Chris Were's site
With only 122 days (at the time of writing) until Google locks down Android, I almost feel like talking about mobile apps is a bit futile. Personally, I don’t even know what I’ll do when my phone cuts me off from F-Droid, and furthermore, what will happen to the quality and variety of FOSS apps on mobile. I use my phone a decent amount at work when I’m on my break, and I’ve come to rediscover RSS…
Much like Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng ’s 2022 mini budget, something absolutely disastrous, predictable, and entirely avoidable has occurred. In the wake of the UK’s Online Safety Act (OSA), a number of Discord users have had their data stolen by an “unauthorised third party”. Whilst full credit card numbers and passwords were not impacted by the hack, data potentially accessed includes names,…
Labour’s weakness on foreign policy was exposed again in Parliament when Green Party MP Ellie Chowns pressed the Government on Gaza. She asked straightforward questions: had ministers secured any timeframe for Israel to ease the blockade and allow humanitarian aid? Would Israel be held accountable for the ongoing crisis? When would the UK publish its promised review of the 2030 UK–Israel Roadmap?…
Labour is continuing to punch itself in the face over its approach to artificial intelligence. The party has abandoned both its climate pledges and its commitment to public safety as Prime Minister Keir Starmer stupidly embraces the tech industry’s AI hype-train. Turning a blind eye to harms In the Senedd, Ms Hannah Blythyn MS (Welsh Labour, Delyn) raised urgent concerns about the rise of…
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has been sidelined in a high-profile Cabinet row after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer chose to back plans for a massive data centre on Teesside instead of a major hydrogen energy project. The move has been seen as a blow to Mr Miliband’s net zero agenda, raising questions about how much influence he holds in government decision-making. ( The Telegraph, 12 September…
Unlike Kier Starmer my father was not a toolmaker , today I’d like to talk about a tool, made by a toolmaker. I can’t believe I’ve been on Linux full-time for over 10 years without learning how Vim works. It’s the preferred text editor of almost everyone I know, and it’s a crime I didn’t give it a try sooner. When it comes to learning Vim, I was very fortunate to have Drew walk me through the…
This list is a work in progress where I’m listed 50 games which have had a substantial impact on my life. This isn’t necessarily an endorsement of each of these games, but rather a project of personal reflection. I’ll flesh out this list over time, but wanted to get a pre-alpha build out there. Deus Ex Hitman: Silent Assassin Hitman: Blood Money Deus Ex: Invisible War Vampire the Masquerade…
Much like Tony Blair’s campaign slogan of “education, education, education,” I recognize the importance of having something simple yet recognizable to engage with people. While I’m not particularly focused on cultivating a ‘personal brand,’ there is still value in having a bold, recognizable icon for your website. This is especially true for drawing attention to vertical browser tabs or tabs where…
Ellie Chowns, Green Party MP for North Herefordshire, went head-to-head with Prime Minister Kier Starmer over climate policy today (3 September 2025). Chowns slammed the Conservatives’ plans to extract more oil and gas from the North Sea, calling it “reckless” and useless for energy security or jobs. Turning to Starmer, she asked if he would finally put a stop to the controversial Rosebank oil…
Much like former prime minister David Cameron pledging his government to embrace the Open Document Format (ODF), I too wish to push the agenda of open standards. Despite YouTube’s continued enshitification, it is still possible to get an RSS feed from YouTube channels and playlists, this page will provide you with the necessary details. I’ve also made a demonstration video for this. In order to…
Web browser add-ons behind! : This is a great tool for helping you download photos and videos from many websites. uBlock Origin : The best ad blocking tool out there, and the primary reason I’m still using Firefox web browser. Online resources Google Fonts : Shamefully I’ve found that Google Fonts is a really good repository for SIL Open Font Licensed fonts. They’re downloadable so you don’t have…
Just like former MP Jacob Rees-Mogg showing the world that he doesn’t have a computer in his office , I too shall share my daily workflow. Unlike Mister Rees-Mogg, I know how to use a computer (most of the time). All apps mentioned here are free and open source and most should be available in most Linux distro repositories. Web browser Firefox : My day-to-day browser of choice, I use the ESR…
Much like Liz Truss driving a tank into Estonia, I’m going to do something confusing and likely foolhardy: rebuild the pride and joy of my digital presence with Drew’s static website builder, blop . I’m a big lover of static sites for all the use cases you can apply them to. They’re faster, more stable, more portable, require fewer dependencies and resources, and you generally have more control…
Bridge Fed : Link your Fedi account to Bluesky and vice versa. The Federation : Fediverse information and statistics. Masto.Host : create a Mastodon instance with this hosting service. Phanpy : lightweight and customisable alternative front end for Mastodon. Pinafore : lightweight, single column alternative front end for Mastodon. Sepia Search : a search engine for PeerTube videos.
Battle for Wesnoth : a turn based fantasy strategy game. Chromium BSU : fast paced, arcade-style, top-scrolling space shooter. Freedoom : free and open source FPS game based on the Doom engine. Hedgewars : a turn-based strategy, artillery, action and comedy game (like Worms). Minetest : free, open source voxel game engine and game, fun to build stuff in. OpenArena : community-produced deathmatch…
Amfora gemini browser : my prefered CLI browser for gemini. Ariane gemini browser : my prefered gemini browser on Android. Lagrange gemini browser : my prefered GUI browser for gemini.