cm0002

(Part 1)

Can I use Linux to revive a decade-old MacBook Pro – and is it even worth trying?

A couple of months ago, I wrote up a piece about my attempts to get some extra value out of an ancient, creaky laptop by switching it from Windows 11 to Linux.

There were some hiccups – most notably, I’m still totally unable to get decent Wi-Fi speeds out of it, open to any suggestions on that score, comment below – but overall, the experience was decent, and it did show me a way to make the most out of technology purchases for as long as possible, even when big corporations have given up on the technology themselves, or it’s seen as “redundant”.

Which got me to thinking: Can I apply the same logic to the other side of the operating system fence, by way of converting a Mac into a Linux machine? Is a Linux MacBook even a feasible thing?

Ed is customizable, actually. It can have syntax highlighting, interactive commands, and build/REPL setup. Enter rlwrap.

Anything with a laser has undeniable hacker appeal, even if the laser’s task is as pedestrian as sending data over a fiber optic cable. [Shahriar] from [The Signal Path] must agree, and you can watch as he tears down and investigates a fiber optic link made from old HP equipment in the video below.

He starts with an investigation of the block diagram of the transmitter. In the transmitter, the indium gallium arsenide phosphide laser diode emits light with a 1310-nanometer wavelength. Thermal characteristics in the transmitter are important, so there is thermal control circuitry. He notes that this system only works using amplitude modulation; phase modulation would require more expensive parts. Then it’s time to look at the receiver’s block diagram. Some optics direct the light signal to a PIN diode, which receives the signal and interfaces with biasing and amplifying circuitry.

Bank of America is facing a proposed class and collective action lawsuit that accuses the company of failing to pay hundreds of hourly workers for time spent booting their computers, logging in, and launching required software before officially starting their shifts.

The complaint, filed by former employee Tava Martin, focuses on a routine familiar to many in the modern workplace: unlocking encrypted drives, signing in through multi-factor authentication, connecting to a VPN, and launching business-critical applications. According to the filing, these tasks could take up to 30 minutes each day and were required before employees could access the company’s timekeeping system to clock in.

Gielinor is once again faced with a terrible fate beginning with the letter 'a'. This time around there's no Apocalypse, there's no Armageddon, only certain Annihilation, which is more or less the same thing but with more syllables than ever before! There's nothing you can do to stop it, this world's fate is foretold, all that's left for you to do is gear up and go down swinging so that you might be the last player standing before everything turns to dust. Do you have what it takes?

Today's post focuses on exactly what's changed since our previous event (Deadman: Armageddon) and giving you a brief refresher on the most important bits. That means we'll be covering all of the most important changes at a top-level rather than bombarding you with hundreds of tiny little bullet points (though we'll be putting a blog together before the event to go through all of the finer details for anybody who might be interested!)

Before we jump into all of the exciting new stuff, let's get everybody up to speed with a quick refresher - we've had a lot of new players join the community throughout 2025, after all.

President Donald Trump has pardoned a long list of his political allies for their support or involvement in plans to overturn the 2020 presidential election, according to the Department of Justice’s Pardon Attorney, Ed Martin.

The individuals listed in a proclamation, which Martin posted on X late Sunday, include high-profile figures like former Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and the president’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, among dozens of others.

“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice perpetrated upon the American people following the 2020 Presidential Election and continues the process of national reconciliation,” read the document, which gives the date of November 7 in its text and the president appears to have signed.

Such a wide variety in visual styles really shows off how flexible the engine has become!