I've just watched this fascinating excerpt from a 1983 episode of BBC's Micro Live, in which they cover the broadcasting of computer software by radio and television!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtTVczVmV8w

A few things stood out to me:

• 2m35s: I always wondered what these dots were above the video. That I remember seeing them all the time (before the switchover to fully digital TV signals in around 2010) implies that the picture must never have been properly adjusted on the television sets I used!
• 5m17s: This is very cool! Being able to parse real live data from Ceefax must have seemed very exotic before domestic connections to the Internet became generally available.
• 6m29s: I don't agree with the interviewee Lawson Brown here at all! There's no reason you couldn't have error checking of a digital radio broadcast. I'm sure he knew that, but it's still a weak argument IMHO.
• 7m48s: The interviewer Ian McNaught-Davis touches upon some really interesting questions about the quality of free software. The topic doesn't really get fleshed out in this video, but it's fascinating to think that this episode aired literally five days before the GNU project was announced, which, after a bit of time, would essentially demonstrate the answer to those questions!

#retrocomputing #bbcmicro #teletext #ceefax

On my way to Exeter! :neofox_flag_trans:

CC @afewbugs @dpk #NowTräwelling

https://traewelling.de/status/8013043

How to find a @maddy :

• Are they a resident of the Fediverse?
• Are they fox-shaped?
• Are they friend-shaped?

So far, so good- but wait! That's not enough. You could still looking at a @theresnotime, a @Houl, a @matildalove ... perhaps a @freeplay, or even a @gwenthefops !! There's still one more question you need to answer to narrow it down:

• Can they fix a ThinkPad laptop you thought was beyond repair, at speeds you thought were surely impossible?

Yes? Now that's Maddy - she's incredibly skilled at bringing all manner of kaputt gadgets back to life, she's a really kind and competent admin of a Fediverse instance, and much more beside. I'm so proud to be her friend :neofox_heart:

I believe that a not-insignificant number of my followers would appreciate this sign, courtesy of the Canal & River Trust of England and Wales! :neodog_3c:

Image credit: Neil Turner on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

“This is not a hypothetical. You are less free now. Your security, dignity, and safety is in the hands of nasty, petty, monumentally stupid bigots. They can take it from you at a whim.”

https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-end-of-trans-rights-in-the-uk-is-the-start-of-democratic-collapse/

"Take Friday off. This wheel helps you work so quickly you just might."

There was such optimism for this technology before the invention of doomscrolling!

Google claim that their upcoming laptop is the "perfect partner to your Android phone" because you can "access files from your phone as if they live on your laptop" - but did you know that this is already possible, no special laptop model needed?

KDE Connect is completely free and open source software (FOSS) to link your devices together, supported by the @kde charity. It works on almost all phone models, and it does more than just allow you to access your phone's storage. For example, with KDE Connect your phone immediately becomes a remote control for music or videos playing on your laptop or desktop PC!

Don't get drawn in by the slick marketing - you don't need AI to make your life easier with technology, and most of the features large software companies such as Google are promoting have already been thoughtfully implemented by dedicated volunteers in the FOSS community.

#kdeconnect #kde #foss

A reasonably long train here at Barnstaple - two class 150s coupled together for a total of four coaches. It's almost empty here at the front! (@ GWR ➡️ Exeter St. Davids) #NowTräwelling

https://traewelling.de/status/7668050

Underway towards Manchester! (@ 301 ➡️ Rail Station) #NowTräwelling #OggCamp

https://traewelling.de/status/7667281

I have a very special announcement to make, fellow Fedizens: I'm transitioning! It would be very much appreciated if you could henceforth use she/her/hers pronouns when referring to me. I'll continue to go by the name Sebastian Crane for the foreseeable future, and of course I'll still be seabass online.

I would like to thank Juliana, Neil and Terence for helping me to discover my gender identity in ways they probably don't realize, and I barely understand - which ultimately led to my sudden and joyful experience of the famed 'egg crack'. Furthermore, I would like to thank each and every one of the many friends, relatives and colleagues of mine who have been unceasingly supportive.

Would you like to contribute to a project that helps users of mobile devices exercise their right to software freedom? A non-profit creating a user-friendly, private and secure alternative to proprietary app stores? F-Droid is that project, and is looking to make new appointments to its Board of Directors this year!

It is a busy time for @fdroidorg - we are collaborating with dozens of other FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) organizations as part of the @keepandroidopen initiative, rolling out exciting new UX improvements developed by @grote, strengthening the project's governance and legal resilience and much more. Take a look at our call for nominations here:

https://f-droid.org/2026/02/26/board-of-directors-nominations.html

#fdroid #foss #opensource

Such is the interaction between British weather and British railways that I am facing the prospect of being unable to return home today. Are there any FOSS or Fediverse people I should get to know who might be around in the Cardiff/Bristol/Exeter areas, and could possibly meet me this evening or tomorrow morning? I'd like to salvage a nice introduction from a not-so-nice train journey if I can :)

#cardiff #caerdydd #newport #bristol #exeter #taunton

Calling #genealogy and cursive #handwriting experts for help identifying a place name from one small section of a Victorian-era English census record! I know that one of my ancestors came from Aachen, and married a German man who probably also came from the Rhineland. This man's birthplace is what I am trying to determine. I can make out the second line (his wife's birthplace) as "Achen [sic] Germany. B.S. [British Subject]", but the first line eludes me. It looks a bit like "-hausen" at the end, but I can't otherwise see how it could resemble any of the place names found in the vicinity of Aachen. A few thoughts:

• The ancestor of mine in question was born in 1864, so 'Germany' could have included places in the Duchy of Limburg or the Kingdom of Luxembourg for which the German name is no longer officially used.

• Germany has had a few spelling reforms and other changes in place names since 1864, which can be seen in the very same record (Achen rather than Aachen).

• Census questions at this time were answered orally and transcribed by census officials, so the likelihood of a spelling mistake is rather high.

Please share with others who you think might know the answer - thank you!

@jon Did you happen to see this registration for a new Deutsche Bahn (ICE 3neo) service between Antwerp and Köln?

https://www.regul.be/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/20250613-Notificatiedocument-DB-VERZENDING.pdf

The stretch between Brussels and Köln doesn't look particularly remarkable to me, as it's the same route and speed as the existing DB services. The schedule starts only slightly earlier and ends no later, although higher frequency is always nice.

Although it's only a relatively short distance, I think the Antwerp-Brussels section could be very useful for Interrailers, because at the moment only Eurostar seem to run truly high speed trains on this route.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, if you don't mind taking a break from winged-wheel railways and turning your attention westward for a bit!

I'm looking for a job, so I think it's my turn to make a #fedihire post!

My main areas of expertise are computer security and standardiziation, and I'm deeply involved in the free and open source software (FOSS) community. My ideal role would be one that blends strategy with technology: Open Source Program Manager or CISO for instance. Remote-first is most practical, but any amount of travel as part of the job is acceptable to me. I'm a British citizen and currently resident in the UK, but would like to move to Germany if possible (meine Deutschkenntnisse entsprechen fast dem CEFR-Niveau B2).

https://seabass.systems/cv.pdf

Please boost and thank you for reading!

A quick follow-up message for those who might be wondering about the date for submitting nominations for the F-Droid Board of Directors: although the 14th of April has now passed, it's not a hard deadline. We can't guarantee that late submissions will be considered, but they won't be automatically disqualified either! So if you are still on the fence about making a nomination or couldn't quite find the time to make one before, don't be afraid to send us a last-minute email: board-nominations@f-droid.org

There's still time left to nominate someone for the F-Droid Board of Directors!
https://f-droid.org/en/2025/03/30/board-of-directors-nominations.html
If you or someone you know wants to help further Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) on mobile devices, we would love to receive your nomination. There are lots of ways to participate as a member of the board: community management, fundraising and legal compliance are just a few of the ways that the Board of Directors supports the F-Droid community.

@calyxinstitute @FOSSBackstage Oh and there's a CalyxOS one too!

Spotted a Calyx sticker at the #fossback conference today! Is anyone from the @calyxinstitute here in person?

@neil @delta Not quite working for me yet:

⚠️ nine.testrun.org requires end-to-end encryption which is not setup for this chat yet. Tap to learn more.

That's the case when using either the URL that you pasted or the email address directly.