lmemsm

Light the Night

Mon, 08 Dec 2025 15:46:51 GMT

I wanted to do something FLOSS related to brighten up people's holidays this year. My initial idea was a countdown to the holidays highlighting different Free, Libre and Open Source software each night. While I may still do that on my Mastodon feed, my initial plans were derailed. I'm in the middle of updating my build scripts and rebuilding some of the FLOSS programs I use from source code with the latest versions of libraries. I thought about sharing build scripts and doing some kind of build from source group meetings but I haven't been able to connect with other source code enthusiasts who enjoy building their software from scratch. I also have not figured out an effective method of sharing build scripts or executables. Feel free to contact me on Mastodon if you have any suggestions related to these ideas: https://fosstodon.org/@lmemsm

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Science Fiction Free and Open Source Software

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 12:54:58 GMT

I've been collecting some FLOSS links to programs that might be of interest to science fiction enthusiasts for a while now. Thought I'd document them in one place.

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Console Based Software

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 16:50:29 GMT

Let's talk console based software and FOSS operating systems. First, some console based software resources I've liked over the years include:
https://inconsolation.wordpress.com/
https://termux.dev/en/
https://archiveos.org/rogue/
http://inx.maincontent.net/

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sudo alternatives

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 16:29:15 GMT

I recently had an issue doing an upgrade of AIX Toolbox on an AIX machine and it caused the sudo program to fail because it couldn't find dependencies it needed to execute successfully. I started searching to see if there were simpler alternatives that could do a job similar to sudo and would not have so many dependencies. Of the various options out there, I found three that were interesting.

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Web browser alternatives

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 16:38:19 GMT

I've been interested in web browser development for a while now. Trying to find a lightweight web browser than can be built independently from source and still supports the ability to view the average modern web page is extremely difficult. I feel like the main browser developers now have so much of a monopoly over web development that they managed to become the web standards committee, taking this job away from the W3C which originally maintained web standards. They control what standards become part of the web and even eliminate the need for certain products. Products like Flash and Silverlight became practically obsolete with the advent of HTML 5. While Flash and Silverlight weren't exactly a boon for Free and Open development, the current web standards are so difficult to develop for that independent commercial and Free/Open development alike are both at a loss to keep up.

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Software Freedom Day 2024 Resources

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 23:45:45 GMT

Thanks to everyone who helped make Software Freedom Day 2024 a success. The official highlights page has been moved to https://digitalfreedoms.org/en/sfd/blog/software-freedom-day-2024-highlights

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Web-based Open Source

Mon, 28 Aug 2023 12:40:18 GMT

Thought it would be fun to consolidate my list of Open Source apps that work via the web. You can use them right in your browser without having to download or install any software.

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SDL Migration Options

Mon, 22 May 2023 20:18:21 GMT

I've been using SDL for a long while now. The newest version of SDL 3 will require migrating from SDL 2 versions. Like the switch from 1.2.15 to 2, it will once again break backward compatibility. It will remove support for several older platforms and change the API. The good news is that SDL 3 will have a compatibility layer much sooner than SDL 2 did. I'm still patching some of the SDL 1.2.15 programs I use so that they'll work with either SDL 2 or SDL 1.2.15. In my experiences with it so far, patching seems to work better than using the compatibility layer for SDL 1.2 support. SDL 3 will make more use of the GPU and modern graphics libraries and drivers. From what I've read, it'll introduce a new, portable shader language. So, you may now need more than just a C compiler to write programs. I prefer working with a minimal number of languages and compilers and am not looking forward to some of the new changes SDL 3 may bring. This leaves me wondering if I should seek another graphics/GUI library for more of my development.

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calendar program

Fri, 12 May 2023 17:45:02 GMT

I've been investigating calcurse which is supposed to have support for importing and exporting ical format and exporting pcal format. It sounded like it could integrate well with the other software I use. It has a calendar, information about appointments and a todo list. So, it covers a lot of the functionality I am interested in. I don't find the interface immediately intuitive, but there is documentation. I prefer programs that will work on any operating system I'm using. That means I need Windows support when I'm at work. I could not find any ports of calcurse to a Windows system. The code includes fork and other non-portable functionality which makes porting a nuisance. I did find a DOS version of calcurse. So, I figured if it had been ported to DOS, it could be made to work on Windows. I didn't read the fine print and the DOS port mentions the program hangs on exit and doesn't handle shelling to other applications properly. I went ahead and debugged those issues as best I could. It currently seems to be working on Windows with enough functionality to use it. Haven't figured out how to integrate it with my workflow yet, but it's at least a step toward some progress. I can get it to build with modified code, but I have not put in the work to attempt to automate the building and patching processes. If I'm just going to use it for myself, I may not need to go through that effort. However, if I want to share it and I want to be able to reproduce building on Windows easily, I need to set up my build scripts and create patch files. So, now I'm curious. Is there anyone other than me that would like to have calcurse working on Windows?

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Inertia Alarm Program

Fri, 05 May 2023 18:56:26 GMT

I've continued my search for organizing software ( https://lmemsm.dreamwidth.org/25452.html ). I've tried several options available from F-Droid and Google Play. I've run across interesting concepts such as using gamification and rewards systems to encourage new habits or complete large tasks. There are also tools to help set goals (such as Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-Bound SMART goals), break down tasks, remind when to do a task and track what's completed. With all those apps and even some FLOSS programs out there, I've yet to find anything I'm comfortable working with. Some of the commercial mobile apps have wonderful concepts behind them. However, they also have fees or ads or require you to sign up for a service on the Internet. The F-Droid apps are typically more friendly when it comes to privacy. They don't have ads and most don't require sending personal data over the Internet. They're typically simpler than the commercial apps which can be a good thing. However, it's a matter of finding one that does what you need in a way that's comfortable to you not just what the developers and core users need.

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Open SmartWatches

Tue, 04 Oct 2022 13:18:56 GMT

There's a lot of potential for Open Hardware/Open Source smartwatches. Smartwatches can be especially useful for monitoring medical information such as heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, oxygen level and sleep. They can be used for fall detection and some automatically call 911 when they detect an issue. They can also be used as emergency alert systems. Commercial options charge recurring fees for medical alert monitoring, fitness tracking or other services that might invade your privacy or have access to your personal data. The Open Source community is always bragging about how Open Source applications can be better than commercial ones because anyone can participate and give feedback or fix issues. Smartwatch manufacturers are just beginning to explore the potential for using a smartwatch to monitor and analyze medical data. There's a lot of room for development and improvement in this area for software that can display medical information in a user friendly way, analyze it and make recommendations based on it.

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To Do Lists and Personal Information Managers

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 18:11:47 GMT

I'd looked for personal information managers, todo and organizational programs and even countdown timers before. However, recently I started looking at some of the options at F-Droid which prompted me to look at the lightweight, cross-platform programs I've found in this category again.

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signify and compatible programs

Fri, 06 May 2022 15:51:56 GMT

Wanted to write down my notes on signing tools before I ended up losing the information. I was researching what's available in FLOSS signing tools for signing software packages for lightweight Linux distributions. Programs I found that could do that job are listed below.

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Lightweight C Applications and Libraries

Sat, 19 Mar 2022 18:18:19 GMT

While I have other lists that cover a variety topics, wanted one that just had useful lightweight C programs, utilities and libraries. So, I'll be repeating some links here. However, I hope to add some new projects as well. I'd also be interested in hearing suggestions that fit the criteria of lightweight, cross-platform C projects. If you're aware of any I've left off this list, please let me know.

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diff and patch

Sat, 29 Jan 2022 21:14:57 GMT

I've been interested in the BSD versions of diff and patch for a long while now. I often use a version of patch modified from various BSD patch implementations that were based on patch version 2.0.12u8. My variation includes some support for carriage return/line feed differences among systems. I've found it useful when working with patches from Windows or DOS systems that might accidentally introduce carriage return/line feed sequences instead of just line feed which POSIX systems use.

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SVG and Postscript

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 16:53:16 GMT

I'm still looking for lightweight alternatives to work with and display Postscript or SVG files. I've previously compiled some of the information I've found on PDF and Postscript related programs here: https://lmemsm.dreamwidth.org/3702.html As mentioned, programs such as abcm2ps, lcal, pcal and others output to Postscript. So, I wanted to find a lightweight way to view the output. The abcm2ps program can also output to SVG. One thought was to convert Postscript or SVG to PDF and view the files with mupdf. So, far I haven't found a solution I've been happy with.

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Holiday Gifts

Mon, 29 Nov 2021 16:04:48 GMT

Whether you celebrate 8 days of Hanukkah, 12 days of Christmas, 7 days of Kwanzaa or anything else, it's always nice to have presents. With supply chains backed up and health hazards of shopping in crowded locations, this year is a great time to consider homemade presents.

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Lightweight Command Line Utility Program Alternatives

Fri, 19 Nov 2021 14:16:57 GMT

I've been investigating some of the lightweight, command line utilities that are often used to check the status on a system. In some cases, it was hard to track down the packages they were in. It's difficult to search when some of the names are so ubiquitous. Just try running a search for the free utility.

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Open Source Utilities for AIX

Sat, 06 Nov 2021 23:53:34 GMT

I was tasked at work to find some monitoring tools for AIX. I'm familiar with AIX Toolbox and a few third party repositories. I wanted to build some programs from source code. I use a lot of portable programs and can port them to wide variety of platforms including AIX. However, monitoring tools in general are usually not too portable.

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In search of an Open Source project

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 19:38:39 GMT

I do a lot of Open Source development just for me. Basically, it's the philosophy of scratching an itch. If there's something I want and no one's working on it, I work on it on my own. True to Open Source philosophy, if I want something done, I do it myself. I typically assume not many other people will be interested in what I'm interested in anyway.

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PGAdmin3 status

Thu, 03 Jun 2021 12:37:07 GMT

We use the server status portion of PGAdmin3 often at work. Unfortunately, PGAdmin3 is no longer officially supported. The new PGAdmin4 does not have the server status feature. Since the PGAdmin3 software is Open Source, I have no issues continuing to use unsupported software as long as I can build and fix it myself. So, that's what I set about doing.

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Machine Learning and Deep Learning Resources for C/C++

Wed, 08 Jul 2020 19:31:42 GMT

Machine learning and deep learning have become very popular. Unfortunately for C/C++ developers, most of the tools for these fields are written in other languages even though many of the core libraries are still written in C/C++. This list tries to track what FLOSS libraries and resources are available in the field that C/C++ developers can work with.

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Educational Games

Wed, 27 May 2020 13:35:17 GMT

List of Free, Libre and Open Source educational games for your computer or mobile device.

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LM Ports

Tue, 19 May 2020 13:11:22 GMT

I've mentioned my build system before. I've been trying to find a good way to share the programs I've compiled for Windows, Linux, AIX, Android, etc. However, I still haven't found a good method to do so. Rather than continuing to wait until I find the perfect solution, I've decided to try a temporary solution that's very basic.

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FLOSS for Low Resource Computers

Mon, 11 May 2020 14:51:36 GMT

Considering how hard it is to get computers (still waiting over a month) and computer parts, now is a great time to look into bringing new life to your old hardware.

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