Hi #permacomputing people!

I have a 20 year old laptop that works, though it's missing a battery. I could order one on eBay, but it's extremely unlikely any existing replacement would hold a charge, since they haven't manufactured them in many years. How would y'all go about dealing with this sort of thing?

An electrical engineering friend pointed out I could try and replace the cells in the battery myself. I have no idea how feasible this would be in practice

Boosts welcome

am I practicing #permacomputing by the ongoing use of a Mac Pro from 2006 and a MacBook Pro from 2015 ?

I don't think I'll be carving Pico-based 3mx cases from teak anytime soon (maybe an MC400?), but I do love the sentiment.

This might surprise you, but I'm not into #Psion kit for the nostalgia. I love them because I genuinely believe there's a place for these simpler, #OfflineFirst (or completely) devices in our time.

The #Mystic1 fits with that ethos. It does just enough, and it could theoretically do that well for decades to come.

#permacomputing #retrocomputing

https://www.theverge.com/23841276/mythic-computer-keegan-mcnamara-pc-builder

For any folx interested in the juxtaposed #permacomputing #edTech #decolonial #sustainability conversations, I was glad to learn about two interesting publications in the somewhat near future:

1. *Decolonising Educational Technology* - a special issue in the Education Sciences journal, but UNESCO funded, due before the end of the 2023 calendar year: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/education/special_issues/2XT510Z1D6

2. *Digital Degrowth* - Neil Selwyn, for Polity books, most likely in late 2024: https://criticaledtech.com/2023/08/07/new-book-in-progress-digital-degrowth/

Re: https://twitter.com/JKSteinberger/status/1690355594908110848

Have you considered using the property to explore living condition scenarios from "Decent living with minimum energy"? That's something I've frequently thought about since reading that paper (I just did a measurement now, to compare a 15 m² per capita benchmark.)

It could go hand-in-hand with a transfer to cooperative ownership, for people who could be interested in trying this.

@jks

Also posted on Groundtalk — the low-energy and low-data (#permacomputing) social network, that uses less energy than a single tweet: https://groundtalk.land/#2023-08-13T09:45:00.942+00:00

#Housing #Coop #Degrowth #Rent #Capitalism #SharedHousing #CoHousing #Cooperatives #Design #Postgrowth #Transitions #Sustainability #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Architecture #InteriorDesign #Planning #Construction #BuenVivir #LivingWell #Pluriverse

re: https://twitter.com/cyclesixmile/status/1688603935672582144

The microplastic and pollution from the tires will kill communities and ecosystems, like with every other car.

There is no escaping the illogic of 2,000+ pound vehicles designed to carry 200 pounds of people. (The vehicle seen below will weigh 5000 lbs)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/07/09/tire-brake-tailpipes-emissions-pollution-cars/

Also on the low-data, low-energy #permacomputing discussion and info-sharing tool Groundtalk: https://groundtalk.land/#2023-08-08T11:41:33.195+00:00

#CarFree #Cars #FuckCars #Pollution #Microplastics #TirePollution #Bollards #SafeStreets #PublicSpace #Transit #Bikes #Walking #Bicyclists #Bicycles #Cyclists #Pedestrians

I changed my instance! I just arrived on mastodon.zaclys.com, thank you for the welcome Zaclys.

I am a #designer and web #developer specialized in sustainable web design. I am interested in topics related to #permacomputing, #lownum and #convivialisme. Besides these topics, I am interested in practices related to #permaculture, self-construction and the commons.

Do not hesitate to contact me on the #fediverse!

J'ai changé d'instance ! Je viens d'arriver sur mastodon.zaclys.com, merci pour l'accueil @zaclys.

Je suis un #designer et #developer web spécialisé dans la conception de sites web écoconçus.

Je m'intéresse aux sujets liés au #permacomputing, au #lownum et au #convivialisme numérique.

En dehors du numérique, je m'intéresse aux pratiques liées à la #permaculture, à l'autoconstruction et aux communs.

N'hésitez pas à me contacter sur le #fediverse!

Hi! I'm maren and this is my #introduction! I live in the mountains in NC, US.

Some of my interests are #programming, #coop projects, #foss, #linux and #selfhosting for IRL communities, #permacomputing, #techno and other #music and #diy #art, #trans history and community, and #fantasy and #scifi and #hiking.

In my free time I hike, do computer projects with @firestorm and other local friends, hang out with my sisters from https://avlpicnic.info, and spend time with my lovely partner <3

@glenatron The analogy is definitely apt. It also makes me wonder if there are any #permaculture concepts that can be brought to bear on markets the same way as people have been doing with #permacomputing for, well, computing.

There's also something striking about the mental image of clearing the old-growth 'jungle' that is the contemporary market to plant a new forest.

This of course also raises questions about how you create a 'healthy' replacement forest, as humans are notoriously bad at creating balanced ecosystems.

There's a video I saw a few weeks ago showing the difference between a planned lumber plantation and an actual old-growth forest, and I'd hate to see a planned market where the only things growing are those ordained to be harvestable.

Granted, we could short-circuit this all with UBI and gay space communism and not have to deal with markets to begin with lol

An open letter on human-focused computing.
gopher://perma.computer/0/letter.txt
#lowtech #smolnet #permacomputing #gopher

Ultimately the problem with designing my own #retrocompuing / #permacomputing system always boils down to the fact that I don't actually have a regular need for computing for anything other than a communications tool. I have no clear objectives or goals to design towards; no problem to solve.

Our monthly #permacomputing meetup is this Sunday (7/23) at 1 p.m. EDT! Join us in person or online for a discussion about making computing culture less ecologically destructive. https://iffybooks.net/event/permacomputing-july-23

@mitch

...

The goal is to reduce/eliminate e-waste, and to have a software ecosystem that is resistant to supply chain constraints or even collapse. I think a subculture of #PermaComputing is what you might call #CollapseComputing (not certain about the terminology there) -- creating software tools and hardware flexibility that can survive even the total collapse of the modern economy and supply chain -- think Mad Max with computers, haha.

...

@mitch

...

I'm not super well-informed, but the basic idea behind #PermaComputing is to be the very opposite of the upgrade treadmill -- to have a system of computing that does not have to be upgraded every year, or even every decade. To have software tools that can run on any kind of hardware you throw at it, from 16-bit microcomputers to handheld game machines of today and yesteryear, to raspberry Pis and even modern machines.

...

@mitch

Hope your presentation went well!

I really want to find some time to continue learning #uxn. I have some ideas of how I can get the #RetroComputing community interested in #PermaComputing, and #uxn is the bridge.

It's like, between work, family, trying to get back in shape, pursuing hobbies, and super important spiritual endeavours to keep my heart in good shape, I have about -50 hours per day left. XD

...

Where #permacomputing focuses on ecological limits, Luke Munn's #TikaTechnology is about conviviality, calmness, and appropriateness. But both formulate their vision against the wasteful, unsustainable, noisy, and anti-social status quo.

Maybe it is time for a synthesis? Any other manifestos, papers, texts in the same vein that should be included?

#TikaTechnology: https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/workorgalaboglob.17.1.0153

#Permacomputing:
https://permacomputing.net/

What do you all think about low-data / low-energy ways to implement replies to messages in a relational database, that are resilient long-term? You can see the app in question here: https://groundtalk.land/feed (and code here: https://github.com/sbutler-gh/coop-media)

The app currently gets all messages from the database, returns them as HTML, and caches them in localStorage. On subsequent page loads, it gets messages from localStorage first and then only checks the database for newer messages.

Thinking about how to implement replies on top of this this (also, welcoming input on the overall architecture as well).

Hacker News/Reddit nested replies is what's coming to mind, for informational architecture at least? I don't know how heavy it is to implement finding all the replies at each nested level and then rendering them in HTML. Probably much simpler technically with Twitter/Mastodon style (no nesting display), but kind of feels like nesting is the right direction for informational longevity (which is part of the idea)? Then again, not necessarily assuming that nesting a la HN/Reddit nesting always leads to better discussions.

What do you all think?

@scanlime @hydroponictrash @trashrobot @becomethewaifu @pikselkraft @alive @wwahammy @rzr @milo_bytes @yhancik @nolwennm @joachim boitam.eu @aral

#database #tech #backend #webdev #html #htmx #ux #design #architecture #postgres #relational #permacomputing #socialmedia #socialnetwork #indieweb #sql #fullstack #networking #computers #it

Today I mowed a friend's lawn. It was the easiest time I've ever had at it this season. The grass hadn't grown much since the last trim, largely because we haven't had rain in a while.

And then the wires crossed. Maybe it's just a general nugget of wisdom that taking care of something frequently keeps the work light. But I can't help but wonder how many times I've updated dependencies after a few years of stagnation, only to have to sort out dependency conflicts.

I know that #permacomputing is starting to gain attention, but I don't pay attention enough to that circle to know if anyone here has had similar thoughts.

Honestly, I'm not too sure if there's anything to be had with the connection. I'd certainly enjoy working with computers more if I thought of them as a garden to be tended to rather than a filing cabinet. I'd also enjoy them more if they acted more like a garden that allowed you to tend them and their contents.

[LowTechMagazine] - How and Why I Stopped Buying New Laptops

As a freelance journalist – or an office worker if you wish – I have always believed that I should regularly buy a new laptop. But older machines offer more quality for much less money.

https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/2020/12/how-and-why-i-stopped-buying-new-laptops/
#lowtech #reuse #permacomputing