And at the same time we have the Jugendmedienstaatsvertrag in Germany (and with Germany as a strong force in the EU most likely everywhere in the EU soon) that will make all operating systems without fully integrated age restrictions illegal https://www.heise.de/en/news/Minors-protection-State-leaders-mandate-filters-for-operating-systems-10199455.html
Manufacturers of operating systems must then ensure that “only apps that correspond to the age specification or that have been individually and securely activated can be used”. The installation of programs should only be possible via distribution platforms such as app stores that take the age rating into account and have an automated rating system recognized by the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM).
This part of the law alone is impossible to implement on a open platform like Linux.
Instrumenting a fascist society while pretending to protect children…
Yeah, as it is so often
Since it is impossible to implement on Linux, it may just be flagged as adult-only software.
But, there is still hope. What if Snaps and Flatpaks get properly flagged, allowing Ubuntu and/or Fedora to be legal?
Ok, but how to prevent programs installed as Appimage, by source compilation or just downloaded binaries from running? You need a way to prevent this methods of installation to be legal
This also applies to Windows. What prevents a user from downloading a Firefox fork that does not properly implement age verification?
This part of the law alone is impossible to implement on a open platform like Linux.
What makes you think they won’t simply make it illegal to use linux?
To make something illegal by law it is needed to have a valid reason for that law to exist. This is the case at least in every jurisdiction that has a somewhat functional separation of powers.
Due to this can’t just make it illegal to use Linux, but with a Law like the Jugendmedienstaatsvertrag it comes as a free bonus.
Hopefully this helps increase adoption. Maybe in a few years GNU+Linux will have 10% of the desktop operating systems market. Maybe even Wine won’t be necessary anymore except for legacy software.
I think that if Linux is to be more widely adopted a more easily used distro needs to become mainstream. Let’s face it, the average computer user barely knows how to use Windows, just because you find Linux easy doesn’t mean they will.
Do you think you could teach Linux to your grandmother?
Do you think you could teach Linux to your grandmother?
Yes. Set automatic package updates, Install firefox with ublock and put it on the taskbar, and bookmark Facebook and Youtube for her. It is the same thing as under Windows.
I would argue that for the most “tech illiterate” users the Linux experience can be made even easier than the windows experience, because you have to set up everything for them anyways.
Both of my grandmothers are dead, but I did teach my aunt to use Linux. She had a laptop that “ran” Windows 10. It would take 30 seconds to open the Start menu. One SSD, one RAM upgrade and one install of Mint later it’s a whole new machine. She can Firefox and Mahjongg just fine.
It can’t fail, unless MS pulls a monopoly stunt or bribe politicians… There’s only a win, by ditching MS…
The German state of Bavaria once did something in the direction of moving away from MS. When Microsoft put their German headquarters into Munich the idea was scraped.
Actually, most of them already do have deals for a limited time. Skype is still available; they needed a new contract since teams does not work without communicating with Microsoft.
OTOH most things they do is via webclient.
If Microsoft was to release a mandatory update that has a single thing that required it to communicate with the organization, by law the whole governmental EU would not be able to use it.
They try this every 5 years or so. Microsoft gives them some short term discounts and they come running back back.
Yeah, I remember reading headlines like this in Linux websites back in 2014…
They didn’t just give them a discount, and it was only a very small part of Europe you are talking about. It was Munich, and MS also moved a lot of workplaces to the city, to bribe it…
It’s different this time around.
The previous attempts were about freeing themselves from an abusive unprincipled data-hungry big data monopoly,
This attempt is about freeing themselves from an abusive unprincipled data-hungry big data monopoly operating in a fascist country and in cahoots with the regime.
I reckon it’s serious this time.
Hell, I’m in Silicon Valley here in California, and some of my friends are also jumping off the proprietary ship because those large firms are willing to work hand in hand with federal agencies.
If you’ve read the NSA document disclosures by Edward Snowden, it’s apparent that there is an open door for data requests. The current administration isn’t a huge fan of California’s diversity, so we might as minimize our chances of being targetted…
People are serious, I’ve never seen so many new users in the Linux groups I’m in
Linux Mint?
That might not be so much down to how serious people are but rather just how good Linux has gotten lately (especially for games). Although I do think people are more serious now.
Life long windows user. I switched to Arch a few months ago and I’m not looking back. Will only be using windows in a sandboxed VM if absolutely necessary. Which, I haven’t needed to yet.
Life long windows user. I switched to Arch
Fuck. That’s like going straight from English breakfast tea to hash oil.
I’ve been using Linux almost exclusively both in my personal and professional life for a decade and a half. I only installed Arch a month or two ago.
Installing Arch might be a hassle, I tried it once and couldn’t figure it out so a kept on using Ubuntu and its derivatives. But when I got a Steam Deck I found Steam OS to be easy and the Arch documentation to be thorough and useful.
Other countries like that and Europe deals with are: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Russia and of course, China.
[Some*] Europeans just can’t get over their Arab and Muslim-hate despite neither Qatar nor Saudi Arabia posing any threat to Europe and actually being good trading partners. No tariffs, no restrictions, no unfair competition. They adopt many European standards and are a huge market for European goods and services. Yet still the hate is constantly being peddled.
* hopefully a minority but the hate seems to be universal regardless of the political leaning.
Are they democracies? No. Do they respect human rights? Also no.
I don’t care as much about them as I care about pointing out the hypocrisy of my people. I have a thing against islam but that has nothing to do with this conversation.
The digital dependence on the US is much like the energy dependence on Russia.
Europe is ditching Russian energy. They may ditch US tech.
God I hope so because I would love to move to Europe as a skilled developer.
I don’t know about the whole Europe but Spain is buying more energy from Russia than before the war and sanctions.
Don’t get me wrong, I hope that would be the case but Europe is also Corporativist.
Is it more? I know Spain is still buying some LNG from Russia, but i would have thought the amount went down, not up.
As they article points out it’s all maskerading by the fact that they heavily increased the import in 2023 and now is “reduced”
Thank you for the article. It brought up something quite interesting that i wasn’t aware off before:
But why does Spain rely so heavily on Russia despite the almost global disapproval? The answer lies in this country’s extensive regasification capacity, which stands at 67.1 bcm - the largest in all of Europe. This enables Spain to receive LNG shipments on behalf of other countries that lack the necessary infrastructure, making it a critical hub for European energy trade.
looking a bit into it i found this article:
https://rbac.com/spains-role-as-a-natural-gas-importer-and-re-exporter/
So it seems that Spain is also taking the flak here for other EU countries that want to profit from Russian gas but not be directly associated with it.
capitalist*
thats how its called.
The European Union regulates the market so much it’s hard to call it capitalism, the biggest european companies are basically EU projects like Airbus (every government funds it) or too big too fail like Siemens and/or they would use: “strategic industry” and be done with it.
Edit oh and I almost forgot it, or they are like Inditex, basically not European it’s just an European getting rich while exploiting poor people all around the world, but I think this is actually capitalism and that guy isn’t exactly appreciated by ruling dictator, I mean party, in Spain.
deregulation is not the same thing as capitalism.
I’m putting my money on the EU becoming just as openly Fascistic as the US and sticking with Microsoft.
While the former seems to be the obvious trend and Europe has historically leaned towards it. I don’t see how one results in the other. Whether they stick with Microsoft or not is more economical than political.
People are downvoting you, but they’re too scared to actually argue against it. I’m obviously hoping this isn’t the case, but you’d be sticking your head in the sand if you said there was no chance of it happening.
We’re already seeing a massive surge of the far right in Europe. Giant media blitzes on social media such as Twitter shoving far right content in their faces.
I wouldn’t be so sure this time around.
The world is a big uncertainly and the force in Europe for digital sovereignty is something I never seen before.
The initiative to protect Europes boarders and data information is justified.
Did you see the NATO conference? The EU is grovelling for the US. If Microsoft tells them to jump they will say how high
Have you considered that the EU might have lied to Trump?
Have you considered that the EU might have lied to you? https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-defence-firms-chase-european-military-spending-wave-2025-06-18
Talk is cheap. They may say anything to buy time as they make deals between the EU, Canada, and Japan that exclude the US.
Good F#$%^ riddance.
I am all for ditching Microsoft, but why should this post be in this community? There are also Android, Mac OS, and all kinds of BSD.
None of what you listed is a viable alternative for a myriad of reasons. Only GNU+Linux can replace Windows.
- Android: a mobile OS first and foremost with very limited usability as a general purpose desktop operating system.
- MacOS: hardware from one vendor only.
- *BSD: more niche with even lesser support than GNU+Linux.
In the video, he talks about examples of European governments specifically switching to Linux, like a police station using an Ubuntu based distro, and foss software like LibreOffice. I don’t think android, Mac or BSD are mentioned.
Fair enough. I didn’t watch the video.
