Paolo Amoroso

Astronomy, space, retrocomputing, Lisp, Linux, coding.

No stock photos, SEO, marketing, clickbait, ads, or calls to action. I Just enjoy sharing my geeky interests.

#Lisp #Interlisp #CommonLisp

Blog: https://journal.paoloamoroso.com
Blog (Fediverse): Paolo Amoroso's Journal (npub1lw7…nlsk)
Personal site: https://www.paoloamoroso.com
GitHub: https://github.com/pamoroso

Public Key

npub13sjjskhwdl0k3pmuqg3ajpdm3f8r4845msl0xsuql8rx6wwen8cqzmx6nv

NIP-05 Address

amoroso_at_oldbytes.space@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsgcffgtthxlhmgsa7qyg7eqkac5n36n66dc0hngwq0n3nd88venuqprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmntzm382x

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub13sjjskhwdl0k3pmuqg3ajpdm3f8r4845msl0xsuql8rx6wwen8cqzmx6nv

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Last Notes

2026-04-27 14:33:40 UTC

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That icon advising to check the documentation is interesting.

2026-04-27 10:10:15 UTC

What are your favorite fediverse accounts of organizations, institutions, and projects who *interact with people*, not just broadcast?
By interacting I mean replying to comments and questions, starring posts, or boosting interesting posts from other accounts.
#fediverse #mastodon #AskFedi

2026-04-18 10:16:20 UTC

Bubbles by @npub1jxu…5r6h, a part of the IndieWeb ecosystem, is a new blog aggregator and discovery platform you can think of as a sort of Hacker News for blogs integrated with the Fediverse. It's great to see a lot of activity around the blogging space.
> Community voting applied to thousands of personal, independent blogs, with identity and discussion routed through the Fediverse.
https://bubbles.town
https://bubbles.town/about
#blogging #blogs #fediverse

2026-03-04 11:34:28 UTC

The origins of the Scroll Lock key of PC keyboards.
https://unsung.aresluna.org/lock-scroll-with-a-vengeance
#keyboard #retrocomputing

2026-02-18 11:12:19 UTC

RE: https://mstdn.ca/@cdegroot/116086771614712320
A new Lisp book is always something to celebrate and this one doubly so, as Cees de Groot @npub1r3t…cnew didn't hold back code and technical details from the book. More details here:
Landing page of the book
https://berksoft.ca/gol
Why I wrote The Genius of Lisp
https://cdegroot.com/programming/lisp/2026/02/17/why-i-wrote-the-genius-of-lisp.html
Free sample with the Table of Contents (Amazon)
https://read.amazon.com/sample/1069886416?clientId=share
#lisp #CommonLisp #books #retrocomputing
#note1k5v…z7yl

2026-02-16 11:05:51 UTC

This article explores "[...] how suitable Linux is as a platform for writers and which tools it offers to support the craft". It covers a wide range of tools and writing activities such as distraction‑free writing applications, word processors, reference and citation tools, formatting and publishing tools, and more.
https://www.reallinuxuser.com/is-linux-a-suitable-platform-for-writers
#writing #linux

2026-01-28 07:37:16 UTC

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The future they tooks from us. By the way, the screen looks not far from legible even at that angle and distance.
@npub1thr…w4nm

2026-01-22 13:32:29 UTC

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I read both of your replies loud and clear.

2026-01-22 12:20:26 UTC

While reading this post on what we lost with the abandonment of XML this passage caught my Lisper eye:
> XML's structure is immediately familiar. It is essentially s-expressions with angle brackets instead of parentheses. An element is a tagged list; attributes are metadata; nesting is composition.
https://marcosmagueta.com/blog/the-lost-art-of-xml
#xml #lisp #json

2026-01-12 16:20:00 UTC

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Under ADA are you allowed to provide a link to the material?

2026-01-09 18:10:07 UTC

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A great course. Did you assign programming projects to the students?

2025-12-30 11:10:54 UTC

Nemanja Trifunovic revisits the story of why IBM went with MS-DOS instead of CP/M and discusses one important detail: why the 8086 port of CP/M was late and how much this influenced what followed.
https://nemanjatrifunovic.substack.com/p/the-late-arrival-of-16-bit-cpm?utm_medium=web
#cpm #cpm86 #retrocomputing

2025-12-13 11:49:54 UTC

RE: https://fosstodon.org/@interlisp/115711583068137949
Drop what you're doing and listen to @npub1h9u…vht6 Larry Masinter talk about computing history and lore. He tells first hand stories on the early web, Gopher, Hypertext Coffee Pot Control Protocol, mailto:, and a whole lot more including Interlisp.
https://netstack.fm/#episode-17
@npub17hh…8sgv may be interested.
#retrocomputing #interlisp #web #gopher #ietf
#note1m8u…9hyu

2025-12-11 11:11:38 UTC

In 2002 Anders Jensen-Urstad asked some computing pioneers and well known programmers to share screenshots of their desktops, then did it again in 2015. This post presented and commented the screenshots.
https://anders.unix.se/2015/12/10/screenshots-from-developers--2002-vs.-2015
#screenshots #unix #linux

2025-12-08 11:13:15 UTC

Can you recommend modern hardware recreations (no software-only emulators) of the ZX Spectrum that are 100% compatible with the BASIC of the original 48K model and don't cost a fortune?
The devices should be fully assembled but kits or boards with no case are an option. They should also provide connections to modern displays and possibly also external keyboards.
I'm aware of these recreations:
ZX Spectrum Next
https://www.specnext.com
ESP32 Rainbow
https://www.esp32rainbow.com
Recreated Sinclair ZX Spectrum
https://recreatedzxspectrum.com
Asking for a friend, an actual friend.
#ZXSpectrum #spectrum #retrocomputing

2025-12-02 11:14:29 UTC

RE: https://oldbytes.space/@amoroso/115610019993332860
The Flatpak package of Typesetter has a weird issue on Linux Mint: if I switch to a different user account and back into the previous account the program no longer starts. A reboot fixes the issue.
Any insight?
https://codeberg.org/haydn/typesetter/issues/35
#flatpak #linux
#note1gqz…qa9y

2025-11-26 15:29:12 UTC

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The article is a bit thin on the technical details that matter to Firefox users seeking alternatives.
I checked out Vivaldi and I'm positive it's awesome. But I don't need fancy features as the basics browsers provide are mostly enough for me. What I want to know is how the built-in ad-blocking and privacy features of Vivaldi compare with Firefox augmented with good add-ons such as uBlock Origin and Privacy Badger.
The closed source status of Vivaldi is not necessarily an issue, but reducing the diversity of browser engined is a concern.

2025-11-25 11:08:28 UTC

Typesetter is a nice offline Typst editor with automatic preview. It runs on Linux and comes with Typst built-in, so it's not necessary to also install the compiler.
https://codeberg.org/haydn/typesetter
#typst #linux #editor

2025-11-23 07:32:09 UTC

An in-depth analysis of Mozilla's dystopian future.
> Again we encounter the fundamental schism of purpose between Mozilla trying to survive, and the mission its core audience believes in.
https://taggart-tech.com/mozilla-cycle-pt3/
#mozilla #firefox

2025-11-14 08:23:57 UTC

Mozilla is soliciting feedback on AI in Firefox and the community is delivering.
https://connect.mozilla.org/t5/discussions/building-ai-the-firefox-way-shaping-what-s-next-together/td-p/109922
#ai #firefox #mozilla

2025-11-10 11:09:48 UTC

Multi-language IDEs that interact with interpreters via protocols are now common, from classic Emacs with its inferior process protocols to VS Code with LSP and similar modern environments.
This paper described an early exploration of these ideas: a language-independend, Interlisp-based environment that interfaced with language processors over the ARPANET. In 1974.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1500175.1500251
#interlisp #retrocomputing #ProgLang #IDE

2025-11-07 14:12:08 UTC

Josh Griffiths @npub1qf3…22lk, another non fan of Microsoft Recall, was determined to switch his desktop PC from Windows to a graphics and media heavy Linux setup. It took him seven months and half a dozen distros but he finally got there. And you won't believe what boring distro he ended up picking.
https://joshgriffiths.site/the-glorious-misadventures-of-a-linux-illiterate
#SwitchToLinux #linux #LinuxMint

2025-10-30 12:45:45 UTC

The developer of Bear Blog on the latest wave of scrapers he faced.
> They've depleted all human-created writing on the internet, and are becoming increasingly ravenous for new wells of content.
> [...]
> I'm still speculating here, but I think [mobile] app developers have found another way to monetise their apps by offering them for free, and selling tunnel access to scrapers.
https://herman.bearblog.dev/agressive-bots
#ai #scrapers #crawlers

2025-10-29 12:55:57 UTC

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☝️ A vertical scroll bar at the left edge of a window. Wait, what?
#interlisp #gui

2025-10-29 11:22:11 UTC

Carlos Collazo on why he still uses em dashes despite the symbol being associated with AI output.
> If an em dash is the only thing preventing someone from thinking your writing has been spit out of Chat GPT I think you have bigger problems.
https://carlosacollazo.com/you-can-pry-em-dashes-from-my-cold-dead-hands
#ai #writing

2025-10-17 10:15:23 UTC

BASIC Code is a new retrocomputing blog that posts refactored and adapted "40-year-old type-in listings from 80s books and microcomputing magazines".
https://basic-code.bearblog.dev
#basic #retrocomputing #blogs

2025-10-09 10:12:35 UTC

Immich is often called an open-source clone of Google Photos which, although accurate, doesn't convey the fundamental difference between the systems: Immich is designed with people in mind, not profit or metrics.
A revealing example of the difference is the options for searching photos not in any albums or by camera make and model (here in @npub1w56…t4ha) Google Photos users have been loudly begging for such features since day one.
#immich #GooglePhotos #FOSS
https://assets.oldbytes.space/assets.oldbytes.space/media_attachments/files/115/343/668/989/447/272/original/163ca90069efa588.png

2025-10-02 19:48:47 UTC

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That keyboard has PET vibes.

2025-09-28 06:49:38 UTC

This GitHub repo archives a discontinued repository of CP/M software created between 1979 and 1984, MIT-MC (later moved to SIMTEL20). It comprises free and shareware code and other files.
https://github.com/MITDDC/cpmarchive-1979-1984
#cpm #retrocomputing

2025-09-20 11:24:34 UTC

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☝️ To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Netscape Navigator 2.0 here is my copy I bought around 1995 when it was still a paid product. I ran the browser under Windows 95.
Shortly after snapping this photo in 2017 I tossed the product in the trash, which I regret. I took the photo as I got a sense the artifact had some historical significance, but I wasn't into retrocomputing yet and didn't realize the importance of preserving such material.
#retrocomputing #netscape #browser
https://assets.oldbytes.space/assets.oldbytes.space/media_attachments/files/115/236/364/984/762/719/original/f487a9cbdadcbf25.jpg

2025-09-11 10:20:57 UTC

This is bizarre and cool: Term.Everything❗ is an X11 and Wayland Linux tool for running GUI programs in the terminal.
https://github.com/mmulet/term.everything
#x11 #wayland #linux

2025-09-02 10:25:31 UTC

Eerie Linux posted an extensive introduction to using CP/M that assumes no previous knowledge of early operating systems. They also link to other posts they wrote on the evolution of CP/M.
https://eerielinux.wordpress.com/2025/08/28/a-gentle-introduction-to-cp-m
#cpm #retrocomputing #os

2025-08-22 19:58:01 UTC

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The irony of blaming the users is the natural language interface of chatbots and generative AI tools was supposed to be the quintessential intuitive interface.

2025-08-11 09:49:55 UTC

The Screenshot tool that comes with Linux Mint does what I need most of the times. For more advanced uses I've found Flameshot, a cross-platform tool which can annotate screenshots.
https://flameshot.org
#screenshots #tools #linux

2025-08-05 18:53:23 UTC

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If you don't mind using Google products occasionally, the Transit option/layer of Google Maps does that. I mean clicking the Transit button on the map, not the step by step route planner.
The Transport Map layer of OpenStreetMap shows the transit lines but not the stops or stations.

2025-07-15 20:30:07 UTC

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Interlisp-D supported copy-paste between different applications, e.g. copying a bitmap or graph (lattice) and pasting it into a text or line drawing editor:
https://oldbytes.space/@amoroso/114859107666392139
[@argv_minus_one](https://mastodon.sdf.org/@argv_minus_one )

2025-07-15 20:14:03 UTC

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Interlisp-D already had copy-paste in the late 70s or early 80s but earlier systems may have had the feature (e.g. the Xerox Alto).

2025-07-14 10:45:11 UTC

What Clive Sinclair and Gary Kildall had in common, aside from being red-bearded.
https://nemanjatrifunovic.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-red-bearded-visionaries
#retrocomputing #DigitalResearch #sinclair

2025-07-04 11:56:43 UTC

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I had a similar experience with cataract and surgery brought a new world of color, crispness, and fine detail.
https://journal.paoloamoroso.com/the-faded-world-my-experience-with-cataract

2025-06-26 12:50:50 UTC

Please welcome on Mastodon the @npub1lsf…wrxj European Southern Observatory (ESO), the European organization that builds and operates large, advanced ground-based observatories for research in astronomy and astrophysics.
#astronomy #astrophysics #science #mastodon #fediverse

2025-06-19 18:52:10 UTC

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Do you mean Algol 68 was a failure or also other releases?

2025-06-19 08:15:23 UTC

I missed by a month or so the 65th birthday of Algol 60 but it's still time to celebrate with this article on the 60th birthday.
https://www.theregister.com/2020/05/15/algol_60_at_60
#algol #retrocomputing

2025-06-07 17:47:45 UTC

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So, is it terrible?
@npub1zl3…e9xk

2025-06-05 11:31:49 UTC

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I enjoy the opportunities online spaces offer of interacting with interesting new people outside of my real life friendships.

2025-06-05 10:45:44 UTC

How many of your real life friends regularly use Mastodon?
By real life friends I mean those you live with or frequent in person. As for regularly I trust your judgment.
#mastodon #fediverse

2025-05-20 10:18:33 UTC

I'm on the board of ISAA (Italian Space and Astronautics Association), an Italian non-profit organization for space outreach. We run our own Mastodon instance with a main account @npub1thm…9x97 for news and information and a bot @npub1e5v…khkt for data and media. I have an account there @npub1mh5…czef only for space and astronomy in Italian.
We use and believe in open systems and hope to reduce our reliance on X and Facebook.
#space #mastodon

2025-05-16 10:45:08 UTC

When updating a video, under Advanded settings > Video thumbnail, PeerTube @npub17gp…7p4g now lets you select a specific frame as the thumbnail directly from the video player.
A really handy interface not even YouTube has. The feature was likely released at least a few months ago but I only just noticed.
To improve metadata — and just for fun — I revised the thumbnails of all my videos.
#PeerTube #fediverse #tips

2025-05-13 19:50:05 UTC

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The local timeline is an underrated discoverability tool.

2025-05-05 19:29:57 UTC

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comp.lang.cpm has low volume but high quality posts and discussions, with zero spam.