12 May

syd Posted in Coding No Comments

Installing Flutter on Linux (from Github)

Flutter is an incredible open-source UI Software Development Kit (SDK) developed by Google. It enables the creation of applications that are natively compiled for mobile platforms (iOS, Android), web, and desktop systems (Windows, macOS, Linux) using a single codebase. Flutter employs Dart, an object-oriented programming language, which was also created by Google. Installation Steps TheRead more about Installing Flutter on Linux (from Github)[…]

09 Feb

syd Posted in AI No Comments

Ollama Running on AMD GPUs

This is a quick guide on enabling GPU hardware acceleration for Ollama on AMD GPUs (using the open source amdgpu driver that comes with the kernel, not the proprietary AMD drivers). Supported AMD GPUs are listed here. It is sometimes possible to get GPU hardware acceleration working on Linux with AMD GPUs that are notRead more about Ollama Running on AMD GPUs[…]

05 Mar

syd Posted in Installation No Comments

Installing Arch on a Lenovo Legion 5

For many years I’ve been curious about AMD CPUs and Linux. When I saw a 2020 Lenovo Legion 5 (15ARH05H) at a very reasonable price (under £1,000), I couldn’t resist. I could have bought a more recent model which cost slightly more (with the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H), but the screen wasn’t as good (lessRead more about Installing Arch on a Lenovo Legion 5[…]

08 Apr

syd Posted in Coding No Comments

Installing Java on Linux

Java has a runtime (the “JRE”, or “Java Runtime Environment”) which is required to run Java applications. There’s also a “JDK” (“Java Development Kit”) which is required to develop applications in Java. There are numerous blogs out there that explain how to install Java from repositories. This blog post will detail how to download andRead more about Installing Java on Linux[…]

23 Feb

syd Posted in Coding No Comments

Linux C/C++: Compiling and Linking Basics

My parents bought me a TRS-80 model III when I was 13 years of age, and boy did I love my TRS-80! I quickly learnt how to code using the baked in BASIC language, and even familiarized myself with simple Z80 assembly language programming using the magic of BASIC’s “peeks” and “pokes”. I recall desperatelyRead more about Linux C/C++: Compiling and Linking Basics[…]

23 Jun

syd Posted in Hardware Review 11 Comments

Lenovo ThinkPad T450s Running Kubuntu in 2018

Even in 2018 the Lenovo ThinkPad T450s is my favorite laptop for running Linux. So what makes this laptop, which was released 3 and a half years ago, my personal favorite? It’s certainly not the lightest, thinnest, fastest, or best looking laptop around, yet I searched for, and purchased, a secondhand T450s to use asRead more about Lenovo ThinkPad T450s Running Kubuntu in 2018[…]

15 May

syd Posted in Configuration 3 Comments

Fix OpenVPN DNS in Kubuntu 18.04

OpenVPN does not correctly set DNS servers in Kubuntu 18.04 (this may also apply to other Ubuntu flavors, although to date I have only installed Kubuntu 18.04 so cannot confirm this). I have not yet looked in to the reason why this is the case, but it looks like it’s something to do with resolvedRead more about Fix OpenVPN DNS in Kubuntu 18.04[…]

09 Aug

syd Posted in Security No Comments

Encrypting Files Using GPG

Encryption is one of those things not many people enjoy – mainly because it’s complicated! This is particularly true in regards to good encryption. Thankfully, on most Linux distributions, a tool called GnuPG (gpg) comes pre-installed. However, you still need to generate your “keys”, and this is what confuses most would-be crypto users. There areRead more about Encrypting Files Using GPG[…]

18 Jul

syd Posted in Installation No Comments

VirtualBox on Host Running Kernel 4.12

Upgrading to Linux kernel 4.12 will break VirtualBox. Attempting to re-install VirtualBox 5.1.22 (either from the Ubuntu repositories or by downloading the binaries directly from virtualbox.org) will not help – the installation will fail. Thankfully, there is a patch available that can be applied – but only to the version of VirtualBox from virtualbox.org. IfRead more about VirtualBox on Host Running Kernel 4.12[…]

16 Jul

syd Posted in Networking No Comments

Intel 8260 Wireless with Kernel 4.12

If your laptop has an Intel 8260 wireless adapter and you have upgraded to the 4.12 kernel, your wifi probably isn’t working anymore. This is because the minimum firmware API version has been updated to 22 in a recent commit to the Intel 8000 series driver source code (in iwl-8000.c): /* Lowest firmware API versionRead more about Intel 8260 Wireless with Kernel 4.12[…]