overview for be4foss

@bitfucker Over the next 2 years we plan to organize events like this with volunteers around the world. If you would like to get involved, be in touch!

As part of the "Opt Green" project we are also creating info materials about software-driven e-waste (https://invent.kde.org/teams/eco/opt-green/-/blob/master/materials/leaflets/kde-eco-umweltfestival-flyer-EN_final.jpg) and providing Linux installation help and generally documenting what we are doing so others can learn from what is working (and what is not) 🙂

But you don't have to wait for us: check out your local Linux User Group!

Bring it back to life again! by be4foss in c/[email protected]

[-] [email protected] 8 points 2 months ago

@Niall @kde

In the project we are embracing and onboarding participants to the many choices one has with Linux, meaning we can tailor the software to the needs of the users themselves!

For newer devices we suggest Fedora (KDE / GNOME) or Linux Mint. For 10+ years old devices Linux Mint XFCE or Lubuntu.

We will try to understand what they want / expect (classic feel? consistent interfaces? newest features? etc.). We will have some demo computers to try out.

Other ideas are welcome! 🙂

Bring it back to life again! by be4foss in c/[email protected]

[-] [email protected] 16 points 2 months ago

Have an old Android smartphone*? Come on by! We may be able to upcycle it with an Android/Linux alternative or even a full GNU/Linux OS.

Friday 28 June 2024, 18:00-21:00 CEST at Moos, Moosdorfstr. 7-9 (S Treptower Park).

*Apple’s policies mean iPhones will not work.

@kde

#PlasmaMobile #Phosh #postmarketOS #UbuntuTouch #eOS #CalyxOS #LineageOS #Android #iPhone #Apple

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Bring it back to life again! (cdn.masto.host)

submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

10 comments fedilink

Bring it back to life again!

Revive your old laptop and reduce toxic e-waste with #FreeSoftware at tomorrow's drop-in workshop in #Berlin with the KDE Eco and #RESI community.

Free of charge. Beginner friendly, no technical knowledge needed!

When: Friday 28 June 2024, 18:00-21:00 CEST

Where: #Moos Moosdorfstr. 7-9 (S Treptower Park)

This event is organized with #ReclaimedSystems as part of a weeklong exhibition on digital sustainability.

@kde

#KDEEco #KDE #OptGreen #OpenSource #eWaste

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Explore KDE and Free Software, learn about e-waste, and register for the upcoming "Bring It Back!" workshop! (cdn.masto.host)

submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

1 comments fedilink

Explore KDE and Free Software, learn about e-waste, and register for the upcoming "Bring It Back!" workshop!

Visit us this Saturday at "Long Night of the Sciences" (#LNDW24) in #Berlin, Germany.

#KDEEco joins the German Environment Agency #UBA and 60 other scientific institutions hosting exciting experiments and science shows.

Where: Umweltbundesamt, Corrensplatz 1 (U3, #Dahlem)

When: Sat. 22 June, 17h-24h!

@kde

#OptGreen #KDE #FOSS #FreeSoftware #OpenSource #BMUV #Sustainability #eWaste

MacBook Air owner? by be4foss in c/[email protected]

[-] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago

@GravitySpoiled They may provide security updates for a couple of more years, but as the article points out, Intel Macs in the Apple Silicon era are on their way out.

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MacBook Air owner? (cdn.masto.host)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

52 comments fedilink

MacBook Air owner?

2018/2019 models are losing #Apple support.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/06/the-case-for-and-against-macos-15-sequoia-being-the-final-release-for-intel-macs/

#OptGreen with #GNU/#Linux to keep your device in use! These machines will run beautifully for many years to come.

Not only wallet friendly, #upcycling keeps CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere. Ca. 75% of Apple's emissions comes from production alone (details in alt text).

Sustainable, independent #FreeSoftware: Better for users, best for the #environment.

@kde

#KDE #KDEEco #FOSS #OpenSource #MacBook

Opt out? Opt in? Opt Green! by be4foss in c/[email protected]

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

@MageInBlack @kde Some background: KDE Eco has funded projects supported by the KDE e.V. and community. The name is derived from the website eco.kde.org, originally created for the FOSS-oriented project "Blauer Engel For FOSS" (BE4FOSS). Since 2021 we've been in contact with many FOSS projects/communities as well as people working on measuring software's energy consumption, digital sustainability, etc. Much is still work in progress and as newsworthy things happen we make sure to post about it.

Opt out? Opt in? Opt Green! by be4foss in c/[email protected]

[-] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago

@edison23 @kde You may find some helpful information from the "Upcycling Android" project from @fsfe

https://fsfe.org/activities/upcyclingandroid/howtoupcycle.en.html

Opt out? Opt in? Opt Green! by be4foss in c/[email protected]

[-] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

@d3Xt3r @Bro666

KDE Plasma has been reported to work well on computers up 15 years old, and other FOSS projects run on devices even older than that!

At our stand in April at the Umweltfestival, we had a Dell computer from 2003. Debian with LXQt ran on it, but the BeOS-based Haiku ran even more smoothly ... and many KDE apps have been ported to Haiku. So we could demo GCompris to families with kids on a device that is 21 years old.

That is the power of transparency and user autonomy!

Opt out? Opt in? Opt Green! by be4foss in c/[email protected]

[-] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago

@d3Xt3r @Bro666 These are, in fact, good examples of how Free Software makes it possible to extend hardware operating life. Though the "Opt Green" project falls under the KDE umbrella, the driving force of the project is that the inherent virtues of FOSS make it possible to support hardware for years and even decades after official support ends. And transparency and user autonomy mean you can contribute to make KDE/FOSS even better! That is simply not possible with proprietary software.

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Opt out? Opt in? Opt Green! (cdn.masto.host)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

47 comments fedilink

Opt out? Opt in? Opt Green!

50% of consumers buy new devices due to unsupported software, while the "tsunami of #eWaste" continues to rise.

#FreeSoftware #OpenSource can keep those devices in use and out of the landfill. Today!

Say hello to the new #KDEEco project "#OptGreen: #SustainableSoftware For Sustainable Hardware".

https://eco.kde.org/blog/2024-05-29_introducing-ns4nh/

You don't need new hardware for a secure, up-to-date device; you just need the right software!

@kde

#KDE #FOSS #RightToRepair #Sustainability

33

Digital sustainability workshop in Berlin 3 June! (cdn.masto.host)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

1 comments fedilink

Digital sustainability workshop in Berlin 3 June!

KDE Eco and the Berlin groups of #FSFE (@fsfeberlin) and #BitsundBaeume (@bitsundbaeume_berlin) will host an installation workshop from 18-21h CEST at @cbase in #Berlin.

At the workshop we'll dive deeper into the topic of digital #sustainability following our joint table at the #Umweltfestival in April.

To accommodate all participants, contact us to confirm your attendance.

See you there!

@kde

#KDE #KDEEco #FreeSoftware #OpenSource #FOSS

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FOSS - ensuring even new hardware stays in use when vendor-support eventually ends! (cdn.masto.host)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

0 comments fedilink

FOSS - ensuring even new hardware stays in use when vendor-support eventually ends!

Whether or not you install GNU/Linux on it today, your new #Mac will eventually lose #Apple support. Thanks to the impressive work of #Asahi #Linux project (@AsahiLinux), it will not need to end up in the landfill once it does.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/05/fedora-asahi-remix-40-is-another-big-step-forward-for-linux-on-apple-silicon-macs/

Great to see #KDE #Plasma as the default desktop environment!

@kde
@fedora
@[email protected]

#KDEEco #FOSS #FreeSoftware #OpenSource #sustainability #Fedora #AsahiLinux

You don't need a new computer for up-to-date software ... just the right software! by be4foss in c/[email protected]

[-] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

KDE Eco's stand with FSFE and Bits & Bäume Berlin will be here on Sunday from 11-19h (as far as I can tell):

https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=52.51551&mlon=13.36899&zoom=19

Here's the official map (we are listed under "Bits & Bäume Berlin"):

https://www.umweltfestival.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/2024-04-16-Lageplan.pdf

The #Topio digital privacy initiative is directly next to us!

https://www.topio.info/

@fsfe @kde @bitsundbaeume_berlin

You don't need a new computer for up-to-date software ... just the right software! by be4foss in c/[email protected]

[-] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

We will have old, otherwise unsupported #computers and #smartphones for visitors to try, as well as some new ones, all running #FreeSoftware.

The oldest, Dell Latitude D600, would have become #eWaste in 2010. If it were human, today it could legally drink alcohol in the USA ... it is that old and, with a little patience, still quite usable!

Come by to try it out :)

@fsfe @kde @bitsundbaeume_berlin

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You don't need a new computer for up-to-date software ... just the right software! (cdn.masto.host)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

3 comments fedilink

You don't need a new computer for up-to-date software ... just the right software!

Come to #Umweltfestival 2024 in #Berlin to learn about the role of independent #FreeSoftware in the sustainable use of hardware.

🗓️ Sunday 28 April, 11-19h
📍 Straße des 17. Juni (Brandenburg Gate)

#KDEEco together with #FSFE (@fsfe) and Bits & Bäume (@bitsundbaeume_berlin) will be there! Some in the #GNOME and #postmarketOS community may be joining as well :)

@kde

#KDE #BMUV #UBA #GermanEnvAgency #OpenSource

32

I wonder how software licensing fits into this new EU right-to-repair directive. It seems pretty critical for repairability! (floss.social)

submitted 5 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

4 comments fedilink

I wonder how software licensing fits into this new EU right-to-repair directive. It seems pretty critical for repairability!

Press release: Right to repair: Making repair easier and more appealing to consumers

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20240419IPR20590/right-to-repair-making-repair-easier-and-more-appealing-to-consumers

"Manufacturers [...] will be prohibited from using contractual clauses, hardware or *software* techniques that obstruct repairs."

@kde

#RightToRepair #KDE #GNOME #FreeSoftware #OpenSource

(h/t GNOME Berlin)

10

How can we ensure energy data from KEcoLab are stable? (cdn.masto.host)

submitted 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

0 comments fedilink

How can we ensure energy data from KEcoLab are stable?

@sthak9 has some ideas.

"Ensuring KEcoLab Stability: Introducing Dedicated CI-Test"

https://eco.kde.org/blog/2024-04-12-sok24-energy-measurement-lab/

#KEcoLab is a KDE tool for measuring software's #energy consumption, but it needs robust testing to ensure stable functionality after code changes. Sarthak presents his work in Season of #KDE 2024 implementing dedicated test builds with #Kate test scripts.

#KDEEco #SOK24 #FEEP #FOSS #FreeSoftware #OpenSource #Sustainability

@kde