It has been quite a while since the last official release, so it's about time for another. Freedombone 3.1 continues on a Debain 9.x (stretch) base and there have been a few new applications added since last year, the most notable of which are Pleroma and PeerTube. Both of those apps possibly might have a big future if current trends play out the way I think they will.

This release also includes significant improvements to the mesh version, allowing you to change protocols on the fly. Presently there doesn't seem to be any clear winner in the battle of mesh routing protocols, so it makes sense to include the most common ones and have the user decide. The mesh system is now also pure IPv6 and I like to think that this system is a kind of proof of concept for what the internet could become if supporting legacy software and the client/server paradigm wasn't an obstacle.

There has also been a change of logo. The graffiti style logo was used from the beginning and although I still like this logo I wanted something which was more consistent with the ASCII header of source files and the message of the day within the software itself. So the new logo is really just a colored in version of the ASCII logo. An early criticism was that perhaps the logo should be just an icon of some kind, because it's possible that the system will end up being used in non-English speaking areas. I think that's a reasonable concern and although it hasn't been a problem so far it might be worth investing in some new logo artwork in future.

A question I always ask myself when putting out new software is "is this still relevant?". The world of software moves quickly and things which were once important become no longer so as the technological landscape changes. Freedombone is one of those curious cases where it's not me that's aligning with the world but the world that's coming to meet where I am instead. The issues which motivated the creation of this system are becoming more relevant over time, rather than less. Things like net neutrality under threat, censorship, W3C approving DRM, infrastructure centralization and fragility, growing realization of how out of touch Silicon Valley companies are with most people's lives, aggressive demonetization and the end of the idea that advertising can be a "win-win situation" for creators of web content.

Change is obviously needed, but what kind of change? Just "writing to your MP", as Open Rights Group frequently recommends might be necessary sometimes but isn't sufficient. I think the public have to take matters into their own hands and reclaim the internet as a platform for everyday life rather than just as a vehicle to be used cynically to increase the size of Zuckerberg's bank account. Hosting web systems at an individual or community level can be part of that, and although it's not yet consumer grade easy it is becoming more feasible for more people.