Blog: http://www.breakintoprogram.co.uk YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/BreakIntoProgram Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/breakintoprogram Software developer & electronics dabbler. Restoring & programming vintage computers from Acorn Atom to ZX81.https://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.ukhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3myb57p7zbc2gWell that's two hours of my life I won't get back. Thought I'd try to get my Nest Display to act as a Bluetooth speaker for my Dell XPS-420. It's already on my desk and would save me hooking up a set of PC speakers. Could I get them to pair? Nope. Think the BT card in my Dell is too old.19 Oct 2026 22:11 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3myb57p7zbc2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3myahowd4is26I think I’m finally starting to get Rust. Managed to get my standard get-to-know-a-language app running in it. A threaded prime number calculator. It’s taken me the best part of a few days though. The app covers all the basics: functions, classes, passing by reference, lists and threading.19 Oct 2026 15:46 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3myahowd4is26https://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3my7nreq7wk2iTempted to get an HP-30 of some description for daily use. I used to have one in the mid to late 80s whilst studying maths at college. You quickly get used to RPN. and that skill paid dividends when I started coding FORTH at Barcrest. Plus, as a bonus, folk only ask to borrow your calculator once. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_30_series19 Oct 2026 08:02 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3my7nreq7wk2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3my7iwv4k7k26Of course we all know that she was abducted by aliens and taken to the Delta Quadrant. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/19/amelia-earhart-purdue-expedition-clump-of-trees-nikumaroro-kiribati19 Oct 2026 06:35 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3my7iwv4k7k26https://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3my6mxh73xc2tDecided to rejig my workbench. It was a bit of a compromise before as I was also working from here. Moved the camera over the monitor. Added a microphone amp I was given a few months ago. Can now free up the space to the right of this for test equipment and whatnot.18 Oct 2026 22:15 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3my6mxh73xc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3my62iennss2gI've got a huge 40MB hard drive of a similar vintage in an Elonex 368 portable PC from the early 90s. It's hard to believe that less than 10 years later IBM would launch the Microdrive. A tiny compact-flash sized hard-drive. Minaturisation a Swiss clockmaker would be proud of. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Oct 2026 16:44 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3my62iennss2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3my5zw4hezc2lI've got a handful of 5.25" drives knocking around, 3 for the BBC Micro, a Commodore 1541 (love the aesthetics on that) and two slimmer 1542-II's. These clunky drives make satisfying noises, though you need to scale up to the older 8" units for the full orchestra. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Oct 2026 16:34 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3my5zw4hezc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3my5zplup6c2lBack onto two software projects I've been working on. Emulating the ZX Spectrum beeper in SDL for Speculation and more reverse-engineering of my Sega Megadrive music driver. I'll be starting a deep-dive on the YM2612 and recreating one of the tools I wrote for Tim to make sound patches for it.18 Oct 2026 16:30 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3my5zplup6c2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3my5vrip2o22kThis. [contains quote post or other embedded content]18 Oct 2026 15:20 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3my5vrip2o22khttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3my5nsgpbsk2tI’ve seen plenty of batteries turn into spicy pillows. First time I’ve seen a cheese one. This was well out of date at the back of the fridge. Hopefully it won’t explode in the bin.18 Oct 2026 12:57 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3my5nsgpbsk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3my4yigi4wc2uAaron Ardir’s discovery of a thriving retro community probably echoes that of many older developers on here, including myself. https://www.theregister.com/offbeat/2026/10/15/give-him-a-hand-dev-publishes-25-year-old-palm-os-tools-to-github/530344318 Oct 2026 06:36 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3my4yigi4wc2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3my3clgfyr22dOkay, fixing up the OS turned out to be fairly straightforward. The code and instructions from radiomanV for the TL866 worked first time, and the programmer is now up and running with the Windows GUI app in Wine. [contains quote post or other embedded content]17 Oct 2026 14:31 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3my3clgfyr22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxzbiyd4hk2rIt’s the Temu Will Smith #totp16 Oct 2026 19:06 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxzbiyd4hk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxzbbhiwsk2rI don’t remember any of these songs #totp.16 Oct 2026 19:02 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxzbbhiwsk2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxz7ldydmc2rAm I having a stroke? #totp16 Oct 2026 18:32 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxz7ldydmc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxz6xcu5zs2r#TOTP16 Oct 2026 18:21 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxz6xcu5zs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxz3swtojc2rHuge fan of Retro Revivals. Having spent many a weekend helping my old man fixing up “foreigners”(*) on the driveway in my early teens and servicing my own cars, it’s like walking down memory lane. * A motor trade expression, probably UK, for cars repaired cheaply outside of normal working hours. https://youtu.be/4lLFScTDJVs?is=AfAn6TNanEXjBiDg16 Oct 2026 17:25 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxz3swtojc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxyjgo2cms23Hahaha. [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Oct 2026 11:56 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxyjgo2cms23https://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxy3j5aivk2jSo... they're showing a Tesla roadster that can jump a considerable distance using compressed air jets. Has the world lost its fricking mind.16 Oct 2026 07:46 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxy3j5aivk2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxy2huml3222Done just over 250 miles on my e-bike now, saving about £75 in train fares. Gears may need adjusting ever so slightly to make shifting between gears 6 and 8 a bit smoother, but that's just me being a perfectionist. Other than that, it's running-in nicely. A lovely little commuter.16 Oct 2026 07:28 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxy2huml3222https://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxxytzc6n22sFriday https://static.klipy.com/ii/c3a19a0b747a76e98651f2b9a3cca5ff/c6/2a/OSqsmrXd.gif?hh=373&ww=498&mp4=ljkZS6Kv929TJvB7q&webm=La89Gd9bv6kdD16 Oct 2026 06:59 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxxytzc6n22shttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxxxk5qw5s2sSo far no major gribbles with Ubuntu 26.04 LTS. Both my old dev Linux boxes are now running the latest and greatest. Everything seems to work fine. Only exceptions are shared folders, which is my fault - I told the installer to overwrite my sambda config file...16 Oct 2026 06:35 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxxxk5qw5s2shttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxulipil2k2bWell, after a minor hiccup (*), I appear to have updated my old Dell XPS 420 to the latest and greatest Ubuntu LTS. (*) the install crashed half-way through and I had to go through the recovery process.14 Oct 2026 22:22 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxulipil2k2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxuaqxidak2oLinux: "Ubuntu 26.04 is now available as an upgrade." Me: "Mmm.. Maybe I should upgrade." Linux: "Do you want to see the release notes?" Me: "Yes please, just to be on the safe side and all." Linux:14 Oct 2026 19:10 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxuaqxidak2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxsxcrntck2rHad a really good evening playing around with the MicroBeast last night. The firmware update has improved an already great little machine into a fabulous one. It's amazing how a handful of thoughtful changes can make the world of difference.14 Oct 2026 06:48 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxsxcrntck2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxrqffcomk24Further to last night's MicroBeast outing, updating the firmware to the latest and greatest. Needs to be sent via YMODEM. Thankfully I wrote a script that does this in Linux.13 Oct 2026 19:11 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxrqffcomk24https://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxrjzrpg2k2b“Can I help you?” “Yes, can I have a Hitchcock-style McMuffin with fries please” [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Oct 2026 17:18 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxrjzrpg2k2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/breakintoprogram.co.uk/post/3mxrd5itoyk2qToday is Ada Lovelace Day. findingada.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace_Day13 Oct 2026 15:14 +0000at://did:plc:ulsrokhbdwzathvrvahn76e2/app.bsky.feed.post/3mxrd5itoyk2q