Free, Libre, and Open Source Software Leftovers

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Feb 05, 2026

• Sal ☛ Remote editing in Zed | Sal's

  I'm writing these words remotely via SSH using Zed's remote development feature. It's pretty cool.

• EDRI ☛ #DIDit: EDRi members spark movement for alternatives to Big Tech

  At the 39th Chaos Communication Congress (39C3), German author Marc-Uwe Kling helped launch the idea of a monthly “Digital Independence Day” with a broad coalition of civil society organisations. On the first Sunday of each month, participants explore alternatives to dominant digital platforms, share experiences using #DIDit, and support one another through volunteer-led online and in-person meet-ups. To date, 189 organisations have joined the initiative, organising over 400 meet-ups.

• BDBOS Joins Linux Foundation and Advances Open Source Projects

  As operator of Germany’s nationwide public safety critical communications network, BDBOS advances digital sovereignty through open-source collaboration.

  BDBOS has been exploring the opportunities of open source for public administration networks for some time. To further promote the open-source approach, BDBOS has joined the Linux Foundation.

  BDBOS is continuously working on modernizing its network infrastructures, which form one of the cornerstones of the digital communication architecture in public administration. The use of open-source software plays a key role in strengthening digital sovereignty. To further promote the open-source approach, BDBOS has joined the Linux Foundation.

• Web Browsers/Web Servers

  • Mozilla

    • Mozilla ☛ Mozilla Localization (L10N): Localizer spotlight: Oliver

      About You

      My name is Oliver Chan, though I am mostly known by my username Olvcpr423. I’m from China, and I speak Mandarin and Cantonese. I have been contributing to Mozilla localization in Simplified Chinese since 2020.

    • Tor ☛ New Alpha Release: Tor Browser 16.0a2 | The Tor Project

      Tor Browser 16.0a2 is now available from the Tor Browser download page and also from our distribution directory.

• SaaS/Back End/Databases

  • Monroe Clinton ☛ I Don't Buy SQLite in the Cloud

    Here is how I view SQLite’s strengths, and how a hosted version undermines them. Even SQLite documentation states that once there’s a network boundary, go elsewhere.

• Content Management Systems (CMS) / Static Site Generators (SSG)

  • Jeremy Cherfas ☛ Images Have Reappeared

    The story so far: WithKnown lost my images, and my previous experience was not as helpful as I hoped. Back to the blow-by-blow troubleshooting.

  • Techdirt ☛ Whoops, Websites Realize That Killing Their Comment Sections Was A Mistake

    A growing number of websites, burned from an unhealthy relationship with Facebook (a company too large and incompetent to function), are restoring their online comment sections, looking to automation to help with moderation, and are trying to rekindle functional, online discourse.

    He does a nice job pointing out many of the benefits of on-site public comment sections that were ignored by editors a decade ago as they rushed to relieve themselves of the responsibility of trying: [...]

• Education

  • Son Luong Ngoc ☛ FOSDEM 26 - My Hallway Track Takeaways

    2026 is my 3rd FOSDEM attendance. And like most veterans of the events, I started to appreciate the people more than the talks. The talks are still fire! Some are extremely impressive technically. But they can be rewatched with the VODs and Slides being widely available. It’s the people that you don’t get to meet face-to-face often. And this is the one time where the most interesting, talented folks gather in such high concentration.

  • Henrique Dias ☛ Surviving FOSDEM '26

    Last weekend was the first weekend of February, which means only one thing in the open source world: the largest open source conference on Earth took place. All of that to say that I spent my past weekend in Brussels to attend FOSDEM. Definitely chaotic as usual!

    This year, I went with a coworker of mine, Timo, who’s also quite active in the open source space. Especially in the world of OpenID for Verifiable Credentials, OpenWallet Foundation, and so on. It was his first FOSDEM, so it seems like it’s becoming a trend for me to introduce people to this two chaotic days.

• Public Services/Government

  • Software Freedom Conservancy ☛ SFC Responds to the European Commission's Request for Feedback on European Digital Ecosystems

    After a very successful FOSDEM, our team is already back at work! The European Commission published a Call for Evidence, asking for comments on how to help better their understanding to grow and further develop the European Union's Free and Open Source Software sector.