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Senhorita Home windows XP ou 7? Então eu tenho uma alternativa gratuita e de código aberto para você

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ReactOS sempre mostrou possibilidades.

Jack WallenZDNET

Siga ZDNET: Adicione-nos como fonte preferencial no Google.

Principais conclusões da ZDNET

  • ReactOS é uma alternativa gratuita e de código aberto ao Home windows.
  • Este sistema operacional mesclou os ISOs Stay e Boot para facilitar a instalação.
  • As mudanças chegarão na próxima versão.

Escrevi recentemente sobre ReactOS em “Meus 5 sistemas operacionais de código aberto favoritos que não são Linux”. Um desses sistemas operacionais é o ReactOS, que pretende se parecer com o Home windows, mas não tem nada a ver com a Microsoft.

Embora o ReactOS seja realmente fácil de usar, instalá-lo foi, bem, nem tanto. Ao baixar uma imagem ISO para instalação, você notará que há uma versão dwell e uma versão de boot. A versão de inicialização é o que você usaria para instalar o ReactOS e, ao fazer isso, descobrirá que é uma instalação tradicional baseada em texto.

Além disso: Os melhores laptops Linux

Não é muito parecido com o Home windows, hein?

Bem, há boas notícias para aqueles que desejam experimentar o ReactOS. Os desenvolvedores têm mesclou o LiveCD e o instalador baseado em textopara que você obtenha ambos em um ISO (que pode ser usado para criar uma unidade USB inicializável). O que isso faz é alinhar a instalação do ReactOS com as instalações do Linux.

Por que isso é importante

O problema com as iterações anteriores é que aqueles que desejam experimentar o ReactOS antes de instalá-lo agora podem fazer isso através do dwell CD e, se gostarem do que vêem, podem instalar o sistema operacional a partir da mesma instância.

Com esses dois mesclados, não haverá necessidade de testá-lo com o dwell CD e, em seguida, inicializar o CD de inicialização para instalação. Para muitos usuários, isso seria confuso o suficiente para impedi-los de experimentar o ReactOS.

Este é um grande passo para tornar o ReactOS mais fácil de usar.

Há uma advertência. Embora a instância do dwell CD seja uma GUI moderna e completa, semelhante ao Home windows, a instalação se assemelha à instalação de versões muito mais antigas do Home windows (é baseada em texto).

Também: As melhores distros Linux para iniciantes: você consegue!

Isso não quer dizer que a instalação seja desafiadora; pode ser um pouco assustador. Há mais boas notícias nesse sentido. Os desenvolvedores também criaram a base para uma instalação GUI completa que estará disponível na versão 0.4.16.

Há mais boas notícias

Antes desta fusão, o ReactOS estava limitado a uma pequena lista de {hardware}. Com o próximo lançamento, o ReactOS receberá um novo driver de armazenamento ATA, o que significa que o sistema operacional será inicializado em dispositivos de armazenamento SATA, PATA, ATAPI e AHCI.

O ReactOS é para você?

Se você está procurando um clone exato do Home windows 8, 10 ou 11, pode ficar um pouco decepcionado com o ReactOS. Se você não se importa em usar um sistema operacional mais parecido com o Home windows XP ou 7, o ReactOS será uma delícia. E como o ReactOS foi desenvolvido para ser compatível com o software program Home windows, ele deve facilitar a saída do Home windows.

No entanto, lembre-se de que o ReactOS ainda está em fase alfa de desenvolvimento e já está assim há algum tempo. Isso significa que demorará um pouco até que o ReactOS esteja pronto para uso geral. O que isso significa é que você deve considerar a versão atual do ReactOS apenas como algo para experimentar, e não como algo em que depender.

Também: Quer salvar seu computador antigo? Experimente estas 5 distribuições Linux

Passei muito tempo com o ReactOS para dizer com segurança que, assim que os desenvolvedores obtiverem o instalador GUI completo, esta será uma ótima alternativa ao Home windows. No entanto, como ainda está em alfa, você pode apostar que é instável. Além disso, o navegador padrão está bastante desatualizado, então você precisará instalar uma alternativa. Ao tentar instalar um navegador da net, você descobrirá que o ReactOS oferece suporte apenas a navegadores mais antigos. Esperançosamente, isso mudará à medida que o sistema operacional se aproximar da versão beta e do lançamento geral. As duas melhores opções para a versão atual são Okay-Meleon (Goanna Engine) e Mozilla Firefox 52 ESR.

Como mencionei anteriormente, essas novas alterações não aparecerão até a versão 0.4.16. Atualmente, a versão mais recente é a 0.4.15 e não há indicação de quando a próxima versão estará disponível, então você terá que verificar continuamente o Página de download do ReactOS para ver se isso muda.

Além disso: Pronto para um laptop computer Linux? Eu recomendo um smoking para iniciantes e usuários profissionais

Espero que o ReactOS proceed sua trajetória para que quem quiser sair do Home windows tenha ainda mais opções. Embora o trabalho no ReactOS seja lento, ele fica melhor a cada lançamento, e eu prevejo que, uma vez fora da versão beta, este sistema operacional será uma plataforma superb para quem procura a liberdade do código aberto, mas não está pronto para usar o Linux.

RAF’s ‘robot fighter jets’ will be operational sooner than expected

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The UK is speeding up plans to create an “AI Air Force” in light of the US-Israeli war with Iran, the head of the Royal Air Force told The i Paper.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth said that the shift towards uncrewed air systems was “one of the most interesting and exciting changes for us”, and was happening much more quickly than military planners had expected.

Last week, the RAF launched a review of its Combat Air Strategy, first released in 2018, to significantly expand its artificial intelligence and autonomous capabilities by the end of the decade. This includes the development of “robot fighter jets”, according to Smyth.

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AI has regularly been used during the Iran war for selecting military targets and large-scale attacks from uncrewed aerial systems or drones.

Smyth, in an interview with The i Paper at a military airport hangar, said the Air Force has commissioned work to “re-look at our Combat Air Strategy and where those types of capabilities might and could play into that much sooner than we had thought”.

“What we’re now looking at is, how do we pull that all together into a single programme, and what could that mean for an Air Force that might become more of an AI Air Force in the future?” he added.

Robot fighter jets

He said that two years ago, the RAF was planning to integrate automated systems by 2035, but it is now aiming to master the technology by 2030.

Following the introduction of the new uncrewed aircraft system STORMSHROUD into operational service, the RAF Regiment recently deployed with the cutting-edge technology to put it through its paces in a frontline scenario, deploying on Exercise ECLIPSE TUTOR at RAF Spadeadam. Photographer: AS1 Ben Drake - RAF Copyright: ? UK MOD CROWN COPYRIGHT 2025
RAF personnel put new uncrewed aircraft system StormShroud through its paces in a frontline scenario on Exercise Eclipse Tutor at RAF Spadeadam in Cumbria (Photo: AS1 Ben Drake/RAF/MoD)

One element of this is “collaborative combat aircraft, CCAs – or robot fighter jets”, he said.

“We’ve always known in theory that this was a capability that would be coming, we expected it to really come to the fore in the next decade. In truth, it’s here today.”

Separately, AI can be used in air and missile defence systems, helping to digest warning signs picked up by radars and sensors and allocate different ground-based capabilities to incoming aerial threats. This has been seen in Ukraine.

The UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) – a blueprint for the future of the Armed Forces released last year – said that the RAF needed to improve its crewed systems with “autonomous collaborative platforms”, to provide “mass and capability across a range of tasks, including air defence, strike, and electromagnetic attack”.

It added that crewed combat air platforms “will remain at the heart of a system‑of‑systems approach, particularly in airborne air defence to counter peer adversaries’ aircraft, until artificial intelligence and autonomy reach the necessary levels of capability and trust”.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is shown a new autonomous drone, the "StormShroud" during a visit to a defence contractor in Bedfordshire on May 2, 2025. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / POOL / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is shown the autonomous StormShroud drone during a visit to a defence contractor in Bedfordshire (Photo: Henry Nicholls/AFP)

Asked if the UK was speeding up its plans to introduce automated tech in part due to lessons from the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Smyth said: “Absolutely.”

But he said that integrating robotic systems would not only help the UK expand its military capabilities, it would also generate domestic economic growth. He added that British defence companies have “world-class skills” in the area and could benefit from new investment.

However, a pivot towards a robot air forces would require significant funding, and the Government is continuing to stall on its long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (DIP).

George Robertson, the former head of Nato and co-author of the SDR, recently said that the UK was not taking the threat from Russia seriously enough and needed to prioritise spending on defence over welfare.

Hybrid forces

The RAF, Navy and Army are taking steps to become hybrid forces, made up of crewed and uncrewed systems. Insiders said AI could help control air platforms and speed up the decisions of the pilot.

Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said the RAF was developing some “very promising” uncrewed systems, which includes the StormShroud – uncrewed aircraft designed to blind enemy radars – and a range of cheap decoy and one-way attack drone systems.

However, Bronk said the systems would mostly be useful in overwhelming air defence systems to improve the odds of high-end weapons like UK-made Storm Shadow missiles hitting targets, rather than as replacements for existing missiles and jets.

The United States has shown off the first flight of the robot aircraft set to make jet fighter missions more deadly. The autonomous MQ-25A Stingray will refuel warplanes in mid-flight to allow them to carry out missions for longer. Developers Boeing and the US Navy say they successfully completed the first two-hour test flight of an operational model. During the flight, the unmanned aircraft successfully demonstrated its ability to autonomously taxi, take off, fly, land and respond to commands from the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System MD-5 Ground Control Station. The MQ-25A Stingray will be used mainly as a carrier-based aerial refuelling drone for the US Navy. It will help refuel fighter jets at sea, extend the range of the carrier air wing and free up F/A-18 Super Hornets to focus on strike missions. It may also be used for surveillance and other support roles from an aircraft carrier. Photo released 30/04/2026
Last month, The US showed off the first flight of robot aircraft MQ-25A Stingray, which will refuel warplanes mid-flight to allow them to carry out missions for longer (Photo: SWNS/Boeing)

“Because there is a real risk of direct conflict with Russia in the next few years, the RAF – and the rest of the UK Armed Forces – will primarily have to fight any such war with the equipment they already have,” he said. “So, while future systems for service in the mid-late 2030s are important to develop, the main focus should be enhancing the lethality and survivability of the aircraft and aircrews we already have.”

Bronk added: “In the near term, that means bolstering air-launched weapon stocks, improving airbase defences and investing in electronic attack options like StormShroud.”

Military targeting decisions

AI and automation has been used extensively in the latest Middle East conflict, which began in late February when the US and Israel launched missile strikes across Iran, killing its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In response, Iran has attacked US military bases and its allies across the region, and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping lane for global oil and gas supplies.

When selecting targets in Iran, the US has reportedly used Palantir’s Maven Smart System, an AI platform designed to speed up military targeting decisions by bringing together data and intelligence and recommending targets.

Admiral Brad Cooper, the US Commander leading the war in Iran, has confirmed the use of “a variety of advanced AI tools” to sift through large amounts of data in the conflict. These systems allow leaders to make “smarter decisions faster than the enemy can react”, he said, and speed up processes from hours or days to seconds.

Nato bought a version of Maven Smart System in 2025.

At the same time, Ukraine and Russia are both using AI extensively on the battlefield. Kyiv’s deputy defence minister said last year that AI analyses more than 50,000 video streams from the front line each month, to help “quickly process this massive data, identify targets and put them on a map”.

But experts have warned that automated capabilities come with risk, and could lead to the accidental targeting of civilians or non-military infrastructure. The Pentagon has faced questions over whether AI contributed to an air strike on an Iranian girls’ school which Iranian officials say killed 168 people, but the answer is not yet clear.

Nilza Amaral, head of research operations at the Global Governance and Security Centre at Chatham House, recently wrote that an AI model could be trained with faulty data or with material that is different to what it encounters when deployed in the real world, leading it to “generate inaccurate information or malfunction when used outside of the training environment”.

The US military and AI suppliers insist there will always be a “human in the loop” who makes the final decision, but it is clear that automated and robotic systems will increasingly shape the face of modern warfare – and the RAF is racing to try to adapt.

Child Cudi interrompe MIA da turnê depois que ela diz que ‘não pode fazer coisas ilegais’ em discurso político no palco

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Child Cudi demitiu MIA como banda de abertura de sua turnê Insurgent Ragers após a reação negativa de seus comentários no palco em Dallas, onde ela disse que “não pode fazer coisas ilegais” e pareceu acusar o público de estar no país ilegalmente.

A polêmica primeiro ganhou força sobre Reddit onde os espectadores expressaram suas preocupações sobre seus comentários no present de sábado, incluindo que ela teria alegado que foi cancelada por ser uma eleitora republicana parda, provocando vaias do público. Embora não seja cidadã dos EUA, ela apoiou a campanha presidencial de Donald Trump em 2024.

Em um vídeoela diz que “não pode fazer coisas ilegais, embora alguns de vocês possam estar na plateia”, provocando suspiros audíveis.

Em um comunicado na segunda-feira, Child Cudi anunciou que MIA não estava mais na turnê e observou que ele já havia feito seu empresário dizer à equipe dela que ele “não queria nada ofensivo” em seus reveals e que ele estava certo de que esta mensagem foi compreendida.

“Depois dos últimos reveals, fui inundado com mensagens de fãs que ficaram chateados com os discursos dela”, escreveu ele em comunicado no Instagram. “Isso, para mim, é muito decepcionante e não permitirei que alguém em minha turnê faça comentários ofensivos que perturbem minha base de fãs.”

O discurso retórico veio quando ela apresentou sua música “ILLYGIRL”, que tem uma letra que diz “Eu sou ilegal, f-sua lei”. Em outro vídeoela pode ser ouvida dizendo: “Sou ilegal, metade da minha equipe não está aqui porque não conseguiu o visto”, antes de instruir o público a não ouvir “o que os bots dizem na web”.

Após o anúncio de Cudi sobre sua remoção da turnê, ela respondeu em letras maiúsculas mensagem no Xescrevendo: “EU ESCREVI FRONTEIRAS E ILLYGAL E AVIÕES DE PAPEL ANTES DE VOCÊ PENSAR QUE OS DIREITOS DO IMIGRANTE ERAM LEGAIS. TIVE [THESE] BATALHAS SOZINHO, SEM A AJUDA DE MILHÕES DE FÃS QUE ME APOIAM.”

MIA, cujo nome verdadeiro é Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam, é um rapper britânico com pais do Sri Lanka. Ela passou a infância no Sri Lanka antes de sua família retornar a Londres como refugiada durante a guerra civil do país.

Ela é mais conhecida por seu grande sucesso de 2008, “Paper Planes”, que inclui a letra “Se você me pegar na fronteira, consegui vistos em meu nome”. Várias de suas canções tratam de temas de imigração, política e guerra.

Em 2022, ela anunciou sua conversão ao cristão nascido de novo, o que a inspirou álbum lançado recentemente MI7apresentando temas cristãos pesados.

Em sua declaração X na segunda-feira, ela acusou as pessoas de deturpar as letras de suas músicas, observando que “É O TRABALHO DE SATAN”. Ela também fez comentários sobre Jesus ser um imigrante e rebelde e disse que ele voltou para liderar o mundo no combate à injustiça. Ela encerrou a postagem com um apelo para que todos ouvissem o MI7.

A turnê Insurgent Ragers de 33 reveals de Kudi começou em 28 de março com MIA e Huge Boi anunciados como bandas de abertura. Na segunda-feira, ele também anunciou que seu present de terça-feira em Birmingham, Alabama, foi cancelado devido à baixa venda de ingressos. A turnê deve continuar com Huge Boi como abertura e A-Trak, Me N Ü e Dot Da Genius programados para abrir em alguns reveals.

‘I didn’t speak until I was 10

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When Bradley Riches landed the role of Lewis Barton, the first neurodivergent character on Emmerdale, he knew first-hand how needed it was. “It was like, finally! An autistic actor actually playing an autistic role.”

Lewis, the long-lost son of Emma Barton, half-brother of Pete, Ross and Finn, arrived on the ITV soap last year. For many viewers, it was their first glimpse into what autism can actually look like – Lewis wears ear defenders to reduce the stress of loud noises, laughs after speaking to hide his nerves and has a forthright, matter-of-fact manner. In one pivotal scene, he had an autistic burnout during a shift at Café Main Street. He’s also, crucially, a fully formed character away from his neurodiversity – he has friendship, romances, a life.

“He’s embedded himself into this community now,” Riches says. Emmerdale, he adds, is a blueprint for how society should treat autistic people. “Lewis has been welcomed with open arms. He’s got a job. He’s got all these little things. It does open your eyes to be like, why can’t real life be like that?”

STRICT EMBARGO - No Use Before Tuesday 5th May 2026 FROM ITV STRICT EMBARGO - No Use Before Tuesday 5th May 2026 Emmerdale - 10571 Wednesday 13th May 2026 Bob panics to discover he???s a player short for the men???s darts team. He???s soon relieved to hear Lewis Barton [BRADLEY RICHES] has joined, claiming to have played a lot of darts in the past. Picture contact - David.crook@itv.com Photographer - Mark Bruce This photograph is (C) ITV and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned above, or ITV plc. This photograph must not be manipulated [excluding basic cropping] in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by ITV plc Picture Desk. This photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk. Full Terms and conditions are available on the website www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/terms Emmerdale TV still ITV
Bradley Riches, second from left, in Emmerdale. His character joined the soap last year (Photo: ITV)

Acting is what helped the 24-year-old find his voice – literally. He was diagnosed with autism aged nine, and was non-verbal until he was 10. “I would use sounds, movements and communicate with the world that way,” he explains. Bright lights, loud noises and strange textures overwhelmed him. Teachers initially assumed he was just shy or developing slowly, while his parents first tried their own strategies to bridge the communication gap. After he was stuck on an NHS waiting list for eight months, Riches’s nan paid for him to have a private diagnosis. Then, his nurturing parents signed him up to a slew of activities (judo; basketball) in the hope of finding a space where he could belong. None felt right; all were “overwhelming”.

It was his beloved nan who, counter-intuitively, suggested an after-school drama club in his home county, Surrey. It was here, during a game of Splat, that 10 years’ worth of words rolled out in one. Pointing at a classmate, he yelled: “Splat!”

“I think it was because I like patterns and repetition. I heard ‘Splat!’ said a thousand times,” he recalls. “I was like, ‘It’s my go. I’m ready.’” The club led to a school performance in Bugsy Malone, then to a role in an Anadin advert and ultimately to his star-making role as James McEwan in queer Netflix phenomenon Heartstopper. “Now, you can’t shut me up,” he says, laughing.

Outside of that transformative club though, school was “hell” and understanding was scarce, as he writes in his new self-help book, Autistically Me. He was bullied by his classmates, who couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t speak. He could put on accents and connect with people in drama, but he “would take one step forward and then three steps back”, he says. His school days were spent at the back of class with his support teacher.

Bradley Riches Credit: Provided by vikki.scott@watkinspublishing.com
Riches found school challenging as a non-verbal child (Photo: Vikki Scott)

“As a kid, it was quite hard to get my head around why I felt so ‘me’ every Wednesday after school, but then eight hours a day, why I felt so not ‘me’, like a shell of me,” he says. He was masking, he explains, a term describing the exhausting process of hiding autistic traits to put others at ease. “After school, I would go home and have breakdowns because I was pretty burnt-out by pretending to be someone else the whole day.”

Self-acceptance came slowly. “It was a long journey. At the beginning, the main objective was, ‘Will I be able to have a job? Will I be able to live by myself? Will I be able to communicate in the way that society tells [me] to?’” He started speech therapy, tried self-compassion exercises and acting became his “escapism”.

At 16, Riches realised that he is queer. Though his family had been in his corner throughout his autism diagnosis, he kept quiet about his sexuality. “It was the first time that I felt really alone,” he says. On social media, he has opened up about “imagining a world without [him] in it” during that bleak time. “I was pretending to be someone else, and that has a mental impact,” he says now. “Especially when you look around and you go, ‘Oh my God, the couple of friends that I have right now, they actually like me, not actually for me, but they like this fake version of what I’m portraying.’” That was his “lowest point”.

But when he did come out, Riches’s parents embraced his sexuality, like they embraced his autism. We’re speaking days before he marries his partner, theatre director Scott Johnston. “I feel like nothing’s gonna change,” he says of impending married life. “We’re just enjoying life together.”

FROM ITV STRICT EMBARGO - No Use Before Tuesday 7th April 2026 Emmerdale - Ep 10551 Wednesday 15th April 2026 Lewis Barton [BRADLEY RICHES] is intrigued to spot a flirty moment between Belle Dingle [EDEN TAYLOR-DRAPER] and Kammy [SHEBZ MIAH]. Picture contact - David.crook@itv.com This photograph is (C) ITV and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned above, or ITV plc. This photograph must not be manipulated [excluding basic cropping] in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by ITV plc Picture Desk. This photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk. Full Terms and conditions are available on the website www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/terms STRICT EMBARGO - No Use Before Tuesday 5th May 2026 FROM ITV STRICT EMBARGO - No Use Before Tuesday 5th May 2026 Emmerdale - 10571 Wednesday 13th May 2026 Bob panics to discover he???s a player short for the men???s darts team. He???s soon relieved to hear Lewis Barton [BRADLEY RICHES] has joined, claiming to have played a lot of darts in the past. Picture contact - David.crook@itv.com Photographer - Mark Bruce This photograph is (C) ITV and can only be reproduced for editorial purposes directly in connection with the programme or event mentioned above, or ITV plc. This photograph must not be manipulated [excluding basic cropping] in a manner which alters the visual appearance of the person photographed deemed detrimental or inappropriate by ITV plc Picture Desk. This photograph must not be syndicated to any other company, publication or website, or permanently archived, without the express written permission of ITV Picture Desk. Full Terms and conditions are available on the website www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/terms Emmerdale TV still ITV
Riches as Lewis Barton in Emmerdale (Photo: ITV)

Coming out, says Riches, “was definitely the stepping stone [to] being fully proud to be autistic and how my brain works”. A musical theatre degree followed, and in 2021, Riches bagged his role in Heartstopper. After initially auditioning for the lead, Charlie Spring – which ultimately went to Joe Locke – Riches was given the role of the sweet, nervous teen James. It’s a minor part, but one he’s scaled into a full-blown entertainment career.

He can’t say much, but James is returning for the film finale Heartstopper Forever in July. “It’s a show that made me feel proud of who I was, made thousands of millions of people feel proud of their identity as well,” he says wistfully. “For that to come to an end is obviously sad, but also it’s always going to be there.”

Heartstopper was a springboard to Riches’s Celebrity Big Brother appearance in 2024, which then led him to the Yorkshire Dales. In late 2024, at the National Television Awards, Riches was waiting for a taxi when he bumped into an Emmerdale producer. She asked Riches for a video for her daughter, a Heartstopper fan, and he made the faux pas of asking who she played in the soap. “She was like, ‘I’m the producer.’ I was like, ‘Great! Great first interaction…’” he laughs. “I’d had a couple of proseccos by this point. Social anxiety out the window.” They swapped emails, and Riches initially auditioned for the role of Dylan Penders, but it “just wasn’t a right fit”. A few months later, he was cast as Lewis.

Bradley Riches Credit: Provided by vikki.scott@watkinspublishing.com
Online responses to Riches’s character in Emmerdale have been mixed (Photo: Vikki Scott)

Online chatter about Lewis has not always been kind – viewers called him a “weirdo”, and found his nervous laughter “annoying”. Ebullient as ever, Riches takes the “debate” about Lewis as a positive. “I am a sensitive person but I thought I would get more upset by [the comments]. I look at them and part of me is like, ‘Ah, bless them’,” he says. He’s responded to the remarks online, taking the opportunity to teach people who have “no idea why sensory overload is a thing” or how autism manifests. “I definitely see it as a way to educate, not [something] to be upset by.” Besides, countless parents have messaged, thanking him for representing their children on screen.

That’s why he wrote Autistically Me, a guide for those with autism and their loved ones on how to understand and embrace their neurodiversity. Writing it made him realise “how much of an outcast, how much of an alien” he really felt growing up, having no one to look up to.

He considers how young Bradley would have felt if he had representation on screen or a book like his to hand. “I think it would have been a big stepping block into my self-acceptance journey,” he smiles. “If [the book] could help one person feel less weird and different, but also see difference in a positive way, then that’s definitely what I’ve wanted.”

‘Autistically Me’ is published on 9 June

For confidential support, Samaritans are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Call for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org

Cansado de conversas que não levam a lugar nenhum? Esta startup de Seattle está usando IA para transformar o debate cívico em ação

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Merrill Keating, à esquerda, e Doña Keating são mães e filhas cofundadoras da startup de IA Convexus. (Foto cortesia de Merrill Keating)

Embora grande parte do debate em torno da inteligência synthetic se centre na ameaça da tecnologia aos empregos e à sociedade, uma startup da área de Seattle está a virar essa ansiedade de cabeça para baixo – usando a IA não como fonte de conflito, mas como uma ferramenta para ajudar a resolvê-lo.

Convexo é uma plataforma de tecnologia cívica projetada para ajudar governos locais, organizações sem fins lucrativos e grupos comunitários a superar o debate fragmentado e avançar em direção a uma ação coordenada.

A startup foi cofundada por Merrill Keatingpure de Bainbridge Island e formada pela Universidade de Washington que foi Geekwire Junior Geek of the Month em 2021, e sua mãe, Dona Keatingum conselheiro e consultor estratégico veterano.

Ao contrário da mídia social tradicional, que muitas vezes amplifica a divisão, a Convexus “transforma o diálogo em ação”, disse Merrill Keating ao GeekWire.

“Muitas plataformas digitais apenas recompensam a indignação e não chegam a nenhum tipo de resolução”, disse ela. “Eles se fragmentam em diferentes tipos de ferramentas e não há consenso actual em lugar nenhum.”

A Convexus aborda o ponto de deadlock do envolvimento cívico moderno usando o que chama de estrutura Explorar-Alinhar-Agir – e facilitação assistida por IA – para ajudar as organizações a identificar objetivos compartilhados e executá-los.

“A IA não tem agenda. Funciona fluentemente com praticamente qualquer pessoa que a queira utilizar”, disse Doña Keating, mencionando como exemplos conselhos municipais, candidatos políticos que querem ouvir os eleitores, clubes do livro e equipas empresariais que tentam resolver um problema.

A plataforma usa a API Claude da Anthropic para alimentar seu mecanismo “Facilitador Digital”, trazendo à tona áreas de acordo, sugerindo reformulações quando as conversas ficam acaloradas e orientando os grupos em direção às decisões. Também sinaliza contribuições para a “construção de pontes” – os comentários e perspectivas que criam conexões entre pontos de vista opostos – recompensando o comportamento construtivo e ajudando a mover os grupos da paralisia da análise para a acção coordenada.

(Clique para ampliar) Um exemplo de discussão sobre soluções habitacionais e políticas de zoneamento dentro da plataforma Convexus, na qual um facilitador de IA propõe ações, a saúde da discussão é monitorada e muito mais. (Imagem Convexa)

Entre os recursos de destaque da plataforma está um medidor de consenso ao vivo – um mostrador visible animado que mostra a porcentagem de concordância do grupo em tempo actual – junto com o rastreamento de decisões que registra quantos participantes estiveram envolvidos e quanto tempo levou o consenso, o que Doña Keating descreve como uma história de ROI em comparação com reuniões de comitês tradicionais.

Os fundadores são rápidos em apontar o que diferencia o Convexus das ferramentas existentes.

“A Polis mapeia as opiniões, mas para aí”, disse Doña Keating. “Change.org coleta assinaturas, mas não tem deliberação. O Slack é para bate-papo, mas não para decisões. Ninguém integra o diálogo estruturado, além da facilitação da IA, além dos resultados da ação em qualquer escala.”

A Convexus planeja monetizar por meio de um modelo de assinatura com níveis que vão desde uma opção gratuita ou de baixo custo para grupos de base até planos sem fins lucrativos, governamentais e empresariais. Os fundadores estão firmes num ponto: sem anúncios, sem vendas de dados.

A Convexus está atualmente convidando organizações do Noroeste do Pacífico a participarem de programas piloto gratuitos de 30 a 90 dias para testar a plataforma. A startup também foi selecionada como uma do primeiro grupo de 10 startups de alto potencial em Cúpula e vitrine de investidores de Seattle da Technology Alliancemarcado para 3 de junho no campus da Microsoft em Redmond.

Para a Merrill Keating, a plataforma é a extensão pure de uma vida inteira de defesa cívica.

“Como defensora, muito do que tenho visto é que as pessoas apenas falam sobre coisas durante anos e anos e anos, e nada é feito”, disse ela. “Essa é uma das coisas mais frustrantes para alguém que quer realmente ver um impacto sendo causado nas comunidades das quais faço parte. Isso é algo que está na minha cara.”

Why I’ve downsized to a £445,000 two-bed London flat at 50

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Last year, Alex Cheung swapped living in a 1930s semi-detached four-bedroom house in Cross Gates, Leeds for a two-bedroom, new build flat in Hayes, London.

“I was born in Hong Kong so living in a bigger city has been embedded in me since childhood,” the 50-year-old says.

“I would have moved to London at an earlier stage, but I couldn’t afford it when I was younger and I didn’t want to live in a box room. I can now afford a spacious two-bedroom, top floor flat, so this move was about affordability, lifestyle and my career,” he adds.

In Leeds, Cheung, who works as a senior community and engagement lead in the NHS, lived with his parents, and part of the catalyst for the move was their decision to return to Hong Kong, where he financially supports them.

“In Asian and Chinese culture, you often have to look after your parents and support them financially in old age, as part of paying back for what they did for you as a son or daughter,” he says.

With his parents abroad, Cheung would have been living in the house on his own, something he couldn’t justify because of the amount he was spending on bills and maintenance.

“The property in Leeds needed loads of things doing to it. That was part of the consideration with moving to a new build and also energy efficiency,” he says.

“There were constantly things to do in the house and, in general, I was paying £3,000-4,000 a year on this,” he says.

“The boiler needed changing, the garden needed doing and, because it was built in the 1930s, a lot of the electrics and gas safety wasn’t compliant anymore. Building costs are going up. What was £2,000, five years ago, is now £10,000,” he says.

Cheung says he didn’t learn how to do maintenance himself and doesn’t find it easy learning from YouTube videos. Along with maintenance costs, his gas and electricity bills in the house came to £160 a month and his council tax bill was around £150. The 50-year-old had lived in the property for eight years and paid off the mortgage.

In June 2025, he sold the Leeds house, which was freehold, for £290,000 and bought a leasehold flat in Barratt London’s Hayes Village for £445,000, taking out a £180,000 interest-only mortgage, for which he pays around £700 a month.

“Financially, I know London prices are down at the moment, but I think it will be a good choice in the long term. Property in London is always a good investment, and I would do it again without hesitation,” he says.

His new property comes with a service charge of around £200 a month, £2,300 a year, which is spent on cleaning the communal areas, maintaining the communal garden and a security system.

There haven’t been any major maintenance costs – even though Cheung is the third person to live in the new build property.

“The maintenance is a lot lower. I’ve been here a year and only had to do a bit of redecorating; in the house, I’d have to be constantly painting the inside and out and doing the garden too,” he says.

The bills are also lower and his electricity and gas come to £80 a month, half of what he was paying in Leeds, while the council tax is similar.

“There is a massive difference in bills. I made the right choice – especially with the cost of living,” he adds.

Cheung, a keen traveller, walker and countryside enthusiast, has no regrets about swapping suburban living for city dwelling.

“Most people say: ‘You are moving to a concrete jungle’, but it’s still very green. We are near [Heathrow] Airport and next to the Grand Union canal, and you can get out of London easily. On Fridays, all my colleagues know that I am coming into the office with my weekender and flying back into London on a Monday, so living so close to the airport is great.”

He enjoys walking around the city and has walked from Hayes to Paddington and onto Canary Wharf before.

“The open views of Heathrow Airport from my balcony have given me countless hours of entertainment, which is absolutely invaluable, not to mention I can see Windsor Castle in the far distance,” he says.

There are some things Cheung misses about his old home.

“The other day I thought it would be nice to have a fireplace in the winter because of the smell,” he says.

He feels like moving to London later in life has its advantages: “I would recommend this move to other people. The difference between moving to London when you are younger, and now, when you are stable, is massive. I can afford now to make the most of it.”

Plus, he says, his new flat pretty much looks after itself: “I don’t need to get my hands dirty.”

I’m a Canadian in the UK

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The i Paper’s Expat Files series follows Brits who have taken the leap and settled elsewhere. Data suggests a significant proportion of the UK population are moving or would like to move abroad – but it’s not just happening here. Emigration from many Western countries is soaring, including the US, New Zealand and Canada. In the third quarter of 2025, departures from Canada were 34 per cent higher than six years before. Here, Cara Howlett, 37, a freelance writer, tells why she moved from her native Alberta to Cumbria with her husband, a landscaper and their children.

There are not many Canadians living in the British countryside. “Are you enjoying your holiday?” is a question I am regularly asked. I’ve gotten used to the not-so-subtle looks in my direction when people hear my accent.

When I explain that I moved here from Alberta, the province whose claim to fame is Banff, Lake Louise and the Rocky Mountains, I am met with great surprise as they wonder out loud why I left all that beauty behind to come to northwest England, of all places.

“Why would anyone want to move here?” I’ve been asked a handful of times.

The British notion and image of Canada is one of awesome majestic mountain ranges and bright turquoise lakes. When I express my love of their landscape, culture, and way of life, people here balk. Their propensity to complain about their home is a distinctive British trait. I’m afraid those I have met have confirmed the way the world perceives them; they are prone to grumble and quibble despite having what others would deem picturesque and idyllic.

As an urban Canadian child of the 90s, I never imagined that I would live in another country, let alone England. My knowledge of England consisted of what I gleaned from The Spice Girls, Mary Poppins, and episodes of Mr Bean. It wasn’t until I met and fell in love with a Brit when I was 18, 19 years ago, that England became more than just a country of Union Jack platform boots, posh accents, double decker buses and a funny man with a teddy bear.

My now-husband and I met on the West Coast of Canada as freshly minted adults. Him, a wayward teen who had found his way to Canada as an outdoor education instructor, and I, a gardening assistant, met while volunteering on a small gulf island in British Columbia.

We lived together in Calgary and had the opportunity to spend month-long holidays in England with our children. It was during these visits that I started to fall in love with my husband’s home country. Instead of long drawn-out freezing winters, I pondered what it would be like to see flowers grow in January and experience year-long green grass. Compared to the concrete jungle of the city we lived in, I began to long for the access to nature that living in the British countryside would give us – since Canadian country life was unattainable and unaffordable. Instead of choking on oppressive wildfire smoke during the summer months, I desired the fresh air and freedom England offered.

‘I’ve noticed everywhere in the UK has a cafe attached, and when driving on the narrow country lanes people wave to say thank you’

Feeling restless in our predictable lives in Canada, we longed for a new adventure. After many months of packing, selling our belongings and waiting for my visa, we made the move in autumn last year, to a home in the area where my husband grew up.

I quickly realised that despite my month-long holiday stints in the United Kingdom, and the years I spent watching my favourite British television shows Gavin and Stacey, Location, Location, Location, Escape to the Country, Taskmaster, and The Great British Bake Off, I had a lot to learn about British culture that couldn’t be appreciated or fully comprehended until my feet were on British soil.

As I settle into country life around me, I observe the differences between my Canadian counterparts and the Brits. When I show people at home videos of our little cottage, they ask where the dishwasher is and why we have a washing machine in the kitchen. I’ve noticed that everywhere here has a cafe attached — the home goods store, the grocery store and even the garden centre all serve cakes, and importantly, tea. When driving on the narrow country lanes, drivers acknowledge each other with a unique four-fingered wave to say thank you. Instead of dogs being relegated to cars, they are welcome in pubs and cafes waiting patiently at their owner’s feet.

As a child, my parents took us on one holiday each year during our summer vacation. With only two weeks’ paid time off for both of my parents, a 10-day holiday was one we looked forward to each year. With our tent trailer (folding camper) hitched up to our van (people carrier), we headed west for a camping trip in the woods by the lake. It astounds me how many paid holidays the Brits are entitled to when first beginning their careers. “How lucky,” I think, while they plan their third or fourth excursion of the year.

A city kid, I never wandered too far from home. Children were kept close and under constant supervision. When I had my own children I assumed that this method of child-rearing was “normal”. In our new local village, and others I’ve visited, it is more uncommon to see a parent trailing behind a child rather than seeing a child walking around the village on their own. Bicycle gangs of pre-teen boys gather at the play park to eat their sweets and crisps. Gaggles of girls wander on the pavements as they whisper and giggle. My own notions of good parenting are questioned by locals who think that I’m crazy for constantly knowing my children’s whereabouts, while I simultaneously think the amount of freedom they give theirs is questionable.

Despite the differences between British northerners and Canadians, the Brits’ natural bent towards moaning about the weather, the state of things around them, or minor annoyances, they are an intentional people. The locals in our village have community events planned for nearly every weekend of the year. From markets, spring shows and bake sales to beetle drives, jumble sales and chess competitions, they are community builders. They are a people of togetherness. They are thoughtful and kind.

Upon arriving in England, while staying in holiday accommodation until we found a long-term rental, my children and I were in search of a post office in a village I wasn’t familiar with. I approached the director of a Salvation Army brass band. They were in between songs and I asked him for directions, to which he happily obliged. He then, of course, asked me where I was from and if I was enjoying my holiday. The usual proceedings took place as I explained our recent move. As we said goodbye, I said we would watch them play a song when we returned.

After our errand was complete, we stopped in the square to hear the band play their next song. I saw the director look at me and he took his position. To my surprise and delight, the band proceeded to play Canada’s national anthem, “O Canada”. With tears coming to my eyes, I listened as they played their instruments for us — for me. As they finished, they smiled and looked my way. Through tears I thanked them for their thoughtfulness. A caring gesture that proves the quality of the Brits.

Sua conta ChatGPT ficou mais segura, mas você precisa ativá-la – veja como

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Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto by way of Getty Photos

Siga ZDNET: Adicione-nos como fonte preferencial no Google.

Principais conclusões da ZDNET

  • A Segurança Avançada de Conta do ChatGPT protege seu acesso e dados.
  • O recurso exige que você configure uma senha ou chave de segurança.
  • O treinamento de IA também é desativado automaticamente por padrão.

Quer você use o ChatGPT pessoal ou profissionalmente, você pode compartilhar certas informações e arquivos confidenciais em suas conversas. E você certamente não quer que esses dados caiam em mãos erradas. Mas o que você pode fazer além de criar uma senha forte e usar a autenticação de dois fatores? Bastante, graças a um novo recurso disponível para usuários individuais do ChatGPT.

Conhecido como Segurança avançada da contao novo recurso de adesão visa fortalecer sua conta e proteger seus dados. A opção destina-se mais a pessoas preocupadas com a segurança, como dissidentes políticos, jornalistas, funcionários eleitos e investigadores. Mas é acessível a qualquer usuário do ChatGPT que queira aumentar a proteção contra invasões de contas e outras ameaças.

Além disso: testei ChatGPT Photos 2.0 vs. Gemini Nano Banana para ver qual é melhor – este modelo vence

(Divulgação: Ziff Davis, empresa controladora da ZDNET, entrou com uma ação judicial em abril de 2025 contra a OpenAI, alegando que ela violou os direitos autorais de Ziff Davis no treinamento e operação de seus sistemas de IA.)

Pensando em melhores proteções, a Segurança Avançada de Conta oferece quatro configurações que cobrem diferentes aspectos da sua conta. A primeira configuração exige que você use uma chave de acesso ou chave de segurança física para fazer login. Outra requer métodos mais fortes para recuperar uma conta além da autenticação por e-mail ou SMS. Com a terceira configuração, sua sessão de login ativa é encurtada para reduzir sua exposição. A quarta configuração impede automaticamente que seus bate-papos sejam usados ​​para treinamento de IA.

Para se inscrever no Superior Account Safety, vá para o página de inscrição e certifique-se de estar conectado com sua conta. Clique no botão Inscrever-se para iniciar o processo.

Agora, veja como cada configuração funciona.

1. Use uma senha ou chave de segurança

Para evitar o acesso não autorizado à conta através de uma senha roubada, o Superior Account Safety exige que você faça login com uma senha ou chave de segurança física. Você pode configurar qualquer um dos métodos ou ambos, embora seja necessário estabelecer dois métodos de autenticação.

Além disso: estou trocando senhas por chaves de acesso por um motivo – e não é o que você pensa

Como a OpenAI recomenda o uso de uma chave de segurança, a empresa fechou um acordo com o fabricante de chaves Yubico. Aqui você pode compre um pacote de duas YubiKeys – um YubiKey C NFC e um YubiKey C Nano – por US$ 68, quase metade do preço regular de US$ 126. Mas outras chaves são suportadas caso você já tenha a sua. Você também pode usar uma senha, se preferir. Seja qual for o método que você escolher, sua senha existente não será mais aceita.

Configure uma senha ou chave de segurança para ChatGPT
Captura de tela de Lance Whitney/ZDNET

2. Configure uma recuperação de conta mais segura

A autenticação de dois fatores é uma forma de ajudá-lo a recuperar sua conta caso não consiga fazer login. Mas o método usado faz uma grande diferença. A autenticação por e-mail e SMS é vulnerável a comprometimentos. Com a Segurança Avançada de Conta, esses dois métodos são desabilitados, forçando você a usar chaves de backup, chaves de segurança ou chaves de recuperação. Ao configurar a Segurança Avançada da Conta, você será solicitado a copiar ou baixar as chaves de recuperação geradas automaticamente pelo ChatGPT.

Salve suas chaves de recuperação
Captura de tela de Lance Whitney/ZDNET

3. Reduza o tempo de uma sessão de login ativa

Quanto mais tempo uma sessão de login permanecer ativa, maior será a oportunidade de malware ou outra ameaça sequestrar sua conta. Com a Segurança Avançada de Conta, sua sessão é encurtada, exigindo que você se autentique com mais frequência do que antes. Autenticações mais frequentes servem para proteger melhor as credenciais e os dados da sua conta.

Reduza o tempo de uma sessão de login ativa
Captura de tela de Lance Whitney/ZDNET

Além disso: a privacidade na period da IA ​​é possível, diz o CEO da Proton, mas uma coisa o mantém acordado à noite

4. Desative o treinamento de IA

Por padrão, o ChatGPT pode usar suas conversas para treinamento para entender melhor como se comunicar como um ser humano. Mas como esse recurso representa um risco à sua privacidade, você pode desativá-lo manualmente. No entanto, o Superior Account Safety desativa automaticamente o treinamento de IA, para que você não exact desligá-lo sozinho.

Desativar treinamento de IA
Captura de tela de Lance Whitney/ZDNET

Depois de configurar suas preferências, basta clicar no botão Inscrever-se para ativar a Segurança Avançada da Conta. Você pode então ir para a página de bate-papo do ChatGPT. Mas você será solicitado a fazer login novamente com sua nova senha ou chave de segurança.

Suporte empresarial chegando

A Segurança Avançada de Conta também protege você no Codex se você usá-lo para desenvolver e ajustar seu próprio código. Por enquanto, o recurso está disponível para usuários ChatGPT gratuitos e pagos com contas próprias. Mas a OpenAI disse que espera expandi-lo para o público empresarial.

Além disso: como auditar o que o ChatGPT sabe sobre você – e recuperar a privacidade dos seus dados

“À medida que a IA se torna cada vez mais incorporada em nossas vidas, é mais importante do que nunca garantir que os usuários tenham os controles necessários para ajudar a proteger sua privacidade e segurança”, disse OpenAI em seu comunicado à imprensa.

“A privacidade e a segurança são fundamentais para a forma como construímos todos os nossos produtos, e continuaremos investindo em proteções que proporcionem às pessoas mais controle e salvaguardas mais fortes ao longo do tempo. Esperamos estender este trabalho a públicos adicionais, incluindo ambientes empresariais, onde uma segurança mais forte das contas pode ser igualmente importante.”

‘I’m trapped in a damp flat

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Jennifer Upjohn, a 39-year-old mother of four sons, was born and brought up in Lambeth. She has lived in the south London borough all her life, has family and friends nearby and supports her older mother who still lives locally. She has been on the Lambeth housing waiting list for over 19 years, since she was a teenager.

As a young mother she was constantly moved between hostels and short-term private rented housing, before being placed in long-term temporary accommodation with her sons and partner a decade ago.

The housing is overcrowded with damp and mould so bad that one bedroom is unsuitable for sleeping – her youngest child, who is in reception, suffers from breathing issues.

“It’s been so hard. It’s been really stressful,” she says. “I’ve been spending my own money buying mould paint. We had a leak in our roof that they took ages to come around to fix. The damp still comes through even in summer months as the roof is still wet.”

Despite bidding on available council properties every week, she has only had two offers of a permanent tenancy in a decade. One was in a high-rise with no lift when she was heavily pregnant with small children, and the other was in Slough, miles from her support network and her mother. She declined both.

Lambeth, where I’ve lived for 12 years, is known for vibrant Brixton, beautiful parks and leafy gentrified streets – but it is in the midst of a serious housing crisis. It has the largest housing waiting list of all London boroughs (joint with Newham), with 360,000 people waiting for stable accommodation – and thus likely to have the longest list in the country.

More than 6,000 Lambeth children are living in temporary accommodation. The wait time for a permanent home in the borough depends on individual needs, but the average wait is now almost seven years – far longer than the national average of three years. While researching this article, I connected with multiple local families with children who had been waiting more than a decade.

People enjoying sun shine in Brockwell Park, Brixton, London, England
Lambeth is known for beautiful parks and leafy gentrified streets, but is in the midst of a serious housing crisis (Photo: Laurie Noble/Getty)

Lambeth is one of the most densely populated boroughs in the country, with high levels of deprivation, and is dealing with the same financial crisis as every other council. But it is facing criticism over its choices in how to spend what little it has. It is the most complained about council to the Housing Ombudsman, with complaints on housing rising 22 per cent in the last year, and 92% of them upheld by the ombudsman. In 2023 alone, the ombudsman made five severe maladministration findings against the council for its social housing provision, in cases including a family living with severe damp and mould, and another resident facing winter months without heating or hot water.

Ahead of this week’s local elections, the council’s poor record on housing, along with a host of other issues, is coming to the fore. Labour has been in control of Lambeth for more than 20 years, but the borough is being closely watched, with recent polling suggesting it will be a competitive race. The Green Party, revitalised under the leadership of Zack Polanski, has the potential to take control of Lambeth – though their local candidates have faced their own controversies. Two Green candidates in Lambeth, Sabine Mairey and Saiqa Ali, were arrested last week over alleged antisemitic social media posts. They have been removed from the party’s website and a spokesperson said these views did not reflect the party’s.

Lambeth Labour points out that austerity policies, rent caps and freezes from previous governments have placed “severe constraints” on its housing budget. A spokesperson told The i Paper that the party recognises that the housing crisis is one of the biggest challenges facing London. “Lambeth Labour has been working hard locally to tackle this, delivering 1,000 social and affordable homes, strengthening rights for more than 100,000 private renters, and recently receiving one of the highest ratings from the housing regulator.” 

Having covered local government and public services for two decades, I was sceptical that Labour could really be under threat in Lambeth – that is, until I spoke to my local friends and neighbours. No doubt also encouraged by national events and disgruntlement at the disappointing leadership of Sir Keir Starmer, there is an appetite for change. Some residents feel that its long incumbency means the party is no longer listening to residents or making decisions in a democratic way.

There was particular anger over the introduction of a low traffic neighbourhood (LTN) in Streatham Wells, which caused such bad congestion that buses took two hours to travel three miles. Children were routinely late for school, and low-paid shift workers lost employment due to unreliable transport. The LTN was suspended – a move which was applauded (and, rumour suggests, forced through) by Sadiq Khan. Jacqueline*, a 47-year-old resident, said: “There was no transparency. There was no democracy and there was no accountability. The leadership is appalling: it’s just top down and it won’t face criticism.”

Housing keeps coming up as a crisis issue on the doorstep. Data compiled by the local Green and Liberal Democrat candidates shows Lambeth built no council houses in six of the last eight years, and has delivered 2 per cent of its social housing target. Lisa Schulkind, the Greens’ candidate in the Knight’s Hill ward, says: “Some of our criticism of Lambeth Labour is that they’ve been in power for 20 years and it’s like a castle: they do things from on high. They have a private developer mode whereby to a great extent they let the market rip and you get a tiny number of affordable homes and a tiny number of social homes. They’ve earmarked a lot of estates for demolition and not taken the community with them.”

The Lambeth Green Party acknowledges that success might require a higher turnout bringing new voters out to the polling booths. According to Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit, the latest polling is strongly indicative of a loss for Labour in this heartland council area. “There are five parties consistently polling 20 per cent and that makes everything a lot more random,” he says. “What we can predict quite confidently is that people will be winning with much smaller vote shares and much smaller majorities. That does create a volatility that I think is quite new.”

But Carr-West also sounds a cautionary note. Even if there is an “earthquake” in Lambeth, he warns, there’s very little that the new administration, whether Green or Liberal Democrat or a rainbow coalition, could do to solve the spiraling local housing crisis. “Like any London borough, they’re spending the best part of 80% of their budget on children’s services and adult social care alone, which are both set out by statute with limited manoeuvre for what you do. Your potential for sweeping change is fairly limited.”

A spokesperson for Lambeth Labour said it was working hard with its residents and communities to improve its services. “Our recent budget engagement exercise was the council’s biggest ever.”

“Ultimately, the choice in Lambeth is clear: improved public services and new affordable and social homes with Labour, or risking chaos and uncertainty at a time when residents need action.“