Guardian Project @guardianproject@librem.one

🎉 We're growing! Our global #FDroid community is pleased to announce that we now have an official governance plan and a brand-new volunteer Board of Directors. We're excited to work with them to keep improving the leading all #FOSS mobile app catalogue!

https://f-droid.org/en/2023/03/20/f-droid-board.html

#FreeSoftware #OpenSource #Android

When the tool-chain you've got to use (#flutter) doesn't care about #gdpr or #privacy in general:

`flutter config --no-analytics`

It would be nice to have a #homebrew package for https://gitlab.com/fdroid/sdkmanager, I have no access to #macOS, but I can assist. It should be easy, it has very minimal dependencies.

Do you sometimes just want one tool from the #AndroidSDK in a container or VM, and don't want to deal with the whole pain of setting up #Java and everything? Try the #FDroid sdkmanager instead of the official one. For example, `apt-get install sdkmanager` then `sdkmanager platform-tools`. Plus this verifies all packages using `apt-get` style GPG-signed index with SHA256 values. Useful in #research on #Android #malware #tracking etc. In pypi, Debian, Ubuntu, and https://gitlab.com/fdroid/sdkmanager/

Congrats to #matrix co-founder @matthew for rocking the last #DMAWorkshop, there was still quite a bit of buzz about how the live bridging demo carried a ton of weight, despite the lobbying efforts from #Meta, you can see it at around 14:00 in the live stream recording https://webcast.ec.europa.eu/dma-workshop-2023-02-27

#FreeSoftware was almost mentioned at #DMAWorkshop: one key point was that mobile operating systems in 2008 were in a race to get developers. #iOS and #Android were tiny newcomers with no developers. The idea from app stores came from free software and hackers. #Debian APT started in the 90s, #Cydia was on iOS when #Apple was still saying web apps were the only way. And of course, #Android used #OpenSource as a key strategy to get #developers interested in their platform.

It is so disappointing to see @ubuntu reverting to #DarkPatterns and #Microsoft-style fear-mongering to increase sales.

The entire message is designed to make people believe that there are #security updates they're not getting without #UbuntuPro (which as far as I understand is not true). #DeceptiveDesign
CC @beuc @finnmyrstad

The #gatekeepers have huge resources as compared to the regulators, so regulators must be strategic and pool resources. Also, communities based on tracking and reviewing the actions of the #gatekeepers can also play a role here. #Developers know the APIs they have to work with, and can report fishy business. Bloggers can report on key technical details that steer things towards the #gatekeepers. #Hackers can show when things ate technically possible, despite what #gatekeepers say. #DMAWorkshop

So far no mention of #FreeSoftware at the #DMAWorkshop but I guess that's not surprising since it opens with in-app payments as a central topic. It would be great to see free options like #Liberapay and #OpenCollective represented. I was happy to meet @murena here, so I know I'm not alone as an #FLOSS-based implementer.

#DMAWorkshop has started, many more suits than I'm used to. The first interesting insight I gathered in conversation: "sideloading" is a loaded word which serves the monopolists. On other platforms, this is called "installing". Sideloading highlights that there is a main source, and installing outside of that source. Of course, many people don't want to think about the source, but we need choice over which is the main source.

Over the last few months, I put a lot of work into the @fdroidorg app. Here's what's new: https://f-droid.org/en/2023/03/01/new-repo-format-faster-smaller-updates.html

🕵️‍♂️ Today, the Open Source Programme Office (@EC_OSPO) held a Secrets Management Hackaton for the developers from the 🇪🇺 Commission.

The goal was to remove secrets from the internal projects' codes so that more 🇪🇺 projects can become #opensource and be shared on http://code.europa.eu.

#DMAWorkshop
I have to observe that the stakeholders who only sent a lawyer to this messaging interoperability workshop are clearly indicating their intent by doing so. The people who want to make it work sent people to talk about solutions.

#DMAWorkshop
Meta speaker is a lawyer who has just spent his full slot pouring cold water on any approach to messaging #interoperability on every imaginable ground and dismissing all the existing entities running client=side bridges (e.g. iMessage and Matrix).

#DMAWorkshop
Matrix speaker @matthew not only explains the four architectures for messaging #interoperability and then demonstrates one of them bridging WhatsApp and Google Chat via #matrix

Meta speaker next up "is new to all this" and just reads a prpepared statement.

I wonder what the problem is going to be.... ?

#DMAWorkshop
I asked what ability the DMA art 7 offers citizens who run their own messaging servers access to interoperability. Most speakers were confused by the idea of "users with servers" but EDRi's @ilumium noted that there is no minimum size of enterprise entitled to interoperability and it will be a matter of enforcement by @EU_Commission to ensure they are not blocked by gatekeeper bureacracy.

#DMAWorkshop
EDRi speaker @ilumium a breath of fresh air explaining the problems blocking messaging interoperability are not a lack of technology or standards but a lack of will by the gatekeeper platforms. Now showing UI mockups of how to do it.