postmarketOS, Mobian, Ubuntu Touch, and Mobile NixOS all seem to have recent activity.

As for hardware, although the PinePhone Pro got lukewarm reviews, maybe they’ll iterate and get better or at least prove to other companies that there’s a demand for Linux phones.

I’m hopeful there’ll be at least one usable option within 5 years or so. And if not, I’ll be sticking with GrapheneOS.

GrapheneOS doesn’t support Motorola phones

Here’s what I’ve done:

• Delete your advertising ID in the system settings
• Disable the other ad-related settings
• Disable tracking in the keyboard app (long-press , to get to settings, then click “Privacy”) or switch to HeliBoard
• Avoid the Google Play store when possible
• Use F-Droid and Obtainium instead
• Install the DuckDuckGo browser and enable DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection (I only use the DDG app for app tracking protection and email protection; I don’t browse the web with it)
• Install Firefox with uBlock Origin
• Set DuckDuckGo as your search engine in Firefox
• Make sure your next phone supports GrapheneOS and install that instead of normal Android
• Wait for real Linux phones to become viable and use that in a couple years

Stuff I haven’t done yet but probably will eventually:

• Replace the default home screen app (your home screen is an app, btw)
• Replace the Google keyboard app

I haven’t looked for good alternatives for these yet so if anyone has suggestions, I’m listening!

Great question! No, I can’t.

I can’t be bothered so I’m just gonna call him “the pedophile formerly known as Prince Andrew”

I would recommend managing your data locally and then backing up using restic to something like Backblaze B2. Restic encrypts your backups so you don’t actually have to trust Backblaze to not spy on you.

I hope you made this because I want the creator of this to know it’s stupid

Please get a carbon monoxide detector

For context: I personally use a 2015 Intel MacBook running Linux connected to my tv, and use a small wireless keyboard and trackball to control it from the couch. I’m actually planning on checking out KDE Connect after seeing it on https://hexbear.net/post/7662659

I’ve been researching some simpler options for my own parents since they use Roku which is somewhat limited and has ads. But a mini PC would be too complex for them. They need something with a simple remote and automatic updates. I think an Android box would make sense for their use case. I plan on installing something like SmartTube, PipePipe, or Tubular on it.

If your dad thinks he would like to do something like web browsing, email checking, or gaming on the tv, a mini PC is probably gonna do it better than Android TV.

Are you specifically looking to self-host? These are a few open source and self-hostable projects I’ve been keeping an eye on:

• Discourse for forums
• Stoat for real-time chat (similar to Discord)
• Vikunja for project management / kanban boards (more features than Trello, but simpler than Jira)
• Forgejo for code collaboration (similar to GitHub)