AI-free LibreOffice productivity suite sees record downloads

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AI-free LibreOffice productivity suite sees record downloads

11 September 2026

The productivity suite, which includes a word processor and spreadsheet, similar to Office 365 (though I understand it is now called Microsoft 365), was downloaded about one-million times the other week. One-million downloads. Amazeballs.

LibreOffice’s surge in popularity has been attributed to the absence of AI features. I’ve been using LibreOffice for almost two years now, and am stoked to be using apps that let me do my thing without AI, or anything else, trying to takeover the workflow.

Proposed Australian laws allow social media users to opt-out of algorithms

9 September 2026

It’s almost enough to entice me back onto social media. But not quite.

The Australian government is proposing to give local social media users the choice to opt out the algorithms that determine the content they see.

If the laws eventuate, social media companies will be obliged to allow their members to only see content posted by the people they follow, if that’s what they choose.

Anika Wells, the Australian communications minister, thinks however most social media users will elect to keep the algorithm. It seems to me, seeing the content of only those they’re following might feel like going cold turkey for some people, who are accustomed to non-stop algorithm content.

The proposed new laws, which are currently being considered by the Australian parliament, will also compel social media companies, search engines, and AI chatbots, to withhold “harmful” content:

For Australians aged under 18, platforms must take steps to prevent content that promotes eating disorders, misogynistic content, pornography, glorification of crime, bullying and abuse, and any other material that could inflict “serious harm” on children.

In relation to adults, the harms are confined to existing crimes including child abuse, sexual violence, menacing or harassment intended to cause serious harm, support for terrorist organisations or encouraging suicide.

Some people are concerned these provisions may result in curbs on free speech, given the communications minister will have the power to add to the “harmful” content categories.

As of the time of writing, I’ve not heard reactions from the big tech companies to the proposed laws, but I doubt we’ll be waiting long.

Is AI use making people behave more robotically?

3 September 2026

Shouldn’t it be the other way around? It seems not. The more people use AI agents, the more robotic their behaviour comes, says Victor Tangermann, writing for Futurism.

Tangermann’s article brings to mind the trailer for The Social Reckoning, which I linked to a few days ago, and the robotic-like demeanour of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as portrayed by Jeremy Strong.

I doubt it was director Aaron Sorkin’s intention to suggest Zuckerberg’s likely high use of AI has seen his manner become more robotic, but it doesn’t seem entirely coincidental.

The work safest from AI is writing?

2 September 2026

Murat Demirbas suggests the work of writers might be amongst the safest from AI, a notion that defies broader thinking on the subject:

In systems theory, a wicked problem is a problem that lacks a definitive formulation, a clear stopping rule, and an objectively correct solution. Writing is the ultimate wicked problem, because the context is constantly shifting, a piece is never truly finished editing, and the true metric for success is fundamentally subjective.

A wicked problem, I get the sentiment though. I do. I have an old t-shirt that has “I like words” printed across the front. I often think the message should read “I like wrestling with words” instead.

Taxis in Australian capitals will be driverless by 2036

1 September 2026

That sounds like a bold claim. But such vehicles are already transporting passengers in Chongqing and Wuhan in China, and a number of cities in the United States.

Australian entrepreneur Tim Kentley Klay, who several years ago designed a self-driving car that didn’t have a steering wheel, nor foot pedals, says people would rather ride in a driverless vehicle which he describes as being “clean, private, and safe.”

In writing this post, I see my word processor app calls out the word “driverless” as a typo, something I’ve since corrected. It may not have been a “proper” word a decade or two ago, even though experimental driverless cars have been around for some time.

But “driverless car” was included on the 2016 longlist (PDF) for Macquarie Dictionary’s “word” of the year, though it didn’t make it through to the shortlist.

If the streets of Australian capital cities are to be awash with short range driverless taxis by 2036, it’s time for the word driverless to be reconsidered as a word of the year.

Linux, open source operating systems, users exempt from age-verification, in California

31 August 2026

Luke James, writing for Tom’s Hardware:

California’s legislature has passed Assembly Bill 1856, exempting open-source operating systems from the State’s Digital Age Assurance Act months before the law is due to take effect on January 1, 2027.

It’s good news, but Linux, and other open source operating systems, are just, you know, too weird, and probably no one uses them, so, like, why bother with age-verification.

SteamOS is a Linux distribution favoured by gamers, some of whom might be minors. How long that stays on the exemption list remains to be seen though.

Operation Bluebird may yet get new Twitter to fly

28 August 2026

Talk about defying the odds. Maybe. Late last year, Operation Bluebird lunched a bid to “revive” Twitter, the micro-blogging platform Elon Musk bought in 2022.

Operation Bluebird claimed — rather optimistically I thought — they could take control of the Twitter brand, as they believed Musk had abandoned the rights to it, when he renamed the platform X.

X immediately filed a court action opposing the claim, but a US judge has tentatively ruled in favour of Operation Bluebird, backing up their belief X have given up on the Twitter brand.

The ruling isn’t official, but that doesn’t seem to concern Operation Bluebird, who want to go ahead and launch the “new” Twitter.

I’m no power social media user, but I signed up for Twitter early on, and for a time enjoyed using the platform. I have my doubts, but I’d like to see Operation Bluebird succeed.

Home scrolling social media on Friday night instead of going out?

27 August 2026

Possibly, just possibly, related to the previous post.

Recent research by Neal Caren, a professor at the University of North Carolina, has found people in the United States are not going out as much as they once did on a Friday night.

Instead they are choosing to stay home more often than not. The pandemic played some part, but “the growing availability of screen-based alternatives” may be what is driving the trend.

I would be interested to see if this is also the case in Australia. If “screen-based alternatives” are indeed the cause, then I’d think a few more people locally now stay home on a Friday night.

It’s purely anecdotal, but bars nearby are often filled to overflowing on Saturday nights (to be expected), almost empty Sunday night (to be expected), with some closed on Monday night (possibly to be expected). But people seem to be out on Saturday evening, around here anyway.

I can’t speak much for Friday night, as I seldom seem to be near any bars for some reason — has a lot of course to do with not being the biggest drinker — but I’m guessing Fridays would still be about as busy as Saturdays. Or for now at least.

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smartphones, technology, trends

We need to ask ourselves: why are we addicted to our phones?

26 August 2026

In last week’s edition of Dense Discovery, publisher Kai Brach linked to an article, written by Kate Wagner, challenging the notion that our phones are over overpoweringly addictive.

But they are, aren’t they?

To Wagner’s mind, excessive smartphone use is a behaviour we have developed. But what is at the root of this behaviour? What do we seek in constantly checking our phone?

Why can’t we instead focus on a work task, watch a movie in its entirety, or sit on a train looking at the view out the window, without the need to see what’s happening somewhere else?

Why can’t we even be enveloped by a bit of boredom now and then, and let the emotion take its course, before reaching for the phone?

Wagner’s article is worth reading in full, something you can of course do with your phone.

Online forums, not quite gone, not quite forgotten

25 August 2026

There’s an idea the old discussion forums, once a fixture on the web, fell out of favour because after a decade or two, people wanted a change. Social media was that change, and we all flocked there.

But from the late nineties (though they’d been around earlier), through to maybe the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, online forums were the place to meet and interact with others.

They weren’t always the most civil of places, like social media today, but it seemed like you didn’t need to be an influencer to be noticed. Plus you chose what to read, or not, no algorithm involved.

Fast forward to today, and forums are not so common, though there’s still a few going that are also quite active. Boards.ie, a forum based in Ireland, is one example that comes to mind.

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technology, trends, web history

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