Not OP and couldn’t see myself moving towards Libertarianism, but I can kinda see where OP is coming from. Germany does have a huge amount of regulations for almost everything. A lot of projects take far too long because there are so so many rules and laws to be considered. People working in administration got so used to that, that they tend to avoid responsibilities and hide behind rules and regulations (saying this as someone working in administration, trying to establish better digital processes, which tends to be quite frustrating). On an individual level, everything (except the Autobahn without its speed limit) is always made, so even the biggest idiot can’t hurt himself. Sometimes that ruins the fun for everyone else…

ASML. Dutch company and the one and only supplier of EUVL machines, requiered by TSMC to make their most advanced chips.

A lot of older people in Germany got their first email address with gmx or web.de (same servers, just different domains), so both of these platforms users are often targeted by spammers and scammers because of a possibly higher success rate. My FIL just last week almost lost control of his gmx and associated accounts. Though that was probably due to using the same password for multiple services, it is just more likely to happen with gmx than say posteo due to probabilities.

Spam also comes from the providers themselves, trying to push subscriptions to their premium services. If you want to access your inbox via browser and have an adblocker enabled you are forced to watch an ad.

If it works for you and if you use a separate password for gmx (or better yet, a password manager) and a different client, all good. I just think there are better options for people who are looking for alternatives right now.

Which belongs to 1&1, which belongs to United Internet, which belongs to Ralph Dommermuth, who is one of the 300 richest people in the world. Also GMX often is the target of spam and phishing. And if you want to access the web login you have to go through a shitty news page. Still better than gmail, but there are far superior alternatives. Sincerely, a former web.de user (which is the same shit with a different name).

Ah man sometimes I miss the keyboard on that thing haha.

https://www.braasi.com/

Made in Prague. Got one when I visited a few years back. I really like the aesthetic and the webbing on the outside is super useful to pack extra stuff. Quality is also top notch, no signs of wear after quite heavy use yet.

Pinqponq is another brand of the same company: https://www.pinqponq.com/

Different company but also from Cologne, Germany: https://www.airpaq.de/ They turn old airbags into backpacks.