Unix, Linux and related technologies.
This article explains how to create some fractal plots with graphics.py, a popular graphics library for Python written by John Zelle. Graphics.py is a single file containing graphics functions such as Point, Line, Circle and Rectangle. Elsewhere on this blog, … Continue reading →
Gatting the age of a file in days is sometimes useful in scripts. The date +%s command will give the current time in epoch seconds. It can be handily combined with -r, which causes date to use the modification time … Continue reading →
A Windows virtual machine running under VMware 17 Pro was freezing several times a day, seemingly due to a brief network outage. The cause was found to be a Network Manager setting on the host computer, a laptop running Linux … Continue reading →
This article is about installing and optimizing Linux Mint. The focus is on Mint 21, but it’s relevant to all versions. The best disk layout is discussed at the end of the article. Install vs Update If Mint is already … Continue reading →
Having a second or even a third monitor attached to your PC gives a helpful increase in screen space. Being able to have more windows and applications visible at once improves productivity and can reduce the stress of computer usage. … Continue reading →
This article explains how to find the time interval between two Unix time stamps. The default time format in Unix is like this: “Sun 9 Aug 12:50:08 BST 2020”. It appears in many places on the system and is the … Continue reading →
This article explains how to install Docker on a Raspberry Pi, how to build a simple image, and how to run a container based on it. Update 20/9/22: This procedure has been updated and tested successfully on RaspiOS “Bullseye”, release … Continue reading →
The above kernel causes previously working CIFS mounts to fail with an “interrupted system call” error. A Linux system which had been using a NAS share for years acquired the new kernel on 17th March 2020 and the mount became … Continue reading →
The raspberry Pi makes a good platform for watching Live TV. Software packages like TVHeadend, OSMC/Kodi, NextPVR and Plex allow you to turn a normal Pi into a powerful media centre. Recording your favourite TV shows is great, as is … Continue reading →
Connecting a physical USB device to a virtual machine is sometimes tricky. Virtual machines are not really designed for physical interaction. In this case, it was necessary to mount a 1 TB external USB disk to a VMware virtual machine … Continue reading →