For weeks I have been telling reporters that #Trump could have the power to switch off our tech in #Europe. It felt a bit alarmist until I just read that #Microsoft, on the behest of the #US gov, has suspended the email account of Karim Khan, the #ICC chief prosecutor.
One of the most important international courts and a legal bulwark against #genocide, crimes against humanity, and #warcrimes is threatened by #BigTech dependency.
Did you know #Microsoft is shutting down Chinese universities by blocking access to their services? When will this come to Europe and the rest of the world? How dependent on Microsoft or Google is the day to day work in your organization?
Here's an example, one of many: scmp.com/tech/tech-war/article…
Concerns about technological decoupling have risen after Microsoft ended commercial services for some clients in China.Wency Chen (South China Morning Post)
In a move that surprises absolutely noone, GitHub now requires users to login in order to browse public repositories (including open source projects). After a few (~10) requests, you get blocked (I can confirm). In order to fight AI scrapers, I guess.
So, GitHub decided to blanket-limit access to open source projects as a defense against the very scourge that they(r parent company) unleashed on the world.
I won't be hypocrite: it's a bit embarrassing, but undeniably satisfying to say "told you so". I moved away from GitHub long ago and I moved all my stuff to Codeberg instead. And so happy I did!
Next step: radicle.xyz maybe?
github.com/orgs/community/disc…
#github #microsoft #openai #codeberg #ai #ml #llm #enshittification #foss #floss #opensource #radicle
Select Topic Area Question Body "I'm experiencing an issue when trying to access files from a GitHub repository without logging in. After 3 attempts, I receive an Error 429 (Too Many Requests) and ...GitHub
☁️ Microsoft getting nervous about Europe's tech independence
"The Cloud Act grants US authorities access to cloud data hosted by US companies. It does not matter if that data is located in the US, Europe, or anywhere else."
theregister.com/2025/04/30/mic…
: Brad Smith commits org to facing off with US govt in court to protect themDan Robinson (The Register)
END OF 10
"Support for Windows 10 ends on October 14, 2025.
Microsoft wants you to buy a new computer.
But what if you could make your current one fast and secure again?
If you bought your computer after 2010, there's most likely no reason to throw it out. By just installing an up-to-date GNU/Linux operating system you can keep using it for years to come.
Installing an OS may sound difficult, but you don't have to go it alone! With any luck, there are people in your area ready to help!"
#Microsoft #Windows #Windows10 #Windows11 #Linux #FOSS
Microsoft has reportedly terminated employees who protested during the company's 50th anniversary and Copilot event.Maxwell Zeff (TechCrunch)
Microsoft feiert seinen 50. Geburtstag. Das Unternehmen dominiert den Markt für Büro-Software und breitet sich auch in anderen Bereichen immer weiter aus. Experten warnen vor digitaler Abhängigkeit.David Zajonz (tagesschau.de)
@rootcz to tu (zatím) nesdílí, tak to nasdílím já. Kdo ještě neodešel od #Windows, tak tohle je dost zásadní důvod, proč to udělat. Abyste se dostali do vlastního počítače, musíte se ověřovat někde v tramtárii. A když si #Microsoft usmyslí, tak vám ten účet zablokuje.
Jo, i dřív byl tlak na to, aby se místo lokálního účtu použil ten microsoftí. Ale postupně ubývají možnosti, jak zůstat u lokálního účtu. Mimochodem, i s lokálním účtem a s vypnutím všech volitelných šmírovátek se do Redmondu pořád odesílá docela dost informací.
„Odstraňujeme skript bypassnro.cmd, abychom vylepšili zabezpečení a uživatelský komfort systému Windows 11. Tato změna zajišťuje, že všichni uživatelé ukončí instalaci s připojením k internetu a účtem Microsoft.“
root.cz/zpravicky/windows-11-z…
Windows 11 při instalaci požaduje vytvoření účtu Microsoft. Dříve bylo možné použít skript bypassnro.cmd, který vytvoření účtu Microsoft přeskočil a byl…Jan Fikar (Internet Info, s.r.o.)
I can't rank the issues for all of FOSS projects but to add one missing in your suggestions:
The increasing fragmentation of development platforms after a phase of >10 years of concentration on #GitHub.com. I think its decline started with the acquisition by #Microsoft. That wasn't good either but fragmentation makes it harder to get contributions by newcomers who are not yet part of your platform.
Looking for alternatives to popular #Microsoft products? We can help! Take a look at these private alternatives👇🏼
Which of them are you using? 🤔
#microsoft #bigtech #bigtechalternatives
About time roflmeow
• AI comes to Narrator. Rich image descriptions powered by AI will be coming to Narrator in Windows Insider Preview this spring
blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2025/…
Today, we hosted the 15th annual Microsoft Ability Summit, with over 20,000 attendees from 164 countries coming together virtually to discuss the future of AI and accessibility.Jenny Lay-Flurrie (The Official Microsoft Blog)
I keep getting errors while trying to use my uni MS account with Thunderbird. 
I don't really want to make use of the nuclear waste that it's Outlook.
Aparenty this is a known issue? Idk.
Reboost ♻️ plz: In light of increased uncertainty on the reliability on the US, European democracies should strengthen their strategic autonomy: this also includes autonomy from #Microsoft #Windows in the public and private sector.
eu-os.gitlab.io proposes to develop together a Community-led Proof-of-Concept for a free/libre replacement of Windows. Follow us on Mastodon and join the Matrix chat at matrix.to/#/#eu-os:kde.org to receive updates and help.
Oh wow. Skype is shutting down after 23 years, 14 years after Microsoft bought it.
"It’s not clear how many people are impacted. The most recent numbers that Microsoft had shared were in 2023, when it said it had more than 36 million users — a long way from Skype’s peak of 300 million users."
techcrunch.com/2025/02/28/micr…
#news #technology #TechNews #skype #microsoft
Microsoft is retiring Skype from active duty 14 years after acquiring it, with users given nine weeks to decide their next move.Paul Sawers (TechCrunch)
Unbelievable
#ElonMusk’s US #DOGE Service are feeding sensitive data into #AI software via #Microsoft’s #cloud
#Musk’s US #DOGE Service have fed sensitive data from across the #Education Dept into #ArtificialIntelligence software to probe the agency’s programs & spending…. The AI probe includes data w/personally identifiable info for people who manage grants, & sensitive internal financial data…
#law #security #InfoSec #CyberSecurity #NationalSecurity #Trump #TrumpCoup
washingtonpost.com/nation/2025…
Just a reminder, especially in this wild time we live in. DO NOT INSTALL WORK MDM ON YOUR PERSONAL DEVICE.
If your work requires Microsoft Intune or similar MDM, to get email/teams/slack. don't accept it. It opens your device up for them to access private data and disable/delete your phone (even if they say they wont, they can)
blog.cdemi.io/never-accept-an-…
#privacy #android #iphone #work #email #outlook #microsoft
In this new age of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), employees can bring personally owned devices (laptops, tablets, smartphones, etc...) to their workplace, and to use those devices to access privileged company information and applications.Christopher Demicoli (blog.cdemi.io)
Via another "crazy security scanner" report, I learn that #libcurl is installed in a #Microsoft Office and/or Teams install on Windows? According to the reddit post, in a normal install.
Does anyone know more?
The reddit page mentioning this: reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments…
The libcurl mailing list post:
Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 2019 will no longer receive software updates, technical support, or bug and security fixes after 14.10.2025.
Consider migrating to LibreOffice.
LibreOffice is free to use.
LibreOffice supports Office file formats.
Install LibreOffice and compare it with your version of Office.
Website: libreoffice.org
Mastodon: @libreoffice
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#Microsoft #Office2016 #Office2019 #Office #LibreOffice #CyberSecurity #Privacy #InfoSec #FreeSoftware #OpenSource #FOSS
Free office suite – the evolution of OpenOffice. Compatible with Microsoft .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx. Updated regularly, community powered.www.libreoffice.org
»Zu kritisch? EU-Abgeordnete stimmen gegen Datenschutzbeauftragten Wiewiórowski«. Nachdem der EU-Datenschutzbeauftragte die EU-Kommission aufgefordert hatte, Datentransfers im Zusammenhang mit Microsoft 365 zu stoppen, wirkt diese Entscheidung wie ein politisches Manöver. Wiewiórowski war wohl zu unbequem – schließlich möchte man MS365 weiterhin nutzen. Ist ja alternativlos. 😉
heise.de/news/Zu-kritisch-EU-A…
#microsoft #fail #dsgvo #datenschutz
Der Innenausschuss des EU-Parlaments kürt Kommissionsvertreter Bruno Gencarelli zum Vorzugskandidaten für die Rolle des EU-Datenschutzbeauftragten.Stefan Krempl (heise online)
Looks like #Microsoft appointed the new Data Protection Supervisor of the #EU.
This happened because the “left-liberal camp” did not agree on which candidate to support, if I am reading the news correctly.
I saw outgoing EDPS Wojciech Wiewiórowski at more than one @fnf meeting, and I doubt that his successor will turn up at this grassroots #privacy barcamp.
heise.de/en/news/Too-critical-…
EU Parliament's Committee on Home Affairs has chosen Bruno Gencarelli as its preferred candidate for the role of EU Data Protection Supervisor.Stefan Krempl (heise online)
Die EU-Kommission setzt trotz Datenschutzbedenken weiterhin auf Microsoft 365. Dies stellt die digitale Souveränität und die Glaubwürdigkeit der EU infrage. 👇
kuketz-blog.de/kommentar-eu-un…
#datenschutz #dsgvo #eu #ms365 #microsoft
Your periodic reminder that #microsoft is not a competent or serious company:
blog.orange.tw/posts/2025-01-w…
(@bagder is remarkably restrained in the quoted responses. I would have gone off the rails, but do not need to, because we decided on day one that #varnishcache would not run on Windows).
If you think that is not bad enough, read the Cyber Safety Review Board's report about the Microsoft Exchange clowncar:
cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2…
📌 This is a cross-post from DEVCORE. The research was first published at Black Hat Europe 2024. Personally, I would like to thank splitline, the co-author of this research & article, whose helpOrange Tsai
You've got to be kidding me, Microsoft, what the actual fuck. When you search for "google" in Bing, it will display a Google like page, tricking you into thinking you are on Google. The amount of INNOVATION coming from the capitalist behemoths is simply astounding!
"Microsoft Office, like many companies in recent months, has slyly turned on an “opt-out” feature that scrapes your Word and Excel documents to train its internal AI systems. This setting is turned on by default, and you have to manually uncheck a box in order to opt out.
If you are a writer who uses MS Word to write any proprietary content (blog posts, novels, or any work you intend to protect with copyright and/or sell), you’re going to want to turn this feature off immediately.
I won’t beat around the bush. Microsoft Office doesn’t make it easy to opt out of this new AI privacy agreement, as the feature is hidden through a series of popup menus in your settings:
On a Windows computer, follow these steps to turn off “Connected Experiences”: File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings > Optional Connected Experiences > Uncheck box: “Turn on optional connected experiences”"
medium.com/illumination/ms-wor…
#Microsoft #AI #GenerativeAI #AITraining #MSWord #Privacy #Word
Microsoft Office, like many companies in recent months, has slyly turned on an “opt-out” feature that scrapes your Word and Excel documents to train its internal AI systems. This setting is turned on…Dr. Casey Lawrence (ILLUMINATION)
To everyone when they see horrible privacy news about Microsoft replying with:
"I don't care, I use Linux"
Sure, you do. But does your medical clinic do? Does your therapist do? Does your family member typing a personal email to you in Word before sending it do too?
This is a systemic problem.
You cannot protect your own data only by using Linux yourself. You must also demand stronger regulations and enforcement to obligate organizations around to protect your data as well.
Microsoft Mgmt Deteriorates GitHub UX - Goodbye Perf and Progressive Enhancement?
Mu-An Chiou writes @muan:
"React got pushed down from Microsoft management and most of us on the [GitHub] front-end team quit."
#webperf #ProgressiveEnhancement #github #Microsoft
Do When the core functionality of a feature cannot function with only HTML. When the core functionality of a feature can benefit from some JavaScript. Start with only HTML, then progressively enhance it, so it can still work without Jav...Mu-An Chiou
"To all my writer friends that use MS Word - Microsoft has turned their Al bits and bots on to automatically go through anything done via Word. Here's how to turn it off. File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings > Connected Experiences"
On the Mac I found it under Word/Excel/Etc > Preferences > Privacy, and near the bottom was the checkbox for "Turn on optional connected experiences" which of course was on by default.
zastanawiałam się, czy wrzucać dodatkowo u siebie, jako osobnego toota, skoro już krąży po sieci, temat kontrowersyjny, a ja cierpię na chroniczny niedobór doby ;)
ale w sumie mogę zapuścić linka i dodatkowo otagować:
Czy polska szkoła musi być uzależniona od Big Techów?
techspresso.cafe/2024/10/28/cz…
#edukacja #szkoła #wychowanie #dzieci #nauczyciele #rodzicielstwo #eSzkola #cyfryzacja #edziennik #microsoft #komercjalizacja #bigtech
Czy polska szkoła musi być uzależniona od Big Techów? Państwo promuje zagraniczne korporacje w polskich szkołach. Osoby szanujące prywatność sprowadza do "roszczeniowych dziwaków". My wszyscy natomiast to finansujemy z naszych podatków.Joanna Cisowska (TECHSPRESSO.CAFE)
If you are like me, you often need to type or copy and paste things over and over again. For example, I have a couple Zoom meetings I host. Even though I email the Zoom info to people, there is always somebody who calls me or emails me and asks for the Zoom info again. This used to be annoying, until I found out about the text substitution feature of Microsoft Word and Outlook. Note, I do not know if this feature works in the new version of Outlook. I have only tried this in Outlook Classic. The way this works is that whatever text you need to put in a Outlook email or Word document often, you create what Word or Outlook calls a building block with the text. As an example, I created a building block with my personal zoom room and called it pz. To do this, I did the following:
Now, whenever I need to put this info into an email, I type pz followed by F3. Just like that, my Zoom info is in the body of the email.
