Open Source
Open-source software, its ecosystems, and the communities behind them. From commit logs to governance models, from licensing disputes to procurement mandates — how open development actually works in practice, and why it matters who controls the tools we depend on every day. Posts here look at specific projects, their engineering, and the broader question of open source as infrastructure: not just an alternative to proprietary software, but a foundation for digital independence.
Articles
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Euro-Office: Sovereignty Theatre or Real Engineering?
I was genuinely excited when I first heard about Euro-Office. If you’re not deep in the self-hosted ecosystem, a bit of context: for years, anyone running their own cloud storage — typically via Nextcloud or similar platforms — has had two choices for browser-based document editing. Collabora Online, which is essentially LibreOffice running on a server and streaming rendered pages to your browser, is mature and deeply committed to open standards, but carries the weight of a 35-year-old codebase and puts a heavy load on the server. OnlyOffice, developed by Ascensio System SIA (a company with roots in Russia, now registered in Latvia), takes a more modern approach — JavaScript-based, lighter in the browser, with excellent Microsoft format compatibility — but has always been opaque about its development, rarely accepts outside contributions, and has made controversial decisions like disabling mobile editing in its free Community Edition. Neither option has been fully satisfying.