Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one
Joined Aug 2019
Matt Miller, Project Leader of #Fedora, gives a nice overview of what makes #distros valuable. This applies to any distro that actually reviews the packages that they ship, including #FDroid #Debian etc. Something like #Flathub or #Obtainium do not behave like distros because they do not aim to review and standardize the packages they ship.
https://inv.nadeko.net/watch?v=oKP1hgdFJKo&t=187
(You can click "Watch on YouTube" from that site if you like that kind of thing 😉)
@strypey I've had this same thought about AppImages. I think it should be pretty easy to build and ship AppImages via F-Droid. The tricky part is whether there is good standardized metadata in AppImages. With Android and APK, the system enforces a number of key properties: a globally unique Application ID, a Version Code integer to determine which is the newer APK, only one APK per Application ID can be installed, etc. These come from the OS, so it could be tricky to handle with AppImage
@thomasdorr @ilumium Social media is a very profitable product. There have been massive resources devoted to helping people with addiction. Even in Austria, with a capable social state, relatively well resourced schools, addiction programs, etc, digital media addictions remain a problem. There is nowhere in the world that does not regulate addictive things, especially for children.
I'm also incredibly sad that these forces have turned software into addictive drugs. https://guardianproject.info/2021/02/18/usability-the-wonderful-powerful-idea-that-betrayed-us/
"Tourism is like fire, you can prepare your soup with it, but it can also burn your house down"
What a great analogy. I definitely see the "burn your house down" part in Austria. From what I've seen in the Balkans, it happening shockingly fast. And it looks like this current wave will mostly benefit foreign investors more than the locals. Real protections for nature help a lot.
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/jan/28/volunteering-trip-protecting-vjosa-river-albania
@ilumium The evidence is very clear: social media is addictive, and indeed, was designed from the beginning to be addictive:
https://stanfordreview.org/how-stanford-profits-tech-addiction-social-media/
It is also clear that there is immense harm, especially to young people. Other addictive activities like gambling, alcohol, drugs, etc. are also regulated, including age restrictions.
We need a better response than "no bans". We need to rally behind effective regulation. Otherwise totalitarian-minded politician will get onerous bans into law
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
VECTO is an #OpenSource software used to calculate the energy consumption and CO₂ emissions of trucks and buses, to ensure they meet the EU's environmental standards. ✅
It is created by a team of engineers and developers from the Commission's Joint Research Centre in Italy. Each year it certifies about 300 000 new trucks. 🚚
Read more in the latest article by @EC_OSPO and find it's code on code.europa.eu 👉 https://link.europa.eu/7MBFNN
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
There are many ways that #WhatsApp could implement methods for getting users' messages while still using #EndToEndEncryption. The #mobile app could take a command to send messages to #Meta before they are encrypted (via an #E2EE channel still). This is why #FreeSoftware and #OpenSource are essential for #privacy. Anyone can then inspect what the app is actually doing. #Proprietary #software means blinding trusting the developer's claims.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/lawsuit-alleges-that-whatsapp-has-no-end-to-end-encryption
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
Hello Delta Chat,
@delta
From the start of the recent protests in Iran, following the experience of the 12-day war between Iran and Israel and the experiences of the Aban 1398 (2019) and 1401 (2022-2023) protests, we knew widespread internet disruptions were coming. Earlier, active members of the free software community had set up internal Delta Chat relay servers on tiiiz.ir.
Relying on that prior experience, we conducted practical user tests with general users to observe their interaction with the application.
The result was clear: Delta Chat was far simpler for everyday users to understand and had a more intuitive interface compared to platforms like Matrix.
That’s why, together with community members, we began producing educational content for Delta Chat. The goal was to prepare users as much as possible before Iran’s internet was completely severed and localized.
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
The merge request for @fdroidorg 2.0 is in. The goal is a first alpha for F-Droid Basic in time for @fosdem
https://gitlab.com/fdroid/fdroidclient/-/merge_requests/1607
@neil Palm Tungsten devices were really great. I missed mine so much, I got Linux running on it in like 2007. Palm in its hayday was really good at making devices that augmented us, without taking over our lifes. I loved being able to write without looking at the device, I used to have an idea while biking, then take out the Palm, and write it down while still biking. Or in a concert or theatre or any where. I could write a note or TODO while holding the device under the table.
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
So cool: @radboud University has announced to switch to #Fairphone for (all?) their employees. 🎉 They explicitly cite #sustainability, cost efficiency and management support as reasons.
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
Are you joining the EU Open Source week?
Join the Community Meetup hosted by the EC Open Source Observatory (OSOR) on 28 January.
See how the open source is becoming a key pillar of digital transformation in Europe’s public sector.
Hear insights, reports and practical guidance on public sector open source adoption, with experiences from across Europe, including Barcelona.
📍 Brussels
More info & registration 👉 https://link.europa.eu/h7HVB6
@ton it is up to 688 responses!
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
If you're the kind of hacker that likes news you might peruse our latest post about the infrastructure update: https://f-droid.org/2025/12/30/a-faster-heart-for-f-droid.html
But before that, here's a small poll for you.
Where do you think our build servers, that build and verify 200 apps per week, are located?
@th here's one entry from me, on my trusty old Bakfiets shorty
Unsurprisingly, the British BBC has a much more sympathic view of Pahlavi. The UK did help with the coup that put his father into power, after all.
@webmink @fdroidorg Interesting, it seems they announced it: https://sonoff.tech/en-de/blogs/news/f-droid-new-features-bring-unlimited-possibilities-your-nspanel-pro-more-than-just-a-control-panel
I wonder whether they are using our binary releases. Hopefully...
Hans-Christoph Steiner
boosted
#UnifiedPush is on everybody's lips when it comes to #decentralization or #deGoogle or wanting to cut off #BigTech from your live.
But did you know how it was started? How many times its destiny intersected with #FDroid ?
Read here, straight from the creator: https://f-droid.org/2026/01/08/unifiedpush-5-years.html
A classic example of the #toxicity of modern society: It turns out that exercise is as effective against #depression as #pharma, but exercise isn't controlled by a big corporation for #profit. #BigPharma spends huge amounts on #marketing, no one is spending anywhere close to that on marketing simple yet effective things like taking a walk with friends or family every day
"It's much easier for a primary care physician to prescribe medication to a patient [than exercise]"
Joined Aug 2019
