Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin
“Download More RAM” joke, but for crypto era (downloadmorecrypto.com)
17 points by shahahmed on Sept 8, 2022 | hide | past | favorite | 10 comments


As I understand it "download more ram" was a stupid advertisement for a real and effective thing. Downloading a utility that uses compressed ram as swap space, allowing for greater effective memory usage.

You can still do this today, on linux, where it isn't the default for some reason. Though downloading anything isn't necessary. Run the following as root.

    modprobe zram
    echo lz4 >> /sys/block/zram0/comp_algorithm
    echo 128G >> /sys/block/zram0/disksize
    mkswap --label zram0 /dev/zram0
    swapon --priority 100 /dev/zram0
Then go compile something that requires 2x the amount of ram actually in your system and watch it "just work". I recommend cvc5 if you're looking for something that takes way too much ram while compiling (make -j16 got me up to 100GB before I killed it... on a 32GB system): https://cvc5.github.io/docs/cvc5-1.0.2/installation/installa...

I suppose "download more crypto" could be a real thing too, it's just called "mining" for some reason.


zram isn't default because it adds additonal CPU overhead and can't always compress data efficiently. Sometimes it is better for a program to just run out of memory and crash than go to swap

I suppose it's similar to "download more crypto" mining in the sense that there is a CPU tradeoff.


My experience without zram has been that running out of ram almost always crashes (without a swap partition) or locks up (with a swap partition) my entire computer. My experience with it has been that running out of ram almost always slowly degrades performance, but keeps the system responsive.

I haven't noticed any noticeable CPU overhead when not running out of ram - nor should there be any.

It is the default on windows and mac for good reason. I'm a pretty strong believer that nearly all desktop linux users, and most server users, would benefit from it as well.


advertisement for a real and effective thing

There used to be a bunch of different RAM compressors. They were very popular. I think one was called "Stacker."


Dude order RAM on the internet, it shows up where you live, you manually put it in place. What's the difference between that and downloading RAM? Like it's not literally the matrix with your spine plugged in, not yet at least. Everybody wants that matrix, like everybody is trying to essentially return to the womb.

That's the thing about the matrix, it's a womb. Like the thing is the idea humans can be used as batteries is backwards, totally energy inefficient. Forget about the batteries. Think of the robot war, very overlooked. Get them not to fight, and then? Your services are no longer necessary.


This clearly states that it's a joke at the bottom, but also (seems to) provide a way to connect a wallet. Does it stop you from actually connecting a wallet? Or is that an underhanded funding mechanism for the joke?


i think the connect wallet flow makes it feel more like a high effort joke. it reads your balance and adds the value in the UX. it uses MetaMask and is pretty clearly read-only, the site doesn't ask to sign any transactions.


Its probably a joke until the author needs some money lol


looking forward to your next post where you announce your $100m seed from a16z


post this on reddit and see how long it takes for your hosting to die




Consider applying for YC's Winter 2026 batch! Applications are open till Nov 10

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: