Remember burning DVDs?
It has been 0 days since I've burned a DVD.
That's right, trying to "recover" an old laptop, one of those that won't boot from USB thumb drives. Found out that it is still possible to buy blank DVD media where I live (DVD-R or DVD+R, but not DVD-RW; 90 cents per disc). I still remember when Debian could boast of being "The Universal Operating System" (it still does, I know) but nowadays that's far from the case - Debian no longer supports i686 machines, so I had to opt for an alternative...
Void Linux was the answer: it is actively developed and its latest version still supports machines with the target specifications (i686, 1Gb RAM), with graphical interface (xfce). So, that's what I aimed for, and burnt void-live-i686-20250202-xfce.iso (an ISO too big to fit a CD, but fortunately that was not a limitation I had to deal with this time)...
...which fails to install (actually, it fails to boot) on this machine. It seems that I wasn't the first person stumbling into this issue (apparently if it had only 512Mb it would boot, but I did not open the machine to see if the RAM in it is in how many modules...).
My "solution" was to burn another DVD, with an older version - and just to raise my chances, I went for the oldest version available: void-live-i686-20230628-xfce.iso. And, go figure, it boots! So I installed this version, and then updated the system. Well, before updating, I had to configure the keyboard again (the installer choice wasn't enough), and the machine's date (the hardware clock thought we were in 2004, just so you get an idea of what has this laptop been 'doing' these past few years...). Then, I configured it to autologin and not lock the screen when the screensaver starts (which meant editing a file, which meant installing vim; I should probably leave these kinds of configurations for after the upgrade, but I just did it when I remembered). While the upgrade was ongoing, I started Firefox just to skip the initial steps and remove its sponsored shortcuts (which isn't done how one would expect, and it is sad to see dark patterns in something that used to be given as a great example of Free Software...).
Don't worry - I am not planning on having this machine trying to go to the World Wide Web (and I know from experience that Firefox is not the browser to try to use in a low resources machine), but the browser comes installed by default, and to be honest it is a good idea to have it on the ready in case one is needed in an emergency...
After the upgrade I installed LibreOffice, tried it out and added a shortcut to it on the applications bar.
Finally, I rebooted the machine to see if everything was fine (it was!), and... well, an old laptop has just been given a new life! :-)
PS: after having experienced Xubuntu and Bodhi Linux with XFCE in old laptops that are not as old as this one, I must say I am surprised with how responsive this machine is with void linux (even if my experience with it wasn't much - just what I described).
tags: DVD, Linux, burn, laptop, USB, Debian, Void, VoidLinux, XFCE, i686, Firefox, LibreOffice, Xubuntu, Bodhi, BodhiLinux
Sobre o debate na rádio entre os "candidatos menores" à Presidência da República
Tenho feito a cobertura dos vários debates eleitorais que têm acontecido para estas presidências com uma thread the toots para cada um dos debates. Mas visto que este debate ouvi em diferido, vale mais escrever tudo num artigo aqui no blog do que estar a fazer uma thread gigante... e publicá-lo antes do debate televisivo que vai acontecer dentro de minutos e que terá, finalmente, todos os 11 concorrentes.
Três candidatos que têm sido posto de lado nos debates e tudo o mais têm finalmente tempo para debater... na rádio, entre eles. Aqui fica um resumo do debate de ontem entre André Pestana (AP), Humberto Correia (HC) e Manuel João Vieira (MV).
Do investimento da Microsoft em Sines
Talvez alguém me consiga explicar melhor esta "novidade anunciada" do "investimento da Microsoft em Portugal". Porque para mim nem parece uma coisa nova, nem um investimento em Portugal - mas revela outras coisas... É que isto é na realidade um acordo entre a Microsoft (US) e NScale (UK) para alojar servidores Dell (US) com gráficas NVidia (US) em datacenters nos Estados Unidos e na Europa - já anunciado no mês passado. Um desses datacenters Europeus será o de Sines, em Portugal, onde esses "servidores para AI" irão estar a sugar energia (e sim, aposto que isso irá gerar receita para a Start Campus, ainda que não vão ser os tais dez mil milhões - e apesar da Start Campus ser detida por fundos US+UK, sempre mantém postos de trabalho em Portugal...).
Mas se isto já me pareceria "pouco para celebrar" (lá está, talvez me esteja a escapar qualquer coisa), o que me aflige é a parte de que ninguém está a falar - uma AI farm em Portugal para quê? E a resposta também já nos foi dada no anúncio do mês passado, e devia-nos preocupar: o objectivo da Microsoft é ter como "providenciar a clientes Europeias soluções de IA soberana, dentro da Europa" - ou seja, todo este investimento da Microsoft é para a Microsoft tentar vender na europa as suas soluções de "Microsoft Sovereign Cloud" que, como sabemos, de soberanas não têm nada.
É possível que eu não esteja a ver bem a coisa - e haja aqui uma dimensão, talvez até óbvia, que me esteja a passar ao lado. Mas mesmo que assim seja, este papaguear de uma "boa notícia" sem explicar a notícia ou porque é boa pouco abona do jornalismo que tem coberto este re-anúncio.
tags: Microsoft, Sines, StartCampus, AI, IA, Nvidia, Nscale, cloud, soberania, pt
creating wikidata items in batch: the Portuguese local elections example
Every four years there are new local elections in Portugal - the next will be in a couple of months. For a new Portuguese local election event there should be a new wikidata item... only these election events actually have distinct (municipal) local elections, 308 of them. That means, the local election item has (or should have) 308 parts. How to create them?
This is what I did for the 2025 elections. It's quite probably not the best way to do this, but it got the task done:
- I created a query looking at the parts of the 2021 elections. I saved the output and changed the names, replacing 2021 to 2025 - and that gave me a list of all the new items I had to create;
- I took the list of items names and turned it into a quickstatements csv file - not only stating the names of the items I wanted to create, but also adding a very basic set of properties to them. I ran it through the online tool, 308 items were created;
- I made a new query to have a list of these 308 items that were created, and saved its output because we now need to add them as parts of the 2025 elections item;
- created that new quickstatements csv saying that the 2025 elections had as a part each of those new items, and ran it.
PS: I did this, possibly better, for the 2021 elections. I should have documented what I did but I didn't do it, and for 2025 at the begining I didn't even recall that I had been the one doing it for 2021. So, this blog post will hopefully help me know what I will need to do in 2029... but I hope it might also be useful to others, for similar tasks.
tags: wikidata, bulk, quickstatements, tutorial, en
musical endeavours
It has come to my attention that "my worlds don't cross" - many people who know me for some activities have no idea I delve in anothers. In particular, plenty of people don't know I'm a musician.
Of course, it is quite probable that those also don't read this blog (who does?), but in any case, I felt compelled to write this short blog post to talk about two of musical projects - and how can you support me by adding their albums to your collection.
My main focus for more than a decade has been on kokori, a post-cyberpunk industrial duo that you can sample on this youtube playlist that showcases several songs from our full-length album 'rootkit' - an album that you can buy on CD.
A distinct project is Qink, and Qink is not kokori. Instead, it is meant to be "the final inorganic ambient to your darkest needs", the soundtrack to your horror show. You can listen to its album or even purchase its cassette tape edition.
tags: music, kokori, qink, rootkit, en
Voto Eletrónico 2025 (outra vez arroz)
O PSD volta à carga com a ideia de voto eletrónico, e no seu mais perigoso formato - o voto eletrónico não presencial.
No seu PROJETO DE RESOLUÇÃO N.º 622/XVI/1.ª, nunca questiona se tal forma de voto é desejável, mas admite que implementar algo do género "suscita questões de elevada complexidade técnica e jurídica". No entanto, em vez de, à luz dessas questões que carece enumerar, sugerir que faria sentido haver um levantamento das mesmas, sugere "que seria essencial que o Governo avaliasse a implementação de um projeto-piloto", repetindo o exercício que já repetidamente foi feito no passado, e avançando para uma experiência técnica sem prestar atenção à componente jurídica.
Felizmente - pondo os considerandos de parte - a proposta propriamente dita fala antes numa avaliação das necessidades, não manietando o Governo nesta matéria: propõe que se recomende ao Governo que "avalie as condições necessárias para a implementação de um projeto-piloto".
Já vimos pior a ser proposto nesta matéria, é certo, mas ainda assim não deixa de ser caricato que o Grupo Parlamentar se demita (e à Assembleia da República) de exercer a sua capacidade legislativa, em particular fazendo eles o trabalho de entender quais as alterações legislativas que seriam necessárias para que uma solução destas fosse legalmente viável. Se calhar não o faz por saber que o voto electrónico em Portugal é mais do que um problema técnico, um problema legal.
tags: voto, electrónico, voto-electrónico, vote, e-vote, PSD, pt
escape commands for ssh
Apparently this isn't as well known as it (IMO) should, so... here it is:
There are escape sequences on SSH, ie., if you are running an ssh session, you can control it by sending commands to it.
Useful commands:
~. - terminate connection (and any multiplexed sessions) ~B - send a BREAK to the remote system ~C - open a command line ~R - request rekey ~V/v - decrease/increase verbosity (LogLevel) ~^Z - suspend ssh ~# - list forwarded connections ~& - background ssh (when waiting for connections to terminate) ~? - this message ~~ - send the escape character by typing it twice (Note that escapes are only recognized immediately after newline.)
Planeta Oops
Se segues o Planeta Tilde e te sentes vítima de spam por causa do refrescamento de uma das feeds... Oops, é culpa minha - quem diria que isto de manter um planeta consegue ser complexo... Prometo tentar ser mais cuidadoso de futuro!
tags: curtas, planeta, tilde, tilde.pt, pt
Não é procrastinação, é... outra coisa
Eu, a olhar para o planeta tilde depois de lhe acrescentar o maiquetilde:
"Já corrigia o template do planeta para não deixar o conteúdo da coluna esquerda ir para cima da coluna direita..."
Também eu, a olhar para o mesmo planeta:
"...e se eu fizesse um blog post de boas vindas ao tilde para o ~maique? Até se deixava de notar os problemas no planeta tilde e tudo!"
Ou, por outras palavras: bem vindo ao tildeverso, ~maique!
tags: tilde, tilde.pt, tildeverse, pt
MiniDebConf Portugal 2023
I've been a Debian user for a long time, but I've always sought (and felt the lack of) some sort of impulse to be more involved with Debian. Part of it, I suppose, was the lack of someone 'closer' (not necessarily, but also physically close) following the same path, or pushing in the same direction... Anyway, once in a while I did find some opportunities to do something about it: in 2008 I helped organize Tecnonov 2008 where not only we had a Debian Developer talking about the project, we also had a key-signing party (and I got my now expired key signed by the DD in question). The year later, I went to Aveiro for Debian Day PT 2009, but... well, that was so long ago that the t-shirt I've got there has already been recycled!
It was thanks to Ubucon Europe 2019 in Sintra that I've learned for the first time that there was an ongoing attempt to being DebianDay to Portugal... and finally, in 2023, a "local test" is being organized, a MiniDebConf in Lisbon that will, hopefully, also serve as a step towards a future DebConf in Portugal.
I have to confess, the younger me of ten, or the even younger me of twenty years ago would be a lot more excited with this, but still, it is finally happening, so how could I not attend? So here I am: with time off taken from work, hotel room reserved, ready for a week of Debian (and more generically free software) along likeminded individuals. I've even decided to contribute more actively and give a talk and a workshop...
It starts already this sunday, and it lasts until thursday. See you there?
tags: debian, debianday, tecnonov, minidebconf, lisbon, aveiro, debconf, events, portugal, ubucon, talk, workshop, Free-Software, en