent warez mega dump, another long lost gem has come to light: NetWare 386, also known as NetWare 3.0.
In September 1989, Novell released NetWare 386 V3.0, the first in a long line of 32-bit network operating systems. At the time, Novell’s mainstay was NetWare 2.15, a system designed to run on 286-based machines.
NetWare 386, as the name suggests, required at least a 386 processor. It was a major redesign of the NetWare OS intended to take advantage of (then) high end 32-bit hardware. Whereas NetWare 2.x was linked from object modules during installation (much like commercial UNIX implementations), NetWare 386 utilized modules (NLMs, or NetWare Loadable Modules) which could be loaded and unloaded at run-time.
Disk drivers, network drivers, protocols, and all sorts of added functionality were implemented as NLMs in NetWare 386. This made NetWare 3.0 installation and maintenance far simpler compared to NetWare 2.x. The NetWare 2.x kernel had to be linked during installation (a lengthy process), and any change of a disk or network driver required the OS to be re-generated again. In NetWare 3.0, all it took was copying a new driver and changing a configuration file.
NetWare 3.0 was in some ways a limited release, although at the same time it was a fully functioning file server which could support up to 250 users (compared to the 100 user maximum of NetWare 2.x). That was reflected in the pricing—$7,995. NetWare 3.0 was Novell’s flagship product, even though it didn’t fully realize the NetWare 386 vision. Only the IPX protocol was supported, the set of available disk and network drivers was quite limited, and third-party NLMs were more or less nonexistent.
When NetWare 3.0 was released, the NLM development kit was not yet available. That is likely also the reason why NetWare 3.0 did not ship with CLIB.NLM, MATHLIB.NLM, and a few other NLMs. These NLMs became available a few months after the NetWare 3.0 release though, together with the development kit.
Installing NetWare 3.0 is not fundamentally different from installing later 3.x releases. The installation procedure is completely different from installing NetWare 2.x. Rather than configuring and linking the OS kernel first, it is initiated by booting the NetWare 3.0 OS, and all requisite drivers are dynamically loaded as separate modules.
For reasons that are not entirely clear, NetWare 2.x could boot directly from hard disk (using so called “cold boot loader”) but NetWare 3.x cannot. NetWare 3.x requires DOS to be loaded first, and then SERVER.EXE must be run. Unlike NetWare 2.x, it is possible to completely shut down NetWare 3.x and return back to DOS. For that reason, NetWare 3.x requires either a small bootable DOS partition or a bootable DOS floppy.
To install NetWare 3.0, one simply runs SERVER.EXE, loads the appropriate disk driver, and then loads INSTALL.NLM. While NetWare 2.x required a separate external installer, NetWare 3.0 is installed from a running NetWare system.
NetWare 3.0 is old enough that it didn’t ship with ODI-based client drivers and used the old monolithic shell. It’s also of course old enough that it only supports DOS 3.x and 4.0 clients. But it has no trouble talking to newer clients running ODI and PC DOS 2000, for example.
Original NetWare 3.0 disks are yet to be found. It is possible that only a few thousand copies were ever sold, and since they would have been sold primarily to large corporations (given the eight thousand dollar price tag), the vast majority of the extant copies were no doubt destroyed.
And yet, thanks to software pirates of 1990, NetWare 3.0 can run again after 35 years.
U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee is dead at 74
Want to know what Biden said when he dropped out? The full letter is here
Read the full text of President Biden's letter withdrawing from the race to be the Democratic nominee and his endorsement of Vice President Harris to represent the party instead.
(Image credit: Tom Brenner)
Construction on Houston I-45 expansion project set to start in October
Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee dies at 74
President Joe Biden drops out of the 2024 race after disastrous debate inflamed age concerns
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a champion of civil rights and progressive causes, dies
With a very wet pattern in place, we are issuing a Stage 1 flood alert through Thursday
In brief: We are issuing a Stage 1 flood alert for the entire Houston metro area, through Thursday, to account for the potential of street flooding. Much of the Houston area should pick up 2 to 6 inches of rainfall through Thursday, with a few areas seeing higher bullseyes. This post describes what to expect, when to expect it, and explains why this is happening.
A setup for rainfall, some of it heavy
In the big picture for the coming week, the upper Texas coast will lie between two high pressure systems. As anyone who has lived in Houston for any time knows, high pressure during the height of summer means sunshine and hot temperatures. And it also means sinking air, which precludes the development of showers and thunderstorms.
Conversely, when Houston lies beneath a trough of lower pressure—as we will this week—the opposite occurs. This environment promotes rising air, and thus all of the moisture at the surface can ascend into the atmosphere, cool and condense into clouds, and lead to showers and thunderstorms. Thus we will see a wet pattern this week, beginning on Monday. Showers and thunderstorms are likely on the daily, with heavy rain definitely possible as we are open to moisture streaming in from the Gulf of Mexico. We cannot rule out severe weather, but it seems unlikely with the heavy rains.
To account for this rainfall, we are issuing a Stage 1 flood alert on our scale (read more about our flood scale here). Generally, this means you can expect the potential for nuisance street flooding during the heaviest rains, the kind you typically see on some frontage roads or the like. However, we do not expect this to be a widely disruptive event. Overall, I expect much of the Houston area to pick up 2 to 6 inches of rainfall through Thursday, with a few areas seeing higher bullseyes.
As a bonus, beginning Monday, we are likely to see cooler daytime temperatures, with clouds and rain-cooled air limiting highs in the 80s. That’s a rare treat in July, and definitely a silver lining amongst the cloudy skies for the coming week. As for the humidity, well, bless your heart for expecting anything but the usual Houston steaminess in July.
What follows is not so much a daily forecast, but a guide to which days are likely to see the heaviest rains.
Sunday
Showers will be of a more scattered nature today, although areas near the coast are probably more likely to see rainfall than not. Overall conditions should not be particularly disruptive so go about your plans as usual. Have an umbrella handy this afternoon, however.
Monday and Tuesday
Both of these days will see widespread showers and thunderstorms. These should be nuisance showers for the most part, although a few storms should bring heavy rainfall. I do not recommend any outdoor plans, but in terms of traveling around Houston I don’t anticipate any major impacts.
Wednesday and Thursday
The potential for heavy rainfall looks to be highest on Wednesday through at least Thursday morning. For these days there could be some delays in getting to work, and traveling around the city. Again, we don’t anticipate major, sustained flooding. But you know how Houston thunderstorms can be. They can drop a deluge of rain in a short time, so some areas will see some fairly gnarly conditions over shorter periods of time. Basically, you’ll need to be weather aware these days.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Rain chances lessen by Thursday night or so, which is why we’re presently planning to end our Stage 1 flood alert on Thursday night. But the possibility of rain is definitely not going away this weekend. Expect the rainy pattern to continue, albeit with less intensity and perhaps better odds to see some sunshine. Next week, however, does look hotter and sunnier.
A note of thanks
I want to thank Matt for covering the site all last week while I attended a family reunion in Michigan. I don’t want to brag too much, but it felt amazing to go running with temperatures of 60 degrees and low humidity. It offered a reminder that, in just a couple of months, we can look forward to some of the same here. Speaking of which, when we stepped off the plane at Hobby Airport and felt that first flush of Houston air, my family immediately knew we were home. We should come up with a word for what it’s like to experience that first taste of Houston humidity when landing here. Suggestions?
Trump Accepts GOP Nomination
Donald Trump formally accepted the 2024 Republican nomination for president, the announcement coming days after an attempted assassination on the former president’s life. What do you think?
Biden Flubs Exit Speech
WASHINGTON—In what was widely regarded as a misfire by the 81-year-old as he formally bowed out of the 2024 election, President Joe Biden repeatedly flubbed his exit speech today, saying he would “rule the country with an iron fist for one thousand years.” “Tonight, I, Joseph R. Biden, vow to take back my rightful…
Kamala Harris Turns Down Democratic Nomination To Work On Alaskan Fishing Vessel
WASHINGTON—In a significant setback for the already-reeling Democratic Party, Vice President Kamala Harris reportedly turned down the presidential nomination today in order to take a job on an Alaskan fishing vessel. “It’s a nice offer, but I already lined up this whole seasonal fishing gig out of Anchorage that…
Canadians fail to notice difference as global IT outage disrupts airlines, banks, health care
OTTAWA – As a global tech outage disrupts operations in multiple industries, including airlines, banks, and health care, citizens across Canada have reported assuming that the poor service was merely business as usual. “My flight was suddenly cancelled and I was given no notice which one I would be bumped to, but that happens every […]
The post Canadians fail to notice difference as global IT outage disrupts airlines, banks, health care appeared first on The Beaverton.
UNPRECEDENTED: Aging boomer retires to free up job for someone younger
WASHINGTON DC — In a move that has shocked employees around the world, Joe Biden announced today that he would be stepping out of the presidential race, making it the first time in recorded history that an ageing boomer has ever retired in order to let a younger person take their job. “Folks, I’ve had […]
The post UNPRECEDENTED: Aging boomer retires to free up job for someone younger appeared first on The Beaverton.
Comic for 2024.07.21 - 1 in 3 People Cheat
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - Bad
Click here to go see the bonus panel!
Hovertext:
It suddenly became intersection of sex and technology week?
Today's News:
CrowdStrike fixes start at “reboot up to 15 times” and get more complex from there
Airlines, payment processors, 911 call centers, TV networks, and other businesses have been scrambling this morning after a buggy update to CrowdStrike's Falcon security software caused Windows-based systems to crash with a dreaded blue screen of death (BSOD) error message.
We're updating our story about the outage with new details as we have them. Microsoft and CrowdStrike both say that "the affected update has been pulled," so what's most important for IT admins in the short term is getting their systems back up and running again. According to guidance from Microsoft, fixes range from annoying but easy to incredibly time-consuming and complex, depending on the number of systems you have to fix and the way your systems are configured.
Microsoft's Azure status page outlines several fixes. The first and easiest is simply to try to reboot affected machines over and over, which gives affected machines multiple chances to try to grab CrowdStrike's non-broken update before the bad driver can cause the BSOD. Microsoft says that some of its customers have had to reboot their systems as many as 15 times to pull down the update.
Completely Alone Man Really Thought Blowing Out Birthday Candle In Dark Apartment Would Have Cheered Him Up
KENOSHA, WI—Stunned at the act’s failure to benefit his mood in any discernible way, completely alone 37-year-old Doug Kaczmarek told reporters Friday that he had really thought blowing out a birthday candle in his dark apartment would cheer him up. “Huh. I expected sitting by myself in the shadows and blowing out a…
Plastic Surgeon Tears New Wife Down To The Studs
CORAL GABLES, FL—Calling the project “a labor of love,” plastic surgeon Dr. Alexander Ruttenberg reportedly tore his new wife, Natalia Barova, down to the studs this week. “She’s not perfect, but she’s got good bones,” said Ruttenberg, who boasted that he was spending “a small fortune” on cosmetic updates and…
MLB Reminds White Sox That Games Televised
CHICAGO—With the franchise on track to have what may be the single worst season in the modern history of the sport, Major League Baseball sought to remind the Chicago White Sox on Friday that the team’s games were televised. “Based on the way you’re playing, we just wanted to make sure you understand that there are…
Judge Dismisses Trump Classified Documents Case
Judge Aileen Cannon, the Florida judge overseeing Donald Trump’s classified documents trial, dismissed the case on the grounds that the appointment of and funding for special counsel Jack Smith was illegal, flying in the face of previous court decisions reaching back to the Watergate era. What do you think?
