Block non-human crawlers with lighttpd
2025-04-20
Recently, I've put a copy of some ZIM files online with kiwix-server. I posted the url of this site on the Fediverse and, a few days later, the little server was a bit overloaded. The logs showed that the site was being crawled by search engines and AI training bots. There was no reason to let them. A robots.txt file calmed some, but not others. [...]
I haven't found the right tool to build a smolweb site, yet
2025-04-08
There are plenty of tools out there to build static websites such as Hugo, Zola, Pelican, Publii… they're powerful and well-made. But they all assume you're building your site locally. You install them on your computer, write and edit your content there, and then push the result to a server. That's fine if you always write from the same machine. But I don't. I write from different devices, depending on where I am and what I have on hand, so relying on a local setup doesn't fit my workflow. [...]
I no longer help friends and family with Windows issues
2025-03-29
For years, I was the go-to person whenever a friend or family member had a computer issue. Whether it was a slow system, mysterious pop-ups, unsupported hardware after system update, or software not behaving as expected, I would spend hours troubleshooting and fixing things. But not any more, at least not if the system in question runs Windows (or macOS). [...]
Offline version of a smolweb site
2025-03-04
So easy to make an offline version of a blog when it respects #smolweb recommendations. I've built a zim file of my web site with two command lines. wget and zimwriterfs (provided with zim-tools package) are easy to use. And it can be viewed by all zim readers such as the very good kiwix software [...]
Blog with Gotosocial??
2025-03-01
What if I told you that Gotosocial, a federated server software connected to the Fediverse, could also serve as a fantastic, minimalist blogging platform Imagine the possibilities: a clean, user-friendly interface, support for longer posts, and a commitment to the principles of Smolweb. Gotosocial offers all this and more, making it an exciting alternative for those seeking a straightforward and sustainable blogging experience. [...]
What if the U.S. cut off Big Tech from Europe? A nightmare for many European firms
2025-02-02
Imagine waking up to the news that Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have been ordered by the U.S. government to cease providing their IT services to Europe. No more Azure, no more Google Cloud, no more AWS. The fallout would be immediate and catastrophic for countless European businesses, exposing a deep dependency that few truly acknowledge. [...]