leinir @leinir@computerfairi.es

Quite some years ago, we brought the #OLPC AKA the 100$ laptop to Rwanda [1]. A surprising thing happened. The laptops were often without battery power in the morning. A thing that wasn’t anticipated. It had two reasons. One was the keyboard LED. It was used by the parents to have a light at home. The other was a bigger surprise. The parents used the mesh networking to discuss market prices for their produce. Fascinating. 1/3

[1] https://wiki.laptop.org/go/OLPC_Rwanda

I've seen the Ursula K LeGuin quote about capitalism going around, but to really appreciate it you have to know the context. The year is 2014. She has been given a lifetime achievement award from the National Book Awards. Neil Gaiman puts it on her neck in front of a crowd of booksellers who bankrolled the event, and it’s time to make a standard “thank you for this award, insert story here, something about diversity, blah blah blah” speech. She starts off doing just that, thanking her friends and fellow authors. Allis well. Then this old lady from Oregon looks her audience of executives dead inthe eye, and says “Developing written material to suit sales strategies in order to maximize corporate profit and advertising revenue is not the same thing as responsible book publishing or authorship* She rails against the reduction of her art to a commodity produced only for profit. She denounces publishers who overcharge libraries for their products and censor writers in favor of something “more profitable®. She specifically denounces Amazon and its business practices, knowing full well that her audience is filled with Amazon employees. And to cap it off, she warns them: “We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art. Very often in our art, the art of words” Ursula K LeGuin got up in front of an audience of some of the most powerful people in publishing, was expected to give a trite and politically safe argument about literature, and instead told them directly “Your empire willfall. And | wil help it along"

#writer #LeGuin

#Akademy2024 report: What happened during the Akademy of many changes.

We are wrapping up Akademy 2024 today, so no better moment to look back at all the new stuff the KDE Community came up with during the event. Discover the new KDE Linux, the overhauled looks coming to Plasma and KDE's apps, what the community as a whole will focus on next, and our renewed commitment to save the world.

https://akademy.kde.org/news/2024-09_akademy-2024-report/

@akademy@lemmy.kde.social

Yay, Denmark reached the threshold as third country. Next up: Belgium. Four countries and a bit more than 700k signatures to go. We have less than a month left!
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/038/public/#/screen/home/allcountries

EU citizens, take action to help keep Free Software funded!

https://fsfe.org/news/2024/news-20240911-02.html

Calligra 4.0 is out! Aside from the complete port to Qt6/KF6, this release contains a new sidebar design, updated dialogs, better Wayland compatibility and more.

https://carlschwan.eu/2024/08/27/calligra-office-4.0-is-out/

#calligra #linux #linuxApps

If you hurt an introvert, they don't retaliate, they just drift away. Missed texts, unanswered calls, cancelled plans. They don't want conflict. No stress. No headaches. They just want peace. And they have absolutely no intention of hurting you. They just go away. Quietly.

Join us tomorrow for "Making a Difference: How to contribute and jump start your career in Free Software with the KDE Community" with Aleix Pol.


Discover how to get involved, grow your skills, and advance your career in free software. Don't miss it!


Join online: https://meet.kde.org/b/lyd-vjd-rrs-oww

@akademy@lemmy.kde.social

As a Blind person i never thought i would be on social media savoring photos. But the communal Mastodon alt text game is so strong that sweet, poetic or silly descriptions abound on my timeline. Thanks to legions of people who take time to write a meaningful description of the ephemera they post, i learn so much about insects, plants, buildings, memes — all dispatches from a dimension of the world that i otherwise wouldn't experience. If you're wondering whether anybody reads these things: YES.

Elon Musk was kicked out of the Bay Area Babyfur community.

Much respect to the furries for recognizing how much of a toxic piece of shit Elon is, and giving him no quarter. Even if this may have led to him acquiring twitter so that he could avoid being kicked out, it really shows the power of furry communities to maintain a healthy environment.

https://x.com/denimneverdies/status/1817441645236772931

https://x.com/HYENAFREQUENCY/status/1816661175037268201

https://old.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/1ecshvh/elon_tried_to_enter_the_babyfur_community/

“OpenAI could be on the brink of bankruptcy in under 12 months, with projections of $5 billion in losses.”

Related: this five-minute doodle I just drew.

If you've received #NGIZero funding then you need to pay attention to this:

https://kolektiva.social/@hackstub/112762068812732277

@nlnet has funded many #fediverse apps and other awesome software for the commons.

What's disappointing is that Horizon has chosen to remove the cascade funding to put more funding to #AI. Which already has several AI funds.

This will in no way help small #FOSS development. I like @NGIZero because it funds some really unique ideas, that come from a diverse community. AI ain't that.

Normally, this kind of advice is framed more positively, but I want to be absolutely clear:

Don’t put yourself down.
Don’t apologize for existing.
Don’t tell others they should feel bad for knowing you.
Don’t wallow in shame.

Even if you feel bad, or like you’ve something to atone for, that kind of behavior doesn’t help you or anyone else; debasing yourself does nothing to process negative emotions or to take responsibility for your actions - and nothing hurts your loved ones quite like it.

#Democracy won in the UK! ... ?

... "Democracy won" is generally code for "our side won", or even "we replaced something bad with something somewhat better"

The third ranked party, with 14% of the votes got 1% of the seats, green, with their 7% got 1%, while libdems with 12%, got 11% of the seats.

Insane...

"So, would you prefer that Reform UK go<stoppit>" - no, but democracy isn't about my preference. Nor do we even know WHAT the percentage could be if people were not given the "we better vote labor, or else..." gun to their head.

There really should be massive demonstrations...

Based on the % votes, I assume a labour / libdem / green coalition government. Many peeps worry "this would give green too much power" but that would be all up to labour. Pushed too far, they could say "nah, you insist that, we'll step down and you rule try to rule with conservatives instead". Small parties "unfair power positions" is generally nothing more than blocker for "abusive changes from larger parties".

#ukpol

We are proud to introduce Sofawolf Academy, an online community for all levels of furry storyteller who wish to improve their skills.

We will be in Public Beta for the next couple of months while we build out content and take input from members.

Base level membership is FREE and will remain so. Later this year we will introduce additional membership levels that include access to advanced training and support appropriate for individuals seeking to make an income through their writing.

Interested? You can sign up here (Because we are in Beta, we have "Request to Join" step for now.):

https://academy.sofawolf.com/