maple "mavica" syrup [6502] @mavica_again@computerfairi.es

#StarTrek

I declare that today, Nov. 19, 2025 is the 50th anniversary of BitBLT, a routine so fundamental to computer graphics that we don't even think about it having an origin. A working (later optimized) implementation was devised on the Xerox Alto by members of the Smalltalk team. It made it easy to arbitrarily copy and move arbitrary rectangles of bits in a graphical bitmap. It was this routine that made Smalltalk's graphical interface possible. Below is part of a PARC-internal memo detailing it:

In 1982, a physics joke gone wrong sparked the invention of the emoticon
A simple proposal on a 1982 electronic bulletin board helped sarcasm flourish online.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/11/in-1982-a-physics-joke-gone-wrong-sparked-the-invention-of-the-emoticon/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

if you're a cis person and you feel sad today because of trans day of rememberance but don't know what do to, here's a simple suggestion: give $20 to every trans person you're friends with