At the moment I am working my way through the FUZE BASIC reference guide, sometimes reading through it, sometimes using it alongside the FUZE to practise coding.
One of the difficult things about learning anything new (be it foreign language, card game, computer code) is maintaining enthusiasm and motivation as everyday distractions get in the way.
This is particularly the case when you reach that point where you become aware of just how much you don’t know – the “known unknowns”.
To begin with, you make some easy progress, learning lots of new things quickly. But there always comes the point of sudden awareness when you realise just how much there is to learn to master the topic.
It is at this point that enthusiasm and motivation can wane when the size of the task (and effort required) dawns on you.
Of course, it always helps to have a reason to learn something e.g. to get a better job, move to a new country etc.
I also like to read other people’s experience s of their trials and tribulations in a similar field.
At the moment I am reading The Cuckoo’s Egg by Clifford Stoll. Written in the late 1980s (when the BASIC language was ubiquitous on home computers), it recounts Stoll’s efforts to track down a hacker who was illegally accessing various computers across institutions in the US.
Reading it is helping me appreciate the practical applications of learning programming. But the story also reminds me that even the ‘experts’ are fallible (especially when it comes to new technology), that everyone has to start somewhere, and the power of perseverance.
The book is also an excellent account of computing and the internet in the 1980s.
“Steve …first learned to program a computer by mail: he’d write a program at school, send it to a computer center, and receive the printout a week later. Steve claims that this makes you write good programs first time, since each mistake wastes a week of your time.”
Those of us learning with the FUZE have it easy by comparison!
Stoll, C. (1989) The Cuckoo’s Egg: tracking a spy through a maze of computer espionage. The Bodley Head: London
Friday, 20 December 2013
Thursday, 12 December 2013
Modifying the config file
The solution to my problem apparently lay in modifying the config file on the SD card supplied with the FUZE. Useful link here.
Changing settings in this file would force the Raspberry Pi to recognise different types of monitor.
Fortunately, my laptop has a SD slot so I can access the files via my laptop.
Day 8:
1. Saving a copy of the config file on my laptop, I opened the original version on the SD card with Notepad ++ (right click on file and select from menu).
2. I first tried the setup for using a VGA monitor with convertor, although I had read of worries about the Pi overheating and components burning out.
3. SUCCESS (of sorts) – over a week after opening the box I finally saw something on the screen when the FUZE powered up. It was a great sense of (small) achievement.
4. But the resolution of the screen was not good. I couldn’t see the whole of the BASIC editor when it opened making it impossible to see the code I was typing.
Day 10:
1. An afternoon spent going through the following process
a. Load SD card in laptop
b. Open editor
c. Make modification to config file
d. Make a written note of changes
e. Remove SD card from laptop and insert into FUZE
f. Power up FUZE
g. See what, if any, changes have been made to the VGA monitor display
h. Make a note of remaining issues
i. Shut down FUZE
j. Remove SD card from FUZE
k. Repeat above
2. After numerous attempts I still couldn’t resolve the problem with the VGA monitor
3. Decided to try the same process using the HDMI cable with my TV
4. Managed to get FUZE to work with my TV
5. BASIC editor window is now fully visible but the text in the Python compiler is too small to see clearly.
Interim solution
The current interim set up is as follows:
I am running the FUZE through my TV’s HDMI port. I will focus on BASIC at the moment which displays clearly on the TV.
When I move on to Python I might have to reconfigure the SD card and run the FUZE through my VGA monitor, on which the Python compiler is fully visible.
I actually already have Python installed on my laptop, so can use that as way of learning to code in Python.
Clearly, not ideal but the best I can manage at the moment.
Longer term solution
In the future I might have to purchase a new HDMI-specific monitor but at the moment it will have to be added to a long list of things for which I need to save up. Also I don't have a lot of space on my kitchen table for yet another monitor, especially as there is nothing wrong with my VGA monitor except that it is not HDMI.
There are plans to create a specific HDMI miniature screen for the Raspberry Pi, which might also be good for the FUZE. It is being funded through kickstarter.
Changing settings in this file would force the Raspberry Pi to recognise different types of monitor.
Fortunately, my laptop has a SD slot so I can access the files via my laptop.
Day 8:
1. Saving a copy of the config file on my laptop, I opened the original version on the SD card with Notepad ++ (right click on file and select from menu).
2. I first tried the setup for using a VGA monitor with convertor, although I had read of worries about the Pi overheating and components burning out.
3. SUCCESS (of sorts) – over a week after opening the box I finally saw something on the screen when the FUZE powered up. It was a great sense of (small) achievement.
4. But the resolution of the screen was not good. I couldn’t see the whole of the BASIC editor when it opened making it impossible to see the code I was typing.
Day 10:
1. An afternoon spent going through the following process
a. Load SD card in laptop
b. Open editor
c. Make modification to config file
d. Make a written note of changes
e. Remove SD card from laptop and insert into FUZE
f. Power up FUZE
g. See what, if any, changes have been made to the VGA monitor display
h. Make a note of remaining issues
i. Shut down FUZE
j. Remove SD card from FUZE
k. Repeat above
2. After numerous attempts I still couldn’t resolve the problem with the VGA monitor
3. Decided to try the same process using the HDMI cable with my TV
4. Managed to get FUZE to work with my TV
5. BASIC editor window is now fully visible but the text in the Python compiler is too small to see clearly.
Interim solution
The current interim set up is as follows:
I am running the FUZE through my TV’s HDMI port. I will focus on BASIC at the moment which displays clearly on the TV.
When I move on to Python I might have to reconfigure the SD card and run the FUZE through my VGA monitor, on which the Python compiler is fully visible.
I actually already have Python installed on my laptop, so can use that as way of learning to code in Python.
Clearly, not ideal but the best I can manage at the moment.
Longer term solution
In the future I might have to purchase a new HDMI-specific monitor but at the moment it will have to be added to a long list of things for which I need to save up. Also I don't have a lot of space on my kitchen table for yet another monitor, especially as there is nothing wrong with my VGA monitor except that it is not HDMI.
There are plans to create a specific HDMI miniature screen for the Raspberry Pi, which might also be good for the FUZE. It is being funded through kickstarter.
Getting up and running
I took delivery of my FUZE at the end of November. My experience of technology is that nothing goes as smoothly as planned, so I always make sure I always have a clear afternoon or evening (at least) to devote attention to the project.
The FUZE comes with a clear set-up guide, which can also be downloaded from the FUZE website.
My main problem was with finding a suitable monitor to use with the FUZE and has taken quite an involved period of trial and error.
The FUZE is equipped with an HDMI port for attaching to a monitor.
I have available a laptop, a VGA monitor acting as a second monitor for the laptop, and a basic TV with an HDMI port.
Sequence of events:
Day 1: On unpacking my FUZE I didn’t realise it was an HDMI monitor connection. Not having an HDMI cable that put an end to my use of the FUZE for the first evening.
Day 2: Ordered an HDMI to VGA convertor on Amazon; went to Currys to buy an HDMI cable.
Day 3: Plugged HDMI cable into FUZE and TV – nothing happened.
Day 5: VGA convertor arrived; plugged VGA monitor into convertor and FUZE – nothing happened.
There then followed several days (in between working and other distractions) of reading forum and help pages on trying to get monitor up and running.
To be continued…
The FUZE comes with a clear set-up guide, which can also be downloaded from the FUZE website.
My main problem was with finding a suitable monitor to use with the FUZE and has taken quite an involved period of trial and error.
The FUZE is equipped with an HDMI port for attaching to a monitor.
I have available a laptop, a VGA monitor acting as a second monitor for the laptop, and a basic TV with an HDMI port.
Sequence of events:
Day 1: On unpacking my FUZE I didn’t realise it was an HDMI monitor connection. Not having an HDMI cable that put an end to my use of the FUZE for the first evening.
Day 2: Ordered an HDMI to VGA convertor on Amazon; went to Currys to buy an HDMI cable.
Day 3: Plugged HDMI cable into FUZE and TV – nothing happened.
Day 5: VGA convertor arrived; plugged VGA monitor into convertor and FUZE – nothing happened.
There then followed several days (in between working and other distractions) of reading forum and help pages on trying to get monitor up and running.
To be continued…
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Con-FUZE-cius: a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step
I have created this blog to document my progress with using the FUZE workstation, of which I have recently taken delivery.
I had been interested in getting a Raspberry Pi, which powers the FUZE, for a while but I was concerned that my lack of computing knowledge would mean I bought a Pi and then never really knew what to do with it.
The FUZE, which the manufacturer describes as a “programmable computer and electronics workstation”, seemed a better prospect because it encased the Pi in a more “novice friendly” format.
Looking through the websites that sold the Pi, it was not immediately clear what else you needed to buy to get the Pi operational e.g. data card, operating system, cables etc. I could envisage a frustrating process of buying some bits and pieces, setting them up and then realising you needed something else, and so on. My impatience would ultimately mean the Pi would end up unused in a box. I hoped the FUZE would be a way of avoiding that situation.
So, future posts will document my experiences of learning to use the FUZE and computer programming. It might help other ‘FUZE-ers’ avoid some problems or provide some inspiration.
I had been interested in getting a Raspberry Pi, which powers the FUZE, for a while but I was concerned that my lack of computing knowledge would mean I bought a Pi and then never really knew what to do with it.
The FUZE, which the manufacturer describes as a “programmable computer and electronics workstation”, seemed a better prospect because it encased the Pi in a more “novice friendly” format.
Looking through the websites that sold the Pi, it was not immediately clear what else you needed to buy to get the Pi operational e.g. data card, operating system, cables etc. I could envisage a frustrating process of buying some bits and pieces, setting them up and then realising you needed something else, and so on. My impatience would ultimately mean the Pi would end up unused in a box. I hoped the FUZE would be a way of avoiding that situation.
So, future posts will document my experiences of learning to use the FUZE and computer programming. It might help other ‘FUZE-ers’ avoid some problems or provide some inspiration.
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