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Mozilla is laying off roughly 250 employees (I believe that's about a quarter of their staff).

Their stated reason for laying off 250 employees is... to develop more Mozilla products. Which. Typically you don't need to have less employees to build more products... but the announcement was so light on actual information, that it's hard to make heads or tails of it.

One example from the announcement:

"That means diverse, representative, focused on people outside of our walls, solving problems, building new products, engaging with users and doing the magic of mixing tech with our values. To start, that means products that mitigate harms or address the kinds of the problems that people face today. Over the longer run, our goal is to build new experiences that people love and want, that have better values and better characteristics inside those products."

What does that mean, exactly? Who knows! Lots of "values" and "diverse", "representative", "magic". Shrug.

Then there's this bit:

"Recognizing that the old model where everything was free has consequences, means we must explore a range of different business opportunities and alternate value exchanges."

I'm assuming they're talking about issues with marketing driven revenue (where the user of a service is, in fact, the product being sold). If that's what they're talking about... then I agree with that. Heck, that's at least one of the reasons why I like sites like Locals -- no advertising, no need to do mass data collection and sales (like Twitter, Google, Facebook, etc.).

This would be a massive change for Mozilla. They have, until now, relied heavily on advertising sales (including deals with Google) and marketing / data collection schemes. That's how they earned money. Are they going to stop doing that now?

Their statements were not only light on specifics... but almost completely devoid of them. It reads like they filled an A.I. bot up with business lingo... and let it spit out an announcement.

One thing worth noting, is that Mozilla is committing to provide severance pay equivalent to full time salary through the end of 2020. Which means those 250 people should (if Mozilla is being straight about this) receive close to 5 months worth of pay as they leave the company.

What happens with Mozilla Corporation from there... I couldn't even begin to tell you based on what they've said so far.

The public announcement:
https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2020/08/11/changing-world-changing-mozilla/

The internal email:
https://blog.mozilla.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Message-to-Employees-Change-in-Difficult-Times.pdf

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Articles
The UK Begins Process of Blocking 4Chan in 60 Days

The United Kingdom Office of Communications (Ofcom) has issued a fine to 4Chan. If 4Chan does not pay the fine in 60 days, it can be blocked in the UK.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:10:08
October 13, 2025
Framework's Discord Moderators Go on Strike over "Fash" Software Support

Volunteer moderators have "taken a hiatus" in response to Framework supporting Omarchy Linux and Hyperland - which Leftists say have "Hitler Particles".

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:24:12
October 13, 2025
"detect-fash" Feature Developed (and Rejected) for Systemd

"A utility to detect problematic software and configurations," such as Omarchy Linux, Hyprland, & Ladybird, was developed by an account with a Russian Military email address.

More from The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.com/

00:14:38
November 22, 2023
The futility of Ad-Blockers

Ads are filling the entirety of the Web -- websites, podcasts, YouTube videos, etc. -- at an increasing rate. Prices for those ad placements are plummeting. Consumers are desperate to use ad-blockers to make the web palatable. Google (and others) are desperate to break and block ad-blockers. All of which results in... more ads and lower pay for creators.

It's a fascinatingly annoying cycle. And there's only one viable way out of it.

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links? Check here:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

The futility of Ad-Blockers
November 21, 2023
openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"

Those in power with openSUSE make it clear they will not allow me anywhere near anything related to the openSUSE project. Ever. For any reason.

Well, that settles that, then! Guess I won't be contributing to openSUSE! 🤣

Looking for the Podcast RSS feed or other links?
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4619051/lunduke-journal-link-central-tm

Give the gift of The Lunduke Journal:
https://lunduke.locals.com/post/4898317/give-the-gift-of-the-lunduke-journal

openSUSE says "No Lunduke allowed!"
September 13, 2023
"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044

This episode is free for all to enjoy and share.

Be sure to subscribe here at Lunduke.Locals.com to get all shows & articles (including interviews with other amazing nerds).

"Andreas Kling creator of Serenity OS & Ladybird Web Browser" - Lunduke’s Big Tech Show - September 13th, 2023 - Ep 044
October 14, 2025

Heads up: The “Linux Sucks 2025” livestream planned for October 14 is being bumped out a couple days due to technical hiccups in the streaming setup.

Had streaming issues for the last several days, so makes sense to sort that out before doing a big show.

Updated schedule asap.

Now, let’s take a second to think about this. How can they access your BIOS remotely? Tell me again it isn’t just a back door with a marketing team behind it…

K&R Streaming continues.

More pointer madness, and maybe some other bits:

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October 13, 2025
Sale ends in a few hours, Lifetime Subs set up.

Holy moly, you guys are amazing.

A few days ago I published a “50% off” sale for Lunduke Journal subscriptions… and all of you showed up. In a big way.

To everyone who grabbed a Lifetime Subscription over the last few days: All of you are set to full Lifetime access. You should have a confirmation email in your inbox. If not, email me and I’ll make sure you’re setup properly.

That “50% off” sale ends tonight at midnight. So you have a few hours to snag a discounted subscription, if you haven’t already.

A huge thank you to everyone who supports this work. Couldn’t do it without you.

-Lunduke

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October 12, 2025
50% Off Lunduke Journal Extended Through Monday (Oct 13th)

Just a quick heads up:

The “50% off every kind of Subscription to The Lunduke Journal” sale has been extended through Monday (October 13th).

So. You know. Grab one at 50% off between now and end of the day on Monday.

To all of you amazing nerds who have picked up a Lifetime Subscription already this weekend: You are awesome. You’ll be receiving a confirmation email, with all of the Lifetime Subscription details, by tomorrow (if you haven’t already).

Oh, and remember how we hit 11 Million views last month? Yeah. We’re well on our way to blowing past those numbers in October.

Wild.

See you all on Monday!

-Lunduke

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October 12, 2025
The Asymptotic Line of the Lifetime Lunduke Subscription
(Visualized with the power of spreadsheets and charts.)
 

The Lunduke Journal’s World Famous Lifetime Subscription (tm) was introduced 3 years, 3 months ago.

Every day that passes, the value of that Lifetime Subscription gets better and better. Like any good asymptotic line, it steadily approaches 0 (but never quite gets there).

Let’s do some math!

At that price, the cost “Per Month” of a Lifetime Subscription, after 39 months, is $3.85.

By 39 months after that, the “cost” goes down to $1.92. And it keeps getting closer to zero. Every month. Heck. Every day.

(Even at the regular price, the value of a Lifetime Subscription is a sweet asymptotic line. But discounts are doubly good.)

Now. I’m just going to throw a few nuggets of information at you. Do with them what you will.

  • Lunduke has been publishing Open Source & Tech News since 2006 (almost 20 years) and I’m still getting warmed up.

  • The Lunduke Journal Lifetime Subscription has been around for over 3 years already.

Based on that, sure does look like good odds that Lunduke is going to be doing this sort of reporting for a very, very long time. Which makes the Lifetime Subscription a safe bet.

Plus… and I’m no Math-a-tologist (tm), but… it seems to me like the earlier a person picks up a Lifetime Subscription, the better the deal gets.

My suggestion?

  1. Grab a Lifetime Subscription at the discounted price before midnight (because saving money is good).

  2. Enjoy the perks (like forum access and the downloadable shows and books).

  3. Never need to worry about paying for a monthly subscription again.

  4. High five yourself every month, as the “Cost Per Month” of your Lifetime Subscription steadily moves towards 0.

Again… do it before midnight tonight (Sunday, October 12th), when the price goes back to normal.

But that’s just a suggestion. If you’d prefer to pay a fixed rate, every month, which never approaches zero (like a totally awesome asymptotic line)… that’s ok too. 😎

-Lunduke

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