Hans-Christoph Steiner @eighthave@librem.one

After mostly living off grants I wrote or helped write for a decade, it still feels like a gamble whenever I submit a proposal. I guess the key is to submit many, and find an acceptable failure rate. It still sucks to put a bunch of work into something, then it is just rejected.📝 💥💨

For all those saying "#Mastodon has failed" or something like that, consider that #Threads usage has already fallen by half, and that is with all the #Facebook money behind it. https://www.similarweb.com/blog/insights/social-media-news/threads-week/

I really love the moments when it has been very hot for a few days, and then the wind picks up as thunderstorms start to roll in. I still get a child-like anticipation of the incoming thunder and lightning, and can start to feel the cool relief that is coming as the thunderstorm cools the city down.

Interesting to see the Netherlands banning the use of mobile devices in the classroom. I totally understand why. My kids' school has basically the same policy. I wonder if a nation-wide ban will make other things difficult though. In Vienna, the school decides the policy. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/04/mobile-phones-other-devices-to-be-banned-from-dutch-classrooms

According to my tests with my single #GooglePlay device (#Android 10), Play Protect does not put up the "Unsafe App" warning screen for F-Droid 1.17-alpha0. Can anyone else confirm this?

It seems to me that "modern" is the word that companies use to describe new features when they don't want to explain the actual reasoning behind why they made the change. "[X] offers a more modern way of storing local data".

One of the biggest sighs of relief I've had recently is hearing @doctorow say that podcasts are still resilient against #privatization. I had great fears that #spotify's attempt to do so by paying Joe Rogan $100mil would be successful, but apparently, Cory Doctorow considers that attempt to be a failure. It is at least clear that Apple's efforts there have failed over the years. https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/enshittification-part-3-saving-internet-on-the-media

We can set up #internet communities with hard requirements to respect the community. This is why #FDroid is legally structured to put #FreeSoftware first and foremost, via legal structures set up by Commons Conservancy.

What is happening with #Reddit should not be surprising, it is a for-profit corporation. They are legally required to maximize profit. There are no requirements to respect the community that uses it. This is the danger of hoping that #internet companies will do the right thing. Corp. officers will not take on personal liability to defend communities, because corp laws say shareholder profit comes first. #WhatsApp showed this by selling out to #Facebook. #Telegram looks very ripe for the same.

For those who believe that the western liberal democracy is more effective than Chinese communism, consider that China is ahead of its #climate goals while western liberal democracies are behind. "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (Shakespeare quote, not singling out). If we are to prevent authoritarians from expanding, we need hold our governments to account. We also must take personal responsibility and do what we can to reduce our own climate impact https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/29/china-wind-solar-power-global-renewable-energy-leader

Interesting to see that the #Ruble has dropped below pre-invasion value when compared to the #Euro.