• processing power required..

    From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to Maurice Kinal on Sunday, August 30, 2026 09:43:00
    Hello Maurice!

    ** On Monday 24.08.26 - 05:44, you wrote to me:

    Primarily they are all lean, mean compiling machines, mostly gcc/g++.
    Also they all can literally rock n' roll when needed without breaking
    into a sweat. :-)

    I was just wondering what it is that it's rock n' rolling as most of the time. I guess it's just busy compiling to create its own environment to compile the next version, which is used to compile the next, and the next?


    How about you and yours?

    Only my "recently acquired in 2022" Mac Pro from 2008 is the most loaded (Xeon 8-core CPU) machine I have. It has two hdd's totalling about 800GB. 8GB ram.

    Its Safari is totally useless for accessing today's sites, but I found that Powerfox works great with my Leopard, OS X 10.5.

    "Jan 7, 2026 PowerFox brings updated web standards like newer HTML, CSS, Javascript, webGL, SSL/TLS 1.3 support for modern security features, and more, allowing your Snow Leopard Mac to function on the modern web.

    As long as the browser works, I really don't need to change the system any further, except to maybe bump up the ram to a cool 32GB max.

    Dunno how I will settle using the machine for anything, except as network storage.

    I have some the various upgrades to the maximum OS X 10.11 (El Capitan) ..but I see no point to go all the way.

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.64
    * Origin: Got Mobile? This echo = https://t.me/+RLI5gLJrHo6IIuzL (2:221/1.58)
  • From Maurice Kinal@2:280/464.113 to August Abolins on Sunday, August 30, 2026 17:17:46
    Hej August!

    I guess it's just busy compiling to create its own environment to
    compile the next version, which is used to compile the next, and the
    next?

    Sadly that's the way it has become. However it wasn't all that long ago that everything I needed for hacking fit onto a 256M disk, back then a compactflash disk. What later became known as ssd's were way too expensive back then. Having ramdisks available made all the difference. That should explain my attraction to them.

    Xeon 8-core CPU

    By my standards 16G minimum ram available. 32G would be perfect since that allows for at least a 16G ramdisk or two 8G ramdisks on demand. :-)

    allowing your Snow Leopard Mac to function on the modern web.

    The web sucks. Way too needy for what little it has to offer.

    Het leven is goed,
    Maurice

    -o -o o- -o -o o- o- -o o- o- o- o- o- o- o- o-
    (\ (\ /) (\ (\ /) /) (\ /) /) /) /) /) /) /) /)
    ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
    ... Wenað samwise þæt hi on ðis lænan mægen life findan soða gesælða.
    The unwise think they can find true joy in this transitory life.
    --- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
    * Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to Maurice Kinal on Sunday, August 23, 2026 19:59:00
    Hello Maurice!

    you're playing ALAC or FLAC files?

    mpg123 -v "http://us2.internet-radio.com:8443/listen.pls&t=.pls"

    That connects me to "megaton radio" and streams in mp3. Isn't everybody doing this?

    I can understand why 32GB ram and..

    <Esc>:read /proc/version
    Linux version 7.2.0

    ..is required for that stuff now. ;)



    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.64
    * Origin: Got Mobile? This echo = https://t.me/+RLI5gLJrHo6IIuzL (2:221/1.58)
  • From Maurice Kinal@2:280/464.113 to August Abolins on Monday, August 24, 2026 00:24:52
    Hej August!

    I can understand why 32GB ram and..

    Given it can be traced back to 1997, 32MB would be closer to the truth of the matter.

    Linux version 7.2.0

    ..is required for that stuff now. ;)

    I doubt it. I've been streaming mp3s for well over 2 decades now. I think you might be thinking 4K movies with HD audio. mpg123 runs on spit.

    Het leven is goed,
    Maurice

    -o -o -o -o -o o- o- o- -o -o o- o- o- o- o- o-
    (\ (\ (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ /) /) /) /) /) /)
    ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
    ... Sceal þegna gehwilc geþylde nimon.
    Every man must acquire patience.
    --- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
    * Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to Maurice Kinal on Monday, August 24, 2026 00:08:00
    Hello Maurice!

    Linux version 7.2.0
    ..is required for that stuff now. ;)

    I doubt it. I've been streaming mp3s for well over 2 decades now. I think you might be thinking 4K movies with HD audio. mpg123 runs on
    spit.

    I was just joshing you.

    Just curious what progams/apps you operate on your souped-up linux machine.
    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.64
    * Origin: Got Mobile? This echo = https://t.me/+RLI5gLJrHo6IIuzL (2:221/1.58)
  • From Maurice Kinal@2:280/464.113 to August Abolins on Monday, August 24, 2026 04:45:18
    Hej August!

    Just curious what progams/apps you operate on your souped-up linux
    machine.

    <Esc>:read !mpg123 --longhelp | expand
    High Performance MPEG 1.0/2.0/2.5 Audio Player for Layers 1, 2 and 3
    version 1.33.7; written and copyright by Michael Hipp and others
    free software (LGPL) without any warranty but with best wishes

    usage: mpg123 [option(s)] [file(s) | URL(s) | -]

    input options

    -k <n> --skip <n> skip n frames at beginning
    --skip-id3v2 skip ID3v2 tags without parsing
    -n --frames <n> play only <n> frames of every stream
    --fuzzy Enable fuzzy seeks (guessing byte offsets or using approximate seek points from Xing TOC)
    -y --no-resync DISABLES resync on error (--resync is deprecated)
    -F --no-frankenstein disable support for Frankenstein streams
    -p <f> --proxy <f> override proxy environemnt variable for plain HTTP
    --network <b> select network backend, available: auto internal wget curl
    (auto meaning internal code for plain HTTP and the
    first external option for HTTPS)
    -u --auth set auth values for HTTP access
    --auth-file set auth values for HTTP access from given file
    --ignore-mime ignore HTTP MIME types (content-type)
    --no-seekbuffer disable seek buffer
    -@ <f> --list <f> play songs in playlist <f> (plain list, m3u, pls (shoutcast))
    -l <n> --listentry <n> play nth title in playlist; show whole playlist for n < 0
    --continue playlist continuation mode (see man page)
    --loop <n> loop track(s) <n> times, < 0 means infinite loop (not with --random!)
    --keep-open (--remote mode only) keep loaded file open after reaching end
    --timeout <n> Timeout in seconds before declaring a stream dead (if <= 0, wait forever)
    -z --shuffle shuffle song-list before playing
    -Z --random full random play
    --no-icy-meta Do not accept ICY meta data
    -i --index index / scan through the track before playback
    --index-size <n> change size of frame index
    --preframes <n> number of frames to decode in advance after seeking (to keep layer 3 bit reservoir happy)
    --resync-limit <n> Set number of bytes to search for valid MPEG data; <0 means search whole stream.
    --streamdump <f> Dump a copy of input data (as read by libmpg123) to given file.
    --icy-interval <n> Enforce ICY interval in bytes
    (if > 0, for playing a stream dump).
    --ignore-streamlength Ignore header info about length of MPEG streams.

    output/processing options

    -o <o> --output <o> select audio output module
    --list-modules list the available modules
    --list-devices list the available output devices for given output module
    -a <d> --audiodevice <d> select audio device (depending on chosen module)
    -s --stdout write raw audio to stdout (host native format)
    -O <f> --outfile <f> write raw audio to given file (- is stdout)
    -w <f> --wav <f> write samples as WAV file in <f> (- is stdout)
    --au <f> write samples as Sun AU file in <f> (- is stdout)
    --cdr <f> write samples as raw CD audio file in <f> (- is stdout)
    --reopen force close/open on audiodevice
    --cpu <string> set cpu optimization
    --test-cpu list optimizations possible with cpu and exit
    --list-cpu list builtin optimizations and exit
    -g --gain [DEPRECATED] set audio hardware output gain
    -f <n> --scale <n> scale output samples (soft gain - based on 32768), default=32768)
    --rva-mix,
    --rva-radio use RVA2/ReplayGain values for mix/radio mode
    --rva-album,
    --rva-audiophile use RVA2/ReplayGain values for album/audiophile mode
    -0 --left --single0 play only left channel
    -1 --right --single1 play only right channel
    -m --mono --mix mix stereo to mono
    --stereo duplicate mono channel
    -r --rate force a specific audio output rate
    --resample <s> choose resampling mode for forced rate:
    NtoM, dirty, fine (default)
    -2 --2to1 2:1 downsampling
    -4 --4to1 4:1 downsampling
    --pitch <value> set pitch (speedup/down, 0 is neutral; 0.05 is 5%)
    --8bit force 8 bit output
    --float force floating point output (internal precision)
    -e <c> --encoding <c> force a specific encoding (s16 u16 s32 u32 s24 u24 f32 s8 u8 ulaw alaw)
    -d n --doublespeed n play only every nth frame
    -h n --halfspeed n play every frame n times
    --equalizer f scales freq. bands acrd. to given file
    --gapless remove padding/junk on mp3s (best with Lame tag)
    This is on by default when libmpg123 supports it.
    --no-gapless disable gapless mode, not remove padding/junk
    --no-infoframe disable parsing of Xing/Lame/VBR/Info frame
    -D n --delay n insert a delay of n seconds before each track
    -o h --headphones (aix/hp/sun) output on headphones
    -o s --speaker (aix/hp/sun) output on speaker
    -o l --lineout (aix/hp/sun) output to lineout
    -b <n> --buffer <n> set play buffer ("output cache")
    --preload <value> fraction of buffer to fill before playback
    --smooth keep buffer over track boundaries
    --devbuffer <s> set device buffer in seconds; <= 0 means default

    misc options

    -t --test only decode, no output (benchmark)
    -c --check count and display clipped samples
    -v[*] --verbose increase verboselevel
    -q --quiet quiet mode
    -C --control enable terminal control keys (else auto detect)
    --no-control disable terminal control keys (disable auto detect)
    --no-visual disable visual enhancements in output (hide cursor,
    reverse video), alternative to TERM=dumb
    --ctrlusr1 <c> control key (characer) to map to SIGUSR1
    (default is for stop/start)
    --ctrlusr2 <c> control key (characer) to map to SIGUSR2
    (default is for next track)
    --title set terminal title to filename
    --presetloop <s> preset loop interval in (fractional) seconds
    --name <n> set instance name (used in various places)
    --long-tag spacy id3 display with every item on a separate line
    --lyrics show lyrics (from ID3v2 USLT frame)
    --utf8 Regardless of environment, print metadata in UTF-8.
    -R --remote generic remote interface
    --remote-err force use of stderr for generic remote interface
    --fifo <path> open a FIFO at <path> for commands instead of stdin
    --aggressive tries to get higher priority (nice)
    -T --realtime tries to get realtime priority
    -? --help give compact help
    --longhelp give this long help listing
    --version give name / version string
    --libversion give version info on mpg123 libraries

    See the manpage mpg123(1) for more information.

    Het leven is goed,
    Maurice

    o- o- -o o- o- -o o- -o -o o- o- o- -o -o o- -o
    /) /) (\ /) /) (\ /) (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ /) (\
    ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
    ... Ne wurðe þe næfre to þys wa, þæt ðu þe ne wene betran.
    Never become so sorrowful that you do not hope for better things.
    --- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
    * Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)
  • From August Abolins@2:221/1.58 to Maurice Kinal on Monday, August 24, 2026 01:31:00
    <Esc>> :read !mpg123 --longhelp | expand
    High Performance MPEG 1.0/2.0/2.5 Audio Player for Layers 1, 2 and 3
    version 1.33.7; written and copyright by Michael Hipp and others
    free software (LGPL) without any warranty but with best wishes

    usage: mpg123 [option(s)] [file(s) | URL(s) | -]

    So.. your linux box is primarily a jukebox?

    --
    ../|ug

    --- OpenXP 5.0.64
    * Origin: Got Mobile? This echo = https://t.me/+RLI5gLJrHo6IIuzL (2:221/1.58)
  • From Maurice Kinal@2:280/464.113 to August Abolins on Monday, August 24, 2026 05:44:43
    Hej August!

    So.. your linux box is primarily a jukebox?

    No, but it could be if I wanted it to be. However that would be a waste of a more than capable of much greater things, such as building my particular slant on a "Linux From Scratch" box. All the boxes here, including the more limited ones, can all take care of themselves ... and then some.

    Primarily they are all lean, mean compiling machines, mostly gcc/g++. Also they all can literally rock n' roll when needed without breaking into a sweat. :-)

    How about you and yours?

    Het leven is goed,
    Maurice

    o- -o o- -o o- o- -o -o -o o- o- o- -o -o o- -o
    /) (\ /) (\ /) /) (\ (\ (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ /) (\
    ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
    ... Man deþ swa he byþ þonne he mot swa he wile.
    A man acts what he is when he may do what he will.
    --- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
    * Origin: Little Mikey's EuroPoint @ (2:280/464.113)
  • From Nick Boel@1:154/10 to Maurice Kinal on Monday, August 24, 2026 18:15:20
    Hey Maurice!

    On Mon, 24 Aug 2026 05:44:42 , you wrote:

    Primarily they are all lean, mean compiling machines, mostly gcc/g++.
    Also they all can literally rock n' roll when needed without breaking
    into a sweat. :-)

    So, what you're saying here is. You're too busy compiling all of the time that all else you can do is play some background music? ;)

    I'm kidding. Didn't you mention in the past you take care of some of your friend's/neighbors networking/routing or hosting or something in those lines?

    Regards,
    Nick

    ... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
    --- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20260425
    * Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (1:154/10)
  • From Maurice Kinal@1:153/7001.53423 to Nick Boel on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 00:33:16
    Hey Nick!

    So, what you're saying here is. You're too busy compiling all of the
    time that all else you can do is play some background music? ;)

    Sometimes I have nothing playing in the backgroud. I can enjoy silence as much as I do music, and neither mode interferes with any compiling going on anywhere within the spacial confines I currently call home.

    Didn't you mention in the past you take care of some of your friend's/neighbors networking/routing or hosting or something in
    those lines?

    Probably. As we speak there are two wireless access points that will allow anyone in range to exploit my generousity. This has been going on for quite some time now. In fact up to the day before yesterday this machine was an integral part of that scheme but is now my extra-special dedicated workstation.

    I lead the good life. :-)

    Life is good,
    Maurice

    o- o- -o o- -o o- o- o- -o -o o- -o -o -o o- -o
    /) /) (\ /) (\ /) /) /) (\ (\ /) (\ (\ (\ /) (\
    ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^
    ... Lef mon læces behofað; læran sceal mon geongne monnan.
    A sick man needs a doctor; a young man should be taught.
    --- GNU bash, version 5.3.15(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
    * Origin: One of us @ (1:153/7001.53423)
  • From andy5995@1:105/44 to Maurice Kinal on Sunday, August 30, 2026 16:59:07
    Maurice Kinal wrote to August Abolins <=-

    Sadly that's the way it has become. However it wasn't all that long
    ago that everything I needed for hacking fit onto a 256M disk, back
    then a compactflash disk. What later became known as ssd's were way
    too expensive back then. Having ramdisks available made all the difference. That should explain my attraction to them.

    Saw your note about ramdisks and it reminded me that I wanted to ask about this:

    /dev/zram0 partition 8G 1.4G 100
    /dev/nvme0n1p6 partition 29.3G 0B 10

    Using zramfs is new to me, I've been using it for about a month. I have 14GB Ram. Do you think this set up should be adequate? The most RAM intensive I do is compiling and once in a while, a game of 0ad or MegaGlest, and I use Firefox for a browser.


    --
    -Andy Alt

    ... NoCarrierMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    === NoCarrierMail/Linux v0.55
    --- SBBSecho 3.37-Win32
    * Origin: X-Bit BBS > Oregon USA > x-bit.org/info (1:105/44)