I am the proud owner of a 2012 MacBook Pro. It’s solidly built from aluminium, has a ton of ports and inputs (including a DVD drive), a great keyboard, a clear, sharp screen. Unfortunately Apple and most software devs, in the ever-present quest for the next bright bouncing ball, have left my old warhorse behind. It can’t run the latest versions of common web browsers and MacOS is at least seven major releases past anything the chipset can handle. But I don’t want to retire it just yet, even though a big-number birthday is coming up and I have an eye on A Shiny.
So, I did a bit of reading and YouTubing, and engaged in a geeksome project. I am proud to announce that my warhorse is now galloping along with an up-to-date version of Linux Mint in its saddlebags. It performs smoothly and easily, runs all the programmes I need and some I probably shouldn’t (hello Steam, you naughty timesink) and generally feels like a brand new laptop. All for free — the total cost was a few hours of time and an old USB stick.
If you have an old computer you’re thinking about binning (not just a Mac, the approach I’ve just outlined is a very viable solution for old Windows machines, especially those abandoned by Microsoft’s move to 11), have a nosy at some Linux distros. Installation and configuration is no one-click affair, but it’s simpler than you think. It took me a couple of hours all told. it keeps your tec off landfill and honestly, with the shenanigans of the American software giants, it might be worth shifting your allegiances to a more independent open-source solution.
Wherever you are, whenever you are, however you are, welcome to The Swipe.
Rob is reading…
2000AD recently hit Prog 2500, and show no signs of slowing down or dropping quality. A big number usually means a complete reset in the run of stories. I’m delighted to see the return of Dan Abnett and Tazio Bettin’s Azimuth, a digital fever dream with characters culled from some other AD favourites. The jewel is of course a new thread in the Judge Dredd yarn looking at how justice in Mega-City 1 is handled, whether there’s a better way, and how the vested interests squatting at the heart of power might not want that to happen. It’s mature, serious and compelling comics work from some of the best in the business. A big, fat recommend from me.
(Auto-correct just offered me Maga-City 1. Talk about dystopian nightmares…)
Rob is watching…
Marble Hall Murders. Anthony Horowitz’s curiously meta trilogy of detective novels gets a third telly adaptation in 2026. Susan Ryeland is back in England following the collapse of her relationship with a sexy Greek hotelier, and takes an editing job with some pretty shady undertones. There are murders both real and imaginary, and the links between Susan and dying detective Atticus Pünt take a very wild twist midway through. It’s a bit clunky and full of ‘why the heck is she doing that?’ moments, but Horowitz is taking big, brave narrative swings and I can’t help but be swept along.
Rob is listening…
A strange moment when you realise a song you have loved for years, one that brings you to a standstill every time you hear it, is a cover version. I had that twice this week — first with the Equals bouncing through a slower, reggae-ier version of Police On My Back than the propulsive blast I was used to on The Clash’s Sandinista!
Then this. Oh Eddie, how could you?
Rob is eating…
Crisps. Lots and lots of crisps. Surprised to see Scampi Fries get such a low ranking, though. They have always been the exemplar of flavour and texture for me.
Rob’s Low-Key Obsession Of The Week…
Although it’s described as the hardest exam in existence, outside of that febrile environment the questions work brilliantly as a starting point for thoughtful 1000-word blog posts. Thought pieces with no real right answer. Sounds like a challenge I could use in a future project. Watch this space.
Kathleen Robertson, most recently seen in Reacher as the badass wife of a compromised senator, writes with clear-eyed anger about how sex scenes were negotiated before intimacy coordinators became a thing. I read a recent interview with adult film star Electra Rayne in which she compared what she does on camera to stunt work. This makes a lot of sense to me. It’s all about choreography, getting the right angles and above all SAFETY. Building the fantasy is a deeply prosaic endeavour, as anyone who has been on a film set will tell you.
Sex Scenes Before Anyone Gave A Shit
This is the sort of clubbing which I can absolutely get behind. I delight in the trend for day-time raves and this seems like the logical conclusion.
Jeez, talk about standing on the shoulders of giants.
The People Who Hold Up The Internet
I’m absolutely entranced by Rachael Stirling’s memoir/biography of her mum, Diana Rigg, and every extract is stuffed full with brilliant writing and spit-your-coffee moments. Great, great stuff.
Love made cannibals of us both.
I think this speaks for itself.
The Reading Reporter continues to do the sort of sharp incisive journalism you just don’t see in the local press any more. This long read on the rehabilitation of Reading FC’s women’s team will resonate very strongly with those who watched and enjoyed the last season of Ted Lasso. The Lady Greyhounds never had to deal with exile to Slough, mind.
Film geekery of the highest order as Stephen Follows tracks the amount of cuts in movies over the decades. Interesting that he doesn’t factor in the massive change in the craft which begun once digital editing started taking over from physical cutting of print on specialised projector tables called Steenbecks. Surely that has to have had an effect?
This piece on the frat house system in American colleges was written in 2014, yet seems strikingly relevant to current events. If you’re wondering about the mindset which led to the outrages of the Cornell 7 case, prepare to have all your questions answered.
I need a drink after that. A nice, simple, straightforward beer, I think.
In conclusion.
I’ve been working through the big list of ‘perfect’ songs I posted last week, and this Rae Morris tune stopped me in my tracks. Simple, a little twee, sure. I wanted to call it old-fashioned, but that’s the wrong word. It’s timeless, the sort of song that can work in any context and setting. I think it’s a nice way to start the weekend, and I hope you do too.
See you in seven, fellow travellers.
