Moritz @momar@layer8.space

Was fehlt: Eine API für sämtlichen ÖPNV und Fernverkehr in Deutschland, nein besser in Europa.

A Mastodon shitpost should be called a poot

So I was recently asked why I prefer to use free and open source software over more conventional and popular proprietary software and services.

A few years ago I was an avid Google user. I was deeply embedded in the Google ecosystem and used their products everywhere. I used Gmail for email, Google Calendar and Contacts for PIM, YouTube for entertainment, Google Newsstand for news, Android for mobile, and Chrome as my web browser.

I would upload all of my family photos to Google Photos and all of my personal documents to Google Drive (which were all in Google Docs format). I used Google Domains to register my domain names for websites where I would keep track of my users using Google Analytics and monetize them using Google AdSense.

I used Google Hangouts (one of Google’s previous messaging plays) to communicate with friends and family and Google Wallet (with debit card) to buy things online and in-store.

My home is covered with Google Homes (1 in my office, 1 in my bedroom, 1 in the main living area) which I would use to play music on my Google Play Music subscription and podcasts from Google Podcasts.

I have easily invested thousands of dollars into my Google account to buy movies, TV shows, apps, and Google hardware devices. This was truly the Google life.

Then one day, I received an email from Google that changed everything.

“Your account has been suspended”

Just the thing you want to wake up to in the morning. An email from Google saying that your account has been suspended due to a perceived Terms of Use violation. No prior warning. No appeals process. No number to call. Trying to sign in to your Google account yields an error and all of your connected devices are signed out. All of your Google data, your photos, emails, contacts, calendars, purchased movies and TV shows. All gone.

I nearly had a heart attack, until I saw that the Google account that had been suspended was in fact not my main personal Google account, but a throwaway Gmail account that I created years prior for a project. I hadn’t touched the other account since creation and forgot it existed. Apparently my personal Gmail was listed as the recovery address for the throwaway account and that’s why I received the termination email.

Although I was able to breathe a sigh of relief this time, the email was wake up call. I was forced to critically reevaluate my dependence on a single company for all the tech products and services in my life.

I found myself to be a frog in a heating pot of water and I made the decision that I was going to jump out.

Leaving Google

Today there are plenty of lists on the internet providing alternatives to Google services such as this and this. Although the “DeGoogle” movement was still in its infancy when I was making the move.

The first Google service I decided to drop was Gmail, the heart of my online identity. I migrated to Fastmail with my own domain in case I needed to move again (hint: glad I did, now I self host my email). Fastmail also provided calendar and contacts solutions so that took care of leaving Google Calendar and Contacts.

Here are some other alternatives that I moved to:

Gmail → Fastmail → Self-hosted (via Cloudron)
Google Contacts → Fastmail → Nextcloud Contacts
Google Calendar → Fastmail → Nextcloud Calendar
Google Search → Bing → DuckDuckGo
Google Maps → Bing Maps → OpenStreetMaps and OsmAnd
Google Analytics → Matomo Analytics
Google Drive → Nextcloud Files
Google Photos → Nextcloud Files/Gallery
Google Docs → Collabora Office (Nextcloud integration) and LibreOffice
Google Play Music → Spotify / Plex → Spotify / Jellyfin
Google Play Movies/TV → Plex → Jellyfin
Google Play Audiobooks/Books → Audible/Kindle
Google Play Store (apps) → F-Droid / Aurora Store
Google Android → Lineage OS → Ubuntu Touch on PinePhone (coming soon?)
Google’s Android Apps → Simple Mobile Tools
Google Chrome → Mozilla Firefox
Google Domains → Hover
Google Hangouts → Matrix and Nextcloud Talk
Google Allo → Signal
Google Podcasts → PocketCasts → AntennaPod
Google Newsstand → RSS
Google Wallet → PayPal and Cash App

Migrating away from Google was not a fast or easy process. It took years to get where I am now and there are still several Google services that I depend on: YouTube and Google Home.

Eventually, my Google Home’s will grow old and become unsupported at which point hopefully the Mycroft devices have matured and become available for purchase. YouTube may never be replaced (although I do hope for projects like PeerTube to succeed) but I find the compromise of using only one or two Google services to be acceptable.

At this point losing my Google account due to a mistake in their machine learning would largely be inconsequential and my focus has shifted to leaving Amazon which I use for most of my shopping and cloud services.

The reason that I moved to mostly FOSS applications is that it seems to be the only software ecosystem where everything works seamlessly together and I don’t have to cede control to any single company. Alternatively I could have simply split my service usage up evenly across Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple but I don’t feel that they would have worked as nicely together.

Overall I’m very happy with the open source ecosystem. I use Ubuntu with KDE on all of my computers and Android (no GApps) on my mobile phone. I’ve ordered the PinePhone “Brave Heart” and hope to one day be able to use it or one of its successors as a daily driver with Ubuntu Touch or Plasma Mobile.

I don’t want to give the impression that I exclusively use open source software either, I do use a number of proprietary apps including: Sublime Text, Typora, and Cloudron.

https://www.kylepiira.com/2020/01/09/why-i-quit-google/

"Excuse me," the stranger behind in the queue said, "don't take this the wrong way, but what is that scent you're wearing? It smells amazing!"
"Scent?"
"Is it a cologne or perfume, a body wash or shampoo?"
"Oh, that! I'm a librarian."
"Um... So?"
"I smell of books and stories."
#MicroFiction #TootFic #SmallStories

peak hackers aesthetic https://liliputing.com/2020/01/moar-screens-expanscape-unveils-7-screen-laptop-and-dual-screen-handheld-prototypes.html

Broot – A new way to see and navigate directory trees
https://dystroy.org/broot/

(submitted by gilad)

Beautiful #aurora in #lapland which we saw just next to the street

Just did a #husky safari yesterday

In 1998, a programmer who had been working on Y2K fixes started to get anxious because he couldn't believe how pervasive the problem was. He switched from company to company trying to get away from it, but everywhere he went he became regarded as the Y2K expert and immediately became the team lead for that company's Y2K contingencies. He finally had a nervous breakdown, quit his job, and decided he wanted to be knocked unconscious when the Y2K actually came about.

A month before Y2K he was put into an artificial coma and cooled down to a near cryogenic easily sustained long term life support.

Unfortunately the life support notification system had a Y2K bug, and no one revived him for 8000 years.

Finally he was found and revived. He woke up, and saw himself surrounded by lots of glass, light, stainless steel, and tall beautiful people in white robes. He asked if he was in Heaven.

They replied, "No, this is Chicago. Actually but it's a lot like Heaven to someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

"You are from the 20th century. Many of the problems that existed in your lifetime have been solved for thousands of years. There is no hunger and no disease. There is no scarcity, or strife between races and creeds."

"What year is it now?"

"Yeah, about that - it's the year 9,998. You see, the year 10,000 is coming up, and we understand you know something called COBOL?"

Wer macht mit?

Wow, das ist ja mal ein cooles Gerät: der #NumWorks #Taschenrechner. Mit #OpenSource #Firmware und #micropython - kostet 80€
Einen online Simulator zum ausprobieren gibt es hier: https://www.numworks.com/simulator/ Technische details: https://www.numworks.com/resources/engineering/hardware/electrical/parts/ und die OS sourcen: https://github.com/numworks/epsilon

Während in Deutschland noch dumm gedieselt und geistesgestört geböllert, und das Internet bitweise durch uralten Klingeldraht gepresst wird, wird in anderen Teilen der Erde Zukunft gemacht. Elektromobilität, Glasfaser, und Drohnenshows.

Shanghai Welcomes 2020 With Spectacular Drone Light Show

Shanghai ushered in the new year with over 2,000 drones operating in unison to create a spectacular display, Tuesday, December 31, during the countdown to 20...

https://youtu.be/UKnt_6I0m3s

Eine Drohnen-Licht-Schau statt einem Feuerwerk...

Als guter Deutscher lehne ich das aus folgenden Gründen ab:

* Es gibt keine Langzeitstudien zur Unbedenklichkeit von Drohnen.

* Wer soll das bezahlen?

* Was ist, wenn eine Drohne abstürzt und ein Kind verletzt?

* Die Steuerung der Drohnen per Funkwellen sind für stahlungssensible Menschen eine Zumutung und ein Risiko!

* Vögel und Insekten können irritiert oder gar verletzt werden!

* Drohnen verbrauchen im Gegensatz zu Raketen Strom!

Connection reset by pear.

RT @PandaInSp4ce
Wo wir grad beim Thema sind. Kennt ihr die Metalcore-Band Okilly Dokilly? Sie behandeln in ihren Texten ausschließlich Ned Flanders und nennen es „Neddal“.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lnfOvc_jGg