One you update it, make sure to turn on reduce transparency so the liquid glASS doesn’t make it lag a ton.

I would say that 6 years is quite good. Phone batteries are supposed to be replaced every two years, and if you got it replaced then you could have kept using it until 2024.

Is that with LineageOS?

A HTPC requires a tech savvy person with a lot of free time. A Google TV box is better for most as they are as easy to use as the TVs own OS but don’t have the crapware.

Buy an Onn / Thomson box, set it to apps only mode, and there you are. They’re Google TV so Netflix is just as easy to use on it as on the TV itself, and as Google TV is Android based you can sideload whatever apps you want, copyright law compliant be damned.

Onn / Thomson sticks seem to be the best available option.

They use the Google TV OS but you can turn off the tracking (Advertising ID / Usage Data / Personal Results) and enable apps only mode to disable Google’s crap and have a clean UI with just your apps.

You can turn off resistFingerprinting in the settings then disable the URL tracking protection and URL shortener filter lists in uBlock Origin to fix it. I think Librewolf’s default settings are too cautious as Mullvad Browser serves the maximum privacy niche.

Librewolf is in-between Firefox and Mullvad so you should try that.

They make money from non-tech savvy people who are recommended Firefox as the pro-consumer alternative but leave it on default settings which are just as bad as Chrome.

Exactly. I have heard a teacher at my college say he’s switched to Firefox to get away from Chrome, however he is clearly not in the know as he has Adblock Plus installed in Chrome on his work machine instead of uBlock Origin.

Librewolf itself. You can turn off the auto clearing of data and the fingerprint resistance.

It’s copying Notepad++.

They’ve been known to respond to legal requests to log IP adresses of the users of their VPN. I wouldn’t trust them.

I think the Wired of Serial Experiments Lain is pretty accurate.

Companies like Meta are actively trying to create an immersive digital world (the “metaverse”) like the Wired.

And the Wired is symbolic of the issues with the modern internet, from the escapism and addiction to rumors to false information shaping peoples views to companies controlling the world throigh algorithms and censorship.

The multiple Lains are symbolic of how everyone can a different view of you and your opinions, often shaped by lies, and the Wired Lain which is the one of these actually controlled by her is symbolic of how we act differently online than in real life.

Masami Eiri is symbolic of companies and powerful individuals controlling online narratives and owning most of the internet you interact with.

The Phantoma game is symbolic of how the things that happen and the things that are said online have real world consequences.

It is an absolutely brilliant show which I highly recommend watching if you like visual metaphors.

Cloudflare just checks for bot activity and AWS is just a hosting provider. They don’t use data for ads or sell it to anyone.

You can escape the big tech tracking by installing uBlock Origin in your browser, and if you use their services, disabling personalised ads and search/activity history in their accounts.

Least blatant marketing post. You’re not even in a fitting sub.

They chose Google because they are the only major OEM to allow you to relock the bootloader after installing a custom ROM. Samsung, Motarola, Huawei, Xiaomi etc all don’t.

Get a cheap phone like a Galaxy A36 for the trip, then install some VPNs with GFW circumvention like Windscribe, Proton and Psiphon before you go.

You should also get a roaming SIM card, preferably from an MVNO or an eSIM app do you don’t get rip-off prices.

Roaming SIM cards usually route traffic through their native network like a VPN which bypasses the GFW and gives you some extra privacy.

And once you get there, don’t say anything negative about the Chinese government or politics.

Watching YouTube videos and reading posts here about unrelated subjects is okay as long as you are using a roaming SIM card, a VPN or preferably both togther.

Make sure to use “disable phase inversion” for Opus if you want good quality in mono. I’m suprised this isn’t set by default.