Debugging Python for A-Level CS — Reading Tracebacks and Finding Bugs

Self-Host Redis 8.8 with Docker Compose — And Why It's Useful for Your Homelab

Switch from pip to uv — Python's Rust-Based Package Manager Guide

Binary, Hexadecimal, and Number Systems — Visual Guide for IGCSE CS

Teaching Python File Handling for IGCSE & A-Level CS — Worked Examples

How to Set Up a Test Pipeline That Actually Catches Bugs

How to Set Up Hermes Agent on a Mini PC Home Server

🔒 IGCSE ICT June 2025 Paper 1 (0417/12) – Security, File Transfer & ATM Processing

📝 IGCSE ICT June 2025 Paper 1 (0417/11) – Testing, Safety & Security

📝 Cambridge AS & A Level Computer Science June 2025 Paper 1 (9618/12) – Databases, Data Structures & Algorithms

📝 Cambridge AS & A Level Computer Science June 2025 Paper 2 (9618/22) – Records, Files & Programming Techniques

📝 Cambridge AS & A Level Computer Science June 2025 Paper 2 (9618/22) – Algorithms, Data Structures & Sorting

📝 Cambridge AS & A Level Computer Science June 2025 Paper 2 (9618/22) – Development Life Cycles, Maintenance & Testing

📝 Cambridge AS & A Level Computer Science June 2025 Paper 1 (9618/12) – Assembly, Logic Circuits & Communication

🖥️ IGCSE ICT June 2025 Paper 1 (0417/12) – System Testing, Safety & Cybersecurity Explained

📝 IGCSE ICT June 2025 Paper 1 (0417/12) – Input Devices, Applications Software & Biometric Systems Explained

📝 Cambridge AS & A Level Computer Science June 2025 Paper 1 (9618/12) – Von Neumann, Number Systems & AI

📝 IGCSE ICT June 2025 Paper 1 (0417/11) – Output Devices, Applications Software & Smartphones

My Experience with Replit Agent: A Promising Start, But a Frustrating Finish

Why use indentation in Python

OSI Reference Model-Networking 101

Techie Mike — Tech Tutorials for Students & Homelab Enthusiasts

Practical tech tutorials for Cambridge CS/ICT students and homelab enthusiasts. I break down complex topics — VirtualBox, Proxmox, ethical hacking, Python, and exam prep — into clear, hands-on guides you can actually follow. No fluff, just real skills.

Python • 9 min read

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Debugging Python for A-Level CS — Reading Tracebacks and Finding Bugs

Debugging Python for A-Level CS — Reading Tracebacks and Finding Bugs When your Python program crashes, it's not the end of the world. It's the start of a clue. I've seen students freeze when that red error text appears in their IDE. They stare at it, panic, and close the terminal.…

Techie Mike • 07 Jun 2026

developer tools • 9 min read

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Self-Host Redis 8.8 with Docker Compose — And Why It's Useful for Your Homelab

# Self-Host Redis 8.8 with Docker Compose — And Why It's Useful for Your Homelab Most homelabs start with storage. A NAS here, a media server there. But at some point you realize your services need to talk to each other — and that's when you discover you need something faster than your Postgres ins…

Techie Mike • 06 Jun 2026

Writing a Python Program for IGCSE Paper 2 — Full Walkthrough with Mark Scheme

Code • 8 min read

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Writing a Python Program for IGCSE Paper 2 — Full Walkthrough with Mark Scheme

If you're studying for Cambridge IGCSE Computer Science (0478/9618), Paper 2 is where you write actual code. And here's the thing — most students lose marks not because they can't code, but because they don't know what the examiner is looking for. I've been teaching IGCSE CS for over a decade, and…

Techie Mike • 05 Jun 2026

Chuwi Minibook X vs BMAX Pro 8 — Which Budget Homelab Machine?

CPU • 10 min read

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Chuwi Minibook X vs BMAX Pro 8 — Which Budget Homelab Machine?

# Chuwi Minibook X vs BMAX Pro 8 — Which Budget Homelab Machine? You're building your first homelab on a budget. Maybe you want to run Docker, try Proxmox, or host a few self-hosted services. You've heard about the Chuwi Minibook X — it hit over 400 points on Hacker News. And the BMAX Pro 8 is a pr…

Techie Mike • 03 Jun 2026

Running AI Models on Old Hardware — A 10 Year Old Xeon Is All You Need

hardware • 8 min read

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Running AI Models on Old Hardware — A 10 Year Old Xeon Is All You Need

A post hit the front page of [Hacker News yesterday](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48353348) with a title that made a lot of people stop and stare: *"[A 10 year old Xeon is all you need.](https://point.free/blog/gemma-4-on-a-2016-xeon/)"* It racked up 685 points. The author ran **Gemma 4 (26B…

Techie Mike • 02 Jun 2026

Python • 9 min read

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Switch from pip to uv — Python's Rust-Based Package Manager Guide

# Switch from pip to uv — Python's Rust-Based Package Manager Guide If you've ever sat waiting for `pip install` to finish building wheels in a Docker build, you know the pain. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Sometimes longer, depending on how many native extensions your project pulls in.…

Techie Mike • 02 Jun 2026

Computer science • 8 min read

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Binary, Hexadecimal, and Number Systems — Visual Guide for IGCSE CS

Binary, Hexadecimal, and Number Systems — Visual Guide for IGCSE CS. Number systems are one of those topics that show up in every IGCSE Computer Science exam. Binary to denary. Denary to hex. Binary arithmetic. And I've seen students lose easy marks because they rush the conversions.…

Techie Mike • 31 May 2026

Python • 6 min read

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Teaching Python File Handling for IGCSE & A-Level CS — Worked Examples

File handling is one of those topics that always shows up on Cambridge CS exams. Whether you're sitting IGCSE 0417 or AS/A-Level 9618, you need to know how to open, read, write, and append data in a file using Python. In this post, I'll walk through everything you need, with the kind of worked examp…

Techie Mike • 29 May 2026

Python • 7 min read

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How to Set Up a Test Pipeline That Actually Catches Bugs

You push code. Tests pass. Merge. Deploy. It feels good when it works. But if you've ever pushed a change that broke production because "nobody ran the tests," you know the pain of a missing CI/CD test pipeline. I've been there — releasing a Python script that worked on my machine but crashed on th…

Techie Mike • 28 May 2026

linux • 5 min read

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How to Set Up Hermes Agent on a Mini PC Home Server

Set up Hermes Agent on a BMAX Pro 8 mini PC and run your own autonomous AI assistant 24/7. This guide covers hardware, installation, AI provider configuration, and Discord gateway setup.…

Techie Mike • 26 May 2026

Cambridge-Exams • 4 min read

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🔒 IGCSE ICT June 2025 Paper 1 (0417/12) – Security, File Transfer & ATM Processing

This is the final part of our complete June 2025 Paper 1 (0417/12) guide. In this post, we’ll cover:…

Techie Mike • 03 Sep 2025

Cambridge-Exams • 4 min read

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📝 IGCSE ICT June 2025 Paper 1 (0417/11) – Testing, Safety & Security

This is the second part of our complete guide to the June 2025 Paper 1 (0417/11). In this post, we’ll cover:…

Techie Mike • 03 Sep 2025

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Techie Mike

Computer Science teacher in Thailand. 10+ years Cambridge IGCSE, 4 years AS/A Level. BSc Computer Science & Engineering. Ex-Intel, Virgin Media. Practical exam prep, past paper walkthroughs and tech tutorials.

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