w-view

 I have added a ton of new code to my w-view project.  That said, I have a ton of testing to do.  What is new?  A lot of sub modules.  A GUI interface that I originally was making a web interface, but not an X11 interface.  Tie-ins to SIP and XMPP.   And much more.  

The interface, like much of what I do, is programmed in the X11 GDX widget.

One more tool

 I have made a lot of progress on the GTextUp suite lately.  EZMF2f has reached a new level. ReLiEd has hit 1.x.   But now I'm adding one more tool to the suite.  LaTex2f.  This is a tool that will convert any TeX/LaTeX document to many other formats, much like what EZMF2f does for EZMF.  Much of the code is done.  The biggest piece left, also applies to EZMF2f, is some PDF conversion formatting tricks.  I know TeX can't do everything EZMF can, but Tex can also do currently many things that EZMF can't do.  But LaTeX/TeX is much more mainstream and this is something I want to accomplish.  It is way more common for complex academic papers to be written in TeX as it is more powerful than Microsoft Word still and easier to use. 

New update on EZ document tools

 I have released an update on the command line tool EzReLiEd.  New version is 1.0.3.

EzReLiED is a search and replace line editor that works on many platforms (tested on Linux, Windows, MacOSX, and UNIX99) and is geared for documents that are usually text, EzMF, or HTML based.

I will have the new source to the whole suite published hopefully this weekend under GPL 2 license.

When I have a satisfactory UNIX99 development environment, I will release certain apps with UNIX99 binaries also.  

My GLASS spreadsheet page

 Since I have been putting so much effort writing spreadsheet software, I have created a new launch page for it.   https://mrgibson.com/GOS/index.php

I'm going to be posting GLASS for Linux and MacOS next, then work on C64 version of GSS.

Updating code

I'm currently working on two areas for the DDD project. I'm plugging along on the Linux, Windows, and MacOS software. These are becoming a very complicated software. Because of this, a lot of documentation is being created to for planning the code.

Secondly, I'm looking at making the Atari and C64 dice app look better. It is not that both system are not capable, they definitely are. It is just how the two companies chose to do graphics. The TI-99 is just easier and more flexible to do graphics with. A lot of the concepts are the same, but working with binary to hexadecimal is easier than the conversions of binary to decimal. And TI-99's ability to intermix text and graphics make a project like this easier. Below is calculating one line of graphics on Atari and C64.

So for the C64 I would have to POKE 127 at certain location in video.

For the same graphic line created on the TI-99, the value you would use would be 7F based on this chart

Worse yet, I don't know of a method of intermixing text and graphic like is default with the TI-99.  so each dice outcome has to be drawn.  Even with Windows and Linux, if I needed to, I could place text on the graphic.

New site dedicated to DDD

This is a little update. As I continue writing software for D&D with the Dragons, Druids, and Dice project - I have created a dedicated web page for this project. 

https://mrgibson.com/dragons-druids-n-dice.php

Here I'm sharing code, screen shots, executables. 

My development for the C64 has be sparce as there are some pretty good development platforms for most systems, but not so much for the C64.  For physical hardware, I'm using a "TheC64" and there is not another real way for me to write and test the software easily.  

For the really old platforms, the TI-99 looks the best and mainly I understand development on it the most.

For Linux, Windows, and MacOS - I'm finding myself using tool sets that I have written before to perform many different types of tasks.  Really, by far, Linux is the easiest platform to develop with. 

GDX-Lib version of DDD is working again!

 GDX-Lib version of DDD is working again on Debian Linux!  Will publish soon.  Mac OS X and Windows will follow shortly. 

Dragons, Druids, and Dice for Linux.

 So, there has been delays with the release 1.2 for Linux.  In fact, there has been a fork in the code.  It was my plan to make this version as nice looking as possible with GDX-Lib.  Unfortunately, I'm having issue with this and Debian.  My plan at this point is not to go to GTK or Xlib, but to create a new GDX-Lib-lite version of the GUI library.   This will not rely on other graphic libraries and make the app even easier to cross compile.

ugBASIC 1.17.1 RELEASED

ugBASIC 1.17.1 RELEASED!

A new version of ugBASIC, the open source isomorphic BASIC compiler, has been released.

This version for multiple compliable computer ports 

ATARI 400/800/XL/XEGS implements an improved DOJO protocol, allowing for multiplayer games thanks to the integration with FujiNet. It also contains numerous additional keywords, serial support, and specific optimizations for ATARI computers.

Full list of Atari supported:

Atari 400, 

Atari 800

Atari 1200XL, 

Atari 130XE, 

Atari 600XL, 

Atari 65XE, 

Atari 800XE, 

Atari 800XL, 

Atari XEGS

Commodore 64 and Commodore VIC-20, in addition to containing numerous corrections and implementations, has many new instructions related to joystick movement, text positioning and character detection. It is now possible to define functions and perform sums and counts on arrays.

ugBASIC is a cross compiler for Linux and Windows, for writing games in the BASIC language, running on dozens of different home computers and 8-bit consoles. There is also a convenient integrated IDE for Microsoft Windows and even a sandbox, if you do not want to install anything.

RG Mini

Retro Games LTD The C64 Micro Computer Mini

Product Key Features
Platform              Commodore 64
Year Manufactured     2017 thru 2025
Storage Capacity      512 MB
Case Color            Beige
Display Connectivity  HDMI

Connectivity          USB, HDMI
Screen Resolution     720p (HD)

ARM CPU A20 SoC and Linux operating system running the VICE emulator.

Pixel graphics in 4:3 format with CRT filter.
Savable game states for the 64 C64 games
Software updates over USB stick.
64 classical C64 games, which are onside of the ROM chip.

Dimensions: 250 * 50 * 200mm
Weight: 372g


Plugs rear
  HD output with 720p over HDMI
  Micro USB port for power

Plugs right side
  Two USB ports for USB keyboard or USB joystick.
  Power switch

Other informations
  Keys can be used with a popup keyboard on the screen.
  Alternative can used a USB keyboard
  If you want to use both USB joysticks, a USB keyboard and a USB stick, you need a active USB hub.
  The emulator being used is x64 from VICE 2.4



I just purchased RG mini to code for the Vic20 and C64.  
I can't wait to PEEK and POKE some.

What is powering "THE400"?

What is powering "The400" mini? Atari's website (https://atari.com/products/atari-400-mini-1) has the new Atari "The400" mini computer having an "Allwinner H3" CPU. This is something I don't think most are familiar with.

Allwinner H3 is actually an ARM platform that features an ARM Quad-Core Cortex-A7 CPU and an ARM Mali400 MP2 GPU.

Lets break that down:

CPU
-  ARM Cortex-A7 Quad-Core that runs at 1.296 GHz
   Has a 64-bit load-store path
   Also has 128-bit AMBA 4 AXI buses

-  512KB L2-Cache (shared between four cores)
   This Integrated L2 cache is designed for low power
   32 KB (Instruction) / 32KiB (Data) L1-Cache per core
 
-  Large Physical Address Extensions (LPAE) 1TB


GPU
  ARM Mali400 MP2 600 Mhz
  Featuring 1 vertex shader (GP) and 2 fragment shaders (PP).
  Complies with OpenGL ES 2.0

What this makes me wonder is how powerful is this setup and will someone be able to hack this to also run software Atari ST computers. What about running Linux? What all can this little box do?

VCS 800 sale I missed

I'm pretty bumbed about my missed opportunity when GS sold the Atari VCS 800 full bundle for only $99.

Currently they have the stand alone onyx for $179

Great Linux tools

Ever so often, I'm going to highlight Linux tools that are under appreciated. So today here are two:

IDE:
- Geany. A great IDE for XML, C, Pascal, Pearl, Ruby, PHP, and everything else. Extremely stable, fast, light weight, and does everything one could hope for in an IDE. I love it so much on Linux, I also use it on Windows. I use versions 1.37 - 1.38


Web-browser:
- Falkon. Web browser made by the KDE team. Although not perfect, and I have other browsers that are better, but in many ways in my benchmarks, I have it out peforming browsers like FireFox, Dillo, and Link2 easily in areas. Compaired to the newest Chromium, 20-40% faster and less memory running Office365 web applications. Falkon is a browser to consider because of speed and memory usage where it can outshine FireFox and Chrome. So impressed on Linux, I'm trying on Windows 10.

Update: Just as impresive on Windows as with Linux. Very FAST, and faster than Chrome! But Memory wise on Windows, not as impressive. Appears to be a memory hog on Windows, like Chrome.

Slackware 15 has been released!

 

New FVWM..... FVWM 3 is released!!

 

vwm3-1.0.0 released

Repository: fvwmorg/fvwm3 · Tag: 1.0.0 · Commit: 5c920c3 · Released by: ThomasAdam

This is the first public release of Fvwm3.

Migration from Fvwm2 -> Fvwm3

Every effort has been taken to ensure backwards compatability with Fvwm2 as much as possible. Although the configuration syntax remains the same, there some breaking changes with this first release of Fvwm3. Details are below...

Incompatible Changes

The following are changes or features in this release of Fvwm3 which are known not to work or are incomplete in some way. In each case, more information can be found by looking at Fvwm3's issue list.

• EdgeScroll -- can behave strangely if using more than one monitor
• PanFrames -- can sometimes be placed inconsistently around monitor borders, meaning switching desks/pages with >1 monitor can sometimes misbehave;
• FvwmPager -- moving windows within the pager can sometimes make them appear in a different location to where they should be.

Core dependencies required to build Fvwm3

These libraries have been made mandatory, and the devel versions as well as the binary versions will be needed for both compilation and run-time:

• librandr (>= 1.5)
• libbson (>= 1.16.2)
• libevent-dev (>= 2.0)
• libxt-dev

For further details, see: https://github.com/fvwmorg/fvwm3/blob/master/dev-docs/INSTALL.md#manually

Functional changes

New additions

• RandR support can be configured via the DesktopConfiguration command. If this command is not present in a user's configuration file, the default behaviour is to mimick Fvwm2, whereby when switching desks/pages, the same desk/page across all monitors is changed. This is what the global option to DesktopConfiguration does. If per-monitor is specified, then each monitor has its own list of desktops/pages which can be configured independently of one another.
  • FvwmPager has gained a new option Monitor to work with independent monitors.
• FvwmMFL -- a new module to supply third-party programs with fvwm3 state information`
• FvwmPrompt -- a new module written in golang: ./configure --enable-golang needed at compile time
• FvwmForm has been reinstated.
• The GotoDesk command has learned a new option next to go to the next desktop.
• The core of fvwm3 no longer logs to stderr, and instead a dedicated file ($[FVWM_USERDIR]/fvwm3-output.log by default) is used to capture debug information from fvwm3
  • This logging can be toggled by sending SIGUSR2 to running fvwm3 instance.
• FvwmForm: the Timeout option now operates in 1000ms, rather than in seconds.
• Colorsets have gained the following options: .lighten, .darken, .hash to help with colour manipulations without requiring PipeRead/external tools.
• FvwmEvent gains: monitor_enabled, monitor_disabled, monitor_changed event hooks to react to when RandR changes. Usual fvwm functions/scripts can take advantage of this.
• A few new expansion variables for monitors: $[monitor.<n>.x], ... which expose information from RandR

Removed features

• Support for Xinerama has been removed, replaced with RandR.
• The Recapture and RecaptureWindow commands have been removed;
• FvwmConsole is deprecated; FvwmPrompt is preferred if golang is installed and --enable-golang is used at compile time.
• libstroke support has been removed.
• The following modules have been removed:
  • FvwmBanner -- can use an external program for this;
  • FvwmCommand/FvwmCommandS -- replaced with FvwmPrompt
  • FvwmCpp /FvwmM4 -- old and not used by many users;
  • FvwmProxy -- interesting experiment, but removed. Some functionality may well integrate in to the core of fvwm3.
• fvwm-bug and fvwm-menu-headlines scripts have been removed.

Reporting Problems

Please report any problems using GitHub's issue tracker for Fvwm3: https://github.com/fvwmorg/fvwm3/issues

—

This release has 3 assets:

• fvwm3-1.0.0.tar.gz
• Source code (zip)
• Source code (tar.gz)

Visit the release page to download them.

RH Fedora

I miss some old habits. Some things are just still better, faster, more fun. So I'm installing Red Hat Fedora. Why? First and for most, to get the tools I need to create a new FVWM Theme "Glassy Blue". Secondly, I miss that environment.

Creating window manager themes are fun. Look for ideas for a really good one, I found out tonight that my old FVWM page is still up and running... and advertised on other FVWM sites. I have no idea how to get to the HTML to even edit the page. But that is another issue all in it's self.

I've started the work on the theme already and it will be a little challenging. I would also like to update an older theme that I created called ruby. I'm wondering how gothic I can make a computer interface :)

New version of FVWM!

News on new a FVWM release

I'm happy to say that 2019 has a new release of the FVWM window manager! Yes, I'm still a fan and the previous release had not been since March 31, 2018.
FVWM is the Linux, BSD, AIX, or for that matter almost any OS graphical interface that can be anything you want. That is why I love it. The configuration of this window manager allows your desktop and windows to behave and look anyway your imagination...well.. can imagine.
Changes are in the stable release 2.6.9 (not officially released, yet there it is on FVWM site)

• Bug fixes:
  • Fix handling of configure’s –enable-mandoc/–enable-htmldoc

Note, the changes for the last STABLE release start with release 2.6.0.

See http://www.fvwm.org/news/ for the FVWM release. Also See http://mrgibson.com/FVWM_themes/ for some of my cheesy themes I created for FVWM some time ago.

Lunduke resources

Here is a plug for Lunduke resources:

- BBS
- - Telent: BBS.lunduke.com
- - Web:    http://www.lunduke.com
- - SysOp:  Bryan Lunduke

- Show
- - Video YouTube:    https://www.youtube.com/bryanlunduke
- - Video LBRY:       lbry://@Lunduke 

- - Audio: MP3 RSS Feed      http://vault.lunduke.com/LundukeShowMP3.xml
- - Audio: Google Play Music https://play.google.com/music/m/I3eptvmuqocsoc5qmqj4xcs2dcm?t=The_Lunduke_Show
- - Audio: iTunes Podcasts   https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-lunduke-show/id1465523928

Big BTRFS announcements

The big BTRFS announcements this week.  First, if you don't know what BTRFS is, then here is the definition:

BTRFS (pronounced as "butter fuss") is a file system based on the copy-on-write (COW) principle, initially designed at Oracle Corporation for use in Linux. It is a fairly new file stystem. The development of BTRFS began in 2007.  As of August 2014 the file system's on-disk format has been marked as stable, but coding and development continues.

Btrfs is intended to address the lack of pooling, snapshots, check-sums, and integral multi-device spanning in OS file systems.

The August 15th, 2018 BTRFS news can be summed up by this sentence:

Red Hat and Microsoft shun BTRFS, while ReactOS and SUSE Linux embrace this file system.

As of this week ReactOS (ReactOS.org) has announced that they support BTRFS and released developer issues of the OS with working BTRFS.  They have also released a YouTube video demonstrating BTRFS on ReactOS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ystmr5L9PU




The very same day, one year ago, Red Hat announced "Red Hat will not be moving Btrfs to a fully supported feature and it will be removed in a future major release of Red Hat Enterprise Linux."
Stating that hey did not see enough development for their taste.

Does Red Hat have better reason's for not supporting the FS? Filip Bystricky from Google and developer for android, wrote that the file system's “lack of native file-based encryption unfortunately makes it a nonstarter."
What about Microsoft? Microsoft Windows continues to ignore the file system and relies only on 3rd party drivers from open source community.

It's Alive... Linux Journal 2.0

I'm a little slow on the draw, but happy to learn that Linux Journal is NOT dead!

https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/happy-new-year-linux-journal-alive

as the article says, they have been purchased.  So useful information can still be shared through this resource. So we can still have cute, helpful little articles like this one:

https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/slow-system-iotop-your-friend