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

Is Steemit Free/Libre?
by Andri Effendi 27 Mar '18

27 Mar '18

Hi Freedom lovers, I was wondering if someone could confirm whether the crypto/blockchain based social network “steemit.com <http://steemit.com/>” is Free Software? Is this a recommended platform for Free Software folks? And d.tube is supposedly a decentralised and blockchain based alternative/replacement for youtube. dtube is also connected to steemit. Is Dtube Free/Libre also? And does this community recommend it? What are your thoughts of this platform? Kind Regards, -- Andri Effendi <fusionman133(a)gmx.de <mailto:fusionman133@gmx.de>> Organiser of the Free Software Movement in Sydney GPG fingerprint: 8438 138D ECDA 05E0 591F F2B4 4721 0F03 AC24 DF73 Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed on emails sent or received unencrypted. Learn to encrypt your email: https://emailselfdefense.fsf.org/en/windows.html <https://emailselfdefense.fsf.org/en/windows.html>

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March Meetup - Libre Games Night! 6:30pm Thursday 15th March 2018
by Michael Verrenkamp 11 Mar '18

11 Mar '18

Computer games are great fun! What can make them even better is when they are free as in freedom! Games that have the potential to be changed in anyway you and your friends wish. Because it is fun, this month’s meet-up we will be going over and playing games that treat you right. If you have no idea what is out there then come a long and there might be something you like. If you know of something that others would be interested in then come along and enlighten us. Doors open at 6pm with the main event starting at 6:30pm and dinner to follow in North Melbourne after 8:30 pm. All are welcome. Thursday 15th March, 2018 6:30-8:30pm Electron Workshop - 31 Arden St, North Melbourne, Victoria, 3051 Map: http://osm.org/go/uG4HWyqEz?m=&node=2556615434 Travel tips by Electron Workshop: http://www.electronworkshop.com.au/map/ Running late or can't find us? Call 0419 390 496

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Tommorrow is the Day of Action to Block Repeal of Net Neutrality
by PuZZleDucK 26 Feb '18

26 Feb '18

Hi all, Thanks again to Tatiana for talking about the outcomes of "Code for Victoria 2" at our February meetup and giving us a demonstration of her teams project and the usage of Poppler (https://poppler.freedesktop.org) The Gnews presentation is also available at https://free-software-melbourne.github.io/Gnews-2018-February/ In particular I wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow (Tuesday the 27th) is the planned "Day of Action to Block Repeal of Net Neutrality". Please find below lots of resources related to the event. In particular a sample social media post you can just cut and paste to have your say along with some fun graphics to make it pop :D. There are also links to alternatives endorsed by the main site Sample Post: We deserve equal access to the Internet and we’re just #OneMoreVote away from winning the #NetNeutrality CRA vote in the Senate. Take action now: battleforthenet.com Attach an image to give your post impact: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yKpC8DN33NoO9irUYSyHuI3fWvKiN009 https://www.battleforthenet.com/images/internet-weird.png Main Site: https://www.battleforthenet.com/ Hashtag: #OneMoreVote Alternative Promo Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1UQ8wUVRWiBH5flPAffbk2WNgmycMS2s6 Alternative Messages: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N154Y3kslZN6HxOvbbYjYWd6KlQdyapyZoAkalR… Have a good week and don't forget to help save the internet (again) tomorrow! ~~ Ben

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February meetup - Rending PDFs into Text/HTML and Gnews
by Michael Verrenkamp 11 Feb '18

11 Feb '18

Hey there freedom lovers, It is that time of the month again where we get together to discuss all things digital freedom. This month Tatiana Lenz is going to be talking about her experience as a Fellow with Code for Australia, working within the Victorian State Government's digital innovation program "Code for Victoria II - Women in Tech." Tatiana will touch on a couple of things:- the idea of civic tech, the inclusion program that was specifically aimed at recruiting women, building capability and empathy within the Public Service and the use of FOSS software. Technically Tatiana will walk through the solution the team came up with, using free software, for rendering PDFs into text and HTML in order to make them accessible. There will also be the usual Gnews of the month followed by dinner and discussion at KL Bunga Raya after the event Doors open at 6pm with the main event starting at 6:30pm and dinner to follow in North Melbourne after 8:30 pm. All are welcome. Thursday 15th February, 2018 6:30-8:30pm Electron Workshop - 31 Arden St, North Melbourne, Victoria, 3051 Map: http://osm.org/go/uG4HWyqEz?m=&node=2556615434 Travel tips by Electron Workshop: http://www.electronworkshop.com.au/map/ Running late or can't find us? Call 0419 390 496

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F-Droid App Recomendations
by PuZZleDucK 06 Feb '18

06 Feb '18

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An intro to F-Droid - Show and Tell
by Michael Verrenkamp 14 Jan '18

14 Jan '18

Hey there freedom folks, happy GNU year to you all! The education and support of software freedom continues. Typically we think of computer software only on Desktop and Laptop computers, in our community this typically means GNU/Linux. But we also use mobile devices where security and privacy are just as important. While Android is built on a base of free software, most phone comes preloaded with lots of non-free applications. Typically these are from Google and its app store. To that end, the community has developed a free software alternative called F-Droid (https://f-droid.org/) which distrobutes only free software applications. Media playback, business applications, graphics and games – there is something for everyone on F-Droid that respects your freedoms. This month we will show you why you should choose this software over the non-free programs, how to install and use F-Droid and include some application recommendations to get you on your way. All questions are welcome as we can help out with any issues. There will also be the usual Gnews segment and afterwards will be dinner at a local restaurant where the conversation can continue. This is a non technical event and everyone is invited to join us. Event starts at 6:30PM Thursday 18th January at Electron Workshop – 31 Arden Street, North Melbourne. Hope to see you there!

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FSM 21st Dec - FSM at Meetup Mixup Melbourne
by PuZZleDucK 14 Dec '17

14 Dec '17

Ho ho ho Freedom Lovers It's almost time for Christmas, but before then we'll meetup one last time to talk about all things freedom and open source. This year our meetup is by chance on the same night as the Meetup Mixup Melbourne, and we thought it might be fun to join the community for a celebration and a bit of Christmas cheer. So join us Thursday the 21st of December from 6:00 pm at the Loop Bar. Tickets booked in advance are only $8.80 (or $10.00 at the door). We'll try to set up a table with FSM signage so we'll be super easy to find. Looking forward to seeing you all there! Event details Thursday 21st Dec, 6:00-late LOOP Project Space & Bar, 23 Meyers Place Map: https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/2689166177 Event link: https://melbourne.meetupmixup.com/

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FSM 16th Nov - Free Software Show and Tell
by Ben M 12 Nov '17

12 Nov '17

Hi Software Freedom Lovers It's November! and that's the time of the year when we look back and think about the Free Software that has improved our lives and given us all so much joy thorough the year. So join us this Thursday at Electron Workshop for our "Free Software Show and Tell" where we'll go round the group and each talk for a few minutes about the Free and Open Source Software that has made a difference for us this year. It can be something you've just heard about and it sparked your interest or something you've come to rely upon day in and day out. At 6:30 we'll will kick it off with our regular Gnews segment to get our tongues flapping and then we'll get stuck into the show and tells. We'll end the evening with pizza at Electron Workshop for dinner (vegetarians catered for, celiacs/others ping me and we'll arrange something) I learned a few new tricks last year at the Show and Tell and it's always a fun night. Looking forward to seeing you all there! Event details Thursday 16th Nov, 6:30-8:00pm 31 Arden St, North Melbourne, Victoria, 3051 Map: http://osm.org/go/uG4HWyqEz?m=&node=2556615434 Travel tips by Electron Workshop: http://www.electronworkshop.com.au/map/

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Re: [free-software-melb] MINIX 3 in IME
by Michael Verrenkamp 08 Nov '17

08 Nov '17

This is finally starting to get a lot of attention in the technology field but these issue have yet to be exposed to the larger population. I fear that by the time the average person starts to pay attention is once it is being used for attacks in the wild. Then it will be too late. Seeing big companies trying to disable ME and the existence of a kill switch on the platform for big customers is somewhat of a smoking gun meaning even they do not trust it. Next few months are going to be interesting especially now that Black hat folks are figure out how to run arbitrary code on the thing. -Michael On 8/11/2017 11:00 PM, free-software-melb-request(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au wrote: > MINIX 3 in IME --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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MINIX based Intel Management Engine Firmware & UEFI are Closed Source & Insecure, NERF to the Rescue!
by Andrew McGlashan 08 Nov '17

08 Nov '17

Hi, Here is the Google guy talking about all of this, quite an interesting talk (slides and video available). https://www.cnx-software.com/2017/11/07/minix-based-intel-management-engine… Cheers A.

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