Air traffic control: the IBM 9020

The 9020 is a fascinating system, exemplary of so many of the challenges and excitement of the birth of the modern computer. On the one hand, a 9020 is a sophisticated, fault-tolerant, high-performance computer system with impressive diagnostic capabilities and remarkably dynamic resource allocation. On the other hand, a 9020 is just six to seven S/360 computers married to each other with a vibe that is more duct tape and bailing wire than aerospace aluminum and titanium. ↫ J. B. Crawford I was hooked from beginning to end. An absolutely exceptional article.

iOS Update Failed? Top Reasons and Easy Fixes to Get It Working

Have you ever tried to update your iPhone, but it stops halfway or shows “Update Failed”? This problem can be frustrating when you want the latest iOS features, security, and bug fixes. Hence, using Dr.Fone or simple steps can help you fix the update error quickly, which this guide will cover in detail. Part 1. Why Your iPhone Update Might Stop or Fail – 5 Reasons Before you look for the ideal iOS system repair software to fix update issues, learn why this occurs in the first place: Common Notifications That Show iOS Update Failed When any iOS update fails, you might see the following alerts and signs: Notification Text (Or Similar) What It Usually Means “Unable to Check for Update” iPhone cannot reach Apple servers, network problem. “Software Update Failed” Download was interrupted or corrupted “Unable to Install Update” File downloaded, but could not install. “Unable to Verify Update” iPhone cannot verify file wit “There Was a Problem Downloading the Software.” Update via Mac/PC failed during download. Part 2. 5 Fixes to Solve iOS Update Failed (All in One Section) If an iPhone or iPad is unable to install an update, try the listed ways to resolve the issue: Fix 1: Dr.Fone – System Repair (iOS) Tools like Wondershare Dr.Fone– System Repair (iOS) allow you to fix 150+ System issues like Apple logo or iPhone update failed in real-time. This tool is compatible with the latest iOS 26/iPadOS 26 and iPhone 17 Series and resolves the update issue in 3 simple steps. Additionally, it claims to offer a 100% success rate and to make Recovery Mode freely accessible. Above all, users can choose between Standard and Advanced Modes to address all types of iOS issues. While making it versatile, Dr.Fone is also suitable for all types of users and requires no learning curve. Another foremost aspect is that the tool is updated weekly to offer innovative solutions for upcoming models. Key Features Simple Guide to Fix the Failed Update Issue with Dr.Fone To know how you can use this iOS system repair tool, follow the given step-by-step guide: Step 1. Access the System Repair Tool on Dr.Fone After choosing the System Repair tool, press the “Repair Now” button in the iOS Repair feature as you connect the device, and pick “Standard Mode.” Step 2. Enter the Recovery Mode to Download Firmware Follow the “Guide” to enter the Recovery Mode and wait for the tool to detect iOS Firmware. Step 3. Pick the Repair Now Button to Fix Failed Updates Once displayed, select the “Download” button to install and choose the “Repair Now” button. Fix 2: Free Up iPhone Storage When an iPhone software update failed error occurs, old and failed downloads take up space and block new updates. Thus, clearing space improves iPhone speed, reduces crashes, and helps future updates, as guided below: Step 1. In General settings, choose “iPhone Storage,” then pick the app to free up space. Step 2. Scroll down on new interface or search for “iOS Update” option. Press it and choose the “Delete Update” option. Confirm by picking the “Delete Update” option as it appears on the popup. Fix 3: Restart iPhone and Retry Update In addition to the iOS system repair tool, a restart clears temporary system glitches by reloading iOS processes and updating services. It stops stalled updates that got stuck on “Preparing Update” or halfway through, and is instructed below: Instructions. Press the “Power + Volume” up button and slide the “Slide to Power Off” slider. Wait for a few seconds, then press the “Power” button to restart the device. Fix 4: Try to Update via iTunes When the iOS update fails, this fix avoids over-the-air glitches by using the computer’s connection, which is often more reliable. Finder/iTunes offers better error detection, lets you back up data first, and is illustrated ahead: Step 1. Choose the “Download and Update” or “Download Only” option in iTunes when you connect the device. Step 2. Press “Next > Agree,” and tap the “Download” icon to monitor progress. Step 2. When it ends, press the “Update” option and let iTunes verify and update it. Fix 5: Reset Network Settings or All Settings Other than using iOS system repair tools, Reset Network Settings clears Wi‑Fi, cellular, VPN, DNS, and carrier problems that block downloads or verification. It also removes old VPN or APN profiles while keeping all personal data safe, as shown: Step 1. Pick “Transfer or Reset iPhone” in General settings and press “Reset.” Step 2. Choose “Transfer or Reset iPhone > Add Passcode > Pick Reset Network Settings” option to confirm. Conclusion To sum up, this guide has explained how iOS system repair tools like Dr.Fone can easily fix the iOS update failed issues. So, repair iPhone system errors effortlessly and without data loss using Dr.Fone iOS system repair software now. It also helps prevent future update interruptions by restoring system stability and ensuring smoother iOS upgrades.

When to Use Factory Reset vs System Repair on Android

Android devices are not immune to issues like every other technology. They may shut down suddenly, stop responding, get stuck in a continuous reboot loop, or apps may simply not function properly. Most people, when faced with such situations, think that a factory reset is the only way and go for it immediately. However, this may not be the correct (or safe) way at all. Knowing how a factory reset is different from a system repair for Android will not only enable you to pick the right approach but also get rid of the issue quicker and save your data that can be lost due to the troubleshooting of your Android phone. What is a Factory Reset? A factory reset completely removes all user files and changes in an Android device, thereby resulting in the device being like a fresh, brand new one. In fact, a factory reset is the first major step that people generally think of taking when their phone starts acting up. Examples of common situations when a factory reset may be useful: Main features: Factory Reset Steps Step 1: Back up your data Before proceeding, ensure all important data is safely backed up using Google Backup, external storage, or a trusted backup tool such as Dr.Fone. Step 2: Access factory reset settings Navigate to Settings > General Management > Reset > Factory data reset. Step 3: Confirm and complete the reset Review the information displayed, confirm the reset, and allow the device to erase data and restart with default factory settings. What is System Repair for Android? System​‍​‌‍​‍‌ repair is a focused fix for issues with the Android operating system itself without resorting to a complete factory reset. It doesn’t rule out user data but rather fixes damaged system files, unsuccessful updates, and OS-level problems that cause the device to behave unusually. Dr.Fone System Repair (Android) is one of the most common tools in this category. It is a desktop software program that basically acts as a lifesaver for the toughest Android system troubles such as boot loops, black screens, stuck logo, bricked devices, and frequent crashes. The process is guided, automatic, and does not need a high level of technical skill; basically, anyone without a technical background can deal with it smoothly. Curious to see how easily your Android issues can be fixed? Visit the Android Repair website to learn more and explore step-by-step solutions. Typical problems system repair can fix: Main features: System Repair with Dr.Fone (Android) – Step-by-step guide: Step 1. Launch Dr.Fone and connect your Samsung device Open Wondershare Dr.Fone, go to Toolbox, connect your Samsung device, select System Repair, choose Android, click Android Repair, then Repair Now. Step 2. Select the brand and confirm details Choose Samsung as the brand, confirm Name, Model, Country, and Carrier, check “I agree with the warning and I am ready to proceed”, and click Next. Step 3. Enter Download Mode For devices with a Home button, power off and hold Volume Down + Home + Power, then press Volume Up. Step 4. Download and install firmware Dr.Fone will detect firmware automatically. Click Fix Now, type “000000” to confirm, and let the installation complete. Step 5. Complete the repair After rebooting, click Done if the device starts normally, or Try Again if it doesn’t. Factory reset vs system repair: when to use which solution Scenario A Soft issues (minor errors) Recommended approach: Always start with the easiest fixes: reboot your device, install the updates for your apps, and delete the cache. Scenario B System firmware corruption Recommended approach: System repair programs such as Dr.Fone should be your top option because they fix the Android operating system directly. Furthermore, they can fix complex system errors even in the case when a factory reset fails or cannot be done. Scenario C Severe but simple user errors Recommended approach: Here, a factory reset is the more sensible choice since it deletes user data and configuration clutter and works well when the source of the problems is the settings or the apps rather than the firmware corruption. Scenario D All other methods have failed Recommended approach: A factory reset should be the last option after you have tried every other stuff. And before doing a factory reset, you must back up your data so that you don’t lose it permanently. Conclusion Understanding the right situation for a factory reset and a system repair can be a great time saver, protect your data, and spare you from frustration. For minor issues or when you want to keep your files, system repair is generally the right way, fixing the OS without deleting your data. A factory reset is best when the device’s performance is noticeably impacted by a messed-up setting or a deeply ingrained user-level error. In cases of firmware corruption or boot loops, system repair tools like Dr.Fone can be a very good, reliable, and efficient solution. Knowing the distinction allows you to select the right method for your Android device, keep it running smoothly, and at the same time minimize data loss.

Common Mistakes During Marital Dissolution and Legal Support in Franklin

Legal separations involve high emotional stress and complex financial decisions. Many individuals in Franklin overlook critical details when they rush through the paperwork or let emotions dictate their choices. Proper preparation ensures a fair division of assets and protects long-term interests. Failure to address specific state statutes can lead to unfavorable court orders. This article examines common pitfalls and explains how professional guidance improves the final result. The Financial Impact of Hasty Decisions Spouses frequently underestimate the true value of shared property or retirement accounts during the initial filing phase. A Franklin Divorce Lawyer identifies hidden assets and ensures all financial disclosures remain accurate. Many people forget to account for tax consequences when they divide real estate or investment portfolios. This lack of foresight leads to significant losses after the final decree. The court requires precise documentation to validate any claims regarding separate or marital property. Legal professionals help clients organize these records to prevent costly disputes. Social Media Errors and Communication Gaps Private life becomes public record when individuals post sensitive information on digital platforms during a case. These updates can negatively affect child custody arrangements or alimony requests if the content contradicts official testimony. Legal experts advise clients to maintain strict privacy on all social networks to avoid unintended consequences. The following list describes specific actions that protect a person’s legal standing: Mistakes in Child Custody Plans Parents sometimes agree to informal visitation schedules that lack legal enforceability. This error causes friction when one party decides to change the routine without prior notice. A structured parenting plan provides clarity and reduces the need for future court intervention in Franklin. Courts prioritize the best interests of the child over the preferences of the parents. Detailed schedules must include holiday rotations, school breaks, and transportation responsibilities to ensure stability for the children. Debt Allocation and Future Expenses Most people focus on assets but forget to address shared liabilities like credit cards or medical expenses. Joint debts remain the responsibility of both parties unless the settlement specifically assigns them to one individual. Creditors can pursue either spouse for payment regardless of what the divorce decree states. A Franklin Divorce Lawyer drafts specific indemnity clauses to protect a client from a former spouse’s financial defaults. This step is vital for maintaining a healthy credit score after the marriage ends. The following points highlight areas where debt management is crucial: How Legal Expertise Secures a Fair Outcome in Franklin Procedural errors delay the conclusion of a case and increase total costs. Missing a filing deadline or using the wrong forms can force a restart of the entire process. Local rules in Franklin dictate how evidence must be presented to the judge. Professionals manage every administrative task to keep the case on track for a timely resolution. Clear guidance helps individuals avoid the trap of settling for less than they deserve out of exhaustion. Successful outcomes require a focus on long-term stability rather than immediate relief. Secure a qualified Franklin Divorce Lawyer to ensure every document meets local standards and protects personal wealth. Always update beneficiary designations on life insurance policies and retirement accounts immediately after the final judgment. This proactive step prevents a former spouse from receiving accidental windfalls. Professional advocacy simplifies the path toward a fresh start while maintaining financial integrity for the future.

The Do’s and Don’ts of Your First Year in Crypto: 10 Rules to Follow

The first year in crypto often feels unfamiliar and fast-paced for new participants. Many decisions appear technical at first glance, while price movement adds pressure to early choices. Clear rules help replace uncertainty with structure. A guided approach helps beginners move forward with clarity rather than confusion. A reliable Australian platform such as Swyftx plays a practical role during this stage by offering clear access and structured tools. This article outlines ten clear do’s and don’ts that shape disciplined habits in the first year. Each rule explains what to follow and what to avoid. The “Do’s”: 5 Rules to Build a Strong Foundation A disciplined allocation strategy limits the size of any single trade to a small fraction of the total balance. This rule ensures that a single market move does not impact the entire account. Consistency in this approach builds a sustainable habit for the long term. Practice environments offer a safe space to explore various features of a platform. Swyftx’s Demo Mode allows users to execute trades with mock funds in a live environment. This feature builds confidence as users see how orders work in real time. Dollar-cost averaging follows a fixed schedule for purchases. Equal amounts enter the market at regular intervals. This habit removes pressure from timing decisions. Many beginners prefer this method due to its simple framework. Attempting to predict price peaks and troughs often leads to frustration for a novice. Market timing requires constant attention and a high level of technical skill. In contrast, a steady schedule provides a calm path through market cycles. It allows a person to participate without the stress of daily price checks. This method rewards consistency over the course of the first year. Automation removes the manual effort from a regular purchase plan. Swyftx’s Recurring Orders feature handles these tasks on behalf of the user. Bitcoin and Ethereum provide clear use cases and established histories. Bitcoin digital currency serves as a store of value and is the original pioneer of the space. Ethereum introduces the concept of smart contracts and decentralized applications. A firm grasp of these two projects provides a clear context for the rest of the market. Safety measures act as a shield for a person’s digital wealth. Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds a vital layer of protection to an account. This proactive stance ensures that the focus remains on growth. A total refusal to sell can lead to missed opportunities for liquidity. Markets move in cycles, and prices do not stay at peaks indefinitely. A balanced approach involves a mix of long-term hold and periodic sales. This strategy provides a sense of accomplishment as the portfolio grows. Clear goals remove the guesswork from the decision to sell an asset. These targets provide a roadmap for the year ahead. They help a participant stay objective when the market becomes volatile. Australian tax rules require accurate records. Trade dates, amounts, and values matter. Clear documentation supports smooth reporting. Consistent tracking avoids confusion later. Swyftx offers comprehensive reports that track every transaction on the account. These documents export easily into formats that an accountant can use. This feature removes the burden of manual data entry for the user. The “Don’ts”: 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid This emotional response drives people to buy an asset after a large price jump. It stems from a desire to match the success of peers in the space. Online platforms often buzz with talk about the next big digital asset. Much of this talk lacks a basis in fundamental research or actual value. A person should verify all claims through independent study and reliable sources. Digital assets experience large price swings within very short time frames. These movements are a standard feature of the current market environment. Acceptance of this fact leads to a more relaxed approach to the market. Daily price charts often create a sense of urgency that is not helpful. A wider view of the market reveals a different perspective on price moves. Exchanges serve as the primary place for the trade and purchase of assets. Personal wallets allow a person to hold their own private keys and control their assets. Each option has a specific place in a well-rounded management plan. The move of assets to a private wallet is a significant step for a newcomer. This process involves the transfer of coins from an account to a personal address. This skill is easy to learn with a bit of practice and attention to detail. Each transaction on a platform carries a small cost in the form of a fee. These costs add up quickly when a person trades multiple times a day. Over a month, these fees can represent a large portion of the initial capital. A simple strategy with fewer moves is easier to manage and track. It allows a person to focus on the performance of a few key assets. This method reduces the chance of a mistake during the execution of a trade. Digital assets represent a shift in how the world views and moves value. A person should view their participation as a multi-year project. This mindset helps to weather the ups and downs of the early stages. The ability to wait is a rare and valuable trait in the modern world. Those who remain calm while others act on impulse often find the most success. Conclusion The first year in the world of digital assets is a period of immense discovery. Adherence to these ten rules provides a clear framework for a positive experience. A focus on education, security, and discipline leads to a solid foundation. Platforms such as Swyftx stand as a reliable partner for those who wish to explore this space with confidence. Success comes to those who prepare and act with a clear purpose in mind. Each rule serves as a guidepost on the path to a successful digital asset journey.

What was the secret sauce that allows for a faster restart of Windows 95 if you hold the shift key?

I totally forgot you could do this, but back in the Windows 9x days, you could hold down shift while clicking restart, and it would perform a sort-of “soft” restart without going through a complete reboot cycle. What’s going on here? The behavior you’re seeing is the result of passing the EW_RESTART­WINDOWS flag to the old 16-bit Exit­Windows function. What happens is that the 16-bit Windows kernel shuts down, and then the 32-bit virtual memory manager shuts down, and the CPU is put back into real mode, and control returns to win.com with a special signal that means “Can you start protected mode Windows again for me?” The code in win.com prints the “Please wait while Windows restarts…” message, and then tries to get the system back into the same state that it was in back when win.com had been freshly-launched. ↫ Raymond Chen There’s a whole lot more involved behind the curtains, of course, and if conditions aren’t right, the system will still perform a full reboot cycle. Chen further notes that because WIN.COM was written in assembly, getting back to that “freshly-launched” state wasn’t always easy to achieve. I only vaguely remember you could hold down shift and get a faster “reboot”, but I don’t remember ever really using it. I’ve been digging around in my memories since I saw this story yesterday, and I just can’t think of a scenario where I would’ve realised in time that I could do this.

The Xous operating system

Xous is a microkernel operating system designed for medium embedded systems with clear separation of processes. Nearly everything is implemented in userspace, where message passing forms the basic communications primitive. ↫ Xous website It’s written in Rust, and it’s been around for a while – so much so it’s sponsored by NLnet and the EU. The Xous Book provides a ton more details and information, with a strong focus on the kernel. You can run Xous in hosted mode on Linux, Windows, or macOS, inside the Renode emulator, or on the one supported hardware device, the Precursor. Obviously, the code’s open and on GitHub (which they should really be moving to a European solution now that the Americans are threatening the EU with war over Greenland).

“Light mode” should be “grey mode”

Have you noticed how it seems like how the “light mode” of your graphical user interface of choice is getting lighter over time? It turns out you’re not crazy, and at least for macOS, light mode has indeed been getting lighter. You can clearly see that the brightness of the UI has been steadily increasing for the last 16 years. The upper line is the default mode/light mode, the lower line is dark mode. When I started using MacOS in 2012, I was running Snow Leopard, the windows had an average brightness of 71%. Since then they’ve steadily increased so that in MacOS Tahoe, they’re at a full 100%. ↫ Will Richardson While this particular post only covers macOS, I wouldn’t be surprised to discover similar findings in Windows, GNOME, and KDE. The benefit of using KDE is that it’s at least relatively easy to switch colour schemes or themes, but changing colours in Windows is becoming a hidden feature, and GNOME doesn’t support it out of the box at all, and let’s not even get started about macOS. I think “light mode” should be “grey mode”, and definitely lament the lack of supported, maintained “grey modes” in both KDE and GNOME. There’s a reason that graphical user interfaces in the era of extensive science-based human-computer interaction research opted for soft, gentle greys (ooh, aah, mmm), and I’m convinced we need to bring it back. The glaring whites we use today are cold and clinical, and feel unpleasant to the point where I turn down the brightness of my monitor in a way that makes other colours feel too muted. Or perhaps I’m out of touch.

A lament for Aperture

I’m not particularly interested in photo editing or management, professional or not, but one thing I do know is that many people who are miss one application in particular: Aperture. Discontinued over a decade ago, people still lament its loss, and Daniel Kennett explains to us layman why that’s the case. Aperture’s technical brilliance is remarkable in how quiet it is. There’s no BEHOLD RAINBOW SPARKLE ANIMATIONS WHILE THE AI MAKES AUNT JANICE LOOK LIKE AN ANTHROPOMORPHISED CARROT, just an understated dedication to making the tool you’re using work for you in exactly the way you want to work. It’s the kind of monumental engineering effort that the user is unlikely to ever notice, simply because of how obvious it is to use — if I want to zoom in to this photo, I point at it with the zoom thing. Duh. Sure, it’s a tiny thumbnail inside a small thumbnail of a page in a book… but how else would it work? And that is why Aperture was so special. It was powered by some of the most impressive technology around at the time, but you’d never even know it because you were too busy getting shit done. ↫ Daniel Kennett I half-expected to get some wishy-washy vibes-based article about some professional photo management tool, but instead, I came away easily and clearly understanding what made Aperture such a great tool. Beng able to access any set of tools wherever you are, without having to take a photo to a certain specific place in the user interface makes perfect sense to me, and the given counterexample from the modern Photos application instantly feels cumbersome and grating. At this point it’s clear Aperture’s never coming back, but I’m rather surprised nobody seems to have taken the effort to clone it. It seems there’s a market out there for something like this, but from what I gather Lightroom isn’t what Aperture fans are looking for, and any other alternatives are simply too limited or unpolished. There’s a market here, for sure. What other alternatives to Aperture exist today?

You can apparently use Windows 7’s compositor in GNOME, and vice versa – or something

There’s cursed computing, and then there’s cursed computing. It turns out that you can render GNOME’s windows with the compositor from Windows 7, dwm.exe. Yes. tl;dr of how this clusterfuck works: this is effectively just x11 forwarding an x server from windows to linux. the fun part is a) making gnome run with an already existing window manager (namely dwm.exe lol), b) making gnome run over x11 forwarding (it is Not a fan, last time it tried running gnome on windows this is what broke it and made it quit trying), and c) actually ripping out parts of the gnome compositor again to make dwm instead of gnome render window decorations to achieve ✨️aero gnome✨️ ↫ ⬡-49016 at Mastodon This is already one of the most cursed things I’ve ever seen, but then things got so much worse. How about Windows 7’s dwm.exe, but composited by GNOME? I need an adult.

Fun things to do with your VM/370 machine

Virtualisation is a lot older than you might think, with (one of?) the first implementation(s) being IBM’s VM/CMS, the line of operating systems that would grow to include things like System/370, System/390, all the way up until IBM/Z, which is still being developed and sold today; only recently IBM released the IBM z17 and z/OS 3.2, after all. The VM series of operating systems is designed exclusively for mainframes, and works by giving every user their own dedicated virtual machine running on top of the Control Program, the hypervisor. Inside this virtual machine the user can run a wide variety of operating systems, from the simple, single-user classics like IBM’s Conversational Monitor System, to more complex systems like Linux or AIX. Early versions of VM were released as open source and are now in the public domain, and enthusiasts have continued to build upon it and expand it, with the latest incarnations being the VM/370 Community Edition releases. They contain the Control Program and Conversational Monitor System, augmented by various fixes, improvements, and other additions. You can run VM in an emulator like Hercules, and continue on from there – but what, exactly, can you do with it? That’s where Fun things to do with your VM/370 machine comes in. This article will give you an introduction to the system, and a number of first and later steps you can take while exploring this probably alien environment. If you’ve always dreamt of using an early IBM mainframe, this is probably the easiest way to do so, because buying one is a really, really bad idea.

ChaosBSD: a FreeBSD fork to serve as a driver testing ground

ChaosBSD is a fork of FreeBSD. It exists because upstream cannot, and should not, accept broken drivers, half-working hardware, vendor trash, or speculative hacks. We can. ↫ ChaosBSD GitHub page This is an excellent approach to testing drivers that simply aren’t even remotely ready to be included in FreeBSD-proper. It should be obvious that this is not, in any way, meant to be used as a production operating system, as it will contain things that are broken and incomplete on purpose. The name’s also pretty great.

How to write modern and effective Java

This is a book intended to teach someone the Java language, from scratch. You will find that the content makes heavy use of recently released and, for the moment, preview features. This is intentional as much of the topic ordering doesn’t work without at least Java 21. ↫ Modern Java GitHub page Some light reading for the weekend. This sure is one hell of a detailed book.

Easily explore current Wayland protocols and their support status

Since Wayland is still quite new to a lot of people, it’s often difficult to figure out which features the Wayland compositor you’re using actually supports. While the Wayland Explorer is a great way to browse through the various protocols and their status in various compositors, there’s now an easier way. The Wayland protocols table makes it very easy to see what your favourite compositor supports, which compositors support the protocol you really want supported before leaving X11 behind, and much more. Roughly speaking, there’s a set of stable core Wayland protocols, as well as a slew of unstable core Wayland protocols that are still in development, but may already be supported by various compositors. On top of that, compositors themselves also have a ton of protocols they themselves introduced and support, but which aren’t supported by anything else – yet, as they may be picked up by other compositors and eventually become part of Wayland’s core protocols. Keeping tabs on specific protocols and their support status is mostly only interesting for developers and people with very specific needs, since mature compositors provide a complete set of features most users never have to worry about. Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t really cool features cooking, nor does it mean that one specific accessibility-related protocol isn’t incredibly important to keep track of. These websites provide an easy way to do so.

OpenBSD-current now runs as guest under Apple Hypervisor

Excellent news for OpenBSD users who are tied to macOS: you can now run OpenBSD using Apple’s Hypervisor. Following a recent series of commits by Helg Bredow and Stefan Fritsch, OpenBSD/arm64 now works as a guest operating system under the Apple Hypervisor. ↫ Peter N. M. Hansteen at the OpenBSD Journal If you have an M1 or M2 Mac and want to get rid of macOS entirely, OpenBSD can be run on those machines natively, too.

Going immutable on macOS

Speaking of NixOS’ use of 9P, what if you want to, for whatever inexplicable reason, use macOS, but make it immutable? Immutable Linux distributions are getting a lot of attention lately, and similar concepts are used by Android and iOS, so it makes sense for people stuck on macOS to want similar functionality. Apple doesn’t offer anything to make this happen, but of course, there’s always Nix. And I literally do mean always. Only try out Nix if you’re willing to first be sucked into a pit of despair and madness before coming out enlightened on the other end – I managed to only narrowly avoid this very thing happening to me last year, so be advised. Nix is no laughing matter. Anyway, yes, you can use Nix to make macOS immutable. But managing a good working environment on macOS has long been a game of “hope for the best.” We’ve all been there: a curl | sh here, a manual brew install there, and six months later, you’re staring at a broken PATH and a Python environment that seems to have developed its own consciousness. I’ve spent a lot of time recently moving my entire workflow into a declarative system using nix. From my zsh setup to my odin toolchain, here is why the transition from the imperative world of Homebrew to the immutable world of nix-darwin has been both a revelation and a fight. ↫ Carette Antonin Of course it’s been a fight – it’s Nix, after all – but it’s quite impressive and awesome that Nix can be used in this way. I would rather discover what electricity from light sockets tastes like than descend into this particular flavour of Nix madness, but if you’re really sick of macOS being a pile of trash for – among a lot of other things – homebrew and similar bolted-on systems held together by duct tape and spit, this might be a solution for you.

Fun fact: there’s Plan 9 in Windows and QEMU

If you’re only even remotely aware of the operating system Plan 9, you’ll most likely know that it takes the UNIX concept of “everything is a file” to the absolute extreme. In order to make sure all these files – and thus the components of Plan 9 – can properly communicate with one another, there’s 9P, or the Plan 9 Filesystem Protocol. Several Plan 9 applications are 9P file servers, for instance, and even things like windows are files. It’s a lot more complicated than this, of course, but that’s not relevant right now. Since Plan 9 wasn’t exactly a smashing success that took the operating system world by storm, you might not be aware that 9P is actually implemented in a few odd places. My favourite is how Microsoft turned to 9P for a crucial feature of its Windows Subsystem for Linux: accessing files inside a Linux VM running on Windows. To put it briefly: a 9P protocol file server facilitates file related requests, with Windows acting as the client. We’ve modified the WSL init daemon to initiate a 9P server. This server contains protocols that support Linux metadata, including permissions. A Windows service and driver that act as the client and talks to the 9P server (which is running inside of a WSL instance). Client and server communicate over AF_UNIX sockets, since WSL allows interop between a Windows application and a Linux application using AF_UNIX as described in this post. ↫ Craig Loewen at Microsoft’s Dev Blogs This implementation is still around today, so if you’re using Windows Subsystem for Linux, you’re using a little bit of Plan 9 as glue to make it all come together. Similarly, if you’re using QEMU and sharing files between the host and a VM through the VirtFS driver, you’re also using 9P. Both NixOS and GNU Guix use 9P when they build themselves inside a virtual machine, too, and there’s probably a few other places where you can run into 9P. I don’t know, I thought this was interesting.

Just the Browser: scripts to remove all the crap from your browser

Are you a normal person and thus sick of all the nonsensical, non-browser stuff browser makers keep adding to your browser, but for whatever reason you don’t want to or cannot switch to one of the forks of your browser of choice? Just the Browser helps you remove AI features, telemetry data reporting, sponsored content, product integrations, and other annoyances from desktop web browsers. The goal is to give you “just the browser” and nothing else, using hidden settings in web browsers intended for companies and other organizations. This project includes configuration files for popular web browsers, documentation for installing and modifying them, and easy installation scripts. Everything is open-source on GitHub. ↫ Just The Browser’s website It comes in the form of scripts for Windows, Linux, or macOS, and can be used for Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox. It’s all open source so you can check the scripts for yourself, but there are also manual guides for each browser if you’re not too keen on running an unknown script. The changes won’t be erased by updates, unless the specific settings and configuration flags used are actually removed or altered by the browser makers. That’s all there’s to it – a very straightforward tool.

Haiku’s 6th beta is getting closer, but you really don’t need to wait if you want to try Haiku

Despite December being the holiday month, Haiku’s developers got a lot of things done. A welcome addition for those of us who regularly install Haiku on EFI systems is a tool in the installer that will copy the EFI loader to the EFI system partition, so fewer manual steps are needed on EFI systems. Support for touchpads from Elantech has also been improved, and the FreeBSD driver compatibility layer and all of its Ethernet and WiFi drivers have been updated to match the recent FreeBSD 15 release. Of course, there’s also the usual long list of smaller fixes, improvements, and changes. As for a new release milestone, beta 6 seems to be on the way. Not quite. There has been some discussion on the mailing list as the ticket list gets smaller, but there’s still at least some more regressions that need to be fixed. But it looks like we’ll be starting the release process in the next month or two, most likely… ↫ Haiku’s December 2025 activity report To be fair, though, Haiku’s nightly releases are more than able to serve their duties, and waiting for a specific release if you’re interested in trying out Haiku is really not needed. Just grab the latest nightly, follow the installation instructions, and you’re good to go. The operating system supports updating itself, so you’ll most likely won’t need to reinstall nightlies all the time.