Bonum Certa Men Certa

Introducing Mission:Libre and FreeXR (and BreakXR)

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Aug 05, 2025

Mission:Libre

Free software has some anniversaries coming. 40? Maybe 50? (Not really 50, but inspiration began around 1976)

There are also efforts that accompany the foundations put there by the Free Software Foundation in 1985 (the seeds that also helped plant the Web, Wikipedia, Creative Commons and so much more).

After some downtime (many hours) of this subdomain and therefore this page - perhaps due to DDoS by LLM slop bots (my IP address was not blocked, everything was blocked or turned away [0]) - we get a couple of self-promotional updates from Mission:Libre [1] and FreeXR (and BreakXR) [2].

Regarding Mission Libre, we wrote about it earlier this year when Carmen had a crowdfunding campaign and not yet this initiative name (she suggested "LaunchLibre" at the end of last year). Her message links to this page which says:

Mission:Libre's office hours are set aside so you can join me on Jitsi to chat about Mission:Libre and free software. All ages are welcome.

More information about how to connect will be here in during the week of 18 August. 

Would a different time suit you? Just ask.

Let's hope it works out for them. I was a very early adopter of Jitsi (well before it was even known as Jitsi).

____________

[0] The domain or subdomain was not reachable from other networks as well, it had nothing to do with the UK Online Safey Act or some CDN.

[1] Launching Mission:Libre

Hi everyone!

Let me begin by saying this is the last time I'll post about Mission:Libre here. Pinky promise; cross my heart and hope to die. You're probably sick of me already.
But I am _very_ excited to tell you I'm starting Mission:Libre's actual work this month. (If you don't know, Mission:Libre is my project to bring teens to free software and get them on their way to becoming tomorrow's activists and contributors. There's more info on missionlibre.org about it if you're curious.)
I've got a lot to do :) On August 31, I'm publishing the first issue of Mission:Libre's magazine (table of contents here: missionlibre.org/libre). I'm also going to spread the word about free software and Mission:Libre to teens outside our movement while I build Mission:Libre's online community. Finally, I'm working on a new website on free software issues for younger teenagers -- this will be up in September!
Please help me by telling people about this. Mission:Libre can do a lot for free software, but it can be hard for new projects of this kind to get attention. The more people know about this, the better.
Also, there'll be a couple of office hours on Jitsi on the 20 and 22nd of August, if you want to drop in and come talk to me about anything Mission:Libre. The exact times are on missionlibre.org/upcoming-events. There should be some casual online meetups for teens later in the month as well (more about those on the site later).
- Carmen

[2] HELP WANTED: The Year of Spacial Linux!

Hey everyone i am messaging you to ask for help.
   I and other developers created project FreeXR (and BreakXR) where our
   ultimate goal is to enable running replicant or linux-libre on
   standalone Extended Reality Headsets e.g. META Quest which are very
   economical and available to the general public.
   We were able to discover root exploit that still affects all firmware
   versions, but due to QFPROM being used as tivoization we can't run it
   as it's using QFPROM which is a memory inside of the SoC that stores
   public key which is used to verify the secure boot and the
   manufacturers are refusing to provide these for us so that we can boot
   our software stack. We are already in talks with a law firm about
   approaching this legally, but we are going against huge corporations so
   it will take some time to do.
   So i am here asking you for help.. We are trying to break the secure
   boot so that we can load our own software on the devices and enable
   further development..
   Our members already ported some of the parts close to mainline
   ([1]https://gitlab.postmarketos.org/postmarketOS/pmaports/-/merge_reque
   sts/6748) and are cooperating with StardustXR
   ([2]https://stardustxr.org) to implement the User Interface (which is
   already ready to use) as there currently isn't any other alternative
   beyond wlx-overlay-s which is not standalone and with mercury
   hand-tracking ([3]https://monado.freedesktop.org/handtracking) to
   enable user input using computer vision.
   Additionally to software we are also working on hardware, these
   headsets have resin lenses that are very easy to scratch and so i am
   developing a very user-friendly and economical method to fix those. We
   are also going to do 3D scans to enable custom chasis designs and want
   to eventually expand on OSHW headset.
   If you want to help us then all the firmware versions of META Quest are
   currently vulnerable, you can get these devices for around 150-250
   EUR/USD and with
   [4]https://xdaforums.com/t/app-5-0-private-quest-vr-headset-management-
   tool.4695491 you can bypass the "first time nux" application that
   forces update (WARNING: IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO DOWNGRADE! So try to stay
   on as low version as possible) and requires you to have meta account to
   use the device or just contact me and i will run experiments for you.
   There is also a matrix bridge if you prefer direct messages:
   [5]https://matrix.to/#/#quest-rooting:matrix.org
   Thanks for anything relevant,
   - Kreyren

References
1. https://gitlab.postmarketos.org/postmarketOS/pmaports/-/merge_requests/6748 2. https://stardustxr.org/ 3. https://monado.freedesktop.org/handtracking 4. https://xdaforums.com/t/app-5-0-private-quest-vr-headset-management-tool.4695491 5. https://matrix.to/#/#quest-rooting:matrix.org

Other Recent Techrights' Posts

Representing and Speaking for Animals
If I ever choose to take this matter to tribunal with animals-centric NGOs on my side, it'll get some press coverage for sure
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About "Linux", Slop Images in VentureBeat, Linux Foundation Spam Made With LLM Slop and Slop Images
The only relief or upside - if any exists - is that the pace of slop was down a bit this week
 
Financiers and Sponsors of the Slop Hype (Pyramid Scheme Waiting to End, Bubble That Will Inevitably Implode)
It's also burning the planet
Slopwatch: Fake Articles About "Linux", Google Helps Ponzi Schemes and Slopfarms in Google News
Slopfarms are a real pain
Gemini Links 29/08/2025: Retiring at 62 and URL Filtering HTTP(S) Proxy on Qubes OS
Links for the day
Links 29/08/2025: Lisa Cook Sues Convicted Felon and Backdoor Mandate in UK Resisted
Links for the day
Links 29/08/2025: Arti 1.5.0, War on Public Health (CDC), and Slop 'Bros' Made to Pay for Their Mass Plagiarism
Links for the day
No, 4Chan is Not Fighting for You by Lawyering Up Against Ofcom (UK)
Don't mistake proto-fascists for people who "fight for you". They don't.
Downlplaying the Impact of "UEFI 9/11" is a Losing Strategy
we won't publish much whilst on holiday
In Many Places in the World Vista 11 "Market Share" is Going Down, Not Up
In some countries Windows is already down to third place or lower
More Microsoft-Connected Layoffs, at Least Third Time This Month! (Also Another Death on Campus)
Microsoft as a "gaming" company is where studios, projects, games, and even developers come to die
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, August 28, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, August 28, 2025
Gemini Links 29/08/2025: Poems, Games, and Java 25 Performance
Links for the day
Links 28/08/2025: Greenland 'Interferences' by US and Skinnerboxes to Get Banned in Korean Schools
Links for the day
Richard Stallman (RMS) Talk in Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress Will be Remote
This past week RMS received lots of accolades online
The Register MS (Run by Microsoft Operatives): Free Software is Putin, Hence Evil and Dangerous
The current editor in chief is an American Microsofter, the previous one went to work for Google (US)
Links 28/08/2025: Chatbots Distorting/Fabricating History and Also Driving Suicide
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/08/2025: Back in Japan and Why "Hacker News" Sucks
Links for the day
A Much-Needed Wake-up Call to Users of Wordpress.com, Blogspot, Substack and All Those Other Outsourced (and Centralised) Platforms
There are several lessons in there
The UEFI 9/11 - Part II - Campaign of Censorship and Defamation Against Critics
In dictatorships, humour serves an important role. It's tragic.
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Resists Software Freedom, Even by Attacking Its Own
The OSI is compromised
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, August 27, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Slopwatch: linuxsecurity.com, Slopfarms in Google News, and More
Some readers of ours end up sending us links that are from slopfarms, not realising those are slopfarms
Gemini Links 27/08/2025: Katrina Memories and Google Versus Software Freedom
Links for the day
Links 27/08/2025: Police Against Media Freedom in the UK, Energy-Hungry Countries Targeted by China
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows Fell to All-Time Lows in Egypt This Summer, Vista 11 Adoption Decreases While GNU/Linux Increases
Vista 11 is going down rather than up
Links 27/08/2025: Microsoft Demoralises Staff With Slop Demands, Leaving Mastodon Explained
Links for the day
12 Hours Ago The Register MS Published a Fake (Paid-for) Article, But This One for a Change Did Not Promote a Ponzi Scheme
There are also Free software alternatives, but they don't pay The Register MS for "synthetic" so-called 'journalism'
More People Need to Call Out and Put a Stop to Serial Sloppers
Unless slopfarms are stopped, people will read and share Microsoft propaganda made by chatbots
Gemini Links 27/08/2025: Headphones and Tartarus
Links for the day
Morale at Microsoft is Terrible (Proprietary Plagiarism Machines Have No Future, LLM Slop is a Bubble)
The slop sceptics/critics are going to have lots of "told you so" moments
GNOME "governance issues, staff reduction, etc." amidst Albanian whistleblowing and women trafficking
Notice the connection to Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) and GNOME
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, August 26, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, August 26, 2025