June 2021 - Free-software-melb - lists.softwarefreedom.com.au

Mastodon
by Ben Sturmfels 13 Mar '22

13 Mar '22

Hi Folks, I'm getting into this Mastodon thing, but it'd be much more interesting if I could follow a few more people I know. Anyone care to reply with their Mastodon address? I'm @bensturmfels@mastodon.social. Cheers! Ben

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Australian Online Safety Bill - Censorship, discrimination and a rushed process
by FSM Committee 22 Jun '21

22 Jun '21

Hey folks, It has been brought to my attention that the Australian Online Safety Bill is on the brink of being passed in the Senate despite opposition concerns, greens party objections, a needlessly rushed consultation period and general unease amongst the tech community. Here are a few useful and informative links about the topic: * Online Safety Bill 2021 - [Australian Parliament Website Status of the bill](https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r6680) * [Innovation Australia Article](https://www.innovationaus.com/why-the-rush-online-safety-bill-stil… - Good general summary * [The Conversation Article](https://theconversation.com/a-new-online-safety-bill-could-allow-c… - Focusing on censorship concerns * [ZDNet Article](https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-bias-and-discrimination-aplenty-a… - Focusing on discrimination concerns * [Digital Rights Watch](https://digitalrightswatch.org.au/2021/02/11/explainer-the-online-safety-bill/) - Additionally covers concerns for privacy and encryption If you can find the time please reach out to one of your representatives and email or call them about your concerns around censorship, discrimination, lack of oversight, lack of complaints mechanism and/or the rushed and quiet nature of the process and consultation. There is a "full" list of [members and senators here](https://gist.github.com/tennantje/8ee584d9c534ce6a57910668b277394d), but the process is up to the senate and we have included a list of particularly relevant senators here: * Senator Bridget McKenzie - senator.mckenzie(a)aph.gov.au (0354414251) * Senator Jane Hume - senator.hume(a)aph.gov.au (0392328820) * Senator Janet Rice - senator.rice(a)aph.gov.au (0393846199) * Senator the Hon Kim Carr - senator.carr(a)aph.gov.au (0396392798) * Ms Sarah Henderson - sarah.henderson.mp(a)aph.gov.au (0352431444) * Senator the Hon Scott Ryan - senator.ryan(a)aph.gov.au (0393261088) Or better yet you can find all the Victorian senate members and contact details [on the APH website](https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian_Search_Results?q=3000&sen=1&par=-1&gen=0&ps=12) and contact them through there. ~~ Ben

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FSM Jun 17th - Everyday Hardware for Free Software: Mobile Phones, Laptops, and more
by FSM Committee 12 Jun '21

12 Jun '21

Free Software is owned by its community of users and creators, for the benefit of that community, and of human society in general. Free Software respects the autonomy and privacy of its users — especially important in this age when so many companies base their business on control and surveillance of their customers. But all software runs on hardware, and similar considerations apply. In order to maintain control over our software we also need hardware devices that respect the autonomy and privacy of their users. This is a vast topic. My goal for this talk is more modest: A tour of some hardware that's friendly to Free Software, in the hope that you might learn about something you can use. My main focus will be on devices for everyday use: mobile phones, laptops, and single-board computers usable as desktop computers or as home servers, some of which I own and can therefore demonstrate live in the talk, and can speak of from my own experience. Devices I plan to talk about: Pinephone, Pinebook Pro, SOPINE A64 (from Pine64); Librem5 phone and Librem laptops (from Purism); Odroid-XU4, Odroid-H2+, Odroid Home Cloud devices (from HardKernel); Raspberry Pi 4; and possibly the MNT Reform laptop and GNUBee PC-1. Also, if you have some favorite privacy respecting or open hardware you would like to demonstrate or show off, you're welcome to join in at the meeting and do a brief lightning talk about it, especially if you have it at hand for show'n'tell. We look forward to seeing you at the online meeting! Details - Thursday,17th June 2021, 7:30pm-9:00pm - Join us at: https://meet.glasswings.com.au/b/fsm-iv6-tce-vpu - Short video intro to Big Blue Button (BBB): [https://www.y](https://www.yewtu.be/watch?v=uYYnryIM0Uw)[ewtu.be](https://w… - Meeting Tips: - Be sure to test your audio on the way in. - Your mic will be muted when you join the room. - Headsets are recommended to reduce any feedback. - Code of Conduct: https://freesoftware.org.au/code-of-conduct

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