cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/c/europe/p/2008921/dutch-government-secures-deal-with-european-cloud-platform-stackit

Hi all,

Im looking for a present. A while ago I bought a herb grower with automatic lighting and watering for in the kitchen from kickstarter. Something similar like aerogarden. Unfortunately it died twice and is hard to repair.

It’s a bit of a nice market I think, foremost could find Chinese crap. It should be friendly to the eye so i’m not really aiming for PVC DiY solution. If possible no apps and no proprietary “holders” required.

Any suggestions for the EU are more than welcome!

I have found some but not with low latency and high speed like Starlink, any suggestions?

Is there any alternative to codeberg.org for commercial projects? I know I can selfhost Forgejo, but Im asking about other options.

The privacy giant brings secure connections to Bolivia, Haiti, Jamaica, Paraguay, and Uruguay

This launch is particularly significant because it delivers vital privacy tools to regions that are historically underserved by the wider consumer cybersecurity industry.

Furthermore, these exit nodes provide a lifeline for citizens needing to bypass geo-blocks or securely access domestic banking services and news outlets when traveling abroad.

Gotta fun while supporting the union!

Hi,

for those who have Kindle at home and don't want to use Amazon's Infrastructure I prepared this blog post which describes how to jailbreak your Kindle and install open-source software on it :)

After you are done you will:

• have KOReader installed
• be able to load epub books into the Kindle via email
• create epub books from browser tabs

Post here: Kindle Jailbreak

I believe that if you already have Kindle laying around it could be beneficial to use it without Amazon software instead of buying Kobo/another alternatives.
Or course - don't buy a brand new Kindle just to do the jailbreak, you can invest your money to a different company

Celebrated musicians including Massive Attack, Kneecap, Brian Eno, Sigur Rós, Nadine Shah, and many more have signed an open letter calling for a boycott of the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest in protest of Israel’s participation.

Campaign groups No Music For Genocide and the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel are calling for a boycott of this year’s highly divisive Eurovision Song Contest.

More than 1,000 artists, including Massive Attack, Kneecap, Brian Eno, Sigur Rós, Nadine Shah, Mogwai and Hot Chip, have signed an open letter calling for a boycott of Eurovision 2026 in protest of Israel’s participation.

The letter calls upon the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to ban KAN – the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation – from the upcoming contest.

“For the third consecutive year,” the letter states, Israel will be “celebrated onstage despite its ongoing genocide in Gaza, while Russia remains banned for its illegal invasion of Ukraine.”

“We refuse to be silent when Israel’s genocidal violence soundtracks and silences Palestinian lives,” the letter reads. “When children in Israeli prisons endure beatings for humming a tune. When all that’s left of nearly every stage, studio, bookshop and university in Gaza is piles of rubble, under which slaughtered bodies still await recovery and proper burial.”

In a statement, a spokesperson for No Music For Genocide said: “People of conscience around the globe are fighting complicity in every industry for a free Palestine and a freer world. While many of us in the industry make light of Eurovision or doubt our own power as cultural producers, genocidal Israel’s leaders speak openly about the contest’s geopolitical value.”

Continue reading HERE

I currently have Spotify, mainly because I signed up a while ago and never really bothered to explore alternatives.

I pay €13 every month these days which I feel is quite a lot. I was already thinking of getting a few friends together and sharing a family plan, which would make it cheaper. But if I'm doing that I might as well take a proper look at my options.

What are some good, hopefully ethical, European alternatives? I know Spotify is from Sweden so good in that regard (?). Deezer is French, but also mostly owned by some American investment firm. If I can believe what I read they pay artist a bit more, which sounds like a good thing, but I don't want my money to mostly go to American investors...

Any advice is highly appreciated!

AWS denies ever having disclosed customer content stored outside the U.S. to the U.S. government in response to requests related to the CLOUD Act—at least for the past six years, “since we began tracking this data in 2020.”

That is no guarantee that it won’t happen eventually. Especially since Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and now executive chairman of the board, is now considered a “fanboy” of President Donald Trump.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Original German quote:

AWS bestreitet, jemals außerhalb der USA gespeicherten Kundeninhalte gegenüber der US-Regierung offengelegt zu haben, wenn es Anfragen erhalten hat, die sich auf den CLOUD Act bezogen – zumindest für die vergangenen sechs Jahre, „seit wir 2020 mit der statistischen Erfassung begonnen haben“.

Das ist keine Gewähr dafür, dass es nicht doch noch dazu kommt. Zumal Jeff Bezos, Gründer von Amazon und heute geschäftsführender Vorsitzender des Verwaltungsrats, inzwischen als „Fanboy“ von Präsident Donald Trump gilt.

De Nederlandsche Bank vermindert de afhankelijkheid van Amerikaanse techbedrijven door voor clouddiensten aan te kloppen bij het moederbedrijf van supermarktconcern Lidl.

Paris-based Mistral wanted to develop a top-tier AI model to rival OpenAI and Anthropic. That didn’t work out. But it turns out lots of folks don’t care if the AI is bleeding edge – as long as it wasn’t made in America or China.

Archived version

... [Cofounder and CEO of Mistral Arthur] Mensch’s vision for Mistral, and AI itself, can be summed up in one word: independence. Unlike its black-box Silicon Valley rivals, most of Mistral’s AI models are what techies call “open weight.” In this sort of open-source model, customers are free to get under the hood, customize the AI using their own data or download it for free to run offline (or from a laptop).

The message resonates. Old-school execs are spooked by the world-consuming rhetoric of OpenAI and Anthropic and the emerging threat of Chinese AI companies. Mensch’s talk of control and sovereignty is soothing, as is his pitch that Mistral will deploy engineers to set up and run the tech for them. Your data doesn’t even need to leave the office, let alone the country.

“We are really the only company that allows [building] core business automation and products on top of an open stack, and that is something that is valuable everywhere in the world,” says Mensch, 33, from Mistral’s offices in the trendy 10th arrondissement of Paris, as kids play soccer in the courtyard out back.

...

Jmem Technology Co (振生半導體), a Taiwan-based semiconductor cybersecurity solutions provider, on Friday opened an office in Brno, the second largest city in the Czech Republic.

Jmem Technology said it hoped Brno would become the company’s center of research and development (R&D) in Europe.

The opening ceremony was held at Brno University of Technology and was attended by several government officials from Taiwan and the Czech Republic as well as academic and industrial officials.

...

The ACDRC is a collaboration between Taiwan’s National Institute of Applied Research (NIAR) and the Czech Republic’s Cybersecurity Hub, a joint team comprising Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology and Czech Technical University.

...

It seems that Fairphone will finally end the Fairphone 3 (and 3+) support in August after 7 years.

I am still using my FP3+ daily - the only thing that has gone wrong with it was that I wore out the USB connector with cheap charging cables... so a new bottom connector (and a spare battery, just in case) and I'm all good again...

... which means, I might not be buying another phone for another couple of years yet, let's see if it'll make 10 years with LineageOS, etc!

I'm sure there's other phones still chugging along...

Here is the entire report: The resurgence of manufacturing: Reindustrialization of Europe and the US – 2026 (pdf)

...

The resurgence of manufacturing: Reindustrialization of Europe and the US – 2026, the third edition of the Capgemini Research Institute’s annual research, examines how organizations are reshaping manufacturing and supply chain strategies in an increasingly volatile global environment. Since 2024, repeated disruptions – from pandemic-related impacts and geopolitical conflict to rising energy challenges – have accelerated a shift from short-term cost efficiency toward resilience, sovereignty, and strategic control.

In 2026, nearly three-quarters of organizations have a reindustrialization strategy in place or under development. However, despite strong strategic intent, planned investments – outside highly strategic areas such as semiconductors and defense – have declined amid policy and tariff uncertainty, bleak economic climate, and tighter capital allocation.

...

The research draws on a survey of more than 1,200 senior executives across 13 sectors and 11 countries in Europe and the US, complemented by in-depth executive interviews.

Key findings include:

• European organizations are more inclined toward friendshoring [relocating part of the manufacturing/production/supplier base/service providers to countries that are geopolitical or trade allies of the organization's home country], with 64% using this approach. This preference is driven by elevated energy prices, higher labor costs, modest productivity growth, and complex, fragmented regulatory requirements within their domestic markets.

• Among non‑domestic locations, India, Vietnam, Mexico, and Canada are the top reindustrialization destinations. For example, 82% of surveyed organizations are either planning to expand or maintain investments in India. Most organizations are taking a pragmatic approach to China by rebalancing operations rather than exiting abruptly.

• Although 64% of organizations are maintaining or increasing investments in China (including for local/regional/global supply chains), organizations are strategically rebalancing operations with China depending on destination markets, and exploring different collaboration models to leverage scale, cost advantages, and innovation, while mitigating risk exposure. Also, the strategies vary by industry—for example, A&D prioritizes security and IP protection, while electronics and consumer goods pursue “China‑plus‑one” strategies.

• Technology, especially AI, act as a catalyst for reindustrialization. AI (including generative and agentic AI), automation, robotics, digital twins, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and edge computing can help tackle labor shortages and improve productivity, but also reduce time‑to‑market, enable flexible production lines, boost quality, and improve resilience. Production planning, supply‑chain risk modeling/scenario modeling, and workforce optimization are some of the high‑impact use cases of agentic AI in manufacturing.

• Organizations are setting up tech‑intensive greenfield factories in semiconductors, electronics, and electric vehicles (EVs). However, a shortage of skilled industrial and digital talent is a significant constraint on scaling reindustrialization.

...

Community energy has emerged as a quiet undercurrent in Estonia, but has yet to firmly establish itself in the broader energy debate. Still, a number of pioneering communities across the country have already taken control of their energy production and consumption. Aiming to replace fossil fuels with cleaner and more affordable alternatives, they have adopted practical solutions that combine local needs, renewable energy and cooperative collaboration.

...

The arrival of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. in Dresden, Germany, is set to change the city.

...

The company’s joint venture, European Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (ESMC), will be its first plant in Europe. The fab is scheduled to open by late 2027 and will produce 28-nanometer chips.

TSMC has already brought a few dozen Taiwanese employees and their families to Dresden, per Nikkei. About 2,000 employees and their families will eventually settle there for at least three years.

The figure will rise to about 15,000 when employees and families of ESMC suppliers of other nationalities are included.

...

Regarding the influx of Taiwanese employees, Dresden Mayor Dirk Hilbert said, “There are no organized protests against the project, and support within city committees is strong,” per Nikkei. “The influx of new residents is expected to significantly increase regional value creation and also strengthen other sectors such as skilled trades, thereby increasing overall purchasing power,” he added.

Kelly Su, president of the Taiwanese Business Association in Dresden, said TSMC’s relocation support differs greatly between its employees and those at smaller supplier companies,

...

Web Archive link

[Edit typo.]

Currently, we already have some companies that offer us privacy-focused products, such as Proton, Tutanota, Mullvad, and others, but a short while ago I found one that I've never seen anyone talk about called Ice Privacy. From what I've researched, they've been on this path since 2019 and currently have two services. The first is Ice Drive, a cloud drive that gives out 10GB for free (although I heard they reduced it to 3GB) and focuses on privacy, with features like end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication. They store your files with zero-knowledge encryption, and they also offer lifetime plans. The other product is Ice VPN. I admit I haven't researched this one as much, but from what I've seen, it's a VPN that promises to keep as little user data as possible (something like MullvadVPN), and the data they do obtain is stored with 256-bit encryption. Their company is located in Gibraltar (a British Overseas Territory located in Europe), which has good privacy laws. The point of this post is to ask you guys if you've ever heard of Ice Privacy? I understand that when it comes to privacy, it's good to choose companies that have been on the market for a long time and have the trust of their customers, but for a company to grow, someone needs to take the first step and use their products. I'm not saying we should just go out and use all their products and join the company's ecosystem, but rather that we should add it to our arsenal of defense weapons regarding privacy. The only thing I didn't find interesting is the fact that they don't have Mastodon accounts or a community on Lemmy, and although they have subreddits for IceDrive and IceVPN, they aren't mentioned on the company's website (that is, if they are actually official).

Knowing this information, will you give them a chance? If you've ever used any of their products, what did you think?

Links for those who want to know more about the company:

Company page: https://ice.gi/

IceDrive privacy policy: https://icedrive.net/legal/privacy-policy

IceVPN privacy policy: https://icevpn.com/legal/privacy-policy

I think this topic may belong here since he talks about issue with usa and their DMCA.

Let me know if i'm off topic :)

In december 2025, the author and activist Cory Doctorow @pluralistic@mamot.fr did a speech at the 39C3 called "post-American, enshittification-resistant internet"

He talks about AI, internet enshitification, anti-circumvention law. guilotine few technofascists...but he also talks about alliance and hope ! ✊

Here is the transcript : https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/01/39c3/#the-new-coalition

You can watch other of video from the chaos congress communication event here : https://media.ccc.de/