TL, DR Laptop keyboards have dual-function keys. For instance, on my Dell G15 laptop, which I use with Ubuntu, the F1 key doubles down as mute for audio output. In some cases you may want to reverse the working of the fn key. The simple and easy way to do it is to press fn… Continue reading Reverse fn key on a Dell laptop keyboard
Tag: Tools
A MicroPython client for MinIO
TL, DR MicroPython is a fantastic framework to write code for micro controllers. I just created a very simple library to enable those devices uploading files into a MinIO object storage. MinIO object storage I already wrote a couple of blog posts about MinIO (you can check them here), a great self-hosted object storage software.… Continue reading A MicroPython client for MinIO
Create a MongoDB user from Compass
TL, DR MongoDB is one of the leading NoSQL databases, and Compass is its desktop GUI. We will see how we can leverage it to create new users. Creating users from Compass I already provided an introduction to MongoDB and Compass in a previous post for my MongoDB series. In this post we will explore… Continue reading Create a MongoDB user from Compass
Drop Pandas DataFrame columns only if they exist
TL, DR Sometimes you need to drop columns in a Pandas DataFrame, but you may not be sure they actually exist. Here a few snippets to do it without raising errors. Safely Dropping Columns That Might Not Exist Sometimes, your dataset might include placeholder or optional columns such as “Unknown”, “Other”, or “None”. You may… Continue reading Drop Pandas DataFrame columns only if they exist
Calculate metrics on numeric columns only for Pandas DataFrames
TL, DR Sometimes you need to calculate averages, minimums, or other metrics from numeric-only columns in a Pandas DataFrame. Here a few snippets to do it. Select numeric columns and calculate metrics You often want to calculate summary statistics like the mean , median , or standard deviation — but you only care about numeric… Continue reading Calculate metrics on numeric columns only for Pandas DataFrames
Use rsdmx to access data
TL, DR rsdmx is a great R package to access data via SDMX. Sometimes the configuration of parameters to access the data may not be intuitive. Here a quick note from few hours spent trying to access data from ISTAT. Install and import rsdmx This is easily achieved opening R or Rstudio and calling: For… Continue reading Use rsdmx to access data
Fix GSConnect not mounting Android phone in the file system
TL, DR GSConnect is a great open source app to connect your phone to your Linux PC. At the time of writing, when you try to mount the phone file system on your PC, you are most likely to get an error. Here a few steps to fix this issue. Mounting your phone from GSConnect… Continue reading Fix GSConnect not mounting Android phone in the file system
Fix Flatpak browser not opening links in Ubuntu
TL, DR Sometimes Ubuntu stages a coup, setting the Snap internet browser as default. This may break your setup if you actually installed your browser using Flatpak. Here a few steps to fix this issue. Flatpak vs. Snap Ubuntu has a strong preference for Snaps…but maybe you don’t necessarily agree with this and you prefer… Continue reading Fix Flatpak browser not opening links in Ubuntu
Use Python Selenium with Snap browsers
TL, DR Selenium is one of the main libraries for browser automation and web scraping. Sometimes it is painful to integrate with browsers that are installed as Snap packages, this guide gives you a few examples for a correct configuration. What are Snap packages? Snap packages is the new and preferred way to distribute applications… Continue reading Use Python Selenium with Snap browsers
Set your User Agent with Python Requests, Scrapy, and Selenium
TL, DR When you crawl the web to collect data you should set a User Agent that identifies you. Or one that hides the tool you are using. Here you can find how to set the User Agent in Python Requests, Scrapy, and Selenium. What is the User Agent? A User Agent is a string… Continue reading Set your User Agent with Python Requests, Scrapy, and Selenium
