Blog

Here is the entire collection of random blog posts:

• Disk Usage
  
  There are a few useful tools for checking free space on a drive in Linux. [ Read more... ]
• Amiga D520 Video Converter
  
  I recently obtained a D520 video converter. It plugs in to the video ouput and has an optional audio input to combine audio and video in the HDMI signal, apparently at the cost of some visual integrity (although I couldn’t see any difference). [ Read more... ]
• Fixing an issue with a non-booting Manjaro and full-drive encryption
  
  Problem It’s rare, but a failed and/or buggy update might prevent successful boot-up of the system. [ Read more... ]
• Download all linked files from a web page
  
  Here is a simple method to download all files linked from a web page: [ Read more... ]
• NextCloud - failing to update news
  
  I recently had an issue following an update on my Debian installation of NextCloud. [ Read more... ]
• Bulk Rename Files
  
  The default rename function on Arch is quite useful, but only has quite basic substitute options. [ Read more... ]
• PinePhone KDE versus Phosh
  
  KDE Pros The interface is slick (and smooth after an update) Phone calls and texts work, mostly Looks and works more like a “normal” phone (intuitive) Cons Mobile signal / SIM disconnects frequently Slow to wake up Calendar doesn’t connect to NextCloud Some apps cover the buttons to close or minimise them Some icons are unintuitive Japanese language not supported by default Applications Keysmith – Manage accounts for one-time passwords Spacebar – Keyboard Angelfish – browser Koko – manage images Buho – notes application KDE Connect – connect with another mobile device or laptop Phosh Pros Lightweight, simpler interface Faster resume from suspend Calls and texts work fine Cons Not as slick as the KDE interface
• PinePhone - Manjaro Phosh Community Edition
  
  Background A couple of months ago I received a PinePhone, Manjaro edition (with the Manjaro logo on the back), and have been playing around with regularly since then, mostly updating it (there are regular software upgrades), and testing out software (the catalogue of compatible applications for a smaller portrait, touchscreen-based device is somewhat limited). It’s still in beta, so the software still has usability issues and bugs here and there, but with Manjaro Phosh (which came with the model I ordered), works smoothly, and texts and phone calls also work well. [ Read more... ]
• Pyra - March 2021
  
  Finally the Pyra has started shipping! Actually it started shipping last year - the first few units from the early batch of 200 so-called “pre-pre-orders” started on their way to lucky early adopters. [ Read more... ]
• Don't be precious about code
  
  If there is one good lesson from writing code in a team, it is that it is best not be too precious. [ Read more... ]
• MiSTer and Vampire V4 Standalone
  
  Soon I’m hoping to get both a Vampire 4 Standalone and a MiSTer. [ Read more... ]
• Lenovo X200 Repairs
  
  Not long ago I got a circa 2012 Lenovo X220. It’s an old laptop, but represents one of the last of an era of well-made modular commercial laptops that are designed to be easily serviceable. [ Read more... ]
• Programming the Bifrost
  
  Here’s a quick guide to programming the Heimdall BiFrost v2 [ Read more... ]
• Amiga 1200 Heimdall BiFrost
  
  Although it may appear pointless at first glance, the BiFrost is an absolutely awesome replacement for the Amiga’s LEDs. [ Read more... ]
• A1200 can destroy expansion boards!
  
  Background This is apparently a problem that luckily most people haven’t encountered, but this is a cautionary note in case someone else has had unexpected issues when installing an expansion board on an Amiga. [ Read more... ]
• Gigatron
  
  The Gigatron is an 8-bit computer kit, developed a couple of years ago, in March 2018, by Marcel van Kervinck and Walter Belgers. [ Read more... ]
• Managing dotfiles with stow
  
  GNU stow wasn’t originally designed to manage dotfiles, but it is an excellent tool for doing just that. [ Read more... ]
• PHP cannot open shared file
  
  Following an upgrade to Manjaro, there was an issue I had with PHP. [ Read more... ]
• 32blit - Retro inspired handheld console
  
  The 32blit was a successful Kickstarter from Sheffield-based (UK) Pimoroni. [ Read more... ]
• WPM - Practice Your Typing
  
  There are some good online speed typing websites, but it seems silly to load up a browser, and wait for a page to load to simply practice typing. [ Read more... ]
• Release Date for the Pyra?
  
  Update 27th May Global Components have populated the display and CPU boards Mainboards still to do The sound issues involve clipping /crashing of audio at maximum volume, but this isn’t an issue that would cause any delay in release Screen rotation is the biggest outstanding software issue, requiring kernel v4. [ Read more... ]
• AERC and why text-only email clients are the future
  
  A couple of things that are missing from pretty much any popular email client is [ Read more... ]
• KeyboardIO Kickstarter
  
  There is a new Kickstarter for a split style, mechanical keyboard, the KeyboardIO Atreus Kickstarter. [ Read more... ]
• Add Markdown Images using Vim
  
  I have recently been working on workflow for this blog, and one of the initial stumbling blocks was adding images. [ Read more... ]
• Virtual RMS
  
  This is a simple yet silly sounding terminal application in the spirit of the founding father of software freedom. [ Read more... ]
• Antifragility & Applications
  
  There is an approach I’m taking from programming to my use of my choice of operating systems and applications I use. [ Read more... ]
• Pyra - March 2020
  
  Almost one year on from my previous entry on the Pyra, we finally have an update, and it now genuinely looks like production of the final units is about to start. [ Read more... ]
• Finding Files at the Command Prompt
  
  Here’s a quick look at a few handy command-line tools for finding files based on their contents: [ Read more... ]
• Pyra - Hybrid Gaming Ultraportable
  
  The Pyra is a device that I’m most excited about, and am finally hopeful that it will see a 2019 release (to be confirmed). [ Read more... ]
• 32blit Open Source Retro Inspired Handheld
  
  Here’s another interesting project from Pimoroni, creators of the also excellent PiCade [ Read more... ]
• What Does 'Free Software' Really Mean
  
  Free Software is probably the most misunderstood term in modern computing, and understandably so given the apparent ambiguity of its meaning. [ Read more... ]
• Mnt Reform - Open Source DIY Laptop
  
  MNT Reform One of the hardware projects I’m really interested in at the moment is the MNT Reform. [ Read more... ]
• GUI as a Workflow Application
  
  Background Since using tiling window managers like DWM or I3, I’ve come to realise that my approach to using my computer has also changed. [ Read more... ]
• Amiga Mods
  
  Here are just a few more images of my Amiga, now complete with Gotek USB drive mods, custom case and keys. [ Read more... ]
• Vim Tips - Updating several lines at once
  
  Here are a few handy vim tips. Read all files in a path: :r! [ Read more... ]
• Error While Loading Shared Libraries Libidn2 So 0
  
  I was warmly greeted with the following message when booting up my Manjaro laptop this evening: [ Read more... ]
• Replacing the Amiga 1200 Capacitors
  
  I’ve been upgrading and revamping my old Amiga 1200 a little recently. [ Read more... ]
• Emacs Mode in Zsh
  
  Using Emacs Keybindings in Zsh The default mode for typing in a Bash or Zsh shell is Emacs. [ Read more... ]
• Format JSON in Vim
  
  Update: A much more versatile tool for formatting JSON is jq, which doesn’t require Python to be installed [ Read more... ]
• Migrating from GitHub
  
  Following the announcement that Microsoft has acquired GitHub for $7.5 billion, I’ve just migrated all my repositories and website to GitLab. [ Read more... ]
• Quote of the Day
  
  Purpose The aim of this article is to enable you to add your own customised “Quote of the Day” script. [ Read more... ]
• Vim Autocompletion
  
  Vim has some really handy features that aren’t immediately apparent. [ Read more... ]
• Freeze 64 Fanzine Issue 16 #FREEZE64 @C64_endings
  
  It never ceases to amaze me how passionate the community around the C64 is, and some of you may be amazed to learn that there are still many games being developed and released for the Commodore 64; 30 odd years after its release. [ Read more... ]
• BBC Micro hardware emulation with the MiST FPGA
  
  You can find more about the MiST in the following link: MiST FPGA [ Read more... ]
• Retrocode
  
  Background The focus of Retrocode UK is intended to be looking at anything related to 80s & early 90s gaming (and some contemporary work), programming and some hardware projects or other related items. [ Read more... ]
• Linux Command Prompt Tips
  
  It’s easy to use the command line effectively, and not even be aware of some of the myriad options available, but it’s worth keeping an eye out for anything that could make life easier. [ Read more... ]
• BigBox 3D
  
  Back in summer 2015, I was a Kickstarter backer of the highly successful BigBox 3D project, and it’s also my first and only 3D printer thus far. [ Read more... ]
• Picade
  
  Early this year I got a Picade, a fantastic kit that allows you to mount a Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone or mini-ITX board and wire it up to a screen (8" to 12"), speakers and arcade controls all in a neat desktop arcade cabinet. [ Read more... ]
• Amiga 1200
  
  Been making some changes, including a Gotek floppy emulator and compact flash drive. [ Read more... ]
• Setting up Vim
  
  These are my settings for Vim, and will be occasionally updating as I refine the settings. [ Read more... ]
• Installing Vim (in KDE Neon)
  
  In order to install the latest version of Vim, use the following [ Read more... ]
• Installing proprietary drivers for KDE Neon
  
  If you’re a fan of Ubuntu and KDE, then KDE Neon is arguably the best option we have today. [ Read more... ]
• Desktop Binary Thermometer
  
  I assembled a geeky new kit today. It displays the current temperature in Fahrenheit or Celsius in binary format. [ Read more... ]
• My Developer Essentials
  
  In this entry I’m just going to mention the applications that I use in my working day. [ Read more... ]
• Get running with Laravel on Ubuntu ultra-fast
  
  This is just a very quick guide to get a fresh Ubuntu install working with Laravel. [ Read more... ]
• Arduino Nunchuck project
  
  I have cobbled together a couple of circuits to combine output to an OLED with input from a Nunchuck, through a WiiChuck adapter. [ Read more... ]
• Genius use of lego to measure resistance
  
  This project is so cool: the aim was to measure resistance and charge of resisters and batteries, and the result is spoken back to you via an app linked via USB on an attached PC. [ Read more... ]
• Processing multiple strings in an array
  
  This post concentrates on filtering values from a one-dimensional array. [ Read more... ]
• PC-Fit2 Web Server
  
  I’m now running a test web server on a PC-Fit2 which is the coolest little PC. [ Read more... ]
• NetBeans on Ubuntu
  
  I’ve been using NetBeans 6.9.1 which was the latest PHP version that I’d found, but also found that it wasn’t automatically updating. [ Read more... ]
• My LAMP Server using VirtualBox
  
  I’m working on a VirtualBox image for a LAMP server. There are a few good reasons to use a virtualised LAMP server: [ Read more... ]
• Beauty in simplicity & CSS
  
  I haven’t always worked with CSS, as much of my work is involved with coding. [ Read more... ]
• Successful web application design
  
  As an application developer I sometimes get a little frustrated with some attitudes towards functionality. [ Read more... ]
• Oomiwa Jinja Shrine in Nara, Japan
  
  Next year is going to introduce some big changes to my life, and I’m really looking forward to it. [ Read more... ]
• Three really handy websites for web developing
  
  There are a few websites that I find useful. Database designer, using Google Apps. [ Read more... ]
• Is Japanese difficult to learn? A programmer's perspective
  
  When I mention that I’m learning Japanese, many people ask something along the lines of “isn’t it a difficult language to learn? [ Read more... ]
• Sample class to escape a MySQL input value
  
  There was quite a simple but effective snippet I came across recently that highlights how PHP getters (magic methods) can be useful. [ Read more... ]
• Blind SQL injection
  
  Security is something that’s all too often ignored, and while recent events have helped highlight how vulnerable and insecure we are, but I still see very lax attitudes towards security. [ Read more... ]
• 11th March 2011 2:46pm (Japan Standard Time)
  
  I don’t need to tell anyone about what happened as it’s hard to avoid the news, but to give an idea of the scale and scope of the problem I’ve decided to collate information I find about the earthquake that hit North East Japan a few days ago. [ Read more... ]
• Japanese characters in Ubuntu PDFs
  
  I’d just been looking for some Japanese tutorial PDFs, and there are some really good ones. [ Read more... ]
• Japanese answerphone message
  
  This is just a simple, and generic, answerphone message. I thought it might be fun to confuse potential cold callers with it. [ Read more... ]
• Typing Japanese characters with Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic)
  
  There are quite a few tutorials on getting hiragana characters on Ubuntu, but many of them seem rather complicated, and very few seem to mention Karmic at the time of writing (even though it’s been stable for a good few months now). [ Read more... ]
• Japanese Greetings
  
  Here are a few standard hello and goodbye phrases. Some of them are quite casual in use, although I’ve tried to point out where that is the case. [ Read more... ]
• Interjections and incidental words
  
  The following are a list of words, usually at the start of a sentence, that are used as incidental words or interjections to start expressing something. [ Read more... ]
• Telling similar hiragana and katakana apart
  
  There are a few katakana and hiragana that are quite similar, and are easily mistaken for one another. [ Read more... ]