March 31 was already significant to me because that's the day in 1998 when I helped #Netscape Navigator become #OpenSource.
Now this day has a whole new meaning for me as a #transgender woman. And it's my first #TransDayOfVisibility that I celebrate publicly since coming out to everyone on June 21 of last year.
To all my #trans siblings, I see you. Even if complete visibility isn't possible for you right now. You still matter. You're still loved. And you're still trans. Never doubt that. 🏳️⚧️🫂💖
Remember to share positive posts, memes, etc. about open source things you use and like. A simple “I like this” or “thanks for working on this” can go a long way!
Happy people carry on using things quietly while negativity gets shared, memed, and shoved in front of folks who work on your favorite projects. One negative comment too often outweighs ten positive ones, because human brains are dumb.
In that light here's a shout out to @stux who runs my Mastodon server. I really appreciate it!
And to anyone who hasn't already done so, throw a few dollars/pounds/euros or whatever currency you use to your Mastodon server so that we can keep this great network alive and strong in the future!
i have worked with, worked on, supported FOSS for over 30 years. the folks that work in it are why we have an internet and why microsoft/google don't own everything we run on our devices.
@molly0xfff tried searching for some obscure tech, the results are heavily biased towards German language it seems. However it certainly finds pages that Google doesn’t find.
I've been using Inkscape for over 10 years. If I had been using Illustrator for 10 years I would have paid Adobe over $2,500 in "rental" fees for a subscription that stops as soon as I stop paying.
Instead I started paying $5 a month to Inkscape to help make sure we can all use it for free for as long as we want.
You can see our project accounting over at this url: https://inkscape.org/budget/inkscape/ I'm happier about sharing the actual link now that we're spending donations on software engineering finally!
Gtk4, extensions and bug fixing this year. We're required to publish blog entries about the work too.
Inkscape can be used for vector image editing with very similar tools to illustrator, corel draw and affinity designer.
The advantages are it's SVG support for web design, it's extensive python based extensions and superior path editing.
The disadvantages are the lack of CMYK color support (working on it!), speed issues on windows and that it's a rag tag band of volunteers and poorly paid programmers trying to make the world a better place with access to usable work tools.
NEW: Food prices in Europe have been soaring. Earlier this year, the Austrian government said it would build a price database to let people compare costs at different supermarkets. It said this would take months to make and only include a small number of product categories.
Within 2 hours, @badlogic had built a first prototype, pulling the data from supermarket's websites, and open sourced the project. Now Heisse Preise lists 177,000 products from 10 chains.
The transparency has allowed prices to be compared: and the results appear to show supermarkets are watching each other and adjusting their prices based on others. The competition authority is investigating and already said new laws should make supermarkets publish proper APIs with full item data
The “industry standard” modules used in digital braille displays are custom piezoelectric devices, costing around $100 per “letter,” making such displays impractically expensive for most applications.
I just learned about this hackaday prize winner, who has designed digital, refreshable #braille modules that cost less than $1 each, using teeny-tiny magnets and 3D printed parts.
@cmdrmoto Sadly there's been many similar things like this over the years, and none of them really go anywhere, apart from the Orbit Reader from Orbit Research. I'm not sure how that works exactly but a 20 cell display is I think £400.
With this year’s version, we’re delivering much more than just another yearly release. Supernova represents a modernized overhaul of the software – both visually and technically – while retaining the familiarity and flexibility you expect.
It's your first step into the future of Thunderbird.
@thunderbird 3 weeks since I started to use #Thunderbird Supernova and I'm glad with the new appeareance and the workflow it promotes.
I'm still thinking: now that we have a spaces toolbar for main sections (mail, calendar, tasks, addresbook, chat), why still use tabs for them. IMO tabs should be used for content (messages, events, document previews...). I'm hidding the spaces toolbar because it seems redudant with spaces tabs, and I (still) can't disable tabs for spaces.
Stop treating open source projects and foundations like consumer-facing businesses.
Unless you've got a paid support contract that's being neglected, or there's a grave concern, it's inappropriate to escalate issues to massively public forums.
Maintainers and the staffers and volunteers at foundations are already overworked.
Don't make it harder for them to address your issue by ALSO making them waste time firefighting in public.
Indeed. Alas, as long as free-riding governments and NGOs are given a pass to continue to abuse free software projects to get free labor, there will be little incentive for strong policy to promote project sustainability.
If you're looking for a free, open-source alternative to the Font Awesome icon library you should check the MIT-licensed Phosphor icon library. Clean designs, over 7k icons 🤯
Your periodic reminder that Stellarium is an amazing planetarium tool. Free, #OpenSource and very easy to use. There are desktop apps, mobile apps and a web version.
@astro_jcm Stellarium is absolutely a must-have astronomy application. One of the two I install as soon as possible. The other one being equally awesome free and opensource @kde KStars: https://kstars.kde.org/
"The German government has launched a new Open Source software project called openDesk, which aims to reduce the country’s dependency on proprietary software vendors and support transparency and interoperability.
openDesk is a collection of #OpenSource software modules that are important for day-to-day work in the public sector, such as text creation, file collaboration, project management, email, calendar and messaging."
Open source folks, I need your help. There's that number, floating around the internet for YEARS now, that claims that ~70% of modern software components are made up of open source software.
I cannot, for the life of me, find the actual source for that. As in, who arrived at that estimation and how.
Can someone please help me track that down or put me in touch with someone who might know?
Just donated $100 to the amazing Organic Maps project: Trackerless, fully offline, OSM based, open source mapping for Android/iOS. Great UX & routing, super fast & good coverage even of hiking paths, elevation lines & public transport layers...
From their website: "Organic Maps is one of a few applications nowadays that supports 100% of features without an active Internet connection. Install Organic Maps, download maps, throw away your SIM card (by the way, your operator constantly tracks you), and go for a weeklong trip on a single battery charge without any byte sent to the network."
I'm about to retire (again...) in a few weeks. I'm looking out for opportunities to give back. I'm interested in either speaking/teaching/workshops (very willing to travel) or any #OpenSource or #NonProfit groups that would like some UX help. I'd appreciate a boost!