X11 is supposed to be dead, but people keep using it because apparently it still works. I have a plan to fix this so everyone does what I want.

It all starts with a popular toolkit library like QTK. Even if people don’t upgrade X11, if they run a browser, they’re on the upgrade treadmill.

I change the internal pixel representation from RGB to BGR and adjust the Wayland backend, but not the X11 backend because that’s community supported.

I am confused when bug reports start coming in. Weird colors on X11? Doesn’t surprise me, there’s tons of weirdness in that pile of jank. Works for me in Wayland, you should try it.

Somebody will figure it out and submit a patch. I’m sorry, but we have a release scheduled and we can’t merge anything that may cause further regressions, even though it only changes x11.c. Are we sure this is even the correct fix? Have you tested with a Voodoo2 card?

This is the internet, so after sufficient slow walking, someone is bound to say something unpleasant on the tracker. I write a blog post outlining how not only is X11 support a burden on developers, it’s literally unsafe. Just look at these death threats.

I commit the fix with a lengthy commit message fanfic story about frogs and scorpions and the Jem’Hadar.

I revert the BGR change back to RGB pixels. I write another blog post expressing regret about the lack of progress and alluding to all the cool things that would have been possible, if only we weren’t held back by legacy platform support. No need for details, people will get the message.

Users start reporting bugs on X11. Weird colors on X11? Again? How many times do we need to fix this crap? We need to get people off of X11, whatever it takes.

I devise a plan to kill X11.

Back in the olden times, software was hard to build and hard to use, but remarkable improvements have been made, and entire ecosystems of ergonomic languages are now available. I happen to think the old ways still have some merit, but don’t want to spend all my time staring at the cave walls.

more...

Big Stomper is out to get you. Better watch what you say, or you’ll get stomped.

Of course, they won’t admit to stomping you. They’ll even deny it. Make it look like an accident or natural causes, an unfortunate rockslide. But you’ll be stomped just the same. All for speaking out about their misdeeds.

Not everyone believes Big Stomper is even responsible, but I hang out on the Stomp Watch forum, where we catalog and discuss the evil things Big Stomper is up to. So we know that when something bad happens, Big Stomper is to blame. Sometimes we debate if the stomping is carried out in house, or contracted out, but we are all agreed that the murky lack of evidence is a clear sign that professionals are involved. These are not amateur stompers.

Because I know what Big Stomper is capable of, it would be irresponsible not to warn you what happens to anyone who reveals their secrets. Everyone at Stomp Watch would love to discuss your revelations, but you need to know that you will definitely get stomped. Big Stomper does this to dissuade future leakers.

Some people (there’s always that “someone” on the internet, right?) will tell that it’s safe to come forward, these are just rumors and wild speculation. Well, they’re not the ones risking their lives, are they? Anyone inside Big Stomper who feels obligated to disclose the truth should come check out Stomp Watch first to know the risks.

Memory leaks have plagued C programs for as long as the language has existed. Many solutions have been proposed, even going so far as to suggest we should rewrite C programs in other languages. But there’s a better way.

Presented here is a simple solution that will eliminate the memory leaks from every C program. Link this into your program, and memory leaks are a thing of the past.

#include <dlfcn.h>
#include <stdio.h>

struct leaksaver {
        struct leaksaver *next;
        void *pointer;
} *bigbucket;

void *
malloc(size_t len)
{
        static void *(*nextmalloc)(size_t);
        nextmalloc = dlsym(RTLD_NEXT, "malloc");
        void *ptr = nextmalloc(len);
        if (ptr) {
                struct leaksaver *saver = nextmalloc(sizeof(*saver));
                saver->pointer = ptr;
                saver->next = bigbucket;
                bigbucket = saver;
        }
        return ptr;
}

It is now entirely optional to call free. If you don’t call free, memory usage will increase over time, but technically, it’s not a leak. As an optimization, you may choose to call free to reduce memory, but again, strictly optional.

Problem sovled!

Here at Enterprising Enterprise, we love technology, but we’re also pushing it hard, constantly trying to expand the frontier of what’s possible. Along the way, we frequently find we’ve outgrown an earlier technology choice, and it’s time for us to migrate to something new. There’s a cost to doing this, but it’s the only way to keep moving forward.

more...

My Windows desktop has a Threadripper CPU with a few cores. Maybe I could I get a bit more utilization out of it with virtualization. Or maybe, given the frequency with which attacks target Windows, I could use virtualization to increase security. Let’s see how that goes.

more...

Some people write blog posts. Some people read blog posts. Sometimes readers find that the writers do not explain everything they expected to be explained. I typically prefer to write about things other than my own writing, but occasionally there are exceptions.

more...

I’ve been paying a bit more attention than usual to web interfaces, and there’s a few examples which really get to me. GitHub is one that’s annoyed me for a while, but I didn’t quite know what was wrong until I looked at some screenshots to see what was frustrating me.

more...

But what about screen readers, you ask. Somebody did a web thing you don’t like. Doesn’t this break screen readers?

It seems the easy way to find out would be to test. But that requires caring about screen reader usability enough to actually have one on hand to test. Much easier to wag fingers. Screen readers are the starving children of web accessibility arguments. Why don’t you care about the starving children?

It’s borrowing somebody else’s concerns to score internet points. Oh, hi, I just wanted to try this on and post a few comments, you can have it back now. Thanks. I wouldn’t want to have to think about this all the time.

Configuring an HP laptop, came across this gem.

I like that I get a choice, but is it really necessary to tack on a $2 fee? If I have to choose one or the other, maybe just include it in the listed price? I thought airlines were bad...

Possibly related to this great option:

It’s a tough choice, but somebody has to make it. And pay $22 for the privilege.