Quick Access To WSL

To open the Windows Subsystem Linux from the File Explorer enter the following in the address bar: \\wsl$ to open a specific Distro add it to the path, for example: \\wsl$\Debian

8 April 2026 · Mark

Segmentation Fault On Linux

So it isn’t just Mac that is throwing up an error, also happening one linux. now i have managed to check the code on Debian it is clear something is wrong with the installation or calls in both. it seems to be related to QApplication, but i can’t be arsed to track it down any further. time for a rewrite using QWidget only.

6 March 2026 · Mark

Created A Post Symbolic Link

This will allow me to keep the desktop post shorcut while editing and renaming the python applications. A special case will be needed on windows but the mac and linux versions should work the same…

5 March 2026 · Mark

How To Pause Unix Shell Script

You can pause the execution of a shell script using read like this: read -t 5 -p "press any key to resume, will exit in 5 sec ..." The -t is the time in seconds and the -p is the pause followed by a message.

28 February 2026 · Mark

Editing Linux Grub Boot Loader

This is for my reference I recently needed to revert the Kernel on my iMac/Linux machine. I had updated to the latest version, which caused a problem with the Brightness not working anymore. On an iMac that meant I had no way to adjust the screen, as it doesn’t have any physical buttons. I attempted to edit the grub file from the boot loader, but that didn’t work as there doesn’t seem to be an editor in the boot shell. So after booting up a very bright UI I edited from the main UI. ...

21 July 2024 · Mark

Linux Mint Login Loop

The default installation of Linux Mint on my iMac went very well right up until the moment it didn’t. I don’t know the cause, but I did find a few posts online about the problem I had, namely a login loop: whereby the login screen appeared to accept the login details only to show a blank screen momentarily, and then return to the login prompt. There were comments online proffering a solution in the form of ALT-CTRL-F1 etc. Which is supposed to open a terminal window to allow fixes to be applied. The problem for me was that none of the function keys worked F1, F2 etc. ...

15 January 2023 · Mark

iMac 2012 Recovery

I am currently in the process of resetting an old 2012 iMac after deciding trying to set up the Fusion Drive in there was too much hassle. I think it can be done but as it is a proprietary RAID setup I decided to reinstall MacOS and then use an external drive as a dual boot Linux/Mac setup. I had this before and it worked well enough, the only requirement was to hit the boot drive selector shortcut. ...

4 January 2023 · Mark
iMac running Linux Mint from Debian

Minting an iMac

Sadly, Apple has retired my 2012 iMac, after 10 years. The iMac is still working, has a decent CPU and memory and a nice display, albeit not retina, so the retirement does feel somewhat premature to me. Apple puts things out to pasture far too quickly in my opinion, Microsoft is a lot better in this regard, and Linux is top. Due to concerns about the aging MacOS version on the machine, it limits my application upgrade path, how long will developers keep compiling for older systems 2 or 3 versions, maybe, often they want the latest and greatest version immediately, who can blame them. Add that to the fact that Apple/Nvidia haven’t provided GPU/CUDA drivers for years, I have decided to retire Apple from my old iMac and switch it over to Linux Mint. ...

10 December 2022 · Mark