How I used Linux Core Utils to Give Away A Laptop
Announcing the winner of the first #corebootbook giveaway
Earlier, I had announced that I would be giving away a Dell Chromebook that had been freed from Google’s ChromeOS after I reach 50 substack subscribers. Thank you to all who have subscribed and spread the word. I appreciate it!
This week, the number of subscribers exceeded 50. So I did the drawing for the giveaway… in a very *nix like way. I used the programs that come included in most (or possibly all) Linux and BSD distros: the Core Utilities.
The Process
I recorded the process on video and will also give a written summary here.
Video Link: How I used Linux Core Utils to Give Away A Laptop
First, I exported the subscribers list from SubStack. It was in csv format, which is a plain text file with value separated by commas.
Then, I used a vim command to find the @ symbol on each line and delete it, along with the remainder of the line. That left me with just the username part of the email of each subscriber, one per line.
I used the nl core utility to output the list of email names with number lines in front of them.
Then I used the shuf core utility to shuffle all the names and then only output one line, which gave me the winner.
I have emailed the winner.
More Giveaways
In the video I also talk about how I plan to do future giveaways. I will use the same process to draw another #corebootbook winner after get over the 100 subscriber mark.
After that, I’ll be doing more giveaways, approximately one a month, from among the paid substack supporters.
Videos on Peertube
My videos will not be published on Youtube. I have taken it as a personal challenge to show that we don’t have to use controlling and censoring platforms like Youtube to be successful. For that reason, I am primarily publishing my videos on a self-hosted Peertube server:
No one can take down my videos or ban my channel, as I control the server. I talk about that in this video:
My thoughts on Youtube, LBRY, Peertube and Decentralization
I do understand that Youtube search is how most people find videos to watch. So I won’t have that advantage compared to other tech video creators who are on Youtube. If you like my approach, please share my work with people you think would be interested.
More to come
The writing and video creation process is challenging, but rewarding. I have a lot more in the works. I appreciate your reading, watching and comments!
— Matthew from RetroEdge.Tech