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COVID-19 Has Actually Helped Software Freedom Due to Financial and 'Spare Time' Factors

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Summary: Developers and users are increasingly exploring what the Free software world has to offer; this is actually measurable and it contradicts claims to the contrary

AT THE END OF LAST week I saw a claim, in a Spanish GNU/Linux site (yes, it says "GNU"), that COVID-19 took Free software aback, undoing 40 years of progress. I could not agree, as the evidence we have out there does not support this assertion. Last week we wrote about the real market share of Windows going back to the levels of 30 years ago (and nearly under 30% all in all) and there's evidence, as Phoronix put it a few hours ago, that "Gentoo Saw Total Commits Rise By 42% In 2020" (this is a real community, unlike Ubuntu or Fedora).



"One obvious casualty of COVID-19 is privacy..."We also wrote about IIS collapsing last year. At my 'daytime' job (actually nighttime) I see a gradual migration in that general direction -- away from proprietary traps rather than towards them. Many businesses now realise that Clown Computing was just a passing fad and as costs pile up (those were originally priced below profit levels to lure people into the trap, getting them locked in) the exit barriers aren't strong enough a deterrent anymore. Clown Computing was all along an entrapment strategy, turning licensing costs into subscription costs which only seem attractive on the (shallow) surface. Microsoft's Azure has layoffs and Microsoft is paranoid about those pointing this out (it harms recruitment efforts). Azure is a failure. Microsoft lies to its shareholders.

One obvious casualty of COVID-19 is privacy; putting aside face masks as a barrier to identification of people 'out there', there are now more tools by which people can be spied on in their own homes and such oppressive tools with egregious violations of human rights are often imposed by bosses, examiners, and sometimes even governments.

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Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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Examples of boasting about the association
Alexandre Oliva's Article on Monstering Cults
"I'm told an earlier draft version of this post got published elsewhere. Please consider this IMHO improved version instead."
[Meme] 'Russian' Elections in Munich (Bavaria, Germany)
fake elections
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Plagiarism: Axel Beckert (ETH Zurich) & Debian Developer list hacking
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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Flashback 2003: Debian has always had a toxic culture
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
[Meme] You Know You're Winning the Argument When...
EPO management starts cursing at everybody (which is what's happening)
Catspaw With Attitude
The posts "they" complain about merely point out the facts about this harassment and doxing
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decrease in "HEY HI" (AI) hype
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Gentle lapdogs prevent self-regulation and transparency
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Over at Tux Machines...
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Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
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This is totally normal, right?
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Not joking!
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Not About Linux at All!
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Under Taliban, GNU/Linux Share Nearly Doubled in Afghanistan, Windows Sank From About 90% to 68.5%
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Debian aggression: woman asked about her profession
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Gemini Links 17/03/2024: Winter Can't Hurt Us Anymore and Playstation Plus
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