[websites/eco-kde-org/blog] content/blog: blog post for RC collaborations
Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss <[email protected]>
| Newsgroups | gmane.comp.kde.cvs |
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Git commit 2f0e9714e693788ba5d84697d28aad3d4dc2ae43 by Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss. Committed on 21/07/2026 at 17:28. Pushed by joseph into branch 'blog'. blog post for RC collaborations A +113 -0 content/blog/2026-07-22-opt-green-end-part-i-repair-cafes.md A +- -- content/blog/images/2026-07-22-ad-werde.png A +- -- content/blog/images/2026-07-22-foss-instead-of-toss.png A +- -- content/blog/images/2026-07-22-hip-info-stand.jpg https://invent.kde.org/websites/eco-kde-org/-/commit/2f0e9714e693788ba5d84697d28aad3d4dc2ae43 diff --git a/content/blog/2026-07-22-opt-green-end-part-i-repair-cafes.md b/content/blog/2026-07-22-opt-green-end-part-i-repair-cafes.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b7ddc38 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2026-07-22-opt-green-end-part-i-repair-cafes.md @@ -0,0 +1,113 @@ +--- +date: 2026-07-22 +title: "Opt Green Has Ended. Long Live Opt Green!" +subtitle: "Part I: Repair Cafés" +categories: [Opt Green, Repair] +author: Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss +summary: "The Opt Green project has come to an end. This blog post takes a closer look at two campaign activities which will have impacts well beyond the project's end. This is Part I." +featured: true +thumbnail: /blog/thumbnails/blog-opt-green-optimized.png +SPDX-License-Identifier: CC-BY-SA-4.0 +authors: +- SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2026 Joseph P. De Veaugh-Geiss <[email protected]> +--- + +As May came to an end, so did the "Opt Green: Sustainable Software For Sustainable Hardware" (German: *Nachhaltige Software Für Nachhaltige Hardware*) project. Read the [announcement](https://eco.kde.org/blog/2024-05-29_introducing-ns4nh/) from 2024 at the project's start. + [suppressed due to size limit] + +{{< container class="text-center" >}} + + license. Design by Anita Sengupta.)](/blog/images/2026-07-22_ad-werde.png) + +{{< /container >}} + +Here I will not attempt to write a retrospective of everything the project did. (The links included above are just to provide some examples.) Instead, this post, published in two parts, will focus on just two aspects of the project. These, I believe, will result in the project's main goals not only continuing, but thriving well beyond 2026. + +In Part I, I will present Opt Green's activities in networking and collaborating with Repair Cafés. + +In Part II, to be published soon, I will take a closer look at the End Of 10 campaign, and what comes next after an unexpected two-year extension of Windows 10 support. + +## Networking With Repair Cafés + [suppressed due to size limit] + [suppressed due to size limit] + +### From Skepticism, To Support + +The project started outreach to Repair Cafés in Germany at the end of 2024 and early 2025. We were initially met with some skepticism. Software was simply not seen as being of interest to repair communities. Hardware, yes. Anything related to real physical objects, sure. But software, not so much. + [suppressed due to size limit] + [suppressed due to size limit] + +We were pleasantly suprised to learn that some volunteers were already offering FOSS support in their Repair Cafés! + [suppressed due to size limit] + [suppressed due to size limit] + +It seems that software is in fact of interest to the repair community! + +One End Of 10 contributor came up with a slogan which captures the connection between Repair Cafés and software perfectly: "FOSS Instead Of Toss!" + +{{< container class="text-center" >}} + + license. Redesign by Aaron Rainbolt.)](/blog/images/2026-06-22-foss-instead-of-toss.png) + +{{< /container >}} + + +### Bringing FOSS and Repair Communities Together + [suppressed due to size limit] + +In the workshops a wide range of topics were covered, such as: + +* How can the FOSS community support Repair Cafés and vice versa? +* What online platforms are there for Repair Café volunteers to exchange tips and support each other? +* What are the barriers to adoption of FOSS? What are the risks? What do new users need to succeed? +* How much post-installation support can Repair Cafés offer? Should very technical issues be directed to local FOSS groups? +* How can Linux be promoted in local communities? Etc. + +You can read the minutes for all 3 workshops [here](https://invent.kde.org/teams/eco/opt-green/-/work_items/175#note_1364833) (Hannover), [here](https://invent.kde.org/teams/eco/opt-green/-/work_items/183) (Nürnberg), and [here](https://invent.kde.org/teams/eco/opt-green/-/work_items/184#note_1446930) (Dessau). Before the workshops, we also held install parties for the Repair Café volunteers new to Linux. That way they could roll their sleeves up and get some hands-on experience. + +Since March, several exciting updates have made it into our inbox. + [suppressed due to size limit] + +Moreover, [*Repair Café Hilpoltstein*](https://www.repaircafe-hilpoltstein.de/), one of the groups that was already offering Linux support—their website is full of helpful information—has launched a [Discourse forum](https://forum.makes-hacks-hip.de/) in German specifically for Repair Cafés offering FOSS support. + [suppressed due to size limit] + +{{< container class="text-center" >}} + + + +{{< /container >}} + + [suppressed due to size limit] + +It is exciting to see the FOSS and repair networks grow and connect. If you live in one of these areas, or know of Repair Cafés in your town or city, reach out to see how you can support their work! + +### The "Opting Green" Handbook + +Discussions from the workshops also informed the newly published handbook "[Opting Green: Sustainable Software For Sustainable Hardware—And How Repair Collectives Can Bring Free & Open Source Software To Communities](https://eco.kde.org/opt-green-handbook/)". The handbook provides an overview of environmental harm driven by software and how Free & Open Source Software (FOSS) provides a solution. Check it out! + +Keep your eyes on this blog for the second installment of this blog post "Opt Green Has Ended. Long Live Opt Green!". + +#### Funding Notice + +The Opt Green project was funded by the Federal Environment Agency (UBA) and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN<sup><a id="fnr.1" class="footref" href="#fn.1">1</a></sup>). The funds are made available by resolution of the German Bundestag. + +{{< container >}} + +<img src="/blog/images/bmuv.png" alt="BMUV logo" width="340px"/> + +<img src="/blog/images/uba.jpg" alt="UBA logo" width="250px"/> + +{{< /container >}} + +The publisher is responsible for the content of this publication. diff --git a/content/blog/images/2026-07-22-ad-werde.png b/content/blog/images/2026-07-22-ad-werde.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5705eb8 Binary files /dev/null and b/content/blog/images/2026-07-22-ad-werde.png differ diff --git a/content/blog/images/2026-07-22-foss-instead-of-toss.png b/content/blog/images/2026-07-22-foss-instead-of-toss.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..def71ce Binary files /dev/null and b/content/blog/images/2026-07-22-foss-instead-of-toss.png differ diff --git a/content/blog/images/2026-07-22-hip-info-stand.jpg b/content/blog/images/2026-07-22-hip-info-stand.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c459fed Binary files /dev/null and b/content/blog/images/2026-07-22-hip-info-stand.jpg differ