Comments

Trollercoaster (our of character) says: Woopsie

RE: hpr4705::2026-08-14 Free Software Is Wasted On You Teens by Trollercoasterfrom the series Freedom is not Free .
00:24:14 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Hey candycanearter07... You sent me a mail, because you were worried you hurt me. That was so nice of you, but I need to apologize: I was too much into my role of grumpy old geek.

So my apologies for worrying you - and thanks a million for reaching out to me. That was so sweet.

Now I'm gonna crouch back into my corner and cry about hurting the world. (don't worry, just slowly sliding back into my role - I'm aye okay, I hope you aretoo)

[note to janitors: I shared this with permission of candycanearter07]

Trollercoaster says: Who's talking about satire?

RE: hpr4705::2026-08-14 Free Software Is Wasted On You Teens by Trollercoasterfrom the series Freedom is not Free .
00:24:14 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
candycanearter07 are you making fun of me?

You're one of those youngsters (definition: under 50), right?
GET OFF MY LAWN!

candycanearter07 says: good satire again

RE: hpr4705::2026-08-14 Free Software Is Wasted On You Teens by Trollercoasterfrom the series Freedom is not Free .
00:24:14 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
i always find your satirical episodes quite enjoyable :)

Trollercoaster says: old guys together

RE: hpr4705::2026-08-14 Free Software Is Wasted On You Teens by Trollercoasterfrom the series Freedom is not Free .
00:24:14 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Heya old guy,

you weren't supposed to hear this. Ken asked it for those youngsters out there. You can just continue your bug fix for xrandr in Cobol.

old guy says: :-)

RE: hpr4705::2026-08-14 Free Software Is Wasted On You Teens by Trollercoasterfrom the series Freedom is not Free .
00:24:14 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
nice listening, nice rant ... enjoyed it! thx

Trollercoaster says: One left in my six pack

RE: hpr4705::2026-08-14 Free Software Is Wasted On You Teens by Trollercoasterfrom the series Freedom is not Free .
00:24:14 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Since Ken didn't come over to pick up that last beer from my six pack... (Delirium Tremens, an old time favorite of mine), I sugeest you look me up when you're coming over for FOSDEM in February. We'll have one together.

Glad you enjoyed the show.

candycanearter07 says: re: Audacity for noise music

RE: hpr4692::2026-07-28 Noise Music Tutorial 2: Using Audacity to Make Noise by TheDUDE
00:08:48 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
I don't know why it wouldnt be? You could just use localstorage to save the image as a .wav file and use a player to play it, likely.

Jack says: Misleading

RE: hpr4703::2026-08-12 Ebooks and Audiobooks by Ahuka
00:07:59 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Slick way of getting an unwarranted dig against the President. Maybe check your facts first.

Kobo raised e-reader prices in the US and Canada by $20 to $30 per device, affecting popular models like the Kobo Clara BW ($159.99), Kobo Clara Colour ($179.99), and Kobo Libra Colour ($259.99). While industry analysts point to broader component and manufacturing cost pressures, Kobo implemented these mid-cycle adjustments directly across retail channels without citing specific tariff policy triggers.
Updated US Pricing Breakdown
Kobo Clara BW: $159.99 (previously $139.99)
Kobo Clara Colour: $179.99 (previously $159.99)
Kobo Libra Colour: $259.99 (previously $229.99)

Archer72 says: Audiobooks and Audible

RE: hpr4703::2026-08-12 Ebooks and Audiobooks by Ahuka
00:07:59 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Hi Ahuka,

Thank you for this show. I am going down an Audible rabbit hole that I should have avoided. Thankfully there is Libation set up on my server to Liberate those book in original m4b format and an option for mp3 in long format. I'm sure there is FLOSS tool for making chapters (other than Audacity).

https://getlibation.com

candycanearter07 says: re: a refreshing contrast...

RE: hpr3766::2023-01-09 ACER Nitro 5 laptop review by Bookewyrmm
00:09:48 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
and now its been 3 years since it was recorded :D i wonder if booke is still around to make a followup on this if theyre still using it...

candycanearter07 says: useful!!

RE: hpr4703::2026-08-12 Ebooks and Audiobooks by Ahuka
00:07:59 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
i used to love using the little rentable mp3 players from the library, this is totally up my alley :D

candycanearter07 says: useful!

RE: hpr4697::2026-08-04 Correcting the Dates of Files by Vance
00:11:57 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
since different filesystems have different ways to store dates, this kinda thing is useful in a ton of senarios! thanks

wevaba6950 says: A refreshing contrast between enterprise gear and low-power hardware

RE: hpr3766::2023-01-09 ACER Nitro 5 laptop review by Bookewyrmm
00:09:48 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
It’s rare to find a long-term review that actually covers two full years of daily use, especially for something as niche as the Pinebook Pro. I was particularly struck by the point about how the ARM architecture forces you to be more intentional with your workflow—knowing exactly what the hardware can and cannot handle before you even open a browser tab.
I spend most of my time working on the opposite end of the performance spectrum, usually configuring enterprise storage arrays with high-end Fibre Channel HBAs and dedicated RAID controllers https://serverorbit.com/hba-and-controllers/fiber-channel/raid-controller-en. In that world, everything is about maximum throughput and zero latency, so the idea of a $200 "daily driver" feels like a real shift in perspective. However, I’ve found that for simple tasks like monitoring a RAID rebuild or checking controller logs via SSH, you really don't need a massive workstation. There’s something very satisfying about using a low-power, fanless machine to manage a high-power server rack. It really makes you appreciate efficiency over raw horsepower.
After two years, do you think the battery degradation on the Pinebook has stayed manageable, or is it starting to feel more like a "desk-bound" laptop now?

Henrik Hemrin says: Exif in digiKam

RE: hpr4697::2026-08-04 Correcting the Dates of Files by Vance
00:11:57 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
DigiKam, an open source Photo management tool (which I happen to have talked shortly about here at HPR) make use of ExifTool and Exiv2.

I am not the person to explain any of them in more detail. For reference one passage in the digiKam documentation regarding them: https://docs.digikam.org/en/setup_application/metadata_settings.html

Whiskeyjack says: Reply to Archer72 on HPR4708 - PLCs Episode 1

RE: hpr4708::2026-08-19 Programmable Logic Controls - Episode 1 by Whiskeyjack
00:19:52 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
I am glad you are finding this interesting. Episode 1 focuses on relay technology, as this is important background for understanding what replaced them when hard wired relay based logic was replaced by software in industrial control systems since the latter evolved directly from the former. Industrial control systems largely took a very different evolutionary path from conventional computers in terms of software concepts and programming languages and so it takes some basic grounding in programming with relays to understand what came next.

From episode 2 onward I start dealing with actual PLCs and related systems. If you have previous experience with PLCs, you may still find the historical background interesting as I cover some of the older systems in some detail as their simplicity makes the explanations easier.

The series has a total of 8 episodes recorded and 6 posted so far. I will post the remaining 2 as slots open up in the calendar.

If anyone has any questions about what I cover in this series I will be happy to answer them in a follow up episode if I can. I have skimmed over this topic very lightly and in very simple terms in order to make it more interesting to people who are not familiar with the field. I would be happy to go into more depth on any of these topics.

I am also working on a follow up episode on a closely related topic which will get posted after the series winds up near the end of the year.

Windigo says: Fantastic episode

RE: hpr4581::2026-02-23 Sharp Intake of Breath City (A.K.A.) How I learnt to stop worrying about the fork bomb by not_toby
00:36:31 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
I deeply enjoyed your introductory episode. I find it fascinating to hear about everyone's different backgrounds and experiences!

A note on "Meanwhile, back at the point": I believe the Linux Outlaws adopted it from the LugRadio podcast (https://lugradio.org/), which is another fantastic (although long-defunct) podcast worth listening to.

I don't know if it goes further back than that. :)

Archer72 says: Thanks you

RE: hpr4708::2026-08-19 Programmable Logic Controls - Episode 1 by Whiskeyjack
00:19:52 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Hi,

Thank you for this series. I am just a little ways into the first in the series. With living in 'Toyota country' (Kentucky), this is quite interesting though I am not in the industry anymore.

Being in the electrical/electronic industry by trade in the past makes for good listening.

I may very well get back into this in time.

Cheers,
Archer72

Vance says: Modifying metadata

RE: hpr4697::2026-08-04 Correcting the Dates of Files by Vance
00:11:57 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Thanks very much, Jim, glad you found it to be helpful! It appears that "exiftags" does not have the ability to modify EXIF tags, just read them. A quick search turned up "exiftool", "jhead", and "exiv2" as potential utilities to make modifications, but I have no experience with any of them.

I'm not sure I can blame Android for not being able to use an SD card. As mentioned, the old phone seemed to have some hardware problems, so that could be the cause. I would agree that the software environment definitely steers users toward Google's interests and would be interested in an episode about reclaiming some freedom.

Windigo says: Audacity for noise music

RE: hpr4692::2026-07-28 Noise Music Tutorial 2: Using Audacity to Make Noise by TheDUDE
00:08:48 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
I watched a high school student's presentation on his technique for making noise with audacity.

He used MS paint to create scribbles and drawings, saved them as bitmap images, and imported them as raw audio. He changed the composition of the noise and length of the audio by choosing different colors, making different impressions, and changing the image size. It was pretty wild, although a very manual process!

I wonder if the same kind of technique would be possible with Javascript/HTML canvas?

Archer72 says: Glasses and age

RE: hpr4655::2026-06-05 Tips for Glasses by norrist
00:09:50 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Thanks for this too.

Operat0r, a lot of us geeks are over 50 I would guess.

I also keep the font size at 150% and immediately look for the scale setting on a new application. If the application is coded correctly, it is just ++<+>

This scale may increase to 175% depending on the time of day, mostly early in the morning.

Whiskeyjack says: Reply to candycanearter07 in HPR4698 ID3 tags

RE: hpr4698::2026-08-05 ID3 Tags and Vorbis Comments by Whiskeyjack
00:32:55 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
I only accidentally discovered that HPR MP3 files had both v1 and v2 tags while preparing this episode. I noticed that the tags shown by the ID3 program did not match exactly what was appearing in the Totem music player software. A bit of experimenting showed that both V1 and V2 were indeed there. ID3v2 are at the start of the file (you can use "head" to view them), and ID3v1 tags are at the end (you can use "tail" to see them there). That made for a more interesting podcast than I had planned on.

I have to wonder how common this practice is.

Th3Dud3 says: response to Kevin not being able to get cream ale

RE: hpr4696::2026-08-03 HPR Community News for July 2026 by HPR Volunteersfrom the series HPR Community News.
00:50:52 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Now I see why we dumped all your tea.in the harbor since you don't have our watery beer lmao. No in all seriousness it's probably due to the tariffs. They really screwed up a lot of things trade wise. Like I was going to buy a cheap used yamaha keytar, but since due to tariffs and import fees, it cost as much as a new alesis vortex, so I bought that instead. Hopefully within the decade the tariffs will be gone and American hill billy adjunct lager styles can be readily available.

Whiskeyjack says: Reply to xmanmonk in HPR4698 - ID3 Tags

RE: hpr4698::2026-08-05 ID3 Tags and Vorbis Comments by Whiskeyjack
00:32:55 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
I am glad you liked the episode.

I covered the "tail" method for reading ID3v1 tags including how to get just the ID3 tags at the end without any of the music which comes before it, plus handling non-printable characters.

Since the tags are fixed length strings of known length, you should be able to use "cut" to extract individual fields after using "tail" to get the entire block of data, although I have not tried this particular refinement.

candycanearter07 says: quirks in hpr

RE: hpr4698::2026-08-05 ID3 Tags and Vorbis Comments by Whiskeyjack
00:32:55 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
i did not know that hpr uses both id3v1 and 2! that explains a lot of the trickiness i was having with some of my scripts...

xmanmonk says: Great episode!

RE: hpr4698::2026-08-05 ID3 Tags and Vorbis Comments by Whiskeyjack
00:32:55 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
I've written id3 tag reading code for a music catalog database, and I use the EyeD3 library, which includes the eyeD3 command line utility, which I find very useful.

Also, you can display the old tag at the end of a mp3 file by doing

tail filename.mp3 | hd

This shows a hex dump, with the text on the right. Likewise, to see the newer tags, you can do a

head filename.mp3 | hd

and scroll up to the start of the file.

Jim DeVore says: Useful episode!

RE: hpr4697::2026-08-04 Correcting the Dates of Files by Vance
00:11:57 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Thanks for including the code in the show notes. This feels like a common problem. I have some directories full of scanned images where I'd like to preserve the scan order in terms of time but insert an entirely different date. Probably punch the resulting value into the metadata as well. This script will be a great starting place.

I also am frustrated with the ability to pry files out of Google's walled garden on my phone. I'm using an open source app to synchronize several directories on my phone including my photo directory, so I can work off of synchronized copy and never have to explicitly move or remove anything from my phone.

This sounds like a show in itself, and is on my to-do list.

candycanearter07 says: re: mic issues

RE: hpr4696::2026-08-03 HPR Community News for July 2026 by HPR Volunteersfrom the series HPR Community News.
00:50:52 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
hi, sorry again about the mic issues!! im stuck using the builtin mic for my laptop and also it was like 4 in the morning and i just woke up :P

also he/him

Archer72 says: Brilliant!

RE: hpr4705::2026-08-14 Free Software Is Wasted On You Teens by Trollercoasterfrom the series Freedom is not Free .
00:24:14 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Hi Trollercoaster,

Brilliant show.

I hear it took 5 beers to quench your thirst.

Meant in the best way,
Cheers!!

Archer72

Archer72 says: hpr4673 First contact

RE: hpr4696::2026-08-03 HPR Community News for July 2026 by HPR Volunteersfrom the series HPR Community News.
00:50:52 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Hi Ken and Kevie,

Thanks for the shout out. Glad ya'll enjoyed this. :)

Archer72

Archer72 says: Reply to Whiskeyjack and candycanearter07

RE: hpr4678::2026-07-08 High Resolution Elapsed Time in Shell Scripts by Whiskeyjack
00:28:49 Listen in ogg, opus, or mp3 format.
Hi,

I second an episode on DEBUG, that would make a great show!

Cheers,
Archer72

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