Windows: Under the Covers – From Hello World to Kernel Mode by a Windows Developer

From Dave’s Garage. Retired Windows developer Dave takes you the journey of how a simple printf() ultimately puts pixels on the screen. See Windows at a new level of detail. Free Sample of my Book on the Spectrum: https://amzn.to/3zBinWM Dave’s Attic – Friday 4PM Podcast – https://www.youtube.com/@UCtb6a_CnmGbSns9G8W2Ny0w Follow me for updates! Twitter: @davepl1968 davepl1968 Facebook:…

How One Line of Code Led to Catastrophe: The Mars Polar Lander

From Dave’s Garage. In December 1999, NASA’s Mars Polar Lander was on a pioneering mission to explore Mars’ south pole, aiming to unlock secrets about the planet’s climate and the possibility of water ice beneath its surface. Equipped with cutting-edge technology and years of meticulous planning, the spacecraft represented a significant leap forward in planetary…

Cool LED Plate Frame: How it Works, and IS IT LEGAL?

From Dave’s Garage. In this episode, I show off a custom laser-engraved acrylic license plate cover I modified with an ESP32 microcontroller to create dynamic lighting effects. You’ll see how I integrated it with LEDs for colors, wipes, fades, and even a flame effect. We dive into the science behind linear fiber optics and total…

How One Line of Code Crashed AT&T’s Long-Distance Network

From Dave’s Garage. On January 15th, 1990, a single line of code triggered a cascading failure that crippled AT&T’s long-distance network for nearly 9 hours, leaving millions of Americans unable to make calls. In today’s episode of Dave’s Garage, we dive into the software bug that caused one of the largest telecommunications outages in history.…

The Stuxnet Cyberweapon Explained by a Retired Windows Engineer

From Dave’s Garage. Dive into the incredible story of Stuxnet, the world’s first cyberweapon, and its complex attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. From its discovery by a small Belarusian security firm to its use of multiple zero-day vulnerabilities and legitimate digital certificates, Stuxnet was a masterpiece of malware engineering. We’ll explore how it used USB…

Psychopath or Autistic? What’s the Difference?

From Dave’s Garage. Dave contrasts and compares the symptoms and traits of Psychopathy vs Autism to consider how similar or different they might be. For my book on the autism spectrum, check out: https://amzn.to/3zBinWM Without Conscience Book: https://amzn.to/3Y5sEmh Dave’s Attic – Friday 4PM Podcast – https://www.youtube.com/@UCtb6a_CnmGbSns9G8W2Ny0w Follow me for updates! Twitter: @davepl1968 davepl1968 Facebook: fb.com/davepl

Retraining vs RAG vs Context: Your Local Data on LLMs!

From Dave’s Garage. Dave explains how retraining, RAG (retrieval augmented generation) and context documents serve to expand the functionality of existing models, both local and online. For my book on the autism spectrum, check out: https://amzn.to/3zBinWM Dave’s Attic – Friday 4PM Podcast – https://www.youtube.com/@UCtb6a_CnmGbSns9G8W2Ny0w Follow me for updates! Twitter: @davepl1968 davepl1968 Facebook: fb.com/davepl

How My Brain Works: Dave 101

From Dave’s Garage. After 30 years of marriage, raising four kids, and managing the chaos of daily life, you’d think we’d have it all figured out by now—right? Well, it’s not that simple, especially when you add the challenges of living with autism into the mix. In this video, I dive into what it’s like…

Kernel Mode vs User Mode: Why it Matters, What You Need to Know

From Dave’s Garage. Retired Windows developer Dave Plummer dives deep into one of the most critical aspects of operating systems: Kernel Mode. We’ll explore how vulnerabilities like Spectre and Meltdown impacted system performance and why kernel mode is crucial for security and stability. From real-world disasters like the Crowdstrike outage to the differences between Windows…

Set up a Local AI like ChatGPT on your own machine!

From Dave’s Garage. Dave explains the reasons why and the steps needed to set up your own local AI engine ala ChatGPT. For my book on the autism spectrum, check out: https://amzn.to/3zBinWM Helpful links and tips: Install ollama: curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh ollama serve WSL Kernel Update Package: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/install-manual#step-4—download-the-linux-kernel-update-package Run the UI Docker Container:…

Major New Windows Update Attack – New ChatGPT Model – ShopTalk

From Dave’s Garage. Windows Zero-Day Vulnerability: Dave explains the recent zero-day exploit affecting Windows Update, detailing how attackers can manipulate the update process to reverse critical security patches. He emphasizes the importance of vigilance until Microsoft releases a comprehensive fix. ChatGPT’s New Model "01": The duo discusses OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT model, "01". Dave shares his…

From Core Memory to the Internet: Amazing History of the PDP-11

From Dave’s Garage. Dave takes you on a journey from core memory to PDP-11 that hosts its own Internet homepage, along with a history of DEC itself. For my book on the spectrum, see: https://amzn.to/3XLJ8kY Dave’s Attic – Friday 4PM Podcast – https://www.youtube.com/@UCtb6a_CnmGbSns9G8W2Ny0w Follow me for updates! Twitter: @davepl1968 davepl1968 Facebook: fb.com/davepl Thanks to Curious…

Rare Private Tour of Seattle’s long-closed Living Computer Museum

From Dave’s Garage. Dave takes you behind the scenes at the long-closed Living Computer Museum for a private tour of this impressive collection of vintage computers. For my book on the spectrum, see: https://amzn.to/3XLJ8kY Follow me for updates! Twitter: @davepl1968 davepl1968 Facebook: fb.com/davepl Christies Auction: https://tinyurl.com/yc5mnnx4 Thanks to the Facebook PDP-11 group for the PDP-11…