#FollowFriday on Mastodon: E-mail providers and search engines

— Posted inProductivity, Software, Technology — 2 min read

The tradition is a popular social media practice that has spread to various platforms, including Mastodon. The idea of recommending interesting accounts to follow every Friday started on Twitter in 2009. You can use the hashtag or just . This idea quickly became popular and spread to other social media platforms, including Mastodon it isn’t different.

Our posts are a great way to suggest people follow great companies, non-profits, founders and open-source projects that have created and built brilliant European alternatives to foreign products and services.

We propose a new theme on a weekly basis, and to that effect here is a list of accounts to be followed on Mastodon for those interested in email providers and search engines:

✉️ E-mail providers:

1- Tuta @Tutanota 🇩🇪
2- Iroco @iroco 🇫🇷
3- Runbox @runbox 🇳🇴
4- Mailbox.org @mailbox_org 🇩🇪
5- Eclipso @eclipso 🇩🇪
6- StartMail @startmail 🇳🇱 🇺🇸
7- Mailo @hellomailo 🇫🇷
8- Hostpoint @hostpoint 🇨🇭
9- Proton @protonprivacy 🇨🇭
10- Mailfence @mailfence 🇧🇪

🔎 Search engines:

1- MetaGer @MetaGer
2- Swisscows @Swisscows 🇨🇭
3- Leta (by Mullvad) @mullvadnet 🇸🇪
4- Marginalia @marginalia 🇸🇪
5- ZoTop (by Zaclys) @zaclys 🇫🇷
6- Monocles @monocles 🇩🇪
7- Startpage @StartpageSearch 🇳🇱 🇺🇸
8- OohDirectory @OohDirectory 🇬🇧
9- Feedle @feedle 🇩🇪 (blogs and podcasts)
10- Mojeek @Mojeek 🇬🇧
11- Qwant @Qwant 🇫🇷 (inactive)

Why European-Made Fashion Matters

— Posted inClothing, Fashion — 1 min read

Main points:

– Quality and Craftsmanship
– Stringent Regulations
– Shorter Supply Chains
– Reduced Carbon Footprint
– Sustainable Practices
– Support for Local Ecosystems
– Fair Labor Practices
– Economic Support for Local Communities
– Consumer Transparency
– Ethical Treatment of Animals
– Reduction in Harmful Practices
– Promotion of Sustainable Alternatives

“By choosing locally made fashion, you can enjoy stylish, high-quality products while contributing to a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry. European production sets a high standard, showcasing how fashion can be both beautiful and responsible.”

Read full article:

https://eurocraftsmanship.com/why-european-made-fashion-matters
#BuyFromEU #BuyEuropean #Europe #Fashion

Joplin, the note-taking and to-do European and open source application

— Posted inProductivity, Software — 2 min read

Joplin is a free, open source note-taking and to-do application, which can handle a large number of notes organised into notebooks. You can search your notes, copy them, tag them and modify them either from the app itself or from your own text editor. The notes are in Markdown format, which is great.

It was created by Laurent Cozic 🇫🇷, back in 2016 as an alternative to Evernote. Its cloud service is hosted in Paris, France. They focus on privacy, security and transparency.

It’s open source and offline-first, so you can always access your data on the device, even when you’re not connected to the internet.

It’s got all the basics you’d expect, and you can also attach images, videos, audio files and PDFs to your notebooks.

There’s a huge community of people who have made extra features possible with their plugins.

It’s also super easy to export and import your files, which is great if you’re worried about vendor lock-in.

The handy web clipper extension lets you save web pages or take screenshots in the browser and save them to your notes.

We found a really interesting interview with Laurent Cozic about the product philosophy behind Joplin, where he talks about why he chose to make Joplin open source, the focus on privacy and security, and what the future might hold for Joplin.

He also talks about how he uses Joplin for work and for personal use, and he has some recommendations for people who are just starting out with it.

You can read the interview here:

https://nesslabs.com/joplin-featured-tool

A last thing… Laurent works a lot on this project, and… for free! 👏

So if you’d like to send a donation to the project, you can do so here: https://joplinapp.org/donate (they accept Bank Transfer, PayPal, Patreon, Liberaply and Github Sponsor).

…or you can consider rating the app on Google Play or App Store. 🙂

Check all the features in their website:
https://joplinapp.org

Follow them on Mastodon: @joplinapp

Warrant Canary: How Norwegian cloud provider Jottacloud handles secret warrants

— Posted inLegal, Privacy, Technology — 2 min read

We read the transparency report of Jottacloud 🇳🇴 (@jottacloud), a Norwegian cloud provider, where they explain how they handle government requests for users’ data. If you don’t know what a “Warrant Canary” is, keep reading!

In Norway, the gov can issue warrants for the search and seizure of customers data and it can also stop the company from telling its users about this. (secret warrants)

So, what does Jottacloud do in these cases?

1- They need a special court order (warrant) before they can hand over user data to the gov.
2- If they do get one, they’ll let the user know, unless they’re not allowed to.
3- If the gov asks them to keep it secret (“gag order”), Jottacloud uses something called a Warrant Canary.

What is a Warrant Canary?

It’s a way for a service provider to tell its users that it’s been served with a government subpoena, even though they’re not allowed to reveal it.

It’s like a warning sign. Jottacloud puts out a statement every week that’s timestamped and signed with their private key to verify its authenticity, meaning that “everything’s fine”. If they stop updating that statement, it might mean they’ve received a gag order and can’t tell the user about it.

They want to be open with users, but also follow the law.

You can read more about it on their Transparency page:
https://jottacloud.com/en/transparency

Wikipedia: Warrant Canary

The 15 Best Self-Hosted Photo Management Apps

— Posted inPhotography, Software, Technology — 1 min read

The 15 Best Self-Hosted Photo Management Apps (Ditch Google and iCloud Photos) (2024)

15 self-hosted photo management apps that prioritize your privacy and give you control over your photos and metadata.

Good article by @xtom!

https://xtom.com/blog/self-hosted-photo-management-apps-ditch-google-icloud-photos/

European search engines

— Posted inSearch Engines — 1 min read

🔎

Czech Republic 🇨🇿
Seznamcz https://www.seznam.cz

France 🇫🇷
Qwant https://www.qwant.com
Karma https://karmasearch.org
Lilo https://www.lilo.org
ZoTop https://zotop.fr

Germany 🇩🇪
Ecosia https://www.ecosia.org
Metager https://metager.org
GoodSearch https://good-search.org
Fireball https://fireball.com
Ghostery https://ghosterysearch.com
Monocles https://monocles.eu

Scandinavia 🇸🇪🇩🇰
Leta https://leta.mullvad.net
Marginalia https://marginalia-search.com
Stract https://stract.com

Switzerland 🇨🇭
Swisscows https://www.swisscows.com
Etools https://www.etools.ch

UK 🇬🇧
Mojeek https://www.mojeek.com
Oscobo https://www.oscobo.com

De-google-ify Internet by Framasoft

— Posted inProductivity, Software, Technology — 1 min read

Amazing campaign by the French not-for-profit association Framasoft.

The De-google-ify Internet project offers 26 ethical and alternative online tools that may be used by everyone.

They build open source alternatives to many Google services like Youtube, Agenda, Docs, Forms, Maps etc, as well other services to replace Doodle, Facebook Event, Github, Zoom, Slack and much more!

Check their beautiful website, watch the videos to know more about their work and follow them in Mastodon:

@Framasoft

https://degooglisons-internet.org/

Exploring European Digital Products and Services Alternatives

— Posted inUncategorized — 2 min read

In today’s interconnected world, digital products and services have become integral to our daily lives. While many popular digital solutions originate from the United States and China, there is a growing interest in exploring alternatives from other regions, particularly Europe.

Exploring non-US digital alternatives can offer numerous benefits, including enhanced data privacy, local compliance, and support for local economies. Whether you’re looking for cloud services, web analytics, email providers, or domain registrars, there are plenty of European alternatives to consider. By making informed choices, you can ensure that your digital needs are met while aligning with your values.

As individuals and organizations become more aware of the implications of relying heavily on foreign tech giants, the desire to regain control over data and digital infrastructure has grown. Digital sovereignty emphasizes the importance of having local control over digital services, ensuring that data is protected under local laws and regulations, and reducing dependency on external entities.

The growing awareness of data privacy and the importance of supporting local economies has led many individuals to create and publish indexes of European alternatives to popular US-based digital products and services. These indexes serve as valuable resources for those seeking to reduce their reliance on US tech giants and empower users to make choices that align with their values and contribute to the strengthening of local digital ecosystems.

This shift not only enhances data privacy and security but also fosters innovation and economic growth within Europe.

Here are some notable indexes and resources that list European alternatives:

#EuropeanAlternatives #EUTech #DigitalSovereignty #Europe #SupportEurope #BuyFromEU