Desktop Linux for Everyone
Nothing new here (and a weird error indicating DuckDuckGo is a browser) but a good reminder to explore your alternatives. If you can’t afford to pay for a product, at least see if you can place yourself in different cost-free eco-systems rather than having all of your eggs in a single, creepy basket.
How to Fight Against Big Tech’s Power | The New York Times
This is what Slack — and Silicon Valley, generally — failed to understand about Microsoft’s competitive advantage: the company doesn’t win just because it bundles, or because it has a superior ground game. By virtue of doing everything, even if mediocrely, the company is providing a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, particularly for the non-tech workers that are in fact most of the market.
Lock-in is effective. Microsoft services aren’t great, but are good enough. Because of that it’s often just easier to use them. My colleagues and I are all slowly converging to Microsoft apps because it’s the tool we’re given. So do we use Microsoft because someone pays for it? Or do people pay for Microsoft because people use the tools? I’m not sure, but whatever Microsoft is doing seems to be working.
Also, I do appreciate that Microsoft Teams is available for Linux. I don’t really use it, but it’s cool to see.
The Slack Social Network | Stratchery
I’m excited to see the integrated calendar, not that installing Lightning is such a big deal. I’m a huge Thunderbird fan, though. The interface is sometimes overly complex, but you can always Google around to do what you need to do.
I’m also wondering when this will hit the Ubuntu repos. I might be a ways off from seeing 78 in action! It sort of reminds me of when Gimp added a single-window mode. I was using Sabayon at the time, so I saw the new interface pretty much instantly. But when I went back to Ubuntu, I didn’t see single-window mode for months. It was like time travel.
What’s New in Thunderbird 78 | The Thunderbird Blog
On Linux you definitely want to enjoy the freedom to theme and setup your desktop the way you like. The small time effort seems totally worth it to me even if it improves the experience of staring at this screen for hours every day just a little bit.
Another satisfied customer!
Also, ThinkPads are the best.
Linux Impressions | Jorin’s Logbook
The move to phase out the master/slave and blacklist/whitelist terminologies came after a proposal filed by Linux kernel maintainer Dan Williams on July 4. Linux creator Linus Torvalds approved the proposal on Friday in a pull request for the Linux 5.8 repository.
I’m very happy to see Torvalds evolving. The community takes its cues from him and his behavior, so his support is important.
Linux team approves new terminology, bans terms like ‘blacklist’ and ‘slave’ | ZDNet
This is a Lobsters’ post and what I like about it is that it shows how hard it is to make self-hosting simple. And this doesn’t even get into the complexity of updates and moving servers. It makes me feel better about not hosting more of my own software!
Making self-hosting user friendly | Lobsters
But the lack of innovation is frustrating. The product goals are all over the place. Microsoft has a new clear mission: The Cloud. What’s Google’s clear mission?
It feels like they blew a 10 year lead.
I don’t like Google because of the power they wield, but I agree with Will about their stagnation. It’s been easy for me to avoid their tools and services because there’s nothing super compelling. There are plenty of better alternatives outside of their ecosystem.
Google blew a ten-year lead | Second Breakfast
The Linux Mint project has made good on previous threats to actively prevent Ubuntu Snap packages from being installed through the APT package-management system without the user’s consent. This move is the result of "major worries" from Linux Mint on Snap’s impact with regard to user choice and software freedom. Ubuntu’s parent company, Canonical, seems open to finding a solution to satisfy the popular distribution’s concerns — but it too has interests to consider.
I just got a new-to-me laptop and was surprised to see that Chromium is only available as a Snap package in Ubuntu 20.04. Even though it’s in the repositories. Like everyone, I use Snaps and Appimages, but it seems less-than-cool to force it on users (Ubuntu says it was so users wouldn’t lose Chromium). I’m curious what Mint will do, given how dependent they are upon Ubuntu.
Also, after a week or so, I’ve had no issues with the Chromium snap, just for the record.
Linux Mint drops Ubuntu Snap packages | LWN.net
My various feeds have featured lots of posts about the utility of email. This point resonated with me:
Everyone uses email differently. Your children might use email to submit their homework; while you might receive emails about your next meeting. I may use an encrypted email provider; you may use Gmail. I may use an email client; you might use webmail. You may prioritise ease of use over security; I might not. It doesn’t matter. For this reason workflow management is a very subjective matter and hence its not for me to say whether email has got this right or wrong. Everyone has a different situation, so making generalised statements doesn’t achieve anything.
Everyone does use email differently, so clients allow the user to take back their preferences. I’ve noticed this with my personal email, where I have a few essential Thunderbird extensions, but even for my work email, where I’ve shifted from the web interface to Evolution, and now feel like I’m able to process email much more quickly.
The freedom of a standards-based tool like email is one of its strengths.
My Take on Email | Freddy’s Ramblings
One may not agree with me, but it is my interpretation that, since the Chagossians aren’t seeing any profits for the ccTLD that corresponds to the land they lived on but were forcibly removed from, by buying .io domains, one directly supports the still-actual behavior of the UK government defending their colonial history and acts against human rights. (emphasis original)
A thought-provoking post about the politics of domains.
No to .io, yes to .xyz! | yarmo
