I file all of this under “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

• Qwant has claimed since 2016 that they have an index. That lie has earned them investments and funding. They do not have an index and they’ve said so after the fact. They also give data to Bing. They are not private but they say they are because the data they share is anonymized.

• Ecosia is just a Bing frontend like DDG. Caron offsets never work. In order for Ecosia to work you need to see and click on some ads, so anybody using adblockers will not be helping. Their servers aren’t green either.

• This is because Bing is going to raise their prices and now these companies need to lure in new investors to keep the lights on. It isn’t about sovereignty or data privacy; it’s just about money.

I only know Infinitime, wasp-os has some games.

I just use whatever text editor I have and make MD files synced with Syncthing. On mobile I use Markor.

I’ve tried several different methods, and as much as I try to be organised, I feel pretty good with my folder of files.

Debian

I’ve tried different distros and liked them, but tend to come back to Debian.

There are solutions that work. Like you, I would enjoy a simple app that allows for subscriptions and playlists without tracking or using an account. I mostly use RSS feeds (newsboat) and watch the videos through mpv.

And yt-fzf is great too. It uses invidious instances instead of YouTube links.

The convo on HN about this article is worth a quick scroll.

The first comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39570137) launches a discussion about freedom filled with anecdotes. There are even more anecdotes (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39570364). And even some praise (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39570484).

I am not a dev. I don’t rice, I don’t game. I’m a FOSS user and have been for years. If I run into a problem, there is no way I will be creating an account on Discord to get help. It might not be worth the time and effort. A searchable forum is good enough. IRC logs are good enough. Email lists are good enough. But, also, some open source software makes onboarding seem more cumbersome than it actually is. Getting on Matrix is easy, but in he eyes of a new user it comes off as Herculean. And when a dev decides to use Discord we shake our fists instead of proposing a solution like operating the bridge for them.

Step in the right direction, which is appreciated…

But: https://fosstodon.org/@link2xt/111965597727225353

Server can look up account identifier (username) and also phone number by username.

Anki

That’s the basis of Bloom’s taxonomy: knowledge or memorization

Spaced repetition apps, like Anki and Duolingo help a lot with the base, the rest needs guided learning with regular activities.

Is this your blog?

I would let your wallet decide.

phone, text, camera, GPS, web browser, notes, email, music player

GrapheneOS and the Librem 5 can handle this. If I hadn’t bought a phone at the end of 2022 I’d likely go for the Librem 5 unless a used Pixel could be acquired.

I think the only thing you will lose with GrapheneOS is tap-to-pay, if you even use that. Beyond that, if you don’t install GSF or even microG on the device you’re already doing a lot in terms of privacy. You have to look into whether things like Uber would work without GSF (I don’t use Uber so I can’t check).

Are there other hardware suggestions or setups that you like?

I was going to set up a Nextcloud server, but ended up just using Syncthing. I thought I would need that full suite of services, but it turns out my workflow just needs a few directories. I use Markor to take notes and write drafts. Before, I did editing on my phone, but now I wait until I am sat down in front of a computer. Syncthing can run on an old Raspberry Pi and requires very little upkeep.

Another suggestion is to use something like UAD to debloat most any Android phone. It is a bit of a preview of what to expect from many alternative ROMs. You need to switch to OSM and use a different calendar app and possibly a different camera app, contacts, keyboard, etc. and you’ll notice very quickly that…nothing really changes except maybe battery life.

Punkt is neat, but in the end it is Android (if you can believe it). So, it has Signal (or Pigeon, as they’ve branded it) but it is also vulnerable the same way any Android phone can be. There are some baked-in apps that track and whatnot.

I’ve only ever used the F-droid OsmAnd~ version.

It is the same thing as OsmAnd+ https://github.com/osmandapp/Osmand as far as I know.

I do 50% of my edits with this app. It will not wreck anything.

Never tried on a TV. Give Droidify a go.

I use the tasks function that comes with my email (mailbox). But, this would work with any WebDAV capable server.

• I can use it on the web
• I can interact with it on Android using https://tasks.org/
  • It has a voice function for creating reminders and a widget
• On desktop I use todoman but other apps work as well
• The tasks are shown on my calendars as well

It has to do with Google Services Framework I believe. That isn’t a great answer, but the gist of it is there are apps that need more than the alternatives in order to function or even install.

The author of the post is on Mastodon and is following the votes.

https://digitalcourage.social/@echo_pbreyer/111227503462181100

It looks like there could be a “blocking minority” but I’m just parroting because I have no clue of that is something to celebrate or just a false hope.

I hear you. I must have tried it out 3 or 4 times before, and then for some reason it worked.

Newsboat

I am not one of these terminal wizards. I do heck of a lot in the terminal, though. One thing I never thought I’d do in browse RSS feeds.

But, a few years back I was in a situation where my only working computer was a Raspberry Pi so I found myself using Newsboat and I realised the big deal.

SSGs (Hugo, Jekyll, Pelican, Zola, etc.) are an excellent option. I was a beginner when I tried and I did manage. I would vote for this over WP.

Progressive Web App