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  1. C

    Anybody using a Mac Pro 6.1 for Linux? (Trash Can Mac)

    I eventually got it stable with basic Debian Bookworm. It helps that I stay in console mode almost all the time and only crank up XFCE for a debug session with C or Perl or Java or whatever. But GUI works now. However... I was given a Cheesegrater (not even a newer one, but a 2008, 3.1)...
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    Can you install Linux on 2011 Macbook Air? Live? Can you undo it?

    I have to modify my previous post. After receiving an old Mac Pro Cheesegrater (2010 model or thereabouts) it has become the best Linux box that I have ever owned. Built like a tank (and weighs like one, also), it took Debian 12 without a hiccup. I kept expanding it out to see what it would...
  3. C

    Linux to I2C?

    Now in production, so to speak. Or rather, everything works so I can get to programming anything on the I2C chain. It took a considerable amount of research and time with a logic analyzer, but I have an interface from an ordinary parallel port to a single or multiple I2C chain. It only...
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    Linux to I2C?

    Got it. Finally found a parallel card that acts like the old motherboard ports. From Amazon, SIIG Legacy and Beyond Series 1 Port Single Parallel PCIe Card. Interestingly, it has the same A99*** chip as four others that I tested, but they will not respond to any of my probings. But...
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    Linux to I2C?

    Has anyone had any luck connecting an I2C device to Linux? Not talking about a Raspberry PI. That is very easy since I2C support is built in. Unfortunately, the PI is somewhat short on horsepower. With an old (Very old) pc with a parallel printer port it is no problem, since the legacy port...
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    Debian 12, problem with old systems and new monitors.

    Yep. Exactly correct. Obviously a 2013 video card will not support 4k, and Debian is just trying to feed to what it sees to be plugged in, without concerning itself with the card. There is no locking in the monitor, so I have to tell Debian to stick to 1080p. Its a smart monitor, but not...
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    Debian 12, problem with old systems and new monitors.

    Hardware Mac Pro (Trash Can) AMD Mac Pro (CheeseGrater) (2) Nvidia Homebuilt Rysen Tower No name video card I am installing Debian Bookworm on all four. As always, it installed fine on one of the old Mac Pros. And is working fine. I always install only an absolute minimum system (SSH...
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    Anybody using a Mac Pro 6.1 for Linux? (Trash Can Mac)

    I collect old (ancient, mostly) computers and someone gave me a really nice Trash Can Pro, i.e. Mac Pro 6.1 2013. It runs fine with Mojave but I have a far newer desktop for mundane stuff. It is very quiet and quite powerful and being Intel would make a fine Linux box. So I have tried it...
  9. C

    What is your home set-up?

    My collection is a pile of Raspberries. A 3, three 4's, and a box full of Zeros too numerous to count. My baliwick is controlling things, which these days is best done with a Pi and the GPIO. And maybe with an Arduino attached. But, that list also includes my pride and joy, a 1976 Altair...
  10. C

    Need a Perl Guru.

    I agree wholeheartedly with him. C is small, tight and has no fluff. C++, while it has everything that the original C has, also contains the kitchen sink, the backyard barbeque pit, and that warehouse storing new tires that don't fit anything. For everyday use on building programs, it is...
  11. C

    Need a Perl Guru.

    The reason that I always have steered beginners to C rather than the C++ they have alway heard to be vastly superior, is to keep them from withdrawing from the class in total confusion and changing their degree plans to psychology. In one of my many C++ books, plainly advertising itself as a...
  12. C

    Need a Perl Guru.

    Certainly, although plain C is usually the best for an ordinary driver. I have always advised students to start with C before moving on to C++. The structure is much simpler (pointers not withstanding) and for a beginner it will not get them lost in objects, inheritance, classes, polymorphism...
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    Need a Perl Guru.

    Problem solved. ChatGPT suddenly appeared from nowhere and gave several good answers, some including features of Perl that I didn't even know existed. My professional programming career is long behind me so the issue is only academic, but I would say that the future of coding is going to...
  14. C

    Truth about Rasberry PI 4 is it's straight garbage

    I have used, and use, a lot of Pi's over the years, starting with a couple of 2's, which didn't impress me. My current stable has a 3, a trio of 4's and a box full of Zeros's. My use is for controlling stuff, so working with the GPIO is my emphasis. For controllers they work fine - my PCB...
  15. C

    Happy Birthday Debian

    Debian is aging well. I moved to Sarge from Redhat in (unknown date, but the Wiki says 2005) when my nerdish friends and I discovered the wonderful utility of APT. After the unusable kludge of RPM, by itself it was enough to make everyone change over. In all those years in between, I never...
  16. C

    Can you install Linux on 2011 Macbook Air? Live? Can you undo it?

    Apple making it difficult for Linux users is a considerable understatement. I have pretty well given up with Linux on Mac. I can usually make it boot on my stash of old Intel boxes, but there is always something that doesn't work right or takes days to hack through - fans stay at high...
  17. C

    Need a Perl Guru.

    I already use Device::BCM2835. It works fine and my code to access the GPIO pins has no problem with it. But, I apparently didn't make my wants clear. It isn't that I need help in getting the driver to work, but that I don't quite understand the Perl calls that use it. To change a pin to...
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    Need a Perl Guru.

    GURU = Anyone who knows more than me. i.e. almost everyone. I am making good progress in learning Perl, but am stuck on an item that I can't seem to find in the Mastering Perl books. (Or more likely, don't recognize.) I am doing I/O projects on a PI 4, using the GPIO for all kinds of...
  19. C

    Linux plus Pro XDR display?

    I read where (allegedly) a package was built for windows that can set the controls for the Apple Pro XDR display. Thus far, the display worked on windows, but if any parameter needed to be changed, it had to be hooked up to a Mac again. This is third party info, as I haven't used any windows...
  20. C

    Do you think people should use Debian or Ubuntu? Tell me which one and why.

    I use Debian because I don't care for a distro to load tons of software that I will never use. Nothing evil about that, but I like to start with a clean system. I always load the absolute minimum required to see the light of day, then add what I want one apt-get at a time. And way back in...
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