Bonum Certa Men Certa

Worst Year, But Hope Prevails

Solstice hopes; days will get longer, Free software will be increasingly adopted (and Tux Machines had a record year)

Tux Machines had a record year



Summary: It has been an awful year for almost everyone; we take stock of numerous issues and offer a positive message

THIS year was easy for nobody. Not even those in high demand (business-wide) could see family members and it'll get kind of crazy when even on holy days people will feel rather lonely and isolated. Today is the shortest day in this hemisphere and I got ill last night. This morning, without warning, even the shower would barely work because the water (utilities) provider had issues with water pressure. In over 20 years I've not encountered such a thing and given social isolation directives (cannot visit another household) and the gym deciding to shut down for 20 days for business reasons, suddenly something like hot water could not be taken for granted. Combine that with an illness that has had me sleeping for nearly half a day.



"Due to a tragic death of a man younger than me, we're forced to migrate to another datacentre in a hurry (by month's end)."The coming few weeks will not signal a turnaround. A President Biden cannot (even if he really wants to) save his country and a 'no-deal Brexit' seems imminent. People are forewarned not to panic-buy. Some people cannot afford to, either (barely making ends meet).

Due to a tragic death of a man younger than me, we're forced to migrate to another datacentre in a hurry (by month's end). His part of the datacentre, just like so many businesses this year, will be shut down. It's not uncommon to walk across places we used to go, only to see them boarded up; they won't be coming back, irrespective of lock-downs or not.

The current vaccines (promoted by the media, including in Russia) have barely been tested. These were also developed in a great rush, so people would be justified to feel a tad sceptical. I spoke to number of much older people who refuse to take a shot. My father took a flu vaccine months ago (we're not against getting vaccinated, we take all the well-established vaccines), but he rejects the COVID-19 ones. A proper solution would take years if not over a decade to develop (and also test for long-term effects); there's a legitimate question about efficacy and another about risk. We don't need placebo, nor should we blindly participate in clinical trials for corporate gains. Remember that vaccination is rarely effective unless many members of a population take it (collective or herd immunity sometimes refers to actual vaccination rather than rejection of it). There's also the issue of viruses mutating, limiting the effectiveness of a supposed solution tested on just one particular variant.

"Those of us still forced to go to the office in order to make a living are much worse off than home workers. They put themselves and their family at greater risk. Quitting their job can lead to starvation, which is no better."Speaking to people all around the world, hope is low. Really low. With number of fatalities (per day) increasing over time (the US is estimated to reach about a million "excess deaths" by spring) it doesn't feel like 2021 will be any better than 2020.

"I'm forced to work full days in the office because Windows is designed more to restrict people than to share, internet infrastructure is poor and damaged by hurricanes, and my management is dumber than dog shit," one person told me a few days ago. "They don't wear masks with each other, eat in a cramped break room, did not get in mask microphones for phones, and are an odd combination of hopelessness and arrogance."

Those of us still forced to go to the office in order to make a living are much worse off than home workers. They put themselves and their family at greater risk. Quitting their job can lead to starvation, which is no better.

"Here at Techrights we intend to focus on tech, not pandemic. The impact of the latest pandemic on Free software adoption, however, oughtn't be overlooked."On the Free software side of things, we seem to have made gains this year, but there are also setbacks and new threats emerging. "I hope that's something good that might come out of the Solarwind catastrophe," the above person noted. "Right now, all the "big tech" must be broken up noise has resulted in more lawsuits against Microsoft's biggest competitor, Google. Recently, I've read a few opinions saying that reliance on so few vendors is bad. No talk about free software and real anti-trust protections, but it's a good start."

Here at Techrights we intend to focus on tech, not pandemic. The impact of the latest pandemic on Free software adoption, however, oughtn't be overlooked.

Recent Techrights' Posts

IBM Layoff Rumours, Large-Scale Implementations Weeks Ahead (in March 2025)
There are some people corroborating
Microsoft Blasted for Adding Insult to Injury: Workers Laid Off Without Prior Notice, Without Severance Payment and Basic Coverage (Like Health), Then Stigmatised as Bad Performers So They Cannot Find a Job Elsewhere
Such stereotypes end entire careers
BetaNews is Still Publishing LLM Slop/SPAM About "Linux"
Assuming it is indeed LLM slop, it seems clear BetaNews has no intention of improving or is simply unable/unwilling to improve
 
Links 11/02/2025: Current state of the Internet and Smallnet Information Services (SIS)
Links for the day
Conservative Estimate: Over 10,000 IBM Workers to Be Laid Off in the Next Two Waves
The morale is low and layoffs are expected soon, with mass layoffs likely happening next month and then again later
Links 11/02/2025: Trade Wars and "Crisis for American Universities"
Links for the day
Parasitic LLM Slop Sites Destroy the Ability to Find "Linux" News in Google News
Remember that Google News laid off lots of its workers
Richard Stallman's English Talk in Italy Less Than 24 Hours Away (Torino) and Then Another Talk in Italy Scheduled (University of Bozen-Bolzano)
He's active and he travels a lot in spite of his medical condition
Links 11/02/2025: Nutritional Poverty, Closure of USAID, More Fictional 'Valuations' Around Buzzwords
Links for the day
Perl Programming Leftovers
recently in perl.org
Microsoft in Africa: From 98% to Less Than 10% in Just 16 Years
Microsoft being on less than 1 in 10 Web-connected devices in Africa is a very big deal
Almost as If MElon Reads Techrights
The joke we started appears to be spreading
Gemini Links 11/02/2025: NeoVim and Deploying Other People's Code
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, February 10, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, February 10, 2025
Scheduled Maintenance Tomorrow and on Valentines
If the site (or Gemini capsule) is offline for a bit, the maintenance windows are likely the root cause
If Matthias Kirschner Loves Free Software, He'll Change the Name of the Microsoft-Sponsored Organisation He Governs (in Order to Avoid Confusion)
The FSF-EEE does not really like Software Freedom, it just loves money (including Microsoft's)
Soylent News Lessens the Scope of Discussion Due to Persistent Trolling and Online Abuse
if they make it a lot harder for new people to participate, then they limit the "general appeal" and reach
EPO's Local Occupational Health, Safety and Ergonomics Committee (LOHSEC) in The Hague: Workers Are Getting Sicker, Conditions in Which to Assess Patent Applications Deteriorate
"According to the Office statistics the total number of days of absence has gone up from 12.4 to 13.1 total number of sick days per Full Time Equivalent (FTE) from 2023 to 2024."
The Standard Needs to Improve Its Standards for Fact-Checking, Aaron Swartz Had Nothing to Do With Reddit and He Detested the Company That Created It
The Web is already bad enough as it is
When the Livestream of Richard Stallman is Apparently Bury-Brigaded Offline You Finally Learn to Avoid Google/YouTube for Streaming
Please, people, stop uploading to Google/YouTube
New Paper From the EPO Highlights Large-Scale Discrimination at the Office, Where People Are Rewarded for Granting More and More Illegal Patents
Even the Kremlin is probably more competent than this
Links 10/02/2025: Ban on D.E.I. Language, Listeria Risk/Outbreak
Links for the day
Links 10/02/2025: Announcing "Stringless" and Mental Health Improvement
Links for the day
Links 10/02/2025: Facebook Mass Layoffs, "Meta" Did What Aaron Swartz Had Done But to the Tune of 81.7 Terabytes
Links for the day
Microsoft Tarnishing the Brand of Arch
Of course Arch can do whatever it wants, but being associated with Microsoft is a badge of shame
The Ultimate and Inevitable Fall of OpenAI (Even Brave is 'Bigger' Now)
"When you advertise at the Super Bowl, you’ve reached just about every consumer in America. It’s the last stop. If you’re not profitable yet, you never will be."
Adding Slop to Your Blog Only Makes One Assume All the Text is LLM Slop
Simon Coter from Oracle has turned to slop
Macao is Leaving Microsoft Behind
Windows is falling to new all-time lows
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, February 09, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, February 09, 2025
Microsoft's WSL (LSW) Shows That It Can Never Love Linux, Only Windows
that's just how Microsoft rolls
Activism in Times of War and a Coup
'Linux' Foundation works for fascism
What the Silencing of Neatnik Tells Us About Linus Torvalds Inside a Microsoft-Dominated 'Linux' Foundation
Is Linus Torvalds free to express his mind as he wishes about every topic, even just any technical topic?
Windows Down to 11.35% in Senegal, as Measured by statCounter
Another all-time low (Windows was at 99% in 2009)
"Latest Technology News" in BetaNews is LLM Slop Promoting OOXML and Proprietary Software at the Expense of LibreOffice and OpenDocument Format (ODF)
Remember that "open-source" and Open Source aren't the same; the former is fake
Links 09/02/2025: Coffee, Toxic Productivity, and Programming
Links for the day
Debian's Human Rights violations & Swiss women Nazi symbolism
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 09/02/2025: Software Patents on MP3 and Another Scam Dressed Up as "Crypto"
Links for the day
Links 09/02/2025: Russian Energy Cut Off, LLM Pushers Show Signs of Desperation
Links for the day
Richard Stallman (RMS) Does Not Have Media Companies and Lobbyists on His Side, But His Message Spreads Regardless
The message of RMS is spreading in spite of all the smears
GNU/Linux Rises to All-Time High in Chile
sharp rise for GNU/Linux in Chile
Links 09/02/2025: Hottest January on Record, Panama Blackmailed
Links for the day
Why We Still Love Gemini Protocol
Gemini Protocol may seem like something "old" (it's actually very new) and something "nobody would use", but many people use it
Gemini Links 09/02/2025: "Died as a Mineral" and Game Interface for a Non-Game
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 08, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, February 08, 2025