I've had laptops for about 25 years, from a variety of companies. My newest laptop is the one I'm using now, the Framework Laptop. This laptop is one of two laptops I purchased recently that aim to be user serviceable, the other, the MNT Reform is a very different animal …
The Search for a FLOSS Mobile OS (Aug 2021)
For the last few weeks, I've been running CalyxOS. It is the latest in Free/Open Source mobile phone operating systems that I've used. This post is a summary of my experience using FLOSS mobile OSes and what my experience can tell us not only about phones, but Free/Open …
Stern Fan In Recovery
Hello everyone. My name is Serge, and I am a recovering Howard Stern fan.
I feel like I'm at an AA meeting when I say it, but it feels oddly good to get it off my chest. Howard Stern has been a significant figure for roughly half of my life …
The Value of Outstretched Arms in Free Software
In 2004, I was sitting in my living room watching one of my favorite programs- Frontline- a PBS show doing investigative journalism on a variety of topics.
This particular episode, "The Persuaders" was about advertising was not only changing the way we buy but the way we think. As part …
The DNC is Really Talking To Itself
Listening to the news about the Democratic party can be disheartening at best. This week a story in the New York Times came out discussing how DNC leadership is willing to disenfranchise up to half the party in order to prevent Bernie Sanders from getting the nomination.
They claim that …
Thoughts on Canonical S-Expressions
Datashards currently uses Canonical S-Expressions as a data format and after using it for a few months, I have some thoughts.
First things first: If you aren't familiar with the format, let me give you a quick rundown. Canonical S-Expressions are a bit like regular S-Expressions, with a twist. If …
Is the AGPL Broken?
Introduction
Just over a year ago, Chris Webber gave a talk at CopyleftConf about how the AGPL is incompatible with a style of computing.
If you want to read the slides, they're at: https://dustycloud.org/misc/boundaries-on-network-copyleft.pdf
Sadly there hasn't been much discussion about it since, so I'm …
ReviewPub Part 1: Introduction and Models
This is the first part of a multi-part series on the development of ReviewPub, a site for federated online reviews. The code will eventually be released in an online git reposotiry, but more importantly than the code itself is the process that we'll go through together to develop it.
The …
The GNU Kind Communication Guidelines are Bad for Free Software
I have been a long time supporter of the Free Software movement and the Free Software Foundation. I care deeply about Free Software, and it's the ideals of the movement that have been at the cornernerstone of much of what I've spent the last 20 years of my life using …
Bridging Jitsi Meeting with Twilio Using Python
Jitsi Meet is a Free Software audio and video conferencing platform that allows for people around the world to participate in a video conference without proprietary software like Zoom or Google Meet.
Jitsi has an add-on program called Jigasi that allows for call-ins (and even call-outs). Unfortunately, while Jitsi Meet …