⊥ᵒᵚ Cᵸᵎᶺᵋᶫ∸ᵒᵘ ☑️ @falken@qoto.org

France replaces MS Teams and Zoom with its own video conferencing software

With Visio, France is introducing its open-source video conferencing for authorities. By 2027, 200,000 civil servants are to work independently of US providers.

https://www.heise.de/en/news/France-replaces-MS-Teams-and-Zoom-with-its-own-video-conferencing-software-11155347.html?wt_mc=sm.red.ho.mastodon.mastodon.md_beitraege.md_beitraege&utm_source=mastodon

#DataAct #DigitaleSouveränität #EU #IT #MicrosoftTeams #Netzpolitik #OpenSource #Wirtschaft #news

France to ditch US platforms Microsoft Teams, Zoom for ‘sovereign platform’ amid security concerns

France announced that it will roll out the Visio platform across all government departments by 2027.

http://www.euronews.com/next/2026/01/27/france-to-ditch-us-platforms-microsoft-teams-zoom-for-sovereign-platform-amid-security-con

If you write about the messy reality behind "free" internet services: we're seeing #OpenStreetMap hammered by scrapers hiding behind residential proxy/embedded-SDK networks. We're a volunteer-run service and the costs are real. We'd love to talk to a journalist about what we're seeing + how we're responding. #AI #Bots #Abuse

@freemo my Mastadon exports from #qoto don't finish. I've waited days so far.

Everything OK?

“UK House of Lords Votes to Extend Age Verification to VPNs”

Here we go again ey

https://reclaimthenet.org/uk-house-of-lords-votes-to-extend-age-verification-to-vpns

Bit of a long shot, would anyone on here know how to get in touch with anyone from the Finnish demoscene group Future Crew, in particular Psi (Sami Tammilehto)? Are any on them on fedi? They must be in their 50's now.

I'd like to ask if he still has the Scream Tracker 3 source code, and if he would consider releasing it... It's such an important part of computing and music history. It deserves preservation.

Update: hearsay is that Psi is not interested in releasing the sources. See replies.

#demoscene #futurecrew #screamtracker3

As an older tech person, it's legit heartwarming watching the TikTok generation discover why we all hate Oracle.

@briankrebs FIFA's Word Cup tournaments in the U.S. need to be boycotted or cancelled. This puts the world at the mercy of these thugs.

We knew this was coming, but now the clock is running. From Privacy International:

"Yesterday the Trump Administration announced a proposed change in policy for travellers to the U.S. It applies to the powers of data collection by the Customs and Border Police (CBP)."

"If the proposed changes are adopted after the 60-day consultation, then millions of travellers to the U.S. will be forced to use a U.S. government mobile phone app, submit their social media from the last five years and email addresses used in the last ten years, including of family members. They’re also proposing the collection of DNA."

PI linked to and summarized a Federal Register entry describing the proposed requirements:

-All visitors must submit ‘their social media from the last 5 years’

-ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) applications will include ‘high value data fields’, ‘when feasible’
‘telephone numbers used in the last five years’
-‘email addresses used in the last ten years’
-‘family number telephone numbers (sic) used in the last five years’
-biometrics – face, fingerprint, DNA, and iris
-business telephone numbers used in the last five years
-business email addresses used in the last ten years.

https://www.privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/5713/trump-administration-wants-your-dna-and-social-media

The Federal Register entry says comments are encouraged and
must be submitted (no later than February 9, 2026) to be assured of consideration.

Federal Register entry: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-12-10/pdf/2025-22461.pdf

https://warandpeas.com/2019/01/27/underwear/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/21/ice-arrest-pepper-spray-protesters-minnesota

An appeals court temporarily suspended the order that deportation thugs in Minnesota could not arrest peaceful protesters or fire less-lethal weapons at them. I would like to know the court's stated reasons.

The end of the #curl bug-bounty

https://daniel.haxx.se/blog/2026/01/26/the-end-of-the-curl-bug-bounty/

Workers Say AI Is Useless, While Oblivious Bosses Insist It’s a Productivity Miracle
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/workers-ai-useless-bosses-miracle

This afternoon, I took advantage of the rain to tidy up and clean my desk, as well as part of the cabinet to my right, which houses the switch and the Raspberry Pi 4 (powered by FreeBSD) that I use for various services.

I came across my old laptop again: a 2019 16" MacBook Pro, the last Intel model. I think it was one of the worst devices I’ve ever owned: sluggish, fans always loud, and the case 'polished' down quickly just from my hands. I used it for about a year, then passed it to my wife when I got the M1 Pro MBP - which I’m still using - in early 2022. By comparison, the Apple Silicon model feels brand new, even after four years of fairly intense use.

My wife had to stop using the 'old' one because the battery, despite having very few charge cycles, is practically dead. It doesn’t hold a charge, but that wouldn’t even be the biggest issue. The real trouble is that without a functional battery, it has become incredibly slow, with the fans constantly blasting, making it unusable. I tried turning it on again, but it even struggles to launch the macOS installer. I’m stuck: replacing the battery would cost 289 euros (from what I’ve read, the entire top case needs to be replaced), but I hate to leave it like this, as the hardware and screen still have a lot to offer.

I’ve thought about selling it as-is, but I think it would be difficult - an inexperienced buyer wouldn't understand that the slowness is caused specifically by the battery issue.

Any advice?

#Laptop #Apple #MBP #MacBookPro #Battery

Commander Vimes didn't like the phrase 'The innocent have nothing to fear', believing the innocent had everything to fear, mostly from the guilty but in the longer term even more from those who say things like 'The innocent have nothing to fear'.

Terry Pratchett, Snuff
#Discworld #GNUTerryPratchett

I need the help of the Fediverse! We have two old camcorders that have been sitting around for ages and I am trying to resurrect them.

One is a Canon, it works great but the tape mechanism doesn't fully open, it raises up but the second part doesn't move out to allow tape entry.

The second, a Sanyo, works but just shuts down after around 5 seconds.

Both are powered off the mains using their factory chargers so it's not a battery issue.

Anyone with any ideas?

Thanks, Sammi

#camcorder #repair