We get workplace computers refreshed in 3 year cycles. My old system was a Thinkpad T590 with 32GB memory, and 8th gen Intel CPU. When it was up for refresh, I did choose a Macbook, and got a “Apple Macbook M2”, 2023 model, with 16GB RAM. I work as Linux engineer, doing support/development/communication. My goal is to use Linux directly on the AppleSilicon hardware. Now after some months, it’s time to recap what I settled with, and how well I can do my work with the system.

HAM radio? HAM radio or ‘Amateur radio’ is the use of radio frequencies for noncomercial private purposes. After the German unification, I had been doing CB-radio in Germany. CB is ‘Citizens Band’, these are a few frequency channels which can be used without any license. I had gone as far as setup a metal antenna on the roof of the house, had spent nights with friends on a mountain, trying

When I came to Japan in 2016, I had my German drivers license translated by the Japanese Automobile Federation. For ~4000 yen I got translations. Like some other expats from Germany, I got the idea that I would then have to run through normal Japanese drivers school and pass the exam. Public transport in Tokyo is great, so I kept it at this. Now in my 8th year in Japan,

How do Germany and Japan think about World War 2 (WW2)? Why are some of my friends not visiting the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo? This is my attempt to sort out the information I received about the 2nd World War, and observations how people think about that time period today - in Germany and Japan. East German views on WW2 As most probably know, Germany had been separated after the

Sorting my pictures from this year, I got reminded of the various pieces of tech I got into contact with.. The tech year started with writing an article in how Kanji are input with normal keyboards. The area between Japan, Kanji and technology stays interesting for me. AsiaBSDCon In April, we had AsiaBSDcon in Tokyo. I’m much more active in the Linux world, but BSD covers other interesting areas, for example NetBSD with support for older hardware.

Background Most flat rental agreements in Tokyo are limited to 2 years, and can then be renewed. Renewal is mostly uncomplicated, the tenant just signs again a paper. There is a catch though: in most cases, an estate broker was doing the initial flat search, and at contract renewal they receive again money from the renter: a monthly rent. I was living in this flat for almost 6 years, renewal

I was born in former East Germany. At the German unification in 1990, I was 12 years old. A recent TV documentary made me rethink on my East German memory, my take aways about that time - also including how my parents and East German friends perceived that time. How influenced unification and the time after my thinking and my life? East Germany memories Just a view pieces, but they form a picture.

I have some retro hardware in Germany - in the last weeks I had access, and got to play, try out, find out what works. Capturing the summary here, so I can lookup further activities for the next time I get access, and maybe for others to share ideas for fixing and further debugging. Robotron EC1834 I was born in former East Germany, before the German reunification. Around the unification time, I got a ‘Robotron EC1834’, one of the last personal computers of East Germany, released 1986.

Transport in Tokyo I’m a German, living in Tokyo since 7 years. Cycling is one of the hobbies I took with me to Japan. How to people get around in Tokyo? By train/bus: there are many train stations, e-payment is easy, it’s cheap, on time - so this is by far the most heavily used method By car: this is much less used. To register a car, one has to

CPU and Memory The Star64 board is a bit bigger than the Raspi4, both are available with 8GB RAM. Both have 4 cores at up to 1.5Ghz, the Star64 has a RISC-V cpu, the Raspi ARM. My first goal was to look at power consumption, and cpu temperature. At 20°C environment temperature, without attached cooler, the Star64 cpu idles at 46°C. The board pulls 4W then. With a single core under full load, 6W are consumed and the temperature rises to 54°C.

The Golden Week This years Golden Week approached, a sequence of national holidays in Japan. Like the last 2 years, a friend invited me to help with planting rice. I live in Tokyo, he lives in Tochigi-ken, north west of Tokyo. In the last years, I did day trips: 2h30min by train, then my friend fetched me by car and we drove another 30min. I have a roadbike which I typically use for up to 40km day trips.

1: What’s BSD + my BSD history I mostly use Linux, but since the time of the Linux Install parties with the Thüringer Linux User Group, I’m also using BSD. I was lucky enough to meet many BSD folks when I lived in Munich. What’s BSD, after all? My summary: Unix operating systems, mostly with code bases older than Linux. The biggest