Free Software

The Metaverse Standards Forum has introduced Sneeze, an Apache 2.0-licensed open-source metaverse browser engine developed through the Open Metaverse Browser Initiative, with RP1 serving as lead architect and maintainer. The project is intended to support proximity-based spatial services, multi-origin 3D scene composition, per-service WebAssembly sandboxing, and shared spatial experiences across AR, VR, desktop, and mobile devices. The announcement ties Sneeze to AWE 2026 and a University of Rochester-led academic alliance, while performance, security, and adoption claims remain dependent on future implementations. ...more

GitHub has released a repository-level metadata dataset to help researchers identify public repositories with signs of non-English developer collaboration. The dataset covers README files, issues, pull requests, and repository metadata across more than 40 million repositories, using classifications from three language-identification tools. GitHub presents it as a discovery layer for multilingual AI and software engineering research, while cautioning that it is not a definitive language benchmark and should not be used to infer attributes about repository owners or communities. ...more

Drupal and EmDash point to different assumptions about how publishing systems should be built and operated. The comparison places Drupal’s established governance, workflow, and extension model against EmDash’s beta-preview, Astro-based approach to serverless publishing and programmatic content operations. The issue is less about which CMS has more features and more about which operating model fits an organisation’s infrastructure, editorial control, development workflow, and tolerance for newer technology. ...more

Euro-Office has reached its first stable release as a web-based office suite for documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and PDFs. The project is positioned for integration into partner collaboration platforms, including Nextcloud, while the licensing dispute with ONLYOFFICE remains unresolved in public. ...more

Lerd is an open-source local PHP development environment that uses rootless Podman containers instead of Docker while providing automated HTTPS provisioning, local domain routing, and per-project runtime isolation. The project supports workflows across multiple PHP frameworks, including Drupal, Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, CakePHP, and Statamic, while also allowing custom container-based setups for non-PHP applications. ...more

Beginner Drupal training is showing signs of sustained decline, according to Michael Anello of DrupalEasy. His reflection points to the end of Drupal Career Online after more than 15 years, reduced demand reported by other trainers, and weaker engagement with beginner-focused Drupal material. The concern extends beyond training providers. Anello argues that Drupal’s long-term sustainability depends on attracting new developers, not only on technical improvements such as Drupal CMS and AI-related initiatives. ...more

A blog post by Dries Buytaert challenges the policy assumption that “Buy European” ensures digital sovereignty, arguing that ownership and geography are unstable indicators of control. The analysis instead points to software licensing and supply chain resilience as the decisive factors shaping long-term independence, raising questions about how European frameworks assess sovereignty in cloud and software ecosystems. ...more

A new intervention in Europe’s software sovereignty debate argues that Open Source should be treated as a baseline requirement rather than a marginal procurement factor. In a blog post published on 1 April 2026, Dries Buytaert challenges how the European Commission weighs licensing in its Cloud Sovereignty Framework and warns that the same logic could carry into the proposed Cloud and AI Development Act. The argument matters beyond Drupal because it goes to the centre of how long-term software control is defined in EU cloud policy. ...more

Mautic has introduced a developer certification programme aimed at formalising how expertise is recognised across its growing ecosystem. As adoption increases, the initiative responds to demand from organisations seeking verifiable skills and from contributors looking for structured recognition. The programme emphasises practical capabilities, positioning certification as a signal of real-world implementation experience rather than theoretical knowledge. ...more

The United Nations has introduced an Open Source Portal intended to connect projects, contributors, and resources across its agencies. Positioned as part of a broader effort to reduce duplication and align development practices, the platform aims to strengthen collaboration within the UN system. However, the announcement provides limited detail on implementation, governance, or integration with existing infrastructure. ...more

OpenUK has published headline recommendations from a proposal submitted to UK Research and Innovation, outlining how the United Kingdom could strengthen its open source ecosystem. At the centre of the proposal is a national foundation designed to support infrastructure, governance, and long-term sustainability, alongside broader measures addressing funding, public-sector adoption, and AI strategy. ...more

Dries Buytaert has introduced the Software Sovereignty Scale, a five-level framework that evaluates software based on long-term legal control rather than geographic origin. In a post published on 10 February 2026, he argues that European digital sovereignty policy should give greater weight to open-source licensing and relicensing risk. ...more