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From the Docks to the Gate

This is a story about a simple web-service that answers only one question: if a given number is prime. The core problem is first solved with a Java class, which is then wrapped into a WebServlet and tested within a ...

Only speak when spoken to

It wasn’t Steve Jobs, but former Apple Computer CEO John Sculley, who in his book Odyssey: Pepsi to Apple, introduced us to the Knowledge Navigator, an astoundingly capable virtual assistant. Today, more than thirty years later, smart speakers are trying ...

Micro Python on ESP32 (HUZZAH32)

Adafruit's HUZZAH32 Feather board is built with the official WROOM32 module: Two CPU cores that can be individually controlled, and the CPU clock frequency is adjustable from 80 MHz to 240 MHz 448 kB of ROM for booting and core functions ...

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Could there be an effective computer for students that are REALLY on a budget?

During my final years in high school, I became captivated by the world of computers, succumbing to the allure of programmable devices. The late-afternoon bus rides back to the city, followed by brisk 20-minute walks to the local university, often ...

Installing Linux on Windows (straightforward is was not)

No question, Windows has come a long way. WSL - "Windows Subsystem for Linux" was probably unimaginable while Bill Gates and later Steve Balmer were running Microsoft. However the former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, resigned from the company's board in ...

Azure Serverless with a touch of TDD and CI/CD

AWS has enjoyed a stable market share in the low 30 percent. Google and IBM seem to be on opposing trajectories, and Microsoft is steadily growing its market share, reaching 23% in early 2023. Popular Cloud computing providers include services ...

AI-Tutor helping students to learn Python

[Cover art by Cyberpunk Portrait Generator API] You don't need to be a pessimist to imagine a world where students let AI tools do their homework and teachers use AI tools to evaluate students' submissions. Maybe there is still a ...

GPT – summarizing it cannot.

GPT-3, the third-generation Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a neural network machine learning model trained using internet data to generate text. More often than not, however, I found that the T(ransformer) in GPT means "Transform into bullshit". Recently, I put the Lenovo ...

Programming pyBox

Probably the easiest way to develop software for pyBox and iterate reasonably fast, is using the PyCharm IDE with the MicroPython plugin enabled. Create a new project, enable MircoPython and create three files: boot.py, main.py, and app.py. Remember, during the ...

Tomcat

Installing Tomcat on macOS 13.x Ventura Apache Tomcat 10.1.8 implements specifications that are part of the Jakarta EE 10 platform. Please note that applications that ran on Tomcat 9 and earlier will not run on Tomcat 10 without changes. Java ...

Porting MicroPython to pyBox

The standard ESP32 MicroPython port gets built for a generic ESP32 board. Compared to a generic board, pyBox has more to offer, most of which is not supported out of the box. Generic ESP32 pyBox 2GB Flash Memory 16GB Flash ...

pyBox Specification

Smallest viable MicroPython Computer? Dallas Semiconductor, acquired by Maxim Integrated in 2002, was a company that designed and manufactured analog, digital, and mixed-signal semiconductors. They had also designed the TINI board, a 68-pin SIMM, approximately 103 mm wide, 32mm tall, and ...

Installing Java on macOS 13 Ventura

For some time now, Java is not (pre-)installed anymore, let’s fix that. As I'm writing this, Java 19.0.1 is the latest version and Adoptium is one of the best places to find Prebuilt OpenJDK Binaries. Adoptium was known as AdoptOpenJDK, before the project was ...

Introducing pyBox

Could there be a computer that is as nimble as it is useful, and still be fun and distinctly easy to program?  pyBox, a small single-board computer, connected to a frugal 16x2 character display may be just that.  pyBox is ...

Micro Python on ESP8266 (HUZZAH ESP8266)

The ESP8266 is a low cost 80 MHz microcontroller with a full WiFi support. It can be found on several breakout boards, with Adafruit's HUZZAH ESP8266 being one of the better ones. For about $10 you can own a small ...

Installing Tomcat on macOS 12 Monterey

The Servlet 5.0 specification is out and Tomcat 10.0.x does support it. Time to dive into Tomcat 10. Prerequisite: Java Tomcat 10 requires Java version 8 or later and since OS X 10.7 Java is not (pre-)installed anymore. Let’s fix that ...

Onward to conversational applications

About 37%, or in numbers, 95 million U.S. adults have smart speakers in their homes. Half of them are daily active users. However, in the last two years, user growth has only been at 4%. (Smart Speaker Consumer Adoption Report ...

Installing Java on macOS 12 Monterey

For some time now, Java is not (pre-)installed anymore, let’s fix that. As I'm writing this, Java 17.0.3 is the latest LTS (Long Term Support) version and Adoptium is one of the best places to find Prebuilt OpenJDK Binaries. Adoptium was known as AdoptOpenJDK, ...