Mastodawn

John Mierau Jan 14

@metin I've reposted and starred but must comment on the fact this 'get away from US Tech ' list included a spreadsheet hosted on Google :)

Metin Seven 🎨Jan 14

@john Thanks for the boost. 👍 Yeah, I knew someone would come up with that. 😉 But as long as you don't enter anything, only read it and click some links, I guess Google won't harm you. 😉 Use a private browser window and/or VPN if you're hardcore. 🙂 But it's quite a comprehensive, useful list, so I'd like to keep it in my post.

xX_s3pt3mb3r_Xx Jan 14

@metin It‘s paradox that the OSS list above is shared with Google Docs and not with an european alternative 😉

@xxs3pt3mb3rxx https://graphics.social/@metin/115894861375325940 😉

Metin Seven 🎨Jan 14

@metin
https://www.goeuropean.org/

Justbeep Jan 14

Go European — Discover European products and services

Go European is a community-driven directory bringing you European products and services from across the continent.

Go European

Metin Seven 🎨Jan 14

@Justbeep Thanks! Added. 👍

jnpn Jan 14

@metin new challenge accepted

Diogo 🇪🇺Jan 14

@metin I moved from Github to a self-hosted Gitea instance that I self-host on OVH, a European cloud provider.

I also moved my .dev top-level domain from Google to EURid's .eu.

I'm very happy with these changes. I no longer have to put up with AI's obsession every time I did something on GitHub.

On top of that, I no longer use Cloudflare, and recently had to install Anubis (Web AI Firewall) to stop being attacked by AI Crawlers from openai and other Big Tech companies that were scanning all the commits on my Gitea (public repositories ofc).

#github #ovhcloud #eu #europe #eurid #gitea #aicrawler #cloudflare #selfhost #opensouce #privacy #firewall

Mike Spencer Jan 15

@diogop
Have you tried this EU DNS?
https://www.joindns4.eu/
@metin

Official site of the DNS4EU project

Join DNS4EU, an EU initiative providing secure, private, and reliable DNS services for users across Europe. Safeguard your online experience with DNS solutions that prioritise privacy, data protection, and compliance with EU standards. Explore DNS4EU for a safer internet.

Diogo 🇪🇺Jan 15

@mikerspencer @metin
I just tested it, and I didn't like the ping compared to quad9.

joindns4.eu = 400 - 700 ms
Quad9.net = 100 - 200 ms

I use Quad9 because it has servers spread across Europe, does not store logs, and is transparent.

Quad9 locations: https://quad9.net/service/locations/

The ping was tested with: https://dnscheck.tools/

Quad9 | A public and free DNS service for a better security and privacy

A public and free DNS service for a better security and privacy

Quad9

Mike Spencer Jan 15

@diogop
Nice, I'll add this to my list. Thanks!
@metin

EQ Jan 14

@metin How did you know we were just discussing de-americanize the phones? Thanks for the links!

adb Jan 14

@metin for chat app: #DeltaChat https://delta.chat

it is an encrypted, private, decentralized, multi-platform #chat app, with good multi-device and multi-profile support

with it you don't depend on a single server, all your data, chats and contacts live in your pocket, e2e encrypted, without depending on a particular server, you can easily migrate from server to server without losing any chat or groups!

it also has #offlineFirst in-chat mini-games and tools!

Delta Chat: Delta Chat, decentralized secure messenger

Delta Chat is a decentralized and secure messenger app 💬 Reliable instant messaging with multi-profile and multi-device support ⚡️ Sign up to secure and interoperable chatmail relays 🥳 Interactive ...

RC 🌳Jan 15

@adbenitez @metin you wrote a message about the fact that you use #deltachat for much more than messaging using webxdc mini apps

I think more should be written about workflows like that.

Quasit Jan 15

@metin

I'm concerned about European laws on digital ID, age verification, hate speech, and free speech. I wish there was SOMEWHERE that protected all those things but wasn't owned by a billionaire or a fascist corporation!

Ronny Lam Jan 16

@metin I don't know if the Google Doc is yours, but I copied it to Cryptpad. If you want you can further curate and share it from there. Or just ignore it ;-)
https://cryptpad.fr/pad/#/2/pad/edit/3tPYpALSRBVZ5od-0YfEKp+l/

Encrypted Rich text

CryptPad: end-to-end encrypted collaboration suite

Metin Seven 🎨Jan 16

@ronnylam Nice, thanks! I'll change the link in my post. 👍

Ronny Lam Jan 16

@metin You're welcome!

Jamoteusz Jan 16

@metin very important/interesting info, for openminded, not addicted to Biggest

@metin I find it weird that https://european-alternatives.eu doesn't have a category for creative software.

I'd suggest it to them, but then you need to create an account first 😿

European Alternatives

We help you find European alternatives for digital service and products, like cloud services and SaaS products.

European Alternatives

@sybren Good point. That's a bummer indeed. 🫤

@sybren @metin I have an account, I can suggest it to them. But TBH I think it might be better to be more specific. What is meant by creative software?

@metin @ejner1 Blender originated in NL, and Blender HQ is in Amsterdam, so I’d put Blender on the list. Krita is also based in NL. That’s the kind of creative software I was thinking about.

Thanks for the offer, appreciate it!

@ejner1 @sybren Thanks! I guess creative software would refer to any tool you can use for creation, such as graphics and music.

@metin @ejner1 yup, that's what I mean :)

https://blenderartists.org/t/adobe-autodesk-canva-maxon-alternatives/1522359

@sybren @ejner1 👍 You could have a look at this list for possible entries, though there are also non-European tools in the list:

Adobe / Autodesk / Canva / Maxon alternatives

Adobe, Affinity (Canva), Autodesk, Maxon and the like are all very commercial corporations, with pricy subscriptions and increasingly prominent (de)generative AI functionality. In case you want to have a look around for possible replacements, here’s a list of free or reasonably priced alternatives… 📅 Most recent edit: March 22 ➡ Latest additions are marked with 🆕 ↕ Order = alphabetical 🔠 3D creation / CAD 3D-Coat Blender 🐵 B...

Blender Artists Community

@sybren @metin I made a suggestion for a new category, "Film and Music Creation Software". There are 40+ suggested categories pending, so I think it will need some upvotes to make it to the actual pages.

@ejner1 @metin Is it necessary to get so specific? I mean, Blender is also used for 3D printing, medical visualisation, and pizza designing, just to name a few examples. It's definitely not limited to filmmaking.

@sybren @metin when suggesting a new category, the site guidelines say to be specific. E.g. "productivity software" is too vague.
Creativity software is also, IMHO too vague.

@ejner1 @metin Ok, fair enough.

@sybren @metin the site guidelines also require to mention examples both European and usian competitors. I wrote Blender, Krita, and as a competitor, Adobe (various products).
Maybe "graphics" should be added to the category title.
I did check the existing 43 category suggestions - there was nothing similar (surprisingly).

@ejner1 @metin 'Graphics' could be a good category for sure.

As for non-EU software in the same category, Procreate is from Australia. GIMP originates from the US, but as it's Open Source and developed by a wide range of developers, I don't know if it's fair to put it in the list as "from the USA".

@sybren @metin FOSS software should be fine in my view. By its very nature, it isn't bounded by any geographic limit. But I am not sure how the website sees that. TBH they look a bit too commercial-ish for my taste. (european- alternatives.eu I mean, not gimp 😄)

@ejner1 @metin Hahaha yeah nobody has ever described GIMP as "too commercial looking" 😹

@sybren @metin 🤣

@ejner1 @sybren Hahahah! 😆😆

And thanks for the pizza design tip, Sybren. I knew there were areas of Blender I hadn't touched yet. 😆

@metin @ejner1 that was a presentation at bcon a few years ago. They even have a “bake” button, to bake texture & shadow maps 😹

@sybren @ejner1 😆 Brilliant!

@ejner1 @metin btw, it looks like you set your language setting to Dansk, even when writing in English. I'm not bothered, but it might be something to keep an eye on, as it does mess with the 'Translate' link under each message.

@sybren @metin oh... I didn't know that. Thank you for the heads-up 😊

CmykStudent 1d ago

@sybren @ejner1 @metin The current maintainer of GIMP @zemarmot is based in Europe. I think the original American creators were around for only a few years before the community took over the project.

ZeMarmot

14h ago

@CmykStudent @sybren @ejner1 @metin Not only are we in Europe (France), our co-maintainer @mitchfoo is as well (Germany). We've been contributing since 2012. Mitch since 1997.
His own previous co-maintainer was also German AFAWK. I think that GIMP has been mainly developed in and led from Europe for a few decades now. Just the 3 of us, we account for over 50% of the number of commits in GIMP.

The main developer of GEGL/babl @pippin? Norway.

Anyone saying that GIMP is from the US is mistaken. 🤣

@CmykStudent @sybren @ejner1 @metin @mitchfoo @pippin

ZeMarmot

14h ago

As for the original authors, they stayed for 2 years then disappeared without a word AFAWK. From 1997 and onward, the software has been entirely community-led (and mostly in Europe, as we just showed).

Thanks for liberating their code through a license initially, but apart from this, thinking that just because these 2 people are originated from the US, it would make the whole software US-based is just funny. 😛

Simon 12h ago

@zemarmot @CmykStudent @sybren @ejner1 @metin @mitchfoo @pippin
Yosh (based in the US) has been maintainer of gimp for quite a while before the role moved to sven and mitch. That was way in the 2000's afair, I've met Yosh at several LGMs.
While I consider it wrong to label gimp as US based it is true that its origins were in the US and a lot of important contributions do originate there and shape Gimp to this very day.

It is a shame that this seems relevant.

@ejner1 @sybren @metin BLENDER!

@Feral_3D @ejner1 @sybren Haha. Category: Blender. Only entry: Blender! 😁

@metin @Feral_3D @ejner1 😹

@sybren @metin @ejner1 the first time I flew to Amsterdam, I was under the impression that everyone in NL knew what Blender was, and was super pumped about it..... imagine my disappointment 😞.

@Feral_3D @metin @ejner1 pfff for years I studied a few streets away from the previous location of Blender HQ, nobody mentioned it so I guess nobody knew.

@sybren @metin @ejner1 HOW! How does that happen?! Also I used to tell everyone about Ton and Blender in NYC. I naively thought that people cared about 3D as much as me. Turns out... not so much.

BUT then I start telling a molecular biologists and scientists..... and whooooo baby....

@Feral_3D @sybren @ejner1 When I was still a 3ds Max guy in the 2000s, I was intrigued by Blender, but the pre-2.5 UI didn't appeal to me.

Around the time 3ds Max went the subscription way (± 2012), Blender 2.5 with a revamped UI was released, and I jumped onto the Blender train. Never looked back. 👍

@metin @sybren @ejner1 yes! That's how I converted people at Marvel, the 2.5 update with vertical menus made the biggest difference, and the zip folder delivery.

You were what I used to call BI-curious.

@Feral_3D @sybren @ejner1 😁 BI… Sweet memories of the Blender Internal renderer. I still miss it sometimes. It was like a missing link between EEVEE and Cycles, and had its own distinctive look. 💚