In my opinion, lack of accessibility is the main *real* argument against the widespread adoption of Free and Open Source Software.
I reckon, if, especially European, governments and institutions really are serious about digital sovereignty, they should invest serious money (I'm talking billions with "B") into that area.
#a11y #FOSS #DigitalSovereignty #EU
The EU is working on what is in essence a new Open Source strategy for Europe, and the call for evidence is now open. This is our cue to provide feedback and input to the strategy!
If you are involved in the Open Source community in any way, if you benefit (or could benefit) in any way from Open Source, or if you're simply interested in questions about digital sovereignty, please visit ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-r… for details on how to contribute.
Here’s our summary of updates, events and activities in the LibreOffice project in the last month of last year – click the links to learn more… At the start of December, we announced a new Code of Ethics and Fiduciary Duties for The Document Foundati…Mike Saunders (The Document Foundation)
Nextcloud has ambitious growth goals for 2026. A lot of new remote positions are open now:
- Engineers (#PHP, #JS)
- Marketing
- Sales and Sales Engineers
- #HR (Germany)
➡️ Apply & share: nextcloud.com/jobs/
Boosts appreciated 🙏
#OpenSource #GetFediHired #FOSS #SoftwareDevelopment #Careers #Jobs #Hiring #Nextcloud #EU #WFH
Y'all I'm away from my Linux work machine for two whole weeks. And I come back to find...
It's still powered on.
It's at the lock screen.
It's ready, ready I say, for my password. No reboot needed. No secure desktop and then wait for a few seconds for Windows to consider doing its job. It just, plain, works.
🚨 NEW VIDEO: The Windows Exodus Has Begun.
2025 was the breaking point. Forced hardware retirement and intrusive AI have sparked a mass migration to GNU/Linux. In this video, I explore:
📈 The data behind the 3.20% Steam high.
🇪🇺 How the EU is saving millions by ditching Microsoft.
🛡️ Why 2026 is the year of Digital Sovereignty.
Stop fighting your OS. Start owning it.
🔴 Full Video: youtube.com/watch?v=dLzdTgCXyR…
#TerminalTilt #WindowsExodus #Windows10 #Windows11 #Microsoft #WindowsEOL #Recall #Copilot #DigitalSovereignty #Privacy #DigitalPrivacy #NoAI #HumanMade #DeGoogle #EthicalTech #Autonomy #DataSovereignty #AntiSpyware #Telemetry #SurveillanceCapitalism #RightToPrivacy #Encryption #SoftwareFreedom #ExitWindows #Migration #LinuxGaming #GamingOnLinux #SteamDeck #Valve #Proton #Bazzite #SteamOS #HandheldGaming #PCGaming #ROGAlly #LegionGo #GamingCommunity #SteamHardwareSurvey #EWaste #Sustainability #RightToRepair #PlannedObsolescence #CircularEconomy #GreenTech #SaveThePC #Hardware #Environment #EUtech #PublicMoneyPublicCode #OpenStandards #SchleswigHolstein #GermanyTech #GovernmentIT #DigitalRights #Linux #GNUlinux #Debian #Trixie #FOSS #FLOSS #OpenSource #LibreOffice #Thunderbird #Nextcloud #SelfHosted #HomeLab #CLI #CommandLine #Terminal #Bash #FishShell #Dotfiles #SysAdmin #QueerTech #TransInTech #DisabledInTech #Accessibility #Queer #LGBTQIA #LGBT #HumanContent #ContentCreator #SmallYouTuber #SmallStreamer #YouTube #IndieCreator #SupportIndependent #LinuxUser #Tech #TechNews #OperatingSystems
For decades, “The Year of the Linux Desktop” was treated as a tech world punchline. But as we enter 2026, the data shows the laughter has stopped. Between th...YouTube
To celebrate the first official Digital Independence Day - with some help of other #opensource enthusiasts - we convinced someone from my family:
✅ to install #Linux on their Mac computer,
✅ created a #Mastodon account for them,
✅ and assisted them in the transition.
It worked out!
Thank you to the anonymous supporter! ;)
#unplugtrump #didit #diday #dutgemacht #foss
We're finally addressing a behavior that has been driving some of us crazy with how floating windows transition from/to the overview on GNOME Shell
gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-s…
#GNOME #Shell #JavaScript #Linux #FOSS #OpenSource
As the year is closing by, I thought I will donate to the FOSS projects I'm using regularly. I chose 10 non-commercial projects to which I donated 10$ (or 10€) each, here is the list with a brief explanation:
- @Mastodon
- @openstreetmap
- Obtanium (github.com/ImranR98/Obtainium) - manage apps on GrapheneOS
- @freshrss - self-hosted RSS feed aggregator
- Read You (github.com/ReadYouApp/ReadYou) - RSS reader for Android
- Finamp (github.com/jmshrv/finamp/), @chaphasilor specifically - amazing Android client for Jellyfin media library
- Aegis (github.com/beemdevelopment/aeg…) - 2FA auth app for Android
- RethinkDNS (github.com/celzero/rethink-app) - intelligent DNS manager, VPN and Firewall for Android
- Syncthing (github.com/syncthing) - file synchronization app
- ntfy (github.com/binwiederhier/ntfy) - push notifications service I can self-host
Additionally I sent 10€ to @oscloud. I don't use their services regularly, but I like what they do (and enjoyed this years @openalt_konference streaming through @vhsky).
Thank to all working on #FOSS and making this world a better place!
Get Android app updates straight from the source. Contribute to ImranR98/Obtainium development by creating an account on GitHub.GitHub
Recently, for Digital Wellbeing we merged notification improvements. Other feature work that will allow parents to better set their kids screen time by not allowing kids to unlock the screen and allow parents to extend screen time as needed is under review.
Digital Wellbeing helps parents encourage safe and healthy habits for their kids. These are features that are funded by the GNOME Foundation. #DigitalWellbeing #FriendsofGNOME
#FOSS #Linux #OpenSource #FOSS #GNOME
#GNOME Foundation supports the infrastructure for a lot of foundational technologies that are widely used.
If you are a company or individual, consider donating to the GNOME Foundation so we can help make the infrastructure sustainable of this software. donate.gnome.org/
#Linux #OpenSource #FOSS
Work for a U.S. based corporation?
Some of them will match donations program! Consider joining their match program and donate to the #GNOME Foundation.
Become a #FriendofGNOME at
Today, I redeemed a virtual gift card from my credit card rewards from the year, and donated the sum to:
- Wikipedia @wikipedia
- The GNOME Foundation @gnome
- The Internet Archive @internetarchive
- Servo @servo
- KDE @kde
I currently support #Drupal on a monthly basis
I'm also planning on supporting @elementary on a recurring basis in the new year
If you have a little bit of money at the end of the year, please consider supporting FOSS projects you use or appreciate! This is how we empower the next generation of open computing.
Donate, donation, donations, funding, help, support, LibreOfficewww.libreoffice.org
Did you know that #Abbott caused the deaths of seven diabetics this year?
Some of Abbott's continuous glucose monitors (ironically named the #FreeStyle #Libre 3 Plus) incorrectly reported low blood sugar — a grave & dangerous error for insulin-dependent #diabetes. I fortunately wasn't injured, but Abbott's refusal to allow public examination the technical details of their devices is tantamount to a cover-up.
More here: sfconservancy.org/blog/2025/de…
#OpenSource #FreeSoftware #FOSS #SoftwareFreedom
I wrote last month about my diabetes diagnosis this year and my difficult choice to wear a proprietary device (called a CGM) on my arm 24/7 to continuously monitor my glucose levels. Like my friend and colleague, Karen M.Software Freedom Conservancy
We are grateful to everyone who has become a #FriendsOfGNOME. Your donations help us plan new programs for 2026 and strengthen the future of #GNOME. We also thank all our contributors across many roles, without whom our desktop would not be possible.
Happy Holidays!
My slides and a video of my talk "Grow your [engineering] brand while putting privacy first" are available on my blog: talkweb.eu/openweb/4500/
If you want a funny, but useful talk on that topic, reach out!
@Friendica Support hello, i would like some help please to understand how to solve my confusion about the "right" way to follow #hashtags, using #Channels ... or otherwise some better way.
i follow a large number of hashtags [as a glance at my profile would attest]. afaict / afaik, fediverse posts bearing these tags appear [or are supposed to] in my "Network" timeline [with "Everybody" Circle & "Latest posts" Channel selected].
of my many tags, possibly my most "important" ones are #AusPol, #FOSS, & #Linux. in order to be able to efficiently locate all posts with these tags each day, rather than have to meticulously scroll down the full "Network" timeline [which is dissipated via also having all the other tags, & all my Followed accounts' posts], in Settings i created three dedicated Channels [one for each of those tags, ofc]. then i added each of those custom Channels to my Timelines, in Display Settings.
however, the result is just hopeless; really disappointing & frustrating. over recent years i have had several Friendica accounts, ie, at several instances, & doing the above has never worked properly in any of them, not only my current instance.
using the AusPol Channel for example, as it is the worst by far, every time i check it, its most recent post is several hours old, & often as bad as 12 - 18 hours old, with numerous other posts entirely missing.
i say "missing" because otoh, reviewing my Saved Search for #AusPol shows all these other posts, which therefore also appear, buried, in my full "Network" timeline.
over the months & years in exasperation, i have revisited the dedicated Channels in Settings, & for the Circle/Channel field have tried each of Latest posts, Latest Creation, Global community, & Latest activity, but none of them has solved the problem [indeed, a few make it even worse!].
please, what am i doing wrong? what aspect of Friendica's Settings have i been consistently misunderstanding / misusing, that causes this disappointment?
I gave to @thunderbird today to #freetheinbox. Join me to support communication privacy. thunderbird.net/
updates.thunderbird.net/en-US/…
#donate #thunderbird #foss #opensSource
Thunderbird is a free email application that’s easy to set up and customize - and it’s loaded with great features!Thunderbird
Berlin, 18 December 2025 – LibreOffice 25.8.4, the fourth minor update to the free office suite developed by volunteers for personal productivity in office environments on Windows, MacOS and Linux, is now available from the download page.Italo Vignoli (The Document Foundation)
Top 5 #accessibility improvements in #GNOME Calendar 49:
1. Focus indicators were added in various places
2. Events are focusable with a keyboard
3. Year/month spin buttons are navigable with arrow keys
4. Calendar grids are skippable with Tab, and cells are wrapped via keyboard focus
5. Calendar list box now behaves like a check box
For screen readers: events and year/month spin buttons have proper semantics!
Ran into a problem in prod?
Just generate a fake cloudflare error page and blame it on them - gives you time to fix.
github.com/donlon/cloudflare-e…
#foss #devops #cloudflare #infosec
Cloudflare error page generator. Contribute to donlon/cloudflare-error-page development by creating an account on GitHub.GitHub
At the recent Open Source Conference 2025 in Luxembourg there were two talks about LibreOffice. The first was Lessons learned from 13 years at The Document Foundation and LibreOffice, where Florian Effenberger, Executive Director of the foundation, t…Mike Saunders (The Document Foundation)
General Activities LibreOffice 25.8.3 was announced on November 13 Olivier Hallot (TDF) improved the help on sort options and keyboard shortcuts, added help for field variable formats, the Slide Properties Sidebar deck, named Calc formulas and Arabic…x1sc0 (QA Community Blog)
GNOME.Asia 2025 is live in Tokyo, Japan! The two day event has a fantastic schedule of talks and workshops.
If you can’t attend in person, the sessions can also be viewed remotely; head over to the online registration to sign up and follow along:
events.gnome.org/event/303/reg…
#GNOME #GNOMEAsia #GNOMEAsia2025 #OpenSource #FOSS #Linux
GNOME.Asia Summit is the featured annual GNOME conference in Asia. It focuses primarily on the GNOME desktop but also covers applications and platform development tools.GNOME Events (Indico)
LibreOffice 26.2 will be released as final at the beginning of February, 2026 ( Check the Release Plan ). LibreOffice 26.2 Beta1 is the second pre-release since development of version 26.2 started at the beginning of June, 2025.x1sc0 (LibreOffice QA Blog)
Pleast boost for reach:
On the subject of Linux phone accessibility, the developer of AT-SPI wrote:
There's a long-standing issue that Joanie filed against at-spi2-core for
touch screen support:
gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/at-spi2…
Ande I haven't taken the time to figure out how best to handle this. I'm
not sure if evdev would do what we need, or we might want to work with the
maintainers of mutter, KWin, etc. to create a protocol for
intercepting/manipulating gestures. We would also need code that can
detect gestures from touch screen presses. NVDA has code that we might be
able to use as a model.
All of this is theoretically on my list of things to do. Of course, help
would be welcome if anyone else was able to take it on.
end quote
For blind people to switch to Linux on phones, we need to use the touch screen. If anyone can help with this, it would allow the blind to take one step closer to being capable of creating our own accessibility, our own environments, in the way that helps us most. See NVDA as a great example of how that goes.
#accessibility #blind #foss #linux #phones #pinephone
Orca currently is able to register grabs for, be notified of, and consume keyboard events of interest. It should be able to do the same for touch/gestures.GitLab
Great software is free software.
Out of the many brilliant #FOSS tools out there, ZDNet’s Jack Wallen picks seven he considers so good he’d gladly “throw down some cash“.
And guess what? Nextcloud is one of them. Well, we wouldn’t settle for less 😉
zdnet.com/article/7-open-sourc…
These apps are free, but I'd be willing to throw down some cash for them. Here's why.Jack Wallen (ZDNET)
From the Blinux list, my thoughts below the quote:
"Hello to all.
This is partly a (re)introduction and some good news (news for definitely not all, but some) of you.
This message is actually send to two lists, as I have no clue how big intersection of the member lists there are (I suppose huge, but not complete), so sorry for double receiving, you who are in both lists.
And now, with the disclaimers out of the way... I started to be interested in Linux, say ten or twelve years ago (don't remember exactly). Through a set of happy coincidences, I managed to get a job at Red Hat in the desktop team, and because accessibility was in the times of the reorg an important thing, a tools and accessibility team actually was created. It is quite a small team, and the majority of people on it do not have work time to do anything with accessibility (we're maintaining some of the Gnome apps, we do RHEL packaging, testing etc.).
However, I am working on the accessibility related things every day, so don't be afraid to ask something, mention your issues, and such.
Personally, in terms of distributions, I use GNome on Arch (personal laptop) and Fedora (work laptop), so I have the most experience with these setups, but I definitely used Mate, and tried Kde for some time as well.
And, that's it for now. "
So, a small team, that barely has time to do what the team is about. This is really sad. This is what people with disabilities get from one of the biggest Linux companies there is.
#accessibility #blind #linux #foss #gnu
