In 2004, a blogger explored creating a striped RAID array using four USB floppy drives under OS X. Driven by curiosity and a desire for slightly faster floppy access, they used the then-available Disk Utility to create a RAID 0 set. While the resulting "RAID" technically worked and offered a minor performance boost over a single floppy, the setup was complex, prone to errors due to the floppies' unreliability, and ultimately impractical. The author concluded the experiment was more of a fun exploration of system capabilities than a genuinely useful storage solution.
Chad Bibler has created Uppercut, a new native application specifically designed for older PowerPC Macs running Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) and 10.5 (Leopard). Focusing on modern web browsing, Uppercut uses WebKit2 to provide a more secure and up-to-date browsing experience on these legacy systems. While acknowledging the limitations of the aging hardware, the app aims to offer a viable way to access current websites on these vintage machines.
HN commenters generally praised the Uppercut app for its clean design and focus on essential features, seeing it as a refreshing alternative to overly complex modern software. Some questioned the long-term viability of supporting such an old OS, while others reminisced about the simplicity of older macOS versions. Several users suggested potential improvements, including adding syntax highlighting for more languages and incorporating Git integration. The developer responded to several comments, clarifying design choices and acknowledging feature requests. A few commenters expressed concerns about the app's name potentially confusing it with the existing Uppercut vector graphics editor.
Summary of Comments ( 7 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43699301
Hacker News users reacted with a mix of nostalgia and amusement to the 2004 article about creating a striped RAID array from USB floppy drives. Several commenters reminisced about the era's slow transfer speeds and the impracticality of the setup, highlighting the significant advancements in storage technology since then. Some appreciated the ingenuity and "mad science" aspect of the project, while others questioned its real-world usefulness. A few pointed out the potential data integrity issues with floppy disks, making the RAID setup even less reliable. The dominant sentiment was one of lighthearted appreciation for a bygone era of computing.
The Hacker News post titled "USB Floppy Disk Striped RAID Under OS X (2004)" links to a archived blog post about creating a striped RAID array using USB floppy drives. The discussion on Hacker News is fairly brief, consisting of only a few comments, and doesn't delve deeply into the technical aspects.
One commenter expresses amusement and nostalgia, calling it "peak 2000s," highlighting the era's fascination with pushing the boundaries of then-current technology, even if the results were impractical. They also mention how the project embodies the hacker spirit of playful experimentation.
Another comment points out the absurdity of the setup in terms of performance, noting that the combined throughput of multiple floppy drives would still be incredibly slow compared to even a single hard drive of the time. This comment underscores the impracticality of the project while still acknowledging the ingenuity and entertainment value.
Finally, a commenter reminisces about the era of modifying and experimenting with hardware, contrasting it with the more locked-down nature of modern devices. This comment adds a layer of reflection on how technology has evolved and the changing landscape of user involvement with hardware.
In summary, the comments are primarily focused on the nostalgic and humorous aspects of the original blog post, reflecting on the ingenuity and sometimes impractical nature of early 2000s tech experimentation. There is no substantial technical discussion or debate in the comments.