How to embed images in GitHub Readme Files
In this screencast I’ll show you how to add images to your GitHub Readme files. You can use the Markdown or HTML syntax for this, I’ll show you both versions. Make sure to upload images to your own repository and provide the relative path to them. Here’s the syntax: In Markdown In Markdown syntax, use the following example to embed an image:  In HTML GitHub also supported the HTML syntax, which uses the standard IMG tag. Pasting HTML code in a website is always a little tricky, but let me try: Should...
read moreHow to remove the Promo Box in Plesk Service Provider View
A few years ago, when Plesk started supporting Extensions, I gave a talk together with Any Kugaevskiy from at Parallels Summit in New Orleans. My part was about how to get started with Plesk Extensions in general. As a demo project, I removed the big blue promo box in Plesk Service Provider View – and only last week I remember that I’ve never made that project public. It’s about time I thought, and quickly created a GitHub repo to share it with the world. But then I thought, I best make a video to show people how to use this...
read moreHow to unlock subscriptions in Plesk Onyx
When parameters for a subscription in Plesk have been modified, Plesk may lock them. This means that when a change is made to the service plan itself, locked subscriptions are not updated by default. To unlock subscriptions and re-integrate them into the service plan, head over to the subscription in question (from the Subscriptions list in Service Provider View), then on the right hand side find the widget that reads Account. At the bottom, there’s an “unlock and sync” option. Click that and the subscription will be...
read moreFlashing Border Colors on the Commodore 128 in Machine Language
In this screencast I’ll show you how to create the iconic flashing borders on Commodore machines. Back in the day, when the system was loading, this was a nice way to indicate that the computer is busy doing something rather than being dead. I’ll show you the principle both in BASIC and in Machine Language on the C128. The VIC-II chip is the same on the C64 though, so this will also work on the Commodore 64. The same approach can be used on the Plus/4, however the addresses for the border and background colours are different...
read moreProgrammatic Loops in Commodore BASIC
In this screencast I’ll demonstrate how to use programmatic loops in Commodore BASIC. I’ll show you how to use the FOR/NEXT loop (available in all versions of Commodore BASIC), as well as the DO/WHILE loops (available on the Plus/4 and C128). Enjoy!
read moreFlow Control in Commodore BASIC
In this screencast I’ll explain the concept of Flow Control in Commodore BASIC. It’s kind of a video update of a post I did a while ago. In essence, it means that we can tell the programme to take a different route in the code depending on a condition that’s met. We’ll explore the IF/THEN and ON… GOTO/GOSUB statements (available on all versions of Commodore BASIC), as well as the expanded IF/THEN/ELSE version (available on the C128 and Plus/4 only). In addition, I’ll also show you how to use the BEGIN and...
read moreHow to run Commodore BASIC as a Scripting Language on macOS
Did you know you can run Commodore BASIC v2 on your Mac and Linux systems as a scripting language? It’s true – thanks to the marvellous efforts of Michael Steil and James Abbatiello. They’ve adapted the original BASIC v2 as featured on the VIC-20 and C64 with additional routines so that it works natively on modern machines. It’s ingenious! You can get the full source code on GitHub – it works a treat! For those who don’t quite know what to do with it, here are some instructions that’ll help you get...
read moreWriting HELLO WORLD in Machine Language on the Commodore 128
The Commodore 128 has a built-in machine language monitor which makes it ideal for ML development. However, most (or pretty much all) documentation on this subject is geared towards the Commodore 64, making it slightly difficult to get a head start in writing ML code for the 128. Before I forget how to do it, here are a few pointers – courtesy of Jim Butterfield’s book “Machine Language – Expanded Edition”. Getting Started Let’s begin by typing MONITOR in C128 mode. It’ll take us to the machine...
read moreThoughts on Windows 10 Upgrade Error 0xc190020e
My first generation Surface Pro only has 64GB of space, roughly 20 of which I’m allowed to use (the rest of it is kind of forever “lost in cyberspace” – or so it seems). It’s been running all Windows 10 updates fine until a few months ago, when Windows kept bugging me that the latest security patches needed to be installed. I was happily running Version 1703 up to that point and never had an issue with space limitations or deferring updates. Until early 2018, when Microsoft started  aggressively forcing the Fall...
read moreThoughts about the C64 Mini by Retro Games Ltd
In Europe, the brand new C64 Mini has just been released. Although I don’t have one myself, I’ve been following the Indiegogo campaign and have watched several “unboxing reviews” on YouTube. I must admit it’s a neat little machine, and I like the idea of somebody making the Commodore days available to a new generation of users. However, I can’t stop thinking “what’s the point of this exercise?” Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I dislike the idea of Commodore BASIC making a...
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