fr-08: .the .product by farbrausch | 64k intro (2000) (720p HQ demoscene demo)
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters use it as the standard example of how much a tiny program can do, in contrast to bloated modern software.
What it is
A recording of .the .product by Farbrausch, the first-place 64k intro at The Party 2000. It fits an 11-minute 3D demo with music into 64 kilobytes.
Recommended by 2 HN commenters across 4 different months, 2016 to 2020.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec pkrefta · 2016-06 · on “Source code for 4kb demoscene production “Elevated” released”
In year 2000 when I was 16 years old 64k fr-08 by farbrausch told me that I know nothing about programming ;) [1] [this video]
Strong rec userbinator · 2017-11 · on “Terrain rendering in fewer than 20 lines of code”
IMHO not very many 64Ks have reached the amazingness of this 11 minute one from 2000: [this video] ...and for 4K, this one from 2009: [LINK]
Recommends userbinator · 2017-08 · on “Papers I like”
I discovered #4 through him and I agree both with his summary and the paper itself --- canonical Huffman is astoundingly simple if you look at it in the right way, yet almost everyone doesn't. ryg is also a member of the Farbrausch demogroup, which has released some amazing demos. This one is probably the most memorable: [this video]
Recommends userbinator · 2020-08 · on “Niklaus Wirth was right and that is a problem”
One only has to look at the demoscene to realise that limitations inspire creativity and efficiency. It's just a form of art, but gives a glimpse at what computers are capable of, if only we would try to use them more efficiently. I think award-winning 4k or 64k demos should be required watching for every software developer. Here are some personal favourites which have also appeared on HN: [LINK] [LINK] [this video]
Cites xtrapolate · 2018-02 · on “In web design, everything easy is hard again”
When I'm thinking about bloated web frameworks and inefficient libraries, I often come back to memories of 64k demos released by groups such as Farbrausch. Here's what they've pulled off in 2000: [this video] - as somewhat of a "contrast", jQuery alone (3.0.0-alpha1, minified) weighs 84522 bytes. Use (what you deem as) the right tool for the job. As to how we've got to where we are today, there are lots of reasons - but personally, I feel it's pointless to constantly talk about it. Whether things are more complex than they used to be is up for debate, it's entirely subjective. It's natural for things to evolve given the rising popularity and increased demands - but they evolve organically. People