Rick's b.log - entry 2025/10/12

Hey, Rick, where's RISC OS?

Firstly, getting hold of a machine to run Linux. My "daily driver" (ugh, I loathe that phrase) used to be a combination of RISC OS and Android for the many things RISC OS cannot do.

Well, after a period of adjustment to the ins and outs of a new system, while Linux is far from perfect (the audio has died on me again, and wasn't even nice enough to blather to the system log so I could find out why) it does all the things that Windows 10 could do, only better. Suffice to say, it's now my "daily driver". I am writing this in GEdit, not Zap, and it gets put on the server using Firefox, not NetSurf, and the pictures were edited using GIMP and not whatever I'd have done with RISC OS (probably a mix of Paint, PhotoDesk, and ChangeFSI; though a fair bit of tidying up is done directly on my phone to minimise what needs done using a computer - because PhotoDesk is powerful but its UI is arcane).

Secondly, I don't see RISC OS going anywhere. Sorry, but that's the truth of it. There has been talk, lots of talk, about 64 bit and this is the new focus. The ridiculous list of outstanding issues (to name three: proper adoption of VFP, Bluetooth (anything), those other unused cores) have been pushed aside in order to think about how to 64bitify the OS.
Meanwhile there are bounties for fixing up the aging network stack (and paying to attention to it being done by somebody else), tarting up Paint which had barely been touched since forever, and fixing the equally aging filesystem...there doesn't really seem to be anything that resembles a coherent plan.

At any rate, there's a lot that modern 32 bit machines offer that RISC OS simply ignores. Take, for instance, supporting any kind of modern printer. There's AirPrint/IPP support by Dave Higton, a third party who is scratching a personal itch (and realising what a mess Printers is). Official RISC OS support for anything recent enough to not have a parallel port attached? <sounds of crickets>

None of those three things I mentioned even had a bounty, neither did decent printing support, so anything that has happened were other people going off in their own directions; I think Jeffrey Lee (I haven't seen him around in a while?) did some work on allowing access to other cores but I don't think it made it as far as being a thing people could use (for so many technical reasons).

Anyway, now, with 64 bit being the prime focus, it looks like if it ever happens, we'll end up with something largely similar to what exists now, only slightly shinier and unable to run most of the software; but most importantly with all of the limitations and omissions that currently exist. So - one step forward and two steps back.

I still use RISC OS a little bit. My Tea application tells me what is on TV so I can set a schedule. But, well, that's about it for the time being. I haven't abandoned RISC OS, I've simply found something that works better for me and, well, it isn't RISC OS.

This machine that I'm using now is a Linux laptop and I'm sitting outside in the sun to write this. I have Google Calendar integration, a standards compliant browser with plenty of privacy add-ons, streaming (radio, YouTube, Netflix (in browser)), a clipboard manager with memory (one of the best things about recent versions of Android), and a set of tools that... okay, Gnome Edit isn't as nice as Zap and seems somewhat flaky (not that Zap didn't randomly die), but it gets the job done (most of the time).
Anyway, serendipity found me this old Asus machine which needed to run Linux because it wasn't up to dealing with Windows 10 properly, which introduced me to all the things RISC OS lacks.

PS: I do still bugfix my software - if you find a bug, email me!

Piggy bank

Pig is getting full.

Because counting all of the coins was a pain, I put them into bags marked with amounts.

This is unusually organised for me.

I don't put much in piggy any more because, well, because I don't pay for things with cash much these days. But it's useful to have a small cash stash just in case.

Defective ladybird

Well, the one ambling around on the table was either asleep or dossing off when it came time for the dot assignment, because this beetle identifies as spotless.

Ironically: this is my pet ladybird "Spot".

Aside: Speaking of beetles and education, Ladybird books taught me to read.

Fridge noises

If it sounds like this, don't panic.

I can have fibre!

It's only fifteen months late...

It says: We are pleased to announce that more than 70% of the homes in your municipality can already subscribe to fibre optic thanks to the public network of Breton communities.
Fibre optic is the guarantee of a fast, reliable connection, adapted to all your expectations.

Just imagine how much money they could have saved if they posted this out to the homes without a fibre subscription. Because, you know, mine was done over a year ago.

🤷

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RISC OS lover, 13th October 2025, 11:25

Bye. You won't be missed.

Rick, 13th October 2025, 14:07

Gee, thanks. 😐

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