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• Post #4419746

  Source code for the XMotif BDF Editor xmbdfed now on codeberg https://codeberg.org/drj/xmbdfed I've cleaned it up from the 4.7 release in 2004 so that it compiles in 2026, and fixed a few typos. For me it now compiles on Raspberry Pi OS, but you may need to tweak the Makefile. You'll also need its dependencies: libfreetype libxmu libmotif libxpm and more (that for me were already called in via dependencies of dependencies). Having tried to make a font in both gbdfed and xmbdfed, i ca...

• Post #4394732

  *Frankenstein voice* "It's alive!". xmbdfed running on my M4 Mac after compiling. Loads of warnings, but only a couple of errors that needed tweaking away. xmbdfed is Mark Leisher's XMotif (xm) Bitmap Distribution Format (bdf) Editor (ed). The source code i found on Wayback, because of course the original New Mexico State University server is gone. And i only found the link because of the assiduous recording of Luc Devroye, a name who everyone in the type community probably k...

• Post #4180149

  I have a crazy idea and it is that we should have a World Bitmap Font Week, to celebrate the culture of bitmap fonts, and perhaps pay thanks for their work and contributions to society. Also we can make some fonts. At this stage it is just an idea, but with a few more people i think we could have a few coordinated blog posts, and maybe some tools, tutorials, and even workshops? I suggest the 10 days starting 2026-10-19. Who is in? Reply saying yes. And please boost :) #BitmapFont #Font

• Post #3667513

  In the choice between a millionaire politician in a blue suit, and a bin. It's clear which is the anti-establishment option. #ukpol

• Post #3599965

  At @nina_kali_nina@tech.lgbt 's behest, I got a lightbox from LIDL. Look how beautiful it makes this random sample of a rose leaf look. The circle is cut out by a leafcutter bee, which is why is was taking the picture.

• Post #3096747

  I downloaded all 8000ish[*] BDF font files on the internet: https://codeberg.org/drj/allofbdf ; it's a repo < 100e6 bytes [*]: it's actually "just" the ones on discmaster.textfiles.com

• Post #3094521

  RE: https://todon.eu/@CrimethInc/116691164524691459 I cannot recommend her graphic novel Persepolis enough. Please read it, share it, talk about it. If it helps motivate you (and it should), it's banned in various localities. (i read it last year—a rare case where i read a classic before the author died). #Bookstodon

• Post #2521663

  Bitmap fonts, eh? What's your favourite font format? Yes, i know about TrueType (though examples would be welcome), BDF, Windows FON (a bit), Adobe BDF (a bit), Plan 9. Please RT. #BitmapFont

• Post #2453417

  I have done a #Mayke of pickled onions. The secret ingredient is flowers and pods from the overwintered kale ("it's Cavolo Nero, actually"), all parts of which are edible (true of all brassicas, but note that edible means "not poisonous", not "delicious").

• Post #2096665

  Is there an equivalent of DOS for 68K? In thinking about this a bit—considering 68K workstations like Mac, Atari ST, Tektronix 4404—i came to realise that i was probably a bit harsh on DOS (i grew up very much in the DOS period, but never had a DOS machine). Like, i love command line, and DOS is a command line available on a very broad range of machines, all x86 based (right?). Was there any sort of semi-portable command line system that was available on any sort of non-x86 architecture? (i&...

• Post #1948500

  I have "ported" the SDL-based ZX81 emulator sz81 to macOS https://git.sr.ht/~drj/sz81 This is a fork of the Sourceforge version; downloads from which give every impression of being a wretched hive of scum and villainy. In what i suspect has been an increasing trend over the last 40 years, the ancient code did something, a strcpy onto itself, which was Undefined Behaviour in 1990, actually harmless for most of the time it has been compiled; then, when the boffins at Apple deci...

• Post #1776379

  Universities and other academic institutions should run their own source code repository service. A replacement for github if you will (i'm politically neutral on whether it should be gitlab, gitea, forgejo, or SSH, or whatever). They have a civic and academic duty to preserve the research artefacts of their workers; which unquestionably includes code. It is unacceptable that for the entirety of the 21st century almost every single part of the Academy has punted this service onto entities ou...

• Post #1748266

  Announcing Clive, a new font inspired by Clive Sinclair's ZX81. https://drj11.itch.io/clive-font (please boost) #Font #ZX81 #semigraphics

• Post #1494098

  Disappointed that the BBC's article on what you can and can't do in a polling booth https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjw1pen037no doesn't include the question: "Can I vote while wearing a full body bear suit?" (relevant to certain professors of chem-informatics in the Cambridge area).

• Post #667334

  I am writing up this advert i found in Byte magazine and it uses _all_ the IBM Selectric fonts. So far 6, and climbing (because i haven't identified them all yet). [edit, later: the final count was 9, including 4 FIU firsts (plus loads of other dry-transfer fonts, some of which were also FIU firsts): https://fontsinuse.com/uses/75316/bill-godbout-electronics-advert-in-byte-magaz ] #Selectric

• Post #457183

  This 50 year old advert that i wrote-up for FontsInUse is advertising 4K _bytes_ (note the x8) of RAM for $109.22; seems like a steal given today's RAM prices. https://fontsinuse.com/uses/75316/bill-godbout-electronics-advert-in-byte-magaz

• Post #107414

  Apparently some people have yet to discover this fun fact about Lego and it's younger playmate Duplo: They bond in a 2:1 relationship. As illustrated by this Duplo baseboard nearly covered with regular basic Lego bricks. Maybe you're one of today's lucky 10,000. #Lego #Duplo

• Post #10697

  Visicalc is a single 28KB binary; with a 180 page manual. We have strayed so far from the light.