The data sheet of my new AI-focused mini workstation from HP does not mention Fedora, but I could install it just fine. I expected this though, because when I asked around about Linux support and hardware AI acceleration for AMD Ryzen 39X chips, all responses came from Fedora users… :-) Installing Fedora on the HP Z2 Mini was a smooth experience, even though I hadn’t used the graphical installer for ages.

The data sheet of my new AI focused mini workstation from HP mentions Ubuntu 24.04 as the supported Linux distribution. I have tried that, but I could not get the installer to run. However, 25.10 installed without any problems, even from an openSUSE branded USB stick :-) Only the chameleon works with this machine:-) I must admit that I’m not an Ubuntu fan, but installed it anyway, as Ubuntu is the “official” Linux distro for this machine.

Last week I introduced you to my new toy at home: an AI focused mini workstation from HP. It arrived with Windows pre-installed, but of course I also wanted to have Linux on the box. Documentation mentions that I have to disable secure boot and make a few more changes before installing Linux. I did all the suggested BIOS changes before installing Linux. The data sheet mentions Ubuntu 24.04 as the supported Linux distribution.

There is a new toy in the house. It is a miniature workstation from HP, built around AMD’s Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 395 chip. If you are interested in the specifications and other details, check the HP product page at https://www.hp.com/us-en/workstations/z2-mini-a.html. In the long run, this box will serve many purposes: learning AI, but running as much as possible locally instead of utilizing cloud services learning Kubernetes by building everything from scratch on multiple virtual machines home server: running complex test environments on a single box (128 GB of RAM should be enough in most cases :-) ) photo editing using Capture One Pro occasional gaming :-) For now, I have finished unboxing and taken the first steps with Windows.

Last year’s Budapest Audio Expo was the first hifi event I had truly enjoyed in years. Needless to say, I spent a day this weekend at the Audio Expo again :-) Building on last year’s experience, I chose to visit the expo on Sunday. There were fewer people and better-sounding systems. TL;DR: If I had to sum up the expo in a one statement: Made in Hungary audio rivals the rest of the world in quality, while often being available at a much more affordable price.

The Hungarian band Asztropapucs has a special place in my heart. I have known these musicians for a long time, some of them even before they formed the band. Like almost everyone else, they started out playing cover songs years ago. Recently, however, they started writing their own songs. I have seen them perform at various concerts. They practiced regularly, and their hard work has led to continuous improvement. This weekend, they published their first song on several streaming services: “Maja” I’ve listened to it many times, and I recommend you do the same.

Those who follow my blog are already aware that I love and listen to “Made in Hungary” high-end audio gear: https://peter.czanik.hu/posts/zsolt-audio-turns-40-this-year/. This weekend I visited Zsolt Audio again. He showed us his latest creation, a pair of speakers, which he called “no-name” and “anti-marketing”. The Zsolt Audio listening room However, when I arrived at today’s event, music was still playing on another pair of loudspeakers. Last time I wrote about a pair of classical floor-standing speakers, a reincarnation of the StandArt line of loudspeakers.

The IBM POWER architecture is not just for database servers. While most people know it only for DB2 and SAP HANA, it is an ideal platform also for HPC or other high performance server applications, like syslog-ng. While all the buzz is around POWER 11 now, we have yet to see real-world testing results, as GA is still a few weeks away. You can learn more about POWER 11 at https://newsroom.

Last week, I was in Nürnberg for the openSUSE conference. The project turned 20 years old this year, and I was there right from the beginning (and even before that, if we also count the S.u.S.E. years). There were many great talks, including a syslog-ng talk from me, and even a birthday party… :-) This year marks not just 20 years of openSUSE but also a major new SLES and openSUSE Leap release: version 16.

On this day in 1943 Vangelis was born. The very first CD I bought over three decades ago was composed by him: Chariots of Fire. After so many years, I still love his music. My Vangelis collection As you can see, I do not have everything by him. I do not like his earliest and latest works that much, but almost everything in between. Unfortunately I could not find everything on CD.