xyzzy

Yeah, that poster for Diamonds Are Forever is the best thing about the movie.

This dude is MAGA, FYI

Mostly? What really sent me down a rabbit hole in reading this code was the syntax:

• The == assignment
• The argument lists <...>
• PRINTX instructions, etc.

The Altair 8800 uses an Intel 8080 processor. This syntax doesn't match the instruction set for Altair or Intel, or even PDP-10 for that matter.

We have some hints about what may have happened. We know that Paul Allen wrote an Intel 8080 emulator designed to translate instructions to ones that a PDP-10 would understand.

We also know that Microsoft later released Macro-80 (M80) Assembly for Intel 8080 and Z80 architectures five years later. It turns out that M80 has <...> argument lists and .printx instructions.

So my suspicion is that Allen built some macro convenience functionality into his emulator, and that the language used is 95% Altair assembly with some macro functionality to support different kinds of Altair configurations and simplify some of the programming. Then they later evolved that into its own product offering and added Z80 support for it as well.

Building a Basic interpreter on top of a custom CPU emulator in a slightly-customized version of assembly in two months between 2.5 people and having it work correctly the first time on untested hardware is pretty damn impressive, whatever you think of Gates. It's no wonder he's so proud of it.

Assembly has variables. You can label locations in memory, then move them onto registers in order to perform operations.

TTRPG fans are so weird sometimes. One of the first messages:

You know I got to come by Wotc for the 1st time a few weeks back while (1st day getting to walk again after getting hit by a car). You were the only person I had hoped to even see from a far while there :(. You will be missed dearly.

So you walked by their HQ and hoped to just sort of creepily watch this office worker you don't know from afar? What?

I'm generally OK with most of these. Total fees on car purchase would increase by $650 on a $50,000 car purchase, plus $156 additional cost in title and registration.

What I am not OK with is anything that tracks my car:

Another new revenue stream proposed in the package is a mandatory Road Usage Charge (RUC), also known as a pay-per-mile system. This would be a phased-in mandate that would apply to all existing electric cars in July 2026 and all new e-cars in 2027. It would hit plug-in hybrids in July 2028 and all new vehicles with 30 mile-per-gallon or greater in July 2029. Vehicle owners could enroll with the RUC program — which is already in place and known as OreGo — or pay a flat annual fee.

I didn't enable the tracking feature in my car and I won't install a state tracking device. I'll just pay an annual fee, if I must, although I'm sure it'll be far in excess of my actual usage.

A mini competitive analysis

Steam Deck 256 GB: $400 Xbox Series X digital: $435 PS5 digital: $450 Steam Deck 512 GB: $450 Xbox Series X w/ drive: $500 PS5 w/ drive: $500 PS5 Pro digital: $700 PS5 Pro w/ drive: $780

OK, so currently Switch 2 sits in the middle of the pack and competes head-to-head with a 512 GB Steam Deck. If they somehow didn't factor in potential tariffs, an adjusted price would be $550, near the top of the list.

I think it's more likely they factored in a lower tariff rate and they're now pausing to do a competitive analysis around a bump to $500. That would put it on par with the PS5 and Xbox drive versions, but it would make the Steam Deck more attractive.

It seems pretty clear Nintendo is thinking about the Steam Deck. The official Steam Deck dock also does 4K at 60 Hz. The price is the same as the 512 GB model, which has faster memory, probably like the Switch 2. That said, that Steam Deck model has double the internal storage and access to about a zillion more games. So right now they're putting perhaps a $50 premium on it compared to the 256 GB model based on access to Nintendo exclusives.

Can the US market support a $100 Nintendo premium? Most likely... but they're surely sensitive to another Wii U debacle, and that price will mean Switch 2 is unlikely to ever be as successful as the original. So these are likely some of the factors they're weighing right now.

Nintendo is fairly conservative about risk. I suspect they'll hedge their bets and pick something just shy of $500, probably $479 or $489.

Edit: A friend just informed me that during the previous Trump administration, Nintendo moved a lot of their manufacturing to Vietnam, which is subject to a 46% tariff. That changes my calculus and it may be that the price goes much higher that I originally speculated as a result.

I've seen a 30% drop since this whole thing began. I'm not looking to divest for another 18 months, but that's assuming he doesn't completely collapse the economy for years...

But can it be used as a regular webcam when plugged into a computer? 🤔

Sure, if there's a depression.

I was confused at first too, then realized these were just predictions and not an actual summary of the final product. I imagine the down votes are because people feel misled by someone's opinions presented as fact.

Yep, I checked that when I got the gift card. There's apparently no expiration for GameStop gift cards, and no expiration printed on the card. I was told as long as you have the code, you're good.

I also have a friend who did something similar at the same time and has periodically used his since then without a problem. We'll see.