On The Metal

Bryan and Steve are joined by Adam to revisit some highlights from almost two years of the Oxide and Friends live show and podcast.Bryan’s blog entry on Twitter Spaces: http://dtrace.org/blogs/bmc/2021/05/02/twitter-spaces-a-few-weeks-in/Oxide and Friends, “Mr. Leventhal, Come here I want you”:https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/mr-leventhal-come-here-i-want-to-see-you-2021-05-03 (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-WSU3kiXVg#t=28m10s)Oxide and Friends, “NeXT, Objective-C, and contrasting histories”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/next-objective-c-and-contrasting-histories-2021-07-05Oxide and Friends, “Tales from the Bringup Lab”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/tales-from-the-bringup-lab-2021-12-06Flying Blind: Boeing's Max Tragedy and the Lost Soul of an American Icon by Peter Robison: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/55994102Oxide and Friends, “Flying Blind with Peter Robison”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/flying-blind-with-peter-robison-2022-01-10 (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6i9NPslfE4&t=1141s)Oxide and Friends, “Losing the Signal with Sean Silcoff”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/losing-the-signal-with-sean-silcoffOxide and Friends, “The Pragmatism of Hubris”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/the-pragmatism-of-hubris-2021-12-13Oxide and Friends, “The Books in the Box”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/the-books-in-the-box-2021-09-27Built to Fail: The Inside Story of Blockbuster's Inevitable Bust by Alex Payne: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/57118893Oxide and Friends, “Podcasts for Podcast-Lovers”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/podcasts-for-podcast-loversPlaydate podcast: https://podcast.play.date/Dijkstra quote on BASIC: https://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/ewd04xx/EWD498.PDFOxide and Friends, “Dijkstra's Tweetstorm”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/dijkstras-tweetstorm-2021-10-18Oxide and Friends, “Economics and Open Source”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/economics-and-open-source-2021-10-04 (Clip with Tim Burnham reading his tweet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDd8xGSP9DA&t=249s)Oxide and Friends, “Open Source Inside Baseball (with Stephen O'Grady)”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/open-source-inside-baseball-with-stephen-ogradyOxide and Friends, “The Oxide Supply Chain“: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/epi=-sodes/the-oxide-supply-chain Hacker News discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32774875Oxide and Friends, “The Rise and Fall of DEC”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/the-rise-and-fall-of-dec (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m6GFs3GuU0&t=12s)Oxide and Friends, “Potpourri: Product, Platform, Paravirtualization”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/potpourri-product-platform-paravirtualizationOxide and Friends, “Oxide and the Chamber of Mysteries”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/oxide-and-the-chamber-of-mysteriesOxide and Friends, “Theranos, Silicon Valley, and the March Madness of Tech Fraud”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/theranos-silicon-valley-and-the-march-madness-of-tech-fraud-2021-09-20 (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWdk9CKML2g&t=2901s)Bad Bets Season 2, “The Unraveling of Trevor Milton”: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/the-journal/8whnlvjOxide and Friends, “Engineering Incentives... and Misincentives”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/engineering-incentives-and-misincentives (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU4WT5RZAPY&t=461s)Oxide and Friends, “The Power of Proto Boards!”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/the-power-of-proto-boardsOxide and Friends, “A Debugging Odyssey”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/a-debugging-odysseyOxide and Friends, “Debugging Methodologies”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/debugging-methodologiesOxide and Friends, “from /proc to proc_macro”: https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/from-proc-to-proc_macro-2021-05-24 (Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85eApYSj3ic&t=108s)Oxide and Friends, “Tech Layoffs”:

Ken Shirriff, a tech enthusiast, dives into the complexity of a Soyuz spacecraft digital clock, the evolution of computer tech from IBM to Intel, and the significance of little Indian and big Indian in computing. He explores restoring the Alto computer, pre-boot networking, analog computers minig Bitcoin, and the evolution of memory technology from core to MOS memory.

Star Simpson, an expert in drones and aviation history, discusses autonomous aircraft, the Taco Copter concept, childhood curiosity, safety critical engineering, and autonomous trucking. She also delves into building autonomous aircraft for cargo forwarding and navigating air traffic control challenges at San Francisco Airport. The podcast touches on Southern California's aerospace legacy, the era of deregulation in the airline industry, and an innovative biodegradable drone project for cargo delivery.

Tech enthusiast John Graham-Cumming discusses historical computing machines like Babbage's engines, BBC Micro, and Sinclair ZX81. The podcast explores the early UK computing scene, Babbage's analytical engine, Lovelace's contributions, and the importance of historical knowledge in technological advancements.

Guests Amir Michael, Jeff Rothschild, Ron Minnich, Rick Altherr, and Kenneth Finnegans reflect on Season 1, discussing unique network infrastructures, DIY efforts, Data Point in the computer revolution, long-form storytelling, preserving old hardware, 'The Witness' video game, physics videos, vulnerability stories, and preparing for Season 2.

You can find Jonathan on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Blow.Some of the highlights of the show include: The Witness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Witness_(2016_video_game)Prince of Persia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Persia_(1989_video_game)Prince of Persia source code: https://github.com/jmechner/Prince-of-Persia-Apple-IISprite: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(computer_graphics)Atari 800: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atari_8-bit_familyAtari CTIA (chip performing, among many other things, collision detection for the Atari 800): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CTIA_and_GTIACommodore 64: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodore_64VIC-II (CTIA-equivalent chip found in the C64): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOS_Technology_VIC-IISkeletal animation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeletal_animationGPGPU: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General-purpose_computing_on_graphics_processing_unitsGeForce 2080 Ti: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_20_seriesCell microprocessor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cell_(microprocessor)Dennard scaling: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennard_scalingAmdahl's Law: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amdahl%27s_lawEmbarrassingly parallel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embarrassingly_parallelClient-side prediction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Client-side_predictionParticle system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_systemMinecraft: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MinecraftRed Dead Redemption 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dead_Redemption_2Rewinding time to address lag: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lag#Rewind_timeChronostasis (the illusion of time standing still after eye movement): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChronostasisCounter-strike: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-Strike SimCity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SimCityTrinity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(video_game)Brian Moriarty: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_MoriartyInfocom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InfocomLost Treasures of Infocom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Treasures_of_InfocomNetrek: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetrekApollo Computer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_ComputerSilicon Graphics (SGI): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_GraphicsTime Warner's "Full Service Network" (SGI Orlando project): https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/12/business/time-warner-s-time-machine-for-future-video.htmlNetscape Communications: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NetscapeDoom: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_(1993_video_game)Wolfenstein 3D: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfenstein_3DUltima series: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_(series)SGI engineers transferred to Nvidia, ca. 1999: https://www.eetimes.com/sgi-graphics-team-moves-to-nvidia/Quake: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quake_(video_game)Quake source code: https://github.com/id-Software/QuakeJohn Carmack: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_CarmackMichael Abrash: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_AbrashTotal Entertainment Network: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Entertainment_Networkboo.com: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boo.comBraid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braid_(video_game)SIMD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIMDPentium U-pipe and V-pipe: https://en.wikichip.org/w/index.php?title=File:24281603.pdf&page=8Data-oriented design: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data-oriented_designJonathan's rant on Rust: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4t1K66dMhWk Catherine West's closing keynote at RustConf 2018: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKLntZcp27MJAI language: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Blow#JAI_language"Worse is better" and the "MIT approach": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worse_is_betterSmart pointer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_pointerD language: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D_(programming_language)Entity-component-system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entity_component_systemJonathan's talk "Preventing the Collapse of Civilization": https://ww...

Jon Masters, a computer security expert, talks about vulnerabilities like Spectre and Meltdown, evolution of microprocessors, vintage computers, on-premises operations, ARM technology, firmware bugs, Windows OS evolution, open-source firmware for Raspberry Pi, the end of Moore's Law, Gen Z buses, and quantum computing skepticism.

Rick Altherr, a cybersecurity enthusiast, discusses USBAnywhere vulnerability, BMC security risks, and nostalgia for Cray supercomputers. He explores challenges in BMCs, Redfish development, firmware complexities, and power-off bug solutions. The critical role of firmware in preventing hardware failures and the evolution of the Open Compute Project are also highlighted.

Engineer and blogger Kenneth Finnegan discusses semiconductor industry challenges, autonomous systems, internet exchanges, content distribution networks, and connectivity complexities. Highlights include BGP routing, ISP setup, CDN strategies, and network troubleshooting adventures.

Computer security researcher Trammell Hudson discusses supercomputers, firmware vulnerabilities, open source firmware movement, retro computing projects, reverse engineering Canon cameras, Canon camera vulnerability, IoT device integration challenges, and concluding remarks on hardware-software interface.