In my exploration of the Linux ALSA API, I had to diagnose why I was unable to hear sounds. The problems was that the sound was playing to the wrong device. I found that the default output device varied by the Raspberry Pi that I used. Each Pi was running in uniquely configured hardware (a uConsole, Pocket Console 35, so on).

Adding a few colors to text in an output console can make it a lot more readable. Preferably my text colours will be white and 2 or 3 other colors for emphasis. Many text-output APIs have functions that one can call to change text color. Generally, I don't use these. There are specific byte sequences that, when printed to the console, will signal for the console to change text software.

JetBrains IDEs have worked with WSL for many years, and over time, several ways of using it have emerged across our products. Depending on the entry point, the IDE could rely on a different underlying

The MSVC Build Tools Preview is updated regularly with the latest features and fixes from the MSVC development team. This post covers updates from the

In the previous posting for this series, I had code that was functional. But there was a blaring short-coming. I was putting the primary thread to sleep for a specific number of seconds while the system rendered the audio. If the audio was made shorter or longer, then this delay would be inappropriate. In this post, I will fix that. I also recycle my buffers in this update.

In November 2025 I did some panic purchasing. I upgraded one desktop to 160 gigs of memory, another to 64 gigs. I Upgraded my laptop to 70 gigs of memory. And I purchased 52 terabytes of storage of various types. At the time, some friends thought I was being a bit ridiculous. In retrospect, I feel like I didn't panic enough.

In recent times, I've personally and vicariously encountered a reoccurring situation concerning competing needs and tasks. It can be summarized to lack of prioritization. Fundamentally, I think we all understand prioritization. If we need to address problems in a house to prepare for a visit, and the house has a door that needs to be repaired, an electrical socket that shorts out, and a fire on the stove it is pretty easy to decide what problem will be addressed first.

Some time ago I made a post on dynamically rendering sound in the browser. In furtherance of a different project, today I am writing on dynamically rendering sound on Windows and Linux. I was specifically targeting the Raspberry Pi. But the Pi approach also works on other forms of Linux. For my project, I don't want to do a complete rewrite for Windows and Linux.

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I'm working on an ongoing project in which I am trying to use a web camera to produce time lapse video. Usually, I've used DSLRs for this purpose. But doing so also removes that camera from being available for other needs for up to 20 days. I have a lot of low power PCs that I could repurpose for this need.

Windows App SDK 2.2.0 WinAppSDK 2.2.0 is the latest stable servicing release for 2.0, with a new Windows AI video upscaling API, a first-class ApplicationData entry point for unpackaged apps, addit...

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Keeps the computer awake for the specified number of seconds - j2inet/woke

The power settings on a computer influence when it stays awake or goes into a lower power mode. User action influences this too. There are times when I want to start a long running process and walk away to come back to it later. Sometimes, I forget that unless I take some action (such as changing the power settings) the computer will go to sleep and halt my long-running work.

You can keep using your existing router.

I've just had my first experience using Claud for software development. I've used other AI tools, but not Claude specifically. My use of AI tools is constrained by the need to ensure that I do not grant third parties custody of any confidential client information. Generic components of a project can be generated on a machine that does not have access to confidential information.

Code signing certificates are used to attest that a binary is unmodified and came from a specific party. Computer systems can be set to give more trust to code signed by specific entities. The maximum length of validity for a code signing certificate, as of 2026 March 1, is being reduced from 39 months to 15 months (being reduced from a little over 3 years to a little over 1 year).

Every so often, I may have to create a new DirectX 12 program. The DirectX headers and libraries are part of the Windows headers and are generally present with the installation of the desktop development components of Visual Studio. There are some common or popular DirectX 12 related libraries that are not part of that. D3Dx12.h is one such header. I sometimes forget that this isn't part of the Windows headers.

I often carry a Pi with me when I go out to deployments. They have the tools that I need for certain diagnostic purposes and are easy to travel with. Usually, I need to just bring a keyboard and network cable along and it is ready to be used. The latest Pi based system that I got my hands on is the uConsole from Clockwork Pi.

A new exhibition at the Rijksmuseum examines.

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Random functions can be useful. There is even specialized hardware in many processors for generating random numbers. That said, there are some situations where the requirements as written from a user perspective call for randomness, but I've learned to have an inclination to avoid it. Thinking about projects I've worked on over the past decade, there are instances where the requirements called for a program to make a random selection from a pool of possible selections and present it to the user.

Windows has many methods of rendering images to the screens. Those include GDI, Direct3D, Direct2D, DirectWrite, XAML, Windows Forms, Win2D, and WinUI. Windows 10 brought support for mixing some of these rendering technologies. through XAML islands. There are other ways of mixing the rendering technologies. I was interested in mixing Direct3D with GDI and Direct2D. The rendering technologies were going to be used to generate what can be viewed as different layers of my UI.

I sometimes work on systems that control displays that run for most of the day. But there are "quiet hours" during which those screens show no content, and we would rather them be turned off. Having some downtime saves on resources, including the life of the display. The way this is handled differs from one solution to another. Sometimes we use third-party hardware to control the screens according to a schedule.