flaviomatani | Reading

A response to an HN comment...

The PC press had rumours of Quarterdeck's successor to DESQview, Desqview/X, from around 1987-1988.

That is roughly when I entered the computer industry.

Dv/X was remarkable tech, and if it had shipped earlier could have changed the course of the industry. Sadly, it came too late. Dv/X was rumoured then, but the state of the art was OS/2 1.1, released late 1988 and the first version of OS/2 with a GUI.

Dv/X was not released until about 5Y later... 1992. That's the same year as Windows 3.1, but critically, Windows 3.0 was in 1990, 2 years earlier.

Windows 3.0 was a result of the flop of OS/2 1.x.

OS/2 1.x was a new 16-bit multitasking networking kernel -- but that meant new drivers.

MS discarded the radical new OS, it discarded networking completely (until later), and moved the multitasking into the GUI layer, allowing Win3 to run on top of the single-tasking MS-DOS kernel. That meant excellent compatibility: it ran on almost anything, can it could run almost all DOS apps, and multitask them. And thanks to a brilliant skunkworks project, mostly by one man, David Weise, assisted by Murray Sargent, it combined 3 separate products (Windows 2, Windows/286 and Windows/386) into a single product that ran on all 3 types of PC and took good advantage of all of them. I wrote about its development here: https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/18/how_windows_got_to_v3...

It also did bring in some of the GUI design from OS/2 1.1, mainly from 1.2, and 1.3 -- the Program Manager and File Manager UI, the proportional fonts, the fake-3D controls, some of the Control Panel, and so on. It kept the best user-facing parts and threw away the fancy invisible stuff underneath which was problematic.

Result: smash hit, redefined the PC market, and when Dv/X arrived it was doomed: too late, same as OS/2 2.0, which came out the same year as Dv/X.

If Dv/X had come out in the late 1980s, before Windows 3, it could have changed the way the PC industry went.

Dv/X combined the good bits of DOS, 386 memory management and multitasking, Unix networking and Unix GUIs into an interesting value proposition: network your DOS PCs with Unix boxes over Unix standards, get remote access to powerful Unix apps, and if vendors wanted, it enabled ports of Unix apps to this new multitasking networked DOS.

In the '80s that could have been a contender. Soon afterwards it was followed by Linux and the BSDs, which made that Unix stuff free and ran on the same kit. That would have been a great combination -- Dv/X PCs talking to BSD or Linux servers, when those Unix boxes didn't really have useful GUIs yet.

Windows 3 offered a different deal: it combined the good bits of DOS, OS/2 1.x's GUI, and Windows 2.x into a whole that ran on anything and could run old DOS apps and new GUI apps, side by side.

Networking didn't follow until Windows for Workgroups which followed Windows 3.1. Only businesses wanted that, so MS postponed it. Good move.

First climbing experience, and after an hour of trying different walls Sophia made it to the top!
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I attended an Ambient Lit workshop at Voidspace and we were asked to take a walk and take notes and photos. I took a random card and it said “dog” on it.

–

I am a dog.

I walk through a puddle.

I sniff a bag of rubbish with a coffee cup in.

I am curious about a traffic cone.

I am looking at the road and pavement a lot. There's an intriguing drain cover, I look at the bottom of a bollard.

Another bag of rubbish I sniff at.

I see people waving their arms about and wonder about barking at them.

I walk past a flower on the pavement.

I am lingering longer.

I go up a narrow alleyway and end up at a dead end, so turn around.

I haven't seen any other dogs. I hope to.

An interesting Ironworks sign on the pavement.

A drain cover clonks as I walk over it.

There are no balls to chase.

I bark at some pigeons.

I sniff something on the ground.

I chase pigeons

I want to bark at the policemen.

The ground says Shallow.

I think I've found another dog! Woof! Woof!

I run away from my owner to get back to the theatre on time.

Sophia is watching the boys in the street have a water fight.
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The reason British people talk about the weather all the damn time is that two weeks ago I got hailed on, yesterday was hot enough that I sweated through my clothes, and today there's haar stopping me seeing more than 100m.

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micropost

It was a hot day and I went to Cousin Lane Stairs to start with and took my hiking pole this time to get over the boulders, which worked well, but I am still wary of the tide there as I haven't spent enough time there to know how long it's safe for.

The Banker pub just at the top of the stairs was busy with people enjoying the sunshine and their beers. One or two people sat on the foreshore for a bit, but I was the only person on the foreshore across the boulder, past Cannon Street railway bridge.

The first thing I found was a plastic card that had a sticker saying “Billy Hicks”.

I also found what looks like the top of a teapot, a few other sherds, and a little yellow bit, which was probably once part of a brick and is now perhaps a Thames potato.

My second location was near the Millennium Bridge and there were a few mudlarkers there. I watched a cormorant enjoying the water.

I picked up an oyster shell with a circular hole in it. I don’t usually pick up shells but I recently read that they may have been used as tiles.

I found a white sherd with a lion mark on it, a sherd with colourful flowers, and a yellow piece with a pie crust edge. I also found another brown star to go with my brown star collection.

“Have you found anything good?” I was asked as I reached the top of the stairs.

My third location was back to Blackfriars and it felt cooler as I walked across the bridge. There was a nice breeze and also some shade under the bridge.

It was nice to just walk along by the river, but then the thoughts came, too many thoughts. I guess that’s the thing with mudlarking - sometimes it clears my mind and I can just focus on the foreshore, and other times as I can’t distract myself by looking at a phone or anything, the thoughts pile on in.

On the top of the pile of bones was a plastic blue shoe, a Croc.

I found a piece of glass that says “PER” on it, which could perhaps once have said “SUPERIOR”.

I found a nice piece of combed slipware, that has a red outline.

I found some nice pebbles and another small black tile to go with my collection.

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mudlarking

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Wednesday involved no mudlarking, as the tide was too high, but I did walk along the river past Queenhithe, where you are definitely not allowed to mudlark. It is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and has the remains of an old dock there. There are signs beside it and a mosaic, but although I’d read the signs previously, I'd never paid too much attention to it.

I could see sherds and pipes and oyster shells on the foreshore from standing on the path beside it though.

The PLA map has Queenhithe marked in red, but intriguingly on their map, it looks like you could mudlark just to the side of it, or in front of it, if the tide was out enough. I would worry though that I wouldn't know where the line was between allowed and definitely not.

Last Friday ever of dropping her off at school and him off at nursery!

Off to the Highland Show this afternoon. Going to be 28 degrees, so we'll all probably burst into flames.
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A butterfly landed on a feather. A little egret flew away. The crows cawed loudly. And me? I was asked if I'd lost something.

I hadn't, of course, I was looking for sherds. Today's finds:

Last time I looked there, I found my first piece of pipe! I also found a sherd with "Maddock" on it, and I found out that John Maddock was a Stoke-on-Trent potter who started in 1830, and John Maddock & Sons continued until 1980.

Some more sherds, mostly blue and white:

I had read that it was possible to get onto the foreshore at Fishmonger’s Hall Wharf but when I got there, I found a ladder which I was reluctant to climb.

I peered over and could see people on the foreshore.

I walked along the river further, wondering if there was another way down, until I found steps outside the Banker pub. Cousin Lane Stairs according to Google Maps. They were decent steps and I headed down to the foreshore. To get to a further bit involved going underneath Cannon Street railway bridge and climbing over a few boulders and I used a soggy algae covered wall for balance. Next time I might take my hiking pole.

It was only about 20 minutes since low tide, but I felt unsure about how long it would remain accessible for. It didn't matter though that day as I didn't have time to linger.

I only picked up two sherds:

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mudlarking

Last night I saw Sparks for the first time.

Some back-and-forth was required at the outset - I bought an e-ticket from TicketBastard, which usually means a ticket sent by email that can be displayed on a device or printed. However, TicketBastard decided thay they mean mobile tickets, i.e. those that can only be used by displaying them on their official app on a smartphone on arrival at the venue. No screenshots, no printing (and no wifi at the venue). Contacting TicketBastard they said that there was no alternative, and that the venue wouldn't accept anything else. Hammersmith's box office were, in contrast, friendly, professional, and helpful, and said "no problem", which was a relief.

I'd forgotten just how steeply-raked the floor of Hammersmith was, at least until you reached the front quarter. At least they've got removeable seats now - I remember when it was all-seated, even seeing Megadeth in the early '90s. (Apparently the fixed seating was only replaced by the removeable seats in 2003.)

No support act, just doors at seven, and the headliners on at half eight, playing for an hour and forty-five minutes against a backdrop of colour-changing square LED frames, like a modernised 1980s Top Of The Pops set. The set was a good mix of songs from the new album and recognisable classics, and their eye for a catchy hook and chorus meant that singing along to the new songs wasn't a challenge. Sparks have been recording for longer than I've been alive, and first played the Apollo in 1974, and were as good at what they do as you'd expect, with a four-piece backing band, Ron dressed in black and scowling from behind his keyboard as is traditional, and Russell dancing about the stage in a red, white, and gold suit, swapping the jacket for a waistcoat partway through.

Opening with So May We Start, they continued with barely a pause through an eighteen-song set, briefly allowing Ron to get up from behind his keyboard to do vocals on Suburban Homeboy and to do a quick 'dance routine' during The Number One Song In Heaven. Russell's intro to Please Don't Fuck Up My World pointed out that it was even more relevant now than when originally released in 2020. Eventually they left the stage, but the backing band then reappeared, still towelling their heads and faces, and Russell and Ron returned for The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte and All That. There followed an impressive demonstration of mild embarrassment, as the band left, and the Maels stood on stage as the crowd clapped and cheered. It was obvious that they were waiting to leave the stage, but also that they didn't want to be rude and do so while the applause was still going strong. Eventually they were allowed to leave.

One advantage of gigs at Hammersmith is that the Capital Restuarant is open late and you can buy a lahmacun with salad for a few quid, which met the post-gig peckishness before heading home. (Another advantage is that, if I've got enough time, I can get there by tram and tube, avoiding the middle of London.)

(For full details of what they played, here's the setlist.)

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1. James Gunn Says the Movie Industry Is Dying Because Films Are Made Without Finished Scripts: (tags:movies writing )
2. EHRC backs down (somewhat) on single-sex toilets: (tags:transgender bigotry toilets uk lgbt )
3. MPs vote to decriminalise abortion for women in England and Wales: (tags:abortion England law GoodNews )
4. Orkney Islands Council ends investigation into leaving UK: (tags:UK Scotland independence Norway )

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I was going to visit the Thames Barrier and wanted to go mudlarking on the way, but didn't quite manage to.

I started at Woolwich - the first set of stairs I looked down were too muddy and the foreshore was similar. The second set, I walked down but they got muddier and I started slipping so turned back. A man saw me doing this and told me there were steps further on that would be better. We walked together to the steps but then found them padlocked.

The steps nearest to the Thames Barrier, outside the Hope & Anchor pub (now closed) seemed to be missing steps and also looked very slippery, so I gave them a miss too.

So mudlarking 19 did not happen that day, and instead the day after.

I headed to Rotherhithe and it was blissfully quiet, I was the only person on the foreshore.

I found a few pieces of shoe soles and picked one up, wondering if anyone had worn it or if it was just surplus.

I found some pottery sherds and a few pieces of glass, and a few bits of pipe.

I headed back up the steps.

“Are you okay?” a man asked after I'd taken my gloves off and wiped my nose.
“Yeah”, I said, nodding.
“Are you a tourist or you live around here?” he asked.
“Neither,” I replied, and he walked off before I could elaborate, seeming annoyed. Then he started cheering random joggers who were running past, who looked at him confused.

I headed to Limehouse after that and there were Canada Geese and goslings, and swans.

I found my first face! I am not sure who he is, although he looks familiar somehow. It may have been part of a Bellarmine jug.

I found quite a lot of sherds with words on:

“Oat” - A part of what looks like a small white pot that says “oat” on the bottom. It seems there was once a face cream called Oatine, so this little pot likely held that. It looks like Oatine was sold in the UK from 1905 to 1960s, but was most popular around the 1920s. Article I found on Oatine: Oatine: The food for the complexion.

“unt” - a small sherd with what looks like “unt” visible. The letter before could have been a “o” so perhaps it spelt county or mount?

“ho” - a sherd where most of the glaze has come off and all that is left looks like it spells “ho”.

Also glass shards with words on:

“ark” - this shard was obviously from Noah’s Ark.

“c.” - a nice letter c and a full stop, but whether the rest of the word was Isaac or maniac or automatic, I don't know.

“by” - possibly, or it could be “ry”, but I think it looks more like “by”.

One where they are obviously letters but what remains of them is too difficult for me to tell.

I found a terracotta coloured stone that looks like it has a little pink heart on it.

I found a button and a blue circle of glass with two holes, which could have been a button also but it could have been on a necklace, perhaps?

Limehouse finds are colourful!

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Storyteller: A Tanith Lee Tribute Anthology

Out in ebook and paperback on July 1. My story is "Data Ghost"

https://bookshop.org/p/books/storyteller-a-tanith-lee-tribute-anthology/a74b320486117220?ean=9798992595406&next=t

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/storyteller-a-tanith-lee-tribute-anthology?sId=e0bafab6-32a8-4ffb-9436-2dcda473349c

Edited by Julie C. Day, Carina Bissett, and Craig Laurance Gidney. Stories by Martha Wells, Andy Duncan, C.S.E. Cooney, Nisi Shawl, Mike Allen, Alaya Dawn Johnson, CL Hellisen, Maya Deane, Rocío Rincón Fernández, Theodora Goss, Getty Hesse, Starlene Justice, Amelia Mangan, Michael Yuya Montroy, Marisca Pichette, KT Wagner.

Sixteen new stories from some of today's most renowned authors. All inspired by the master storyteller Tanith Lee.

Drowning cities and unicorns. Burning deserts and forgotten gods. Golems, elf warriors, and inner-Earthers. Alien lifeforms and museum workers. Ancient plagues and the future of humanity. The familiar and the fantastical. Each story in this anthology is both unique and compelling: from fairy-tale retellings to romance-tinged high fantasy, from nihilistic horror to gripping science fiction. Immersive, wide-ranging, and sublime, Storyteller features worlds and characters that are sure to travel with you long after the last page has been read.

***

Short Story: "Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy" by Martha Wells

will be available on Reactor Magazine on July 10

Illustrated by Jaime Jones
Edited by Lee Harris

Perihelion and its crew embark on a dangerous new mission at a corporate-controlled station in the throes of a hostile takeover...

***

Summer of Science Fiction & Fantasy: Martha Wells in conversation with Kate Elliott

https://www.clarionwest.org/event/summer-of-science-fiction-fantasy-martha-wells-in-conversation-with-kate-elliott/

July 30 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm PDT

The Clarion West Summer Reading Series will be held virtually and streamed live over Zoom during the Six-Week Workshop.

Join us for our final event, a conversation between Martha Wells and Kate Elliott!

This event will begin with a conversation between Martha and Kate. There will be time to take questions from the audience. Participants will be able to submit questions in the webinar.

***

The New Yorker announced "Platform Decay" will be the next Murderbot novella. No word on publication date yet.

***

Grimoire: A Grim Oak Press Anthology For Seattle Worldcon 2025

https://grimoakpress.com/products/grimoire-a-grim-oak-press-anthology-for-seattle-worldcon-2025

My story is a fantasy called "Birthright" which is reprint that's not currently available anywhere else.

***

Queen Demon, the sequel to Witch King, second book of the Rising World, is up for preorder and will be released in ebook, audiobook, and hardcover on October 7.

From the breakout SFF superstar author of Murderbot comes the remarkable sequel to the USA Today and Sunday Times bestselling novel, Witch King. A fantasy of epic scope, Queen Demon is a story of power and friendship, of trust and betrayal, and of the families we choose.

Dahin believes he has clues to the location of the Hierarchs' Well, and the Witch King Kai, along with his companions Ziede and Tahren, knowing there's something he isn't telling them, travel with him to the rebuilt university of Ancartre, which may be dangerously close to finding the Well itself.

Can Kai stop the rise of a new Hierarch?

And can he trust his companions to do what's right?

Bookshop.org https://bookshop.org/p/books/queen-demon-martha-wells/21751501?ean=9781250826916

B&N https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/queen-demon-martha-wells/1146167707?ean=9781250826916

Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/queen-demon

Audiobook Libro.fm https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781250291981-queen-demon

Bakka-Phoenix (indie bookstore in Canada): https://bakkaphoenixbooks.com/item/3Czr8TaWU9-_fwJ25ytSCw

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Echoes of Flavio's Ghost Dreaming

If only DESQview/X had been launched when Quarterdeck starting talking about it

Interesting Links for 23-06-2025

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Interesting Links for 22-06-2025

I am a dog

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Interesting Links for 21-06-2025

All change

Mudlarking 21 - Billy Hicks and a teapot

Interesting Links for 20-06-2025

Queenhithe

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Park sherds - lost

Mudlarking - 20

Sparks, Hammersmith Apollo, 18th June 2025

Interesting Links for 19-06-2025

Interesting Links for 18-06-2025

Mudlarking 19 - Oatine and a face

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