Notices by Beardy Star Stuff 🏴🌹🇵🇸 (dennyhenke@social.coop), page 3

An excellent but brief overview of the history of ODF. Well worth watching if you're interested in #freesoftware but unfamiliar with with this bit of history.

"A silent war has shaped the digital world: ODF vs OOXML. From the rise of OpenOffice.org and #LibreOffice to Microsoft’s controversial standardization of OOXML, this video tells the untold story of control, freedom, and the future of digital documents."

#Microsoft #BigTech #Computing

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dgxhn3bCD58

From my morning bike ride.

#BikeTooter #cycling

I got a start in upgrading 7 donated laptops. 4 are done. GNU/Linux Mint with Xfce desktop installed in about 30 minutes per computer. Another 10-15 minutes to run updates. Specs: 4 to 8GB of memory, hard drives (rather than SSDs). Instead of being recycled they are ready for continued use. Totally usable for day-to-day general use. Anyone can do this kind of direct action, community mutual aid that conserves energy and resources.

#GNU #Linux #Endof10 #MutualAid #Computing #Tech #Climate

@WarnerCrocker That's not fall, that's heat stress. We see the same thing here in Missouri every August.

Originally published on my blog in early July, happy to have it republished today.

"My own journey into free software began with my ethics. It was, and is, deeply personal but simultaneously connected to my understanding of the larger world I am a part of. I’ve long believed and argued to those around me that what we do as individuals matters. We are not helpless, we are not without power in our world."

#Computing #FreeSoftware #GNU #Linux #Apple #Microsoft #Google

https://www.both.org/?p=11421

@WarnerCrocker Great post Warner.

I'm so deeply disgusted but not surprised. We've all come to associate MAGA with the red hat, but it's time we start thinking of them in terms of Nazi arm bands. That's the cold, bone-chilling truth of it.

Nazis empowered by daily privacy invading data tracking.

With this boot-licking stunt, Tim Cook might as well have worn such an arm band to his photo-op and may as well fly the flag out front of Apple HQ.

#Apple #Fascism #Nazi #TimCook #America #Google

Leftist, anti-fascist activists have got to begin making more of an effort to educate themselves about the spyware capitalist tech that they insist on continuing to use. From Substack, gmail, twitter, facebook to youtube, etc. At least make the effort to use and encourage others to use the alternatives. Make an active effort to migrate away from the spyware to the free/libre alternatives that respect users, privacy and democracy. It's an UPGRADE.

#AntiFascism #Democracy #Resist #FreeSoftware

@aral Yeah, it's a very strange place. Interesting that it's "open" in the sense that it supports ActivityPub. But within the space itself, the micro.blog timeline, it feels like a gated community. Searching does not work because the search function only finds posts that have been featured on the Discover feed and that's curated by Manton or someone given his approval. No politics or anything beyond the safest most vanilla posts will ever be found there.

It's been awhile but I poked my head in to have a look at Micro.blog's Discover page and I'm so glad that there is a safe space for mostly white upper middle class men to share about their lives.

A carefully curated timeline with no harsh reality intruding. Why concern yourself with a climate emergency, genocide, fascism?

Talk about a sanitized version of reality.

https://micro.blog/discover

This guy is a hero.

#Enshitification #Capitalism #FreeSoftware #DirectAction
#DigitalRestrictionsManagement

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RwSkwh3nWv8

Nature finds a way, always. These three mushrooms, Ruby Bolete, Hortiboletus rubellus, found a seam between two concrete blocks to grow from.

#Fungi #Mushroom #Nature

Whatever OS you’re currently using, Mac, Windows or GNU/Linux, there is a large ecosystem of free/libre software for you to tap into when you’re ready to get started. Every proprietary app you can replace is more control you have over your computing than you had before. In a world of oligarchs and corporate giants it may seem like our personal decisions and actions are unimportant, that our ability to have an impact are...
#Apple #Microsoft #GNU #Linux
#FreeSoftware

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-07-20.html

Apple to GNU/Linux Journal: Food and exercise tracking with LibreOffice Calc

Transitioning my health tracking from proprietary apps on Apple devices to Free Software on GNU+Linux has proven fairly easy. The result is a simple spreadsheet that is private, future-proof, easy to update and back-up.

#Apple #Computing #Health #Fitness #FreeSoftware #GNU + #Linux #LibreOffice

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-07-17.html

Richard Stallman ruined my computing. I want to thank him for it.

When I moved my computing to GNU+Linux in February I still didn’t have a clue about the change of thinking that was coming for me in the next six months. And, frankly, I’ve got Richard Stallman to thank for that. Once I began tapping into his many articles and speeches, my entire understanding of my personal computing shifted to the degree...

#Apple #Google #Computing #FSF #FreeSoftware #GNU + #Linux

https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-07-15.html

Like a lot of nerds I've always had a "Uses/My set-up" page on my site. I'm embarrassed that it hadn't occurred to me that I should also have the opposite. I've set up a "Boycotts" page where I've documented the details of the companies, products and in some cases, categories of products, that I avoid or refuse to buy because they cause harm to my fellow humans and planetary ecosystems.

Ethics should play a role in what we use.
#democracy #ethics #climate #technology
https://beardystarstuff.net/boycott.html

@libreoffice
Found the answer on this thread.
"Eventually I realised that, after copying and pasting the array formula, I should have pressed ‘Ctrl+Shift+Enter’ instead of just ‘Enter’. Talk about obscure input requirements. I don’t see why ‘Enter’ wouldn’t be sufficient."

Explanation:
"Array/matrix mode formulas calculate differently than in “normal” mode."

Thanks to @efialto for your attempt to help me!

#LibreOffice

https://ask.libreoffice.org/t/copy-formula-not-working/24756

Okay, entering formulas into LibreOffice Calc fails way too often. I never know if it's going to work.

- I make a new row. Sometimes I can copy a formula from the previous row and paste in and it works. Other times, no.
- It didn't work today so I tried manually entering in formula. It just shows the formula in the cell but does not calculate the result.
- Delete row, try a new row.
- Confirm that formula is correct multiple times.

What incantation am I missing?

#LibreOffice @libreoffice

@efialto Nope, that was corrected. That's not the problem. Even typing in a formula from scratch does not work. What's weird is that I don't get an error of any kind, it just shows the formula in the cell as though it was text and not a formula.

@efialto Yeah, it's so strange. Format is set to text. It's just a lookup to another sheet. Exact same formula as the row that works but adjusted for different reference.

The act of editing it in the formula field somehow seems to change it from a formula to text. I can enter into a row with functioning formula in a cell, and any edit, even just deleting and retyping a ")" at the end of formula somehow stops the formula from working when I stop editing.

@libreoffice

@ark74 ❤️ 😍 ❤️