Hello! Just a short #introduction: I'm Stéphane, a writer, artist & designer currently based in London. I am into poetry, concrete poetry and the poetic web. At the moment, I am finishing a practice-based PhD in Creative Writing & Arts and I am getting involved in the London #permacomputing club. And I just redesigned my personal website—feel free to have a look: https://stephanelambion.com (any feedback welcome!). I look forward to interesting conversations on this instance and elsewhere!
a very specific digital preservation request:
this dvd of a wii room show called 修理、魅せます。was sent to a couple thousand winners of a nintendo contest
i'm trying to find (preferably) an iso, or perhaps a remux of the disc's contents. someone uploaded a copy to youtube as "the fascinating repairmen", but the quality is predictably horrendous.
ZOMBIEtronZOMBIEtron*
e x t e n d e d ZOMBIEtronZOMBIEtron*
When: Saturday 6 & Sunday 7/12/2025
Where: Constant Studio Brussels
Constant invites the excellent
@clararigo for tinkering with DIY sensors and Zombitron running on old smartphones to make music together.
We will work on two levels
– code: programming esp32’s to interact with Zombitron ( via the network and the browsers of the phones)
– tinkering: make and finetune DIY sensors, like experimental buttons, to be able to connect to Zombitron
Message or mail to participate by 06/12 >>>
@wendy && wendy @ constantvzw.org
A screen displays the question, 'Why is Palantir sponsoring the Dimensions art exhibition in Leipzig?' Next to it, Aymeric Mansoux (a white middle-aged man) is holding a microphone and talking.
@gerrymcgovern I'm also wrapping up the #permacomputing approach for the Wilderland project (wilderland.ie) which had a discrete component that aimed to show alternatives to big tech funded DCs. Situated in Wild Nephin, Co. Mayo.
OK lazyweb, recommendations for a ~12-13" laptop that doesn't directly support bigots, fashbros, etc?
The kid is going to high school next year and I was all set to buy a Framework 12 for them but then they did the whole Big Tent/Nazi Bar thing.
I'm looking for mid-range specs, and physically robust but not too heavy. Repairability/modularity would definitely be a bonus, but I appreciate I've probably ruled out my best option on that front.
Edit: Thanks to those who recommended cool Linux laptops, they would be exactly what I would be looking for if I were buying a laptop for myself, and I'll be noting them down for future reference. For the sake of easy compatibility with the software at school I must reluctantly accept that the kid's laptop will need to run Windows though, and ideally Windows 11. So in this case Linux compatibility isn't an important factor, but Win 11 compatibility is.
This doesn't rule out Linux laptop builders like Star Labs who also offer Windows as an option, but it does make them a bit less good value.
Refurbished laptops remain an interesting option, I'll just have to limit my search to the Win 11 era.
Edit 2: Thanks everyone. Looks like a very strong vote in favour of getting a few years old refurbished Dell or Lenovo from a professional reseller.
@aj
@spacelizard - I'm going to second AJ. Go for refurb. Most anything will run Linux these days. I'm partial to used Dells, myself. But pick what you like.
Refurb doesnt put money into the pockets of techbros. Used machines are more sustainable than anything new, even newly built "repairable" machines - as no extra or new energy and parts are expended to make it.
For parts, you'd just buy another used model of the same type and frankenstein it. So go for something popular and common if you like.
Moore's Law basically no longer applies to laptops in any meaningful way. So laptops in the last five years (or longer) are still really great with modern linux os's.
Alright! Our town has our first Linux Install Party scheduled for next Saturday!
Plenty of volunteers to help out. We got a free meeting room at the library. We're installing Linux Mint as a default (but will be able to install other distros). We're putting together demo laptops this week.
Going to use this as a "first event" to iron out how to do it. Will set up to do it on a more consistent basis next year. May even make it part of the repair cafe and an official library event moving forward.
So how many of us are taking advantage of the Win10 End of Life?
How many Linux Install Parties are you holding in your town?
"Did Windows 10 just notify you to pay and update?
Want to update your computer to a system that doesnt spy on you, is ad free, is secure, and doesn't cost anything?
Meet us at the library this Saturday from 10am to 3pm!
We'll install Linux on your laptop for free! (We'll even make it "dual boot" so you can keep your old system just in case!). Please remember to back up your documents and pictures on a thumb drive beforehand!
We'll have demo laptops so you can play with Linux and just check it out as well!)
It has been 6 months since I passed my viva, yet I forgot to share my thesis here :unacceptable: (due to it feeling unreal af... until... today :)
It's called 'The Image at the End of the World: Communities of practice redefining technology on a damaged Earth'. In it I describe communities which give voice and shape to different definitions and roles for technology within the polycrisis: permacomputing, computing within limits, collapse informatics, salvage computing, slow tech, redundant technology, low-tech, feminist technology, convivial computing, disability driven development and more.
Image with the title 'damaged earth catalog' and subtitle 'access to collective reimagining' above a block ascii image of the earth as seen from space.
The MIDI standard was introduced in 1983 and it's still in use today. Think about THAT when you design your next protocol. The MIDI standard allows digital musical instruments from different manufacturers to work together, doesn't matter if one is from 1985 and the other is from 2025. Think about THAT when someone tells you to force obsolescence in your product or to violate standards in the name of "innovation" as it were.
Now granted, most big musical instrument companies have been sabotaging MIDI quite a bit in recent years. They've mostly done this by neglecting the requirement for comprehensive documentation of their MIDI implementations. That's terrible, but it's still possible to reverse engineer their shit. At a huge and completely unnecessary cost, but hey, that's what we get.
Most importantly so far no company has dared to release a commercial digital instrument (that I know of) that explicitly does NOT support MIDI. (Although some seem to have only USB MIDI anymore?) Seems like a victory for standards and digital longevity to me.
My old Dell Inspiron 5577 is still going strong. With #windows 10 aging out, I finally had time this weekend to upgrade to #debian 13 with #xfce 4.20. Looking forward to many more years of fun from this trusty #pc!
A Dell Inspiron 5577, with black plastic chassis and 15-inch screen opened and on. The desktop background features the Xfce mouse logo. A Linux terminal window is open displaying the Debian logo in ASCII and system specs.
Finding myself intentionally buying things that can be repaired more easily.
Buying new (to me) computers or my next phone that are designed to be maintained, both hardware and software.
I'm tired of throwing things away if they stop working. Heck, tired of buying new things period once I have something that is solid and useable.
In the personal vehicle area, I really like standup eKickscooters for example. The common scooters are not intuitive to repair though. Everything is hidden inside tubes and its a pain to take apart, diagnose, and repair.
But electrified standup bikes and kickbikes fit my needs wonderfully. Everything is easily accessible, replaceable, or repairable.
Traditional bikes are absolutely the gold standard of repairability with a lot of tooling and parts available. So standup bikes and kickbikes are able to use a lot of that standard tooling as well.
An interesting observation: If its designed to be electric (even an eBike) its often more difficult to repair than an "electrified" bike. The aftermarket modifications are easier to maintain than factory designed ground up.
If you know someone, friend, family, colleague, etc, stuck on windows 10, and you are nearby Amsterdam, De Versterking can help you switch to Linux at their anarchist repair café!
Tuesday, 24 June, 2025 - 18:00
"Support for Windows 10 is ending in October, and many older computers cannot upgrade to Windows 11. Installing Linux on your old computer can prolong its lifespan and help reduce e-waste. Bring your computer and we'll help you with the installation process."
I'm getting restless for more face to face culture. Innernets is a shit substitute. It's too narrow.
Beyond just hanging out, are there any of these well known conferences worth going to? DEFCON is close enough to me but it sounds like a sausagefest and far far too large, but am I wrong? Is it worthy?
I wanna talk about actually implementing some #permacomputing ideas. Theory planning and software and hardware.