Navigator, the HelenOS file manager is inspired by Norton Commander from 1986, Dos Navigator and similar file managers. Only recently has it gained the actual ability to create, copy, move, rename, verify and delete files. And also, a nice progress bar. It's time to walk you through these new features.
Thursday, September 24, 2026
Friday, April 17, 2026
Bolide observation 2026-04-17 20:54 GMT+0200
Tonight I ovserved a bright bolide while on the garder in the evening. (Second time observing from a very similar spot). I've been fortunate to observe a number of bolides over the years. As has been my habit for a long time, I've reported my observation to the Czech Astronomical Institute through their Bolide reporting form.
Observing a bolide is always a special and fun experience, and trying to report them as precisely as possible is also fun. One constant problem is that when I take my phone out of my pocket, it only shows time in hours and minutes, so I cannot produce a more precise time information.
When you are out after sundown, keep you eyes open! Let's hope for more in the future!
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Matfyzák's Story
Found a CD in my stash of old CDs with a copy of this legendary student film, Matfyzák's story from 1987.
This is a story about the life of a 'typical' student of the Faculty of mathematics and physics, Charles University, Prague. It used to be screened to all new students as late as 2002 when I joined the faculty. Not sure if it is still. I haven't found it on Youtube, so I posted it for archival purposes. I will probably upload the original file to my home page later.
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
Making progress?
I am working on adding actual file management operations to Navigator, the HelenOS file manager. Here's a sneak preview of New File operation. We can create and empty file or a zero-filled file of the specified size. Creating a large file can take time, so we need progress indication. And we need to do something about the command line, too.
Wednesday, September 3, 2025
Floppy Drive Lead Screw Lubrication
Lubricate the lead screw and the portion of the carriage that rides on the platen by applying a liberal portion of Saunders Magnalube Micropolis P/N 732-0001-6 to these surfaces.Now of course an exact description of the P/N I was not able to find, but Saunders Magnalube are polyurea-based greases. So there you have it, black on white, use a polyurea-based grease. These can be easily found in an lubricants e-shop, no problem there. The internets say silicone grease should be safe, but may be challenging to apply and lithium grease may damage plastics. Take from that what you will, I think I will stick to manufacturer's recommendations. I have a plan for inspecting and probably cleaning a number of floppy drives (CF2, 3.5", 5.25") in the future, so this information is very handy. Let's grease some screws! ^_^
Tuesday, June 3, 2025
Sinclair ZX Spectrum +3 Unboxing!
Five years in the (not) making, and now it's finally here! Let's unwrap this very special package!