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Ask HN: What projects do you donate to?

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Re: Ask HN: What projects do you donate to?

#251

Post by dblohm7 »

SpaceL10n wrote: post #241
miki123211 wrote: post #193

The only software project I donate to is NVDA[1]. It's an open source screen reader, AKA software that makes it possible for the blind to use computers through synthesized speech. It's one of the few open source projects (besides Blender and GIMP) that is used directly by non-technical end-users and that has managed to surpass its commercial brethren , both in features and popularity. This is partly due to its extrem…

I had the privilege of a meeting with one of the founders at NVDA. We were integrating it into to our computer kiosks and Michael Curran joined the call and helped guide us on how best to achieve our goal. It is obvious to me that the NVDA team cares deeply about equal access. Their goal is a noble one worthy of donations. We did not have the same experience swimming around the waters of Martha's Vineyard.

I know the other founder, Jamie Teh. Great guy, and probably the one engineer I've ever met who I can communicate with so well that we can do it in shorthand. I refer to our technical discussions as "mind melds."

Re: Ask HN: What projects do you donate to?

#252

Post by freedomben »

zuhsetaqi wrote: post #216
miki123211 wrote: post #193

The only software project I donate to is NVDA[1]. It's an open source screen reader, AKA software that makes it possible for the blind to use computers through synthesized speech. It's one of the few open source projects (besides Blender and GIMP) that is used directly by non-technical end-users and that has managed to surpass its commercial brethren , both in features and popularity. This is partly due to its extrem…

> It's one of the few open source projects (besides Blender and GIMP) that is used directly by non-technical end-users and that has managed to surpass its commercial brethren , both in features and popularity. Since when has GIMP surpassed its commercial brethren?

I think for gimp it was just meant as an example of an open source project that is used by technical and non-technical users alike, not necessarily that it has surpassed its commercial brethren.

Re: Ask HN: What projects do you donate to?

#253

Post by johnisgood »

leo_dard wrote: post #221

Supporting a project doesn't always mean donating money; contributions can take many forms. You can offer your time, coding skills, feedback, design expertise, or simply help by spreading the word. In a world overflowing with information, visibility is a valuable form of support. Choosing to boycott what doesn't align with your values is often underappreciated but can be very impactful. Personally, I prefer to reshar…

Some more projects: Ricochet Refresh, Session, OpenBSD, etc.

Re: Ask HN: What projects do you donate to?

#254

Post by dblohm7 »

wrasee wrote: post #174
newscracker wrote: post #48

Below I’m listing some of the projects I donate to: DownThemAll , a browser extension that makes multiple simultaneous downloads from a page easy: https://www.downthemall.org/howto/donate/ Free Software Foundation (FSF) : https://www.fsf.org/about/ways-to-donate LibreOffice : https://www.libreoffice.org/donate/ Mozilla Thunderbird : https://give.thunderbird.net/ Soundswitch (Windows application to switch default play…

I, personally, would find it hard to donate to Mozilla knowing the CEO is paid $6 million a year. Compared to the size of the firm that’s a huge amount of pay. At this point I plan to donate to Ladybird instead. Excited for that project.

Thunderbird donations go directly toward funding the Thunderbird project, not the Mozilla Foundation or the Mozilla Corporation.

Re: Ask HN: What projects do you donate to?

#255

Post by nfriedly »

nfriedly wrote: post #210

This is my current list of monthly donations, loosely organized: Content creators - Sci Show https://www.youtube.com/scishow - Escape Artists (short fiction podcasts) https://escapeartists.net/ - Technology Connections https://www.youtube.com/technologyconnections - The Bible Project https://bibleproject.com/ - Liliputing https://liliputing.com/ - Radiotopia (99% Invisible & other podcasts) https://www.radiotopia.fm/…

Oops, too late to edit, but I typo'd the name and put down the old patreon link for the https://oisd.nl/ blocklist - it's now https://www.patreon.com/c/oisd

Re: Ask HN: What projects do you donate to?

#257

Post by freedomben »

dmurray wrote: post #88
newscracker wrote: post #48

Below I’m listing some of the projects I donate to: DownThemAll , a browser extension that makes multiple simultaneous downloads from a page easy: https://www.downthemall.org/howto/donate/ Free Software Foundation (FSF) : https://www.fsf.org/about/ways-to-donate LibreOffice : https://www.libreoffice.org/donate/ Mozilla Thunderbird : https://give.thunderbird.net/ Soundswitch (Windows application to switch default play…

Wow, I remember DownThemAll from...2005? If you had asked me, I would have said with confidence "that no longer exists, modern browsers have had this feature one click away for years". But I suppose the truth is they don't, and I just haven't had a reason to use this in a long time.

Exactly what I thought when I saw that too! I had no idea it was still around. It was a godsend back in the day, but now that internet speeds are a lot faster, downloads are more reliable, and browsers have an 80% solution already built into them, I haven't really felt a need for it in many, many years.

Re: Ask HN: What projects do you donate to?

#259

Post by nyarlathotep_ »

Ayesh wrote: post #180

- ISRG/LetsEncrypt: it's amazing how much if an impact they are having in HTTPS, and that's with a very small number of people and resources. - PHP Foundation. - Drupal Association - I started my career with Drupal. Although I rarely use Drupal anymore, it feels right. I wish I could donate to uBlock Origin, but the developer doesn't seem to accept donations last time I checked. I think the Open Street Map is also we…

> I wish I could donate to uBlock Origin, but the developer doesn't seem to accept donations last time I checked.

I consider this indispensable software, an absolute requirement for using the web today.

Re: Ask HN: What projects do you donate to?

#260

Post by freedomben »

dowager_dan99 wrote: post #246
lolinder wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Internet Archive [important would be some pro bono legal help due to the recent turn of events, perhaps] I have a really hard time with this one. Their current legal situation didn't just happen to them: they made an intentional choice to do something which ~everyone who knew anything about law warned them would be catastrophic and are now facing the catastrophe that they were warned about. They acted like a small…

honest question to all: how do you keep pushing boundaries once you've been successful enough to transition from a scrappy activist with nothing to lose to foundational infrastructure? I get the simple answer is reduced risks, stop doing the things that made you successful, but is there another path? Surely if OpenAI can somehow go from benevolent saviour of humanity to naked profit megacorp we can find a way for the…

There is plenty they can still do to push boundaries and be activists, but their decision was really quite reckless. At their current level of importance, they need to be progressives, not revolutionaries. They essentially took up arms against the industry using covid as an excuse. Well, I personally despise the IP industry and think that it needs radical reform, if not complete destruction, we have to live to fight another day as well. Unless they really thought covid was truly going to kill us all and wipe us all off the planet, it was a short-sighted move on their part.

Now that's sad, I hope they learned their lesson, and I think we should all step up to help defend them. Aside from donations, I think people should be making a large amount of noise at their elected representatives to start reforming the ridiculous IP framework in the United States. The whole point of copyright and other protections was to ensure that there was some incentive to people to produce content and be able to monetize it. I think it's ludicrous to suggest that you need such an utterly long period with a shark full of teeth to go after people in order to incentivize the producing of content.

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