For anyone doing their first contribution to #MariaDB: start out by learning how the mariadb-test-run command works and how to efficiently rebuild the MariaDB sources and re-run the test suite. More about this foundational skill at optimizedbyotto.com/post/grokkin...
Here is a recent benchmark too: mariadb.org/big-vector-s...
Note that this report and website is separate from the EuroStack movement at eurostack.eu, which originated from a multiparty conference organized at the European Parliament on 24 September 2024: Towards European Digital Independence: Building the EuroStack.
Alternatively, listen to audio summary at otto.podcast.audio/@otto/episod...
It does an excellent job recommending realistic policies to leverage Europe's surprising (and often underappreciated) strengths, promote sovereignty in hardware & software, reduce risky foreign dependencies, and grow the economy through healthy collaboration.
All European tech leaders should read the EuroStack report by the Bertelsmann Foundation: www.euro-stack.info
@bertelsmannst.bsky.social #OpenSource #Sovereign #Europe
🛡️ MariaDB's new AppArmor profile is now enforcing in Debian unstable and heading to Ubuntu 26.04. Developed against 7,000+ tests to minimize false positives, see optimizedbyotto.com/post/new-app...
If you are a sysadmin, check logs and share feedback via Debian BTS
#AppArmor #MariaDB #opensource
After comparing several, seems euro-stack.com is the most comprehensive directory of European + open source 🇪🇺🐧
Tthe same people run eurostack.eu and also got fame delivering the euro-stackletter.eu letter to President Von der Leyen a year ago.
#OpenSource #EU #Europe #DigitalSovereignty
Yet another directory of European alternatives: eutechmap.com 🇪🇺
There quite a few of these now. Which directory do you think is the best one to recommend/promote?
#OpenSource #Europe #eurostack
🐧 Univeristy student keen to gain open source skills this summer? If you want to contribute to #Debian with Google's sponsorship, explore the #GSoC2026 project ideas now: wiki.debian.org/SummerOfCode...
Applications open until end of March! Check project ideas this weekend!
#OpenSource #FOSS
🇪🇺 Naïve Europeans finally waking up to realize what is the difference between an ally and a master? We should aim for collaboration, not just one-way dependency.
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Is the #AI hype still on or have the models plateaued?
I tested 9 flagships (Claude 4.6, GPT-5.2, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Kimi K2.5, etc.) in my own mini-benchmark with novel tasks, web search disabled and zero training contamination and no cheating possible:
optimizedbyotto.com/post/ai-mode...
The #MySQL community manager since 10 years, Frederic Descamps , expains in lefred.be/content/i-jo... why he now quit Oracle and joined #MariaDB: more innovative, more features and most importantly welcomes #opensource contribitions.
I wouldn't be surprised to see multiple MySQL forks emerge in 2026, now that more people are realizing how bad Oracle has been as an open source project steward for MySQL.
VillageSQL.com screenshot
Check out @villagesql.bsky.social, the newest #MySQL fork: villagesql.com
It's an #OpenSource venture backed by $35M from Google Ventures among others. It's a drop-in replacement for MySQL with an extension architecture. See their native UUID extension with efficient 16-byte storage as an example.
Allekirjoitin!
From @digitaalinenitsenaisyys.fi:
Meta closed permanently Finnish citizen's initiative Threads page that promotes steering the critical national ICT infrastructure away from foreign [read: US] technologies. The support votes are pouring in in a record speeed.
#Trump #Meta #AWS #Azure
🐧#Linux is free as in free speech but most users assume it's also free of cost. However, users should consider paying for security assurance and fund software maintenance.
Check out my experience with Ubuntu Pro by @canonicalltd.bsky.social:
optimizedbyotto.com/post/ubuntu-...
I would be curious to see the visitor stats of @european-alternatives.eu in past week.. must be surging
Declining GitHub commit stats for MySQL
I posted this week about #MySQL's decline. Pecona also writes in www.percona.com/blog/analyzi...: "The overall trend since 2011 shows a sustained decline in the number of commits and a shrinking pool of unique contributors."
If you still use MySQL, probably time to switch..
#MySQL played a key role in the 1995-2010s Internet infrastructure. It has however declined in popularity since Oracle acquired it and many have said goodbye to it 👋👋
In 2026, anyone still using MySQL should plan to switch away from it.
➡️Read why at optimizedbyotto.com/post/reasons...
In case you are Czech, there is a translation at www.root.cz/clanky/prest...
Glad to see more translations show up!
Somebody posted this as a comment on this blog on the Fediverse, and it got 60 upvotes. I think this is the sentiment many shares in the software industry 🤣
Still using #MySQL? Stewarded by Oracle, MySQL has been in decline for years. Stop using it in 2026, especially if your care about the #opensource #FOSS methodology and not just the license.
👉 optimizedbyotto.com/post/reasons...
Perovskia solar panels are efficient enough to run on indoor light
Imagine a world where small devices run purely on ambient light and don't need any batteries, and large devices with batteries that charge in 5 minutes and last for a decade without degrading ☀️
Energy startups form Europe 🇪🇺 to follow:
- Donut Labs: first solid state batteries on market
- Perovskia: first perovskite solar panels on market
- Nordic Nano: soon first nano-carbon solar panels
Nice to see Donut Labs from Finland get so much visibility for their solid state battery at CES! 💪
Finally this superior #battery tech is available in an actual product!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGw-...
Check out OpenRouter's 2025 report on LLM usage stats, and in particular how many new open-weight #opensource #AI models rapidly gained massive popularity, diversifying the landscape: openrouter.ai/state-of-ai
