When I was first used Linux on the desktop, I wasn't using X11. Instead,
I was using the console.

The students I worked with would harangue me mercilessly to
"get on X", and finally, I did.

After making sure I had a good mode for my monitor, I ran "startx"
and -- armed with one of the O'Reilly nutshell
manuals -- I spent a weekend configuring X resources,
as well as my desktop. I think I was using fvwm, so
this would have been after June of 1993.

My xterm background color was "PeachPuff". (I figured it
looked like parchment.) #FFDAB9 .[*]

Anyway, it has now been many years since I've looked at X resources.
Sometimes Unix knowledge goes to waste...

[*] I remember rgb.txt using the hex color specifications, but they are
now listed in decimal:

$ grep PeachPuff /usr/share/X11/rgb.txt
255 218 185 PeachPuff
255 218 185 PeachPuff1
238 203 173 PeachPuff2
205 175 149 PeachPuff3
139 119 101 PeachPuff4

--
-v System76 Thelio Mega v1.1 x86_64 NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti
OS: Linux 6.11.0-rc2 Release: Mint 21.3 Mem: 258G

On 14 Aug 2024 08:07:10 GMT, vallor wrote:

> When I was first used Linux on the desktop, I wasn't using X11.
> Instead, I was using the console.

I was using actual official Unix systems, with X11-based GUIs, before I
ever heard of Linux: Sun SPARC running SunOS/Solaris, DEC Alpha running
OSF/1, even a bit of IBM AIX (shudder).

On Wed, 14 Aug 2024 08:57:15 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence D'Oliveiro
<ldo@nz.invalid> wrote in <v9hrhb$csca$7@dont-email.me>:

> On 14 Aug 2024 08:07:10 GMT, vallor wrote:
>
>> When I was first used Linux on the desktop, I wasn't using X11.
>> Instead, I was using the console.
>
> I was using actual official Unix systems, with X11-based GUIs, before I
> ever heard of Linux: Sun SPARC running SunOS/Solaris, DEC Alpha running
> OSF/1, even a bit of IBM AIX (shudder).

We had an HP9000/835 running HPUX 8, which was replaced
with an HP9000 'K' series running HPUX 10.

My biz partner managed a (ADN WAN) network of AIX systems before
we went into business together. I seem to remember something called
"smit"...

--
-v System76 Thelio Mega v1.1 x86_64 NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti
OS: Linux 6.11.0-rc2 Release: Mint 21.3 Mem: 258G

On 2024-08-14, vallor <vallor@cultnix.org> wrote:
> When I was first used Linux on the desktop, I wasn't using X11. Instead,
> I was using the console.
>
> The students I worked with would harangue me mercilessly to
> "get on X", and finally, I did.
>
> After making sure I had a good mode for my monitor, I ran "startx"
> and -- armed with one of the O'Reilly nutshell
> manuals -- I spent a weekend configuring X resources,
> as well as my desktop. I think I was using fvwm, so
> this would have been after June of 1993.
>
> My xterm background color was "PeachPuff". (I figured it
> looked like parchment.) #FFDAB9 .[*]
>
> Anyway, it has now been many years since I've looked at X resources.
> Sometimes Unix knowledge goes to waste...
>
> [*] I remember rgb.txt using the hex color specifications, but they are
> now listed in decimal:
>
> $ grep PeachPuff /usr/share/X11/rgb.txt
> 255 218 185 PeachPuff
> 255 218 185 PeachPuff1
> 238 203 173 PeachPuff2
> 205 175 149 PeachPuff3
> 139 119 101 PeachPuff4
>

I came much later, September 2000, and started with GNOME! Though I've
settled on using FVWM now.

That PeachPuff background would have burned your eyes. I prefer
something far more darker.

On 14 Aug 2024 09:57:14 GMT, vallor wrote:

> My biz partner managed a (ADN WAN) network of AIX systems before we went
> into business together. I seem to remember something called "smit"...

Ah, smit...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMWSD69BWqI

On 14 Aug 2024 08:07:10 GMT, vallor wrote:

> My xterm background color was "PeachPuff". (I figured it looked like
> parchment.) #FFDAB9 .[*]

Good choice. I still use black on some sort of yellowish background. I
think my taste goes back to the days when an amber monitor was really
styling.

rbowman wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> On 14 Aug 2024 08:07:10 GMT, vallor wrote:
>
>> My xterm background color was "PeachPuff". (I figured it looked like
>> parchment.) #FFDAB9 .[*]
>
> Good choice. I still use black on some sort of yellowish background. I
> think my taste goes back to the days when an amber monitor was really
> styling.

In my terminals I'm currently using green on blacks (plus DIRCOLORS and vim
syntax highlighting).

For a long time I liked a yellowish font on dark green, like the blackboards
and chalk at the university.

I'm more worried about the "strawberry blond" man with the loud tie:

--
Beware of a dark-haired man with a loud tie.

On 14 Aug 2024 09:57:14 GMT, vallor wrote:

> My biz partner managed a (ADN WAN) network of AIX systems before we went
> into business together. I seem to remember something called "smit"...

Yup. Basically, on an AIX system, /etc seemed to be largely for show: most
of the important config settings were hidden away in a proprietary
database somewhere, and smit was how you were supposed to manage it.

That’s the kind of thing you can get away with, and still officially call
yourself “Unix” ...

On Wed, 14 Aug 2024 13:00:00 -0000 (UTC), Borax Man wrote:

> That PeachPuff background would have burned your eyes.

You must have real trouble reading black text on white paper.

On Wed, 14 Aug 2024 17:02:06 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:

> For a long time I liked a yellowish font on dark green, like the
> blackboards and chalk at the university.

Again different generation. In my day blackboards were black and chalk was
white. Yellow chalk was for art class.

I do dislike 'dark mode' intensely. Good news! We've implemented dark mode
on xxxx!!!' Admittedly our apps do have a night mode but that's designed
for a laptop in a police cruiser where you trade legibility for a bright,
distracting light source in the car.

rbowman wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> On Wed, 14 Aug 2024 17:02:06 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:
>
>> For a long time I liked a yellowish font on dark green, like the
>> blackboards and chalk at the university.
>
> Again different generation. In my day blackboards were black and chalk was
> white. Yellow chalk was for art class.
>
> I do dislike 'dark mode' intensely. Good news! We've implemented dark mode
> on xxxx!!!' Admittedly our apps do have a night mode but that's designed
> for a laptop in a police cruiser where you trade legibility for a bright,
> distracting light source in the car.

I love dark mode! If I wanted glare I'd mount a klieg light on my laptop.

I heard a story once about a cyclist who would flip on a klieg light or the
equivalent when somebody flipped high beams on him. Sick!

--
Don't get stuck in a closet -- wear yourself out.

On 2024-08-14, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
> On Wed, 14 Aug 2024 13:00:00 -0000 (UTC), Borax Man wrote:
>
>> That PeachPuff background would have burned your eyes.
>
> You must have real trouble reading black text on white paper.

Not really, but on screens I've always preferred light text on dark
background.

Then again, I tried the PeachPuff background when I read your post in a
dark room, so it wasn't the best place to suddenly expose ones eyes to
that!

On 2024-08-15, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 14 Aug 2024 17:02:06 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:
>
>> For a long time I liked a yellowish font on dark green, like the
>> blackboards and chalk at the university.
>
> Again different generation. In my day blackboards were black and chalk was
> white. Yellow chalk was for art class.
>
> I do dislike 'dark mode' intensely. Good news! We've implemented dark mode
> on xxxx!!!' Admittedly our apps do have a night mode but that's designed
> for a laptop in a police cruiser where you trade legibility for a bright,
> distracting light source in the car.

Dark mode is terrible on modern UI design, where everything is flat. It
can be hard to see what is what, and even before that fad, it was kind
of hard to get right. UI widgets, indicated by dark grey symbols on a
darker grey background.

At the moment, my GTK theme is Cyberhack, dark green background, cyanish
text, though I don't mind black on a grey background, like OneStepBack.

On Thu, 15 Aug 2024 12:07:15 -0000 (UTC), Borax Man wrote:

> On 2024-08-14, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
>> On Wed, 14 Aug 2024 13:00:00 -0000 (UTC), Borax Man wrote:
>>
>>> That PeachPuff background would have burned your eyes.
>>
>> You must have real trouble reading black text on white paper.
>
> Not really, but on screens I've always preferred light text on dark
> background.
>
> Then again, I tried the PeachPuff background when I read your post in a
> dark room, so it wasn't the best place to suddenly expose ones eyes to
> that!

I get to do unexpected A/B testing. I use my Fire HD 10 tablet mostly for
reading Kindle books, with black text on a white background. When the
charge gets down to 20% it automatically goes to white on black. I
immediately go to Settings for I can override the power saving mode until
I get it on a charger. I can read the white on black with no problem but I
don't like it.

I do agree when I wake up at 4AM and decide to read for a while the
glaring white tablet is a shock on my eyes until my pupils get with the
program.

On Thu, 15 Aug 2024 06:59:41 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom wrote:

> I heard a story once about a cyclist who would flip on a klieg light or
> the equivalent when somebody flipped high beams on him. Sick!

LED auxiliary lights are available for motorcycles that can burn the wings
off a mosquito at 100 yards. I've seriously considered installing a set.

I had a couple of cataract operations early this year and it's much
better. It was getting to the point where if someone was approaching with
HID lights I was flying blind for a while. Focusing on the shoulder for
reference helped but it wasn't great.

On 15 Aug 2024 19:52:31 GMT, rbowman wrote:

> I can read the white on black with no problem but I don't like it.

The smaller light areas need to be brighter to be more legible against a
dark background, and that tires your eyes quicker.

vallor <vallor@cultnix.org> wrote:

>When I was first used Linux on the desktop, I wasn't using X11. Instead,
>I was using the console.
>
>The students I worked with would harangue me mercilessly to
>"get on X", and finally, I did.
>
>After making sure I had a good mode for my monitor, I ran "startx"
>and -- armed with one of the O'Reilly nutshell
>manuals -- I spent a weekend configuring X resources,
>as well as my desktop. I think I was using fvwm, so
>this would have been after June of 1993.
>
>My xterm background color was "PeachPuff". (I figured it
>looked like parchment.) #FFDAB9 .[*]
>
>Anyway, it has now been many years since I've looked at X resources.
>Sometimes Unix knowledge goes to waste...
>
>[*] I remember rgb.txt using the hex color specifications, but they are
>now listed in decimal:
>
>$ grep PeachPuff /usr/share/X11/rgb.txt
>255 218 185 PeachPuff
>255 218 185 PeachPuff1
>238 203 173 PeachPuff2
>205 175 149 PeachPuff3
>139 119 101 PeachPuff4

One does appreciate the GUI.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.

On Wed, 14 Aug 2024 17:02:06 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom <OFeem1987@teleworm.us>
wrote in <v9j60e$j3mg$11@dont-email.me>:

> rbowman wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:
>
>> On 14 Aug 2024 08:07:10 GMT, vallor wrote:
>>
>>> My xterm background color was "PeachPuff". (I figured it looked like
>>> parchment.) #FFDAB9 .[*]
>>
>> Good choice. I still use black on some sort of yellowish background. I
>> think my taste goes back to the days when an amber monitor was really
>> styling.
>
> In my terminals I'm currently using green on blacks (plus DIRCOLORS and
> vim syntax highlighting).
>
> For a long time I liked a yellowish font on dark green, like the
> blackboards and chalk at the university.

Remembering PeachPuff led me on a foray into changing my normally white
background to something similar -- settled on "AntiqueWhite", which is
a bit lighter than PeachPuff.

--
-v System76 Thelio Mega v1.1 x86_64 NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti
OS: Linux 6.11.0-rc3 Release: Mint 21.3 Mem: 258G
"Oxymoron: Simple Technology."

On 16 Aug 2024 01:45:12 GMT, vallor <vallor@cultnix.org> wrote in
<li7p98F13buU2@mid.individual.net>:

> On Wed, 14 Aug 2024 17:02:06 -0400, Chris Ahlstrom
> <OFeem1987@teleworm.us>
> wrote in <v9j60e$j3mg$11@dont-email.me>:
>
>> rbowman wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:
>>
>>> On 14 Aug 2024 08:07:10 GMT, vallor wrote:
>>>
>>>> My xterm background color was "PeachPuff". (I figured it looked like
>>>> parchment.) #FFDAB9 .[*]
>>>
>>> Good choice. I still use black on some sort of yellowish background. I
>>> think my taste goes back to the days when an amber monitor was really
>>> styling.
>>
>> In my terminals I'm currently using green on blacks (plus DIRCOLORS and
>> vim syntax highlighting).
>>
>> For a long time I liked a yellowish font on dark green, like the
>> blackboards and chalk at the university.
>
> Remembering PeachPuff led me on a foray into changing my normally white
> background to something similar -- settled on "AntiqueWhite", which is a
> bit lighter than PeachPuff.

BTW, in my terminalrc, the color spec reads:

ColorBackground=#ffffebebdbdb

First time seeing 32-bits-per-channel colorspec. (96-bit
color) My video card doesn't support that, but I guess
some do.

--
-v System76 Thelio Mega v1.1 x86_64 NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti
OS: Linux 6.11.0-rc3 Release: Mint 21.3 Mem: 258G
"Don't read everything you believe."

On 16 Aug 2024 01:45:12 GMT, vallor wrote:

> Remembering PeachPuff led me on a foray into changing my normally white
> background to something similar -- settled on "AntiqueWhite", which is a
> bit lighter than PeachPuff.

Sigh... The Angular web app we did had three themes for the user's
enjoyment. I'm not color blind but I had a hard time telling 'kashmir
blue' from 'sea green'. No problem until I had to edit Esri css files to
make the map widgets follow the themes. Of course the css was all

background-color: #00aaad;
color: #ededed;

So off to the handy lookup charts only to find the standard version of
'kashmir blue' and 'sea green' didn't match for sour owl shit. Careful
inquiries to the other programmers on the project found that they might
have started as standard values they had been tweaked to display what the
company president thought they should look like.

The Konsole color scheme editor has a checkbox 'Randomly adjust colors for
each session'. I bet that would get me a pass to Warm Springs (Montana
State Mental Hospital) in short order.

On 16 Aug 2024 02:52:33 GMT, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote in
<li7t7hF1b01U5@mid.individual.net>:

> On 16 Aug 2024 01:45:12 GMT, vallor wrote:
>
>> Remembering PeachPuff led me on a foray into changing my normally white
>> background to something similar -- settled on "AntiqueWhite", which is
>> a bit lighter than PeachPuff.
>
> Sigh... The Angular web app we did had three themes for the user's
> enjoyment. I'm not color blind but I had a hard time telling 'kashmir
> blue' from 'sea green'. No problem until I had to edit Esri css files to
> make the map widgets follow the themes. Of course the css was all
>
> background-color: #00aaad;
> color: #ededed;
>
> So off to the handy lookup charts only to find the standard version of
> 'kashmir blue' and 'sea green' didn't match for sour owl shit. Careful
> inquiries to the other programmers on the project found that they might
> have started as standard values they had been tweaked to display what
> the company president thought they should look like.
>
> The Konsole color scheme editor has a checkbox 'Randomly adjust colors
> for each session'. I bet that would get me a pass to Warm Springs
> (Montana State Mental Hospital) in short order.

I don't think I'd deal well with random colors.

Here's what my terminal looks like now, with AntiqueWhite:

https://imgur.com/8hmAIIA

(Fiddled around with flex(1) last night, now I know
enough to be dangerous. :) )

--
-v System76 Thelio Mega v1.1 x86_64 NVIDIA RTX 3090 Ti
OS: Linux 6.11.0-rc3 Release: Mint 21.3 Mem: 258G
"Can't learn to do something well? Learn to enjoy doing it badly!"

On 16 Aug 2024 02:52:33 GMT, rbowman wrote:

> Of course the css was all
>
> background-color: #00aaad;
> color: #ededed;

Did you know CSS allows more intuitive ways of specifying colours?
<https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/CSS_colors/Color_values>

> The Konsole color scheme editor has a checkbox 'Randomly adjust colors
> for each session'.

I never noticed that before. ;)

On 16 Aug 2024 03:11:53 GMT, vallor wrote:

> Here's what my terminal looks like now, with AntiqueWhite:
>
> https://imgur.com/8hmAIIA

Not bad. It's a little pinker than what I prefer, or really less green.
#FAEBD7? There is the spectrum from that to light yellow (#FFFFE0) where
red is about maxxed out and green is getting there with a lot of blue too
before you get to #FFFFFF. Less green and you start getting coral and
salmon with red maxxed. Magenta is #FF00FF.

https://www.rapidtables.com/web/color/RGB_Color.html

I've never been good at picking colors. I'm not the only one. We did an
Android app before the Angular web app and the colors looked suspiciously
like India's flag. Not surprising since the boss was Indian.

> (Fiddled around with flex(1) last night, now I know enough to be
> dangerous. )

Are you starting with bison/yacc and a grammar or winging that part for
the lex/flex input? Beware of the dragons:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_Compiler_Design

http://www.retroprogramming.com/2010/03/threaded-interpretive-languages-
by-r-g.html

That's another book that can cause serious brain damage. FORTH requires a
bit of mental adjustment but you can bootsrtap in with a surprisingly
small amount of native assembler code.

On 16 Aug 2024 06:47:10 GMT, rbowman wrote:

> FORTH requires a bit of mental adjustment but you can bootsrtap in with
> a surprisingly small amount of native assembler code.

I had a look on GitHub once, for projects done in Forth. I found a lot of
people doing their own Forth implementations, but precious few instances
of it being used to actually implement anything.

Verdict: Forth belongs in a museum. What interesting characteristics it
does have are shared by PostScript anyway, which also adds some more
modern ideas of its own. If you want to create an updated stack-based
language, PostScript is a better basis to start from than Forth.

On 16 Aug 2024 02:14:08 GMT, vallor wrote:

>
> ColorBackground=#ffffebebdbdb
>
> First time seeing 32-bits-per-channel colorspec. (96-bit
> color) My video card doesn't support that, but I guess
> some do.
>

This is 48-bit color, i.e. 16 bits per channel.

X Window uses 48-bit color internally:

https://www.x.org/releases/X11R7.7/doc/libX11/libX11/libX11.html#RGB_Device_String_Specification