Michael J. Burgess

Linux desktop news feels split in two right now.

On the one hand, Wayland is finally getting long-needed session restore, fractional scaling work is moving forward, Linux gaming just pushed past 5% on Steam, and GitHub had to retreat after backlash over Copilot pull request "tips”.

On the other, the office suite world is a proper mess: Euro-Office has launched, ONLYOFFICE has suspended its Nextcloud partnership over licensing and attribution claims, and the LibreOffice ecosystem is locked in a very public fight between TDF and Collabora.

This is what happens when open source becomes strategically important again. Governance, sovereignty, trademarks, attribution, and control all come to the surface.

Are we seeing healthy competition, or the start of fragmentation that could hurt Linux users?

https://youtu.be/eweMlWewcVg

#Linux #OpenSource #LibreOffice #OnlyOffice #Nextcloud #Wayland #GitHub #LinuxGaming #DigitalSovereignty

Hi, I’m Michael. Writer, photographer, and self-sovereignty guide, with 2 books behind me.

I talk about privacy, decentralisation, self-hosting, Linux, Web3, digital freedom, and human-first tech.

Topics: privacy, Linux, self-hosting, digital freedom.

#Privacy #Linux #SelfHosting #DigitalFreedom

With everything going on in the world, it is genuinely exciting to see NASA's Artemis II crew fly around the Moon.

It feels like a reminder that humanity is still capable of extraordinary collaboration. We have seen that spirit in space exploration, scientific breakthroughs, open source communities, and people stepping up for one another when it matters most.

For all the division and noise, we can still build remarkable things together.

What is one example of human collaboration that still gives you hope?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-j1uxBmis0

#ArtemisII #NASA #Moon #Space #Science #Collaboration #Hope

What if the biggest changes to freedom are not arriving through obvious force, but through systems that quietly make surveillance, digital identity, behavioural control, and dependence feel normal?

My book Systems Against the Self: Privacy, Power, and Resistance in the Modern Age explores how privacy became negotiable, how convenience became a delivery system for exposure, and how more of life now depends on being legible, trackable, and manageable.

It is not only about the problem. It is also about response through privacy, security, self-custody, resilience, stronger households, and rebuilding a more human kind of freedom.

Get it here: https://books2read.com/b/systems-aginst-the-self

#Privacy #Surveillance #DigitalIdentity #Freedom #SelfSovereignty #Books #Nonfiction #Technology

According to BrowserGate, LinkedIn silently scans Chrome-based browsers for installed extensions without consent, without disclosure, and without any clear mention in its privacy policy. The project says the scan covers 6,222 extensions, including job search tools, VPNs, ad blockers, and more.

This is what normalised surveillance looks like: quiet, routine, and attached to a platform built on real Identity.

How much hidden browser profiling should any platform be allowed to get away with?

https://browsergate.eu/

#Privacy #LinkedIn #BrowserGate #DigitalRights #Surveillance

What if the biggest changes to freedom are not arriving through obvious force, but through systems that quietly make surveillance, digital identity, behavioural control, and dependence feel normal?

My book Systems Against the Self: Privacy, Power, and Resistance in the Modern Age explores how privacy became negotiable, how convenience became a delivery system for exposure, and how more of life now depends on being legible, trackable, and manageable.

It is not only about the problem. It is also about response through privacy, security, self-custody, resilience, stronger households, and rebuilding a more human kind of freedom.

Get it here: https://books2read.com/b/systems-aginst-the-self

#Privacy #Surveillance #DigitalIdentity #Freedom #SelfSovereignty #Books #Nonfiction #Technology

We are not just using modern systems. More and more, we are being shaped by them.

My book Systems Against the Self: Privacy, Power, and Resistance in the Modern Age explores how surveillance, digital Identity, behavioural control, automation, and dependency have become ordinary parts of everyday life.

It looks at how privacy became negotiable, how convenience became a delivery system for exposure, and how more of life now depends on being legible, trackable, and manageable.

It is also about response through privacy, security, self-custody, resilience, stronger households, and rebuilding a more humane kind of freedom.

Get it here: https://books2read.com/b/systems-aginst-the-self

#Privacy #Surveillance #DigitalIdentity #Freedom #SelfSovereignty #Books #Nonfiction #Technology

Restore Britain is saying things many privacy-minded people want to hear, especially on Digital ID and the Online Safety Act.

But Cyber Waffle's caution is fair: saying the right thing is not the same as proving you can deliver it.

That is the real question here. Not whether the rhetoric sounds good, but whether a very new party can turn bold promises into actual law without watering them down the moment pressure hits.

Track record matters. A credible route to delivery matters. Political maturity matters.

So yes, watch Restore Britain. Scrutinise them. But do not switch off your critical thinking just because the slogans land well.

Too early to trust, or worth keeping on the radar?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6pu04yaWm0

#RestoreBritain #RupertLowe #DigitalPrivacy #DigitalID #OnlineSafetyAct #UKPolitics #Privacy #CivilLiberties

Own the stack.

Tails 7.6 is out. Nextcloud says digital sovereignty is accelerating. Blockstream just pushed Lightning payments to Jade, bringing faster Bitcoin spending and receiving closer to real self-custody.

That is the bigger picture right now: Linux for control, self-hosting for independence, and Bitcoin tools that reduce reliance on platforms, intermediaries, and gatekeepers.

Privacy is not a niche add-on. Freedom of expression is not a luxury. If your tools depend on someone else's permission, they are not really yours.

Read the links below.
https://blog.torproject.org/new-release-tails-7_6/
https://nextcloud.com/blog/digital-sovereignty-gains-momentum-millions-of-new-enterprise-users/
https://blog.blockstream.com/jade-lightning-payments-are-here/

Which part of the stack are you taking back first?

#Linux #SelfHosting #Privacy #Bitcoin #SelfCustody #DigitalRights #Decentralisation #Freedom #OpenSource

There’s a growing tension in Bitcoin right now.

Privacy tools are needed, but developers are still being prosecuted.

Recent April 2026 developments show a mixed approach: • regulators are offering clearer crypto frameworks
• but privacy software developers still face legal action

That raises a bigger issue.

Bitcoin privacy depends on tools, and those tools depend on people willing to build them.

If writing privacy code becomes risky: • fewer developers will contribute
• innovation slows
• privacy becomes harder to access

At the same time, AML and surveillance rules are tightening globally.

So privacy is being squeezed from both sides.

This is why self-hosting matters.

Running your own node and tools keeps you independent from platforms that may restrict functionality.

Read links below.
https://decrypt.co/363267/trumps-new-attorney-general-held-bitcoin-mixed-crypto-track-record
https://www.coindesk.com/opinion/2026/03/31/the-time-for-clear-financial-privacy-rules-is-now

If building privacy tools becomes risky, what happens to financial privacy?

#Bitcoin #Privacy #DigitalRights #Linux #SelfHosting

Data broker removal matters, but it is not a magic fix.

That is the big takeaway from this Techlore office hours session. You can pay for removals, do manual opt-outs, and clean up search results, but if your data keeps flowing from public records, social media, apps, and trackers, the cycle starts again.

Real privacy is less about a single big cleanup and more about reducing exposure at the source.

Are you fixing the source of the leak, or just cleaning up after it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFiK6NJgXmk

#Privacy #DataBrokers #DigitalRights #Techlore

Bitcoin isn’t being banned.

But access to it is changing.

In April 2026, hundreds of crypto ATMs in the US are being shut down due to fraud concerns, with some cities ordering full removal within 60 days.

That highlights a shift.

Instead of targeting Bitcoin directly, regulation is focusing on access points.

Crypto ATMs once allowed: • cash to Bitcoin transactions
• minimal friction
• fewer identity checks

Now, those routes are disappearing.

Which means: • more reliance on regulated exchanges
• more surveillance at entry points
• less permissionless access

This is where self-hosting and peer-to-peer options matter.

Running your own node and using non-custodial tools reduces reliance on controlled gateways.

Read link below.
https://m.economictimes.com/news/international/us/whats-behind-the-bitcoin-atm-crackdown-rising-crypto-atm-fraud-and-growing-risks-are-forcing-strict-60-day-shutdown-orders-across-the-u-s-/articleshow/129953678.cms

If access becomes more restricted, will peer-to-peer Bitcoin become the default again?

#Bitcoin #Privacy #Decentralisation #SelfCustody #Linux

Trump's approval is crashing again, and the reason looks brutally simple: foreign conflict is landing directly in people's wallets.

When war pushes up oil, petrol, transport and everyday costs, political messaging gets a lot less convincing. Voters can shrug off slogans. They do not shrug off a more expensive week.

That is the danger here. A presidency built on promises of strength and lower costs now looks tied to instability, inflation pressure and midterm risk.

Will voters punish pain at the pump more than partisan loyalty?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1Ui3F8bamA

#Trump #USPolitics #ApprovalRatings #Inflation #Midterms

Piers Morgan's latest roundup feels like the modern news cycle in one clip: firings, war escalation, Tiger Woods bodycam footage, apocalyptic skies over Greece, and World Cup ticket madness.

Some of the headlines behind the noise are real. Trump fired Pam Bondi, Randy George was ousted as US Army chief of staff, Tiger Woods was caught on bodycam saying he was talking to "the president", and FIFA final ticket prices have climbed to eye-watering levels.

The bigger issue is the format. Everything becomes spectacle. Everything becomes content. And people are left trying to process serious events at meme speed.

Are we still following the news, or just doomscrolling a theatre of crisis?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBEN3iIri_I

#News #Politics #Media #PiersMorgan #CurrentEvents #Freedom #Culture

Labour's sentencing reform has changed the default in England and Wales.

Since 22 March 2026, sentences of 12 months or less are generally meant to be suspended unless there are exceptional circumstances.

That may help ease prison overcrowding, but it lands in a country where retail workers are still dealing with serious levels of theft, abuse, and violence.

When consequences look weaker, and enforcement already feels patchy, confidence in the justice system takes another hit.

Watch: https://youtu.be/gzMlO9_b5yk

What message does that send to the people expected to absorb the cost, the fear, and the fallout?

#UK #Crime #Justice #Retail #Shoplifting #Sentencing

A rage-filled breakdown of war profiteering in real time.

Its core point is that when conflict pushes oil and gas prices up, executives and major shareholders gain, while ordinary people get higher energy bills, pricier petrol, more expensive food, and more strain on public finances. What makes it land is that it turns abstract market moves into human consequences.

How long are we supposed to treat this as normal?

#UKPolitics #CostOfLiving #Energy #Oil #Gas #WarProfiteering

The video argues that Starmer's crisis is now bigger than a single controversy. It ties the Mandelson fallout to a longer list of complaints: poor judgment, No 10 chaos, adviser departures, weak leadership, awful polling, and a growing fear inside Labour that his politics is no longer connecting with voters.

That wider pressure is real. Sarwar called for him to resign; Starmer refused.YouGov still had him on -48 net favourability in March. Ipsos recently put government net satisfaction at -58. Labour lost Gorton and Denton to the Greens, and MPs are rebelling again over immigration. Future election risk is exactly why this conversation keeps growing.

Is this pressure going to fade, or are we watching Labour edge towards a succession fight?

#UKPolitics #Labour #KeirStarmer #Westminster