Thoughts about mobile computing

I’ve been thinking about mobile computing a lot recently. Now we are splitting our time between Birmingham and the Isle of Wight I have found myself using my laptop more and more (after it sitting largely idle during lockdown). I have also found myself starting to value portability much more, after a couple of years of building and optimising a powerful desktop computer connected to three large screens.

After our last trip to the island I bought this screen which is a great piece of kit that can be powered by my personal or work laptop, and can also be used as a main screen for a Raspberry Pi or my tiny-but-powerful MSI desktop that I use for hobby stuff or where I want a change of scene. Adding that to my setup adds more possibilities, and should make it absolutely possible to work from anywhere, providing the mobile signal is good enough to support tethering.

I also think I’ve settled on my other travelling peripherals, with my Planck going everywhere with me (and my typing speed being back to normal on it now), and a Kensington Orbit trackball that is quite light and a lot easier to use than a mouse when working on a very small desk.

Talking of which, I’ve been using my phone as a hotspot while I’ve been on the island, and the experience is surprisingly positive. There is free wifi in various places, but it’s easier just to tether and use my very generous data plan which I wasn’t really touching before I started travelling again. Eventually I’ll want a new phone to ensure that battery life doesn’t impact my ability to work on the move, but the basic concept has served me well so far.

Now I just need to work out if I can carry this setup around on a small bike, ready for my solo tour of the Isle of Wight in September.

Albums of the year 2021

What can I say about 2021 that has not already been said? It has been another very challenging year; both for the world in general but also for the world of music. I have not experienced live music at all this year, but made up for it by buying a lot of records (and tried to buy them directly from the artists where possible, because people need to make a living). Music has always been very important to me, but never more so than now. These are the records that made this year better, or at least acted as a soundtrack to the bad bits.

Top 20

In all cases the links below are to somewhere you can listen to and/or buy the record in question (Bandcamp, Rough Trade or the artist’s own website).

Arab Strap – As Days Get Dark

This is a record I never expected to be made, and it’s been a real treat to listen to. It might even be my favourite Arab Strap record now. If you’ve not heard them before then you’re in for a treat; if you’ve not heard them for ages then you won’t be disappointed.

Black Country, New Road – For the First Time

February saw the very welcome arrival of For The First Time by Black Country, New Road. I had already played a lot of these songs to death, but getting them all in one place was exactly what I needed to shed some truth and light on the cold winter days. I think this is probably my record of the year, and it was always going to take something really special to dislodge it. It also came with a badge (more records should come with badges).

Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth – Utopian Ashes

I’ve loved this record since the first time I heard it. It’s got the emotional vibe of The National’s Trouble Will Find Me, but also reminds me a lot of the Isobel Campbell & Mark Lanegan records. One I think I will keep coming back to. Some of these songs are uncomfortable, but it’s because they stir the emotions in the way that all good songs should. For a record released in 2021 it sounds remarkably timeless.

Desire Marea – Desire

I am not even sure how to describe this record, but it’s right up there with anything else released this year. If you’re in the Rough Trade Club you will know this, for everyone else it may be a new treat.

Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg

April bought with it the excellent New Long Leg by Dry Cleaning. It reminds me a bit of a cross between The Blue Aeroplanes and Arab Strap, but with female vocals. If that sounds intriguing then you should definitely give it a listen. The songs on the bonus CD are very good as well.

Edward Ka-Spel – Prints of Darkness

Edward Ka-Spel has released a lot of music this year. This one is probably the highlight (although I love them all, and they are all in my long-list). If you are not already bought into the Legendary Pink Dots ecosystem then this is as good a place as any to start, although it is one of the few records from this year’s batch that isn’t pay-what-you-want.

Field Music – Flat White Moon

Field Music never fail to deliver, and this record is no exception. Once more they manage to create a sound that is unmistakeably them, and that is very difficult to describe or assign a genre to. If you know their work then you know what I mean. If you don’t then this is as good a place as any to start.

Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra – Promises

This is the soundtrack to many hours of work this year, and a record I don’t think I’ll ever tire of. It’s not a combination I would have expected to make a record, but it works really well and hits the same emotional resonance as Talk Talk’s Laughing Stock.

For Those I Love – For Those I Love

A really unique record that builds well on the mixtape from last year (which would have been in my list if I had discovered it in time). I’m not sure I’m brave enough to try and match this to a genre, but if you take a leap of faith then you may find yourself spending many hours with this record.

Gazelle Twin & NYX – Deep England

I’m not sure how to describe this record by Gazelle Twin & NYX, but I’ve played it a lot this year, and it’s definitely a contender. I would really love to hear this live in a candlelit church; it’s the kind of music that would work so well in that kind of environment.

Geese – Projector

A last minute entry that I have largely listened to as I am compiling this list. I discovered Geese via a Rough Trade 7″ single, and was very happy to receive this earlier this month. It is definitely a grower, but one that will stay with me well into 2022.

Jane Weaver – Flock

Many people may not have heard of Jane Weaver, but this record is a joyous pop masterpiece that I think anyone who appreciates good music would enjoy. This is what pop music should sound like in 2021.

Maximo Park – Nature Always Wins

I was going to say that this is surprisingly good, but it’s not really a surprise any more. Definitely their strongest record for a while, and one that I keep coming back to.

Mogwai – As the Love Continues

Mogwai are a really important band for me, and have been one of the main soundtracks of my year of working from home. I often listen to them when I’m working. The tracks with obvious vocals are when I take a break and just listen to the words for a few minutes. Richie Sacramento is my “take a break” track, and it’s amusing that it is also one of my most played songs of this year (maybe I took too many breaks?).

At the time I said “I think if this gets to number 1 tomorrow then it’s the first time since Kid A that something that completely represents my musical taste at the time does that.” It did get to number one, and it was a very satisfying feeling.

Penfriend – Exotic Monsters

I used to be the kind of person who thought that title tracks should go at the end (I blame Robert Smith for this). Here we have a title track that belongs at the start, followed by a collection of songs that I’ve been lucky enough to hear as they have been evolving, and also now they have been released.

One of the many things I love about Penfriend is the quality of the things I get through the post. Coloured vinyl, postcards, badges, stickers; all the things I loved about collecting records as a teenager. This record really is the complete package, and highlights some of the brilliant work Laura has been doing over the last couple of years (along with the podcast, the YouTube channel and everything else).

Richard Dawson & Circle – Henki

Richard Dawson does it again. A fantastic and flawless concept album that I love more each time I listen to it. It snuck into the list right at the end of the year, but it’s something I suspect will be listened to a lot during the first few months of 2022.

Snapped Ankles – Forest of Your Problems

One step on from their last record. I love it. I also really wish I could see them play live again, because my first experience was absolutely mind-blowing.

Squid – Bright Green Field

May’s Rough Trade album of the month was Bright Green Field by Squid. A new name for me, but one that reminds me a little of Black Country, New Road and a lot of other things that I really like. It’s not an easy first listen, but it soon makes itself indispensable and is another one that was always going to feature on my end of year list.

The Stranglers – Dark Matters

I did not expect this record to be so good, and it’s a fitting tribute to Dave Greenfield who we lost this year. I think it’s probably their best since their heyday.

Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend

Maybe a predictable choice, but I do really love this record, and I think it will stand the test of time. This sounds the way I expect number one records in 2021 to sound like.

Everything Else

First thoughts about a very small keyboard

My adventures in mechanical keyboards led me to building a Planck this week. A Planck is a 40% ortholinear keyboard with no dedicated number keys, and only 47 keys in total. It was more straightforward to build than I expected, and I’m slowly getting used to typing on it. It’s probably not something I would ever want to use as my main keyboard unless space was at a real premium, but adapting it to the way I work will be an interesting challenge, and might even mean I end up writing a custom i3 config file just for this keyboard (because I use numbers a lot, and it doesn’t have any).

I do like the idea of it though, and will definitely spend some time each day learning to type quickly on it, as I think it might make a great travel keyboard if I ever get round to travelling again.

I also think I want some different keycaps, which at least have the names of the keys written on them. The ones I got are ok for testing that everything works, but they have symbols on all the modifiers, and it’s taking me longer to remember which key is which. I’m not finding anything cheap and functional, so I suspect I’ll throw some money at this at some point or at least see what I can throw together from things I already have

Because the Planck is a 40% keyboard, a lot of keys are on layers, and these are a few of the ones I think I’ll need to use the most:

  • Numbers – Lower + qwertyuiop
  • What you usually get when you press shift and a number key – Raise + qwertyuiop
  • Refresh – Lower + g
  • Page down – Raise + /
  • # – Raise + m
  • Hyphen – Raise + j
  • Underscore – Lower + j

This keyboard has a steep learning curve, but I suspect once I have learned then it will be a really pleasant typing experience.

Review : Royal Kludge RK61 Mechanical Keyboard

I bought this a while ago (with a decent discount) because I wanted a cheap hot-swappable keyboard to test different types of switches I might want to put in my main keyboard. After using it in anger for a few days while I’ve been off work I actually think it compares very well to more expensive options, and it’s the only 60% I’ve found so far that could maybe replace my Motospeed CK61 as the keyboard I reach for which I want a loud 60% typing experience on my downstairs computer.

A quick web search suggested that this keyboard might be programmable (despite no mention in the manual). After a bit of a trawl through the Royal Kludge website I found a link for the software. It’s Windows only, but I have an old laptop that just runs software for programming keyboards so I was able to install it and make the one tweak that wasn’t already enabled.

All I actually had to change was mapping Caps Lock to F5. With the arrow keys where they are I can use this 60% keyboard with no macropad providing what I’m doing doesn’t require using the forward slash a great deal, and whilst this doesn’t leave me with any more keys to programme, it does mean I can use this for extended periods of time without having to user layers or macropads.

So this keyboard now fulfils all the criteria for my perfect keyboard:

  • 60% UK layout
  • Hot-swappable
  • Programmable

It’s also Bluetooth, which actually makes it better than anything else I have based on those criteria. It’s not as solid as the GMKK, but if I had to use one keyboard forever then I think it would be this one (especially if I needed to travel). It pairs nicely with my iPad, and I have no doubt it will do the same with my laptop and phone (it handles a maximum of three devices, which is probably enough).

I’m currently running this with Kailh Jade Green switches and keycaps which I already had, so it’s definitely been a budget build so far. I suspect more customisation may happen eventually, although I am perfectly happy with this set up for now and very much recommend this keyboard; even to people who are not interested in keyboards and just want a nice typing experience.

Making DVDs from video files

Recently I found myself needing to make a DVD from a recorded stream (of a family funeral that my Mum couldn’t attend because of covid). This is not a task I normally do, and I thought it was worth writing up how I did it in case I ever need to do it again.

Most of these instructions were put together using this wiki page, and assume you are using Ubuntu or some other Debian derivative.

Dependencies

  • ffmpeg
  • dvdauthor
  • mkisofs
  • k3b

The command line stuff

ffmpeg -i video_file_name.mkv -aspect 16:9 -target pal-dvd  -b 1800000 dvd.mpg
dvdauthor -o dvd/ -t dvd.mpg
export VIDEO_FORMAT=PAL
dvdauthor -o dvd/ -T
mkisofs -dvd-video -o dvd.iso dvd/

The GUI stuff

Take dvd.iso and burn it to DVD using K3B (or your burning software of choice – I really should investigate doing this on the command line next time).

Testing

Put the DVD into a normal DVD player and check it plays. The video should load automatically with no menus.

This worked for me. Hopefully if I have to do it again it will be in better circumstances.

Bank Holiday Projects

This weekend I finally got round to finishing off building my new keyboard (GMMK 60% with Gateron yellows and some generic black Glorious keycaps that are better than £18 keycaps have any right to be). This will almost certainly be my main keyboard eventually, because it’s so great to type on. I’m not sure it will be with these keycaps though. They look pretty when they are backlit, but they are very different to what I’m used to, so let’s see how long they last.

What will I do with the old keyboard? I think it will still be useful in certain situations (especially when travelling, as it’s much lighter), and whilst I want to try and get to the point where I’m using mainly ISO keyboards I don’t think the occasional ANSI will hurt.

I really recommend the GMMK keyboards. I’ve built two of them now (this 60% and a 100% for Steph), and I will probably get a third one at some point to use up some more switches and keycaps that I have lying around at home and to further explore what’s possible with macros. These boards are probably the easiest way to get a high quality keyboard at an affordable price; this one was £65, and I’m using sub-£20 switches and keycaps right now, so it comes out at about £100 for a really great keyboard.

I also bought a switch tester, because there are so many switches I’ve not tried yet, and also because I’m on a quest to find an even clickier set of switches for Steph. What I’ve currently got in it is:

Clicky

  • Kailh Speed Bronze
  • Kailh Box White
  • Kailh Box Jade
  • Cherry MX White
  • Cherry MX Green
  • Gateron Green

Linear

  • Cherry MX Silent Black
  • Cherry MX Silent Red
  • Cherry MX Speed Silver
  • Gateron Clear

Tactile

  • Kailh Pro Purple
  • Kailh Speed Copper

Of the clicky switches I think I’d go with the Box Jades if I wanted a really satisfying clicky sound, or the Kailh Bronzes if I wanted pure speed. I really liked the Silent Reds – the were totally silent and may be the future of using a mechanical keyboard at work if I ever have to work in an open plan office again, although I also like the Gateron Clears (but maybe they are a little too similar to the yellows I’m using right now). Both of the tactile ones I tried are great; and I would happily type with either on a day to day basis (and might at some point soon, as I’m slightly missing the tactile bump since I moved from browns).

Of course now I’m getting links to this in my email. That is more switches than the keyboard I’m typing this on and may be a little overkill (even for me).

Debconf21

I’ve managed to attend a lot of the talks at Debconf21. This was also true of Debconf20, but I very much feel like I’ve understood a lot more of what is being talked about this time, and I’m also very happy that I was sent a conference T-shirt and badge so I can participate fully in the experience.

Talks I’ve attended (with hyperlinks to the video of the talk if they currently exist) are:

Videos of all the talks I missed are also available so there is plenty for me to watch during my long holiday-at-home that starts in less than a week.

It’s interesting to see the different presentation styles as well as the content they are delivering, and I hope I’ve also learned a bit more about what works and what doesn’t when presenting content to a virtual audience.

I’m not sure I would attend a physical Debconf unless I was a little more involved with the project, but I’ve certainly enjoyed doing it virtually this year.

Reddit, IT support, and home offices

I used Reddit quite a bit around a decade ago. Mostly for keeping up to date with Linux and other computer-related things, but also to understand the kind of things people were generally interested in and talking about (became small talk is a thing, and I’m terrible at it). I drifted away a few year ago, but since the first lockdown started I’ve found it a useful source of information about things I’m interested in.

This started when I was researching computer parts for my new desktop PC. I’ve not built a desktop for a long time, so I wanted to see what other people were doing, and how the parts shortage was going to affect the choices I made. I have my PC now, and I’m very pleased with it, but I also didn’t stop using Reddit at that point; I just stopped caring about PC hardware and tapped into the community expertise around my other current hobbies (customising the i3 window manager, Linux in general, mechanical keyboards, cycling, music). It’s interesting to see how other people are customising their computers and their keyboards, and it gives me ideas for changes I want to make to my own setup.

The time I’ve spent on Reddit has also reminded me of how much it’s used as a general support forum for all sorts of things. I try not to get too involved in that side of it, but I am very interested in the way people ask for help with their IT issues and it gives me some useful data to reflect on when I’m thinking about these things as part of my day job.

I’m in no way surprised that people are generally quite bad at describing the issues they are having, and also that they are very bad at choosing the right place to ask for help. I do have vague intentions to write up long answers to things that people seem to struggle with, probably starting with my insights on how people switching to Linux invariably start off with doing something really hard as part of their initial switch (dual-boot, Nvidia drivers, getting Windows software to work in the same way it does on Windows) and give up soon afterwards, not realising that everything else they will ever do isn’t going to be that hard to set up. That’s an essay for another day, but this is definitely a statement of intent.

I’m also starting to get quite interested in the way people have their home offices set up. After 18 months of mostly remote working, I’ll be returning part-time to the office next week, but am still very interested in seeing how other people set their home offices up for maximum productivity. I’ve made a lot of changes since the start of last year, and I suspect many other people have as well. I have intentions to make a long list of people who have inspired me with their setups, but that’s also a job for another day.

Mechanical Keyboards

I’ve been using mechanical keyboards for a while now, but the fact that I’m working in more than one place now has required me either carrying a keyboard everywhere I go or having more than one keyboard. I have of course chosen the latter, and it seems that customising keyboards has become a new hobby.

I’ve tried out a number of different models and layouts, but always seem to keep coming back to a 61 key ANSI layout keyboard (my current favourite is an Epomaker SK61); partly because I love the form factor but also because it’s easier to buy keycaps for them. I’ve now got a keyboard on each of my desks, and I’m happy enough with how they work and with the aesthetics of the keys. I have also now got a perspex box full of the black keycaps that many keyboards come with, but that don’t work for me unless they are backlit (and even then…). What I generally prefer is something lighter; with black or grey lettering on a white, grey or beige background. All of my keyboards have some variation on this, with slightly darker keys down the side and different coloured escape and enter keys (which most keycap sets seem to have and which I’ve just got used to).

My one ISO keyboard broadly follows this aesthetic as well, but has a few more keys and sits on my desk in the office just in case anyone else might need to use it. It’s the only keyboard I have where what is printed on the key represents exactly what each key is mapped to; it’s much easier for me to not have to change the way I type when I switch between layouts, and I have been using ISO configured computers with ANSI keyboards for years now anyway so I just type the same way on each keyboard without really looking at what is printed on the keys.

I think I’ll be writing about this subject again. In the meantime if I know any other secret mechanical keyboard enthusiasts then please get in touch.

Debian Post-installation Script

Yesterday I spent the day working on a script to install my usual working environment on top of a clean install of the (soon to be) current version of Debian. This is a fork of my Ubuntu scripts that I use to set up all my machines.

It’s very much a work in progress, and I wouldn’t recommend running this on a machine you care about, but I thought it was worth documenting in case it’s of use to anyone else.

Pre-installation

Before you run this script ensure that you have sudo installed and that your user is in the group. To do this run the following as root (replacing <your username> with your username)

apt install -y sudo
sudo usermod -aG sudo <your username>

You will also need some extra repositories enabled. My /etc/apt/sources.list looks like this:

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bullseye main contrib
deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye/updates main contrib

Installation

Download the script, make it executable, and run it:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/teknostatik/debian/master/deploy_debian.sh
chmod 755 deploy_debian.sh
./deploy_debian.sh

I’ve tested this on top of a full desktop install and a command line only installation as well. My goal is to get a working i3 environment, so the latter is probably what I’m going to focus on going forward. I did get a few snaps working on my test machine, but that was non-trivial, and I’m still not confident enough about that aspect yet. I also suspect most people who choose Debian do not care for snaps anyway.