Status update: laptop battery and next steps

UPDATE 2021-08-27 15:27 +0300: I am back with a new desktop computer. More to follow in newer publications.

About ten days ago my laptop’s battery stopped recharging. The machine cannot work without it even if I keep it plugged, so I have not had a personal computer ever since.

Now I am writing this from the office of the local commune:

While there are over 700+ messages in my inbox, I noticed several donations over the past few days. The amount I have received is a bit over EUR 430. Wow! That is more than I have received in all of the previous years combined!
I do not know how that happened and will reply to each person once I get the chance. Though I must first regain access to Emacs+Notmuch, otherwise the email correspondence is not manageable. All I can do at this point is thank everyone and promise to do my best once I’m available.
I was searching for battery replacements and was disappointed with my findings. No local provider has any, while online offers, such as on ebay, have exorbitant shipping costs (e.g. EUR 40-60 for the battery and over EUR 100 to send it to Cyprus). That would cost more than the laptop itself. Also, I read that not all batteries are made equal in terms of reliability. It is risky.
The donation money changes my plan A: I will search for hardware to either build a desktop computer or buy a mini tower. Whatever is available here. I am not particularly knowledgeable about computer components and will need to learn more before committing to any option. If this does not yield results, I will go with the plan B of buying a battery.

Hopefully I will be back in action within the next 3 weeks. Unless something major changes, I will not post a new announcement but will just edit this one instead. That is because I will get back to publishing what I usually do: I have written a couple of manuscripts already and would like to do at least one new Emacs-related video.