I cant wait to remove all the american products from my life!
The alternatives to Intel/AMD/Nvidia, Visa/Mastercard/American Express/Discover and IOS/Android need to be more developed.
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The alternatives to Intel/AMD/Nvidia, Visa/Mastercard/American Express/Discover and IOS/Android need to be more developed.
Hey, Sunshine, if you're interested, I highly recommend contributing to OpenStreetMap if/where you can. The built-in iD editor for desktop web is phenomenal and very easy but powerful, and the third-party Vespucci app for Android on F-Droid works very well. OpenStreetMap is still missing data in relatively large cities (let alone probably out in rural areas), and that especially includes sidewalks, residential buildings, addresses, and contact information. Even just making sure the information is complete and up-to-date the next time you visit a business, park, etc. (and marking the 'Last Checked Date') is profoundly useful. I'd be free to answer any questions you might have!
ngl for a second I thought "what a weird way to start a comment" before I checked and realized her username was sunshine lol
Am I just not using it right or is it impossible to look up just a normal address? I love the idea of open maps and have contributed a few places, but the UI is difficult for me to figure out.
I use organic maps which uses open street maps, and I cannot get it to bring up anything by address. If I search the business name it brings it up, but not by address. Same thing with my home address, I can get it to bring up the street, but not my house.
A lot of addresses still need to be added to OSM. If you sign up for an OSM account (really easy; no BS, no dark patterns), you can add these addresses through the editor. In iD (the built-in web editor), this is done by clicking the building etc. and adding a street number, street name, optionally unit, city, state, and zip code if applicable. Once these are added there and published (plus maybe about 10 minutes for the editor to update), it'll show up in the app (at least for me; I use OsmAnd downloaded from F-Droid). I do this whenever I'm about to go somewhere like a business etc. to see if the information is there. It takes about two real-world minutes and helps fill out the map. This can also be done through third-party, FOSS mobile editors like Vespucci (Android), StreetComplete (Android), and Go Map!! (iOS). This confused me at first too until I realized "Oh, the data just isn't there, but I could add it."
This is tougher than using GMaps, although there are ways in which OSM already curbstomps GMaps (maybe I'll write a post about it someday), and there are huge benefits to having this information in an open dataset rather than behind Google or Bing's closed crap. These include (for reasons I won't delve into unless asked) accessibility for the disabled, sovereignty from corporations, much more detail (compare the same area with GMaps sans the satellite view and OSM), an open dataset for research, disaster response, conservation, and (funnily enough) walking and cycling, the last of which in my experience is strictly better than GMaps provided OSM has adequate (read: a normal amount) of data to work with. For an explanation of the last one, GMaps often recommends downright suicidal routes that take longer and go farther than OSM. Every time GMaps has offered me a better cycling/walking route in my area (but was still abysmal), I realized it was because OSM was missing something; adding this something immediately shot OSM's route ahead of GMaps'.
I genuinely believe that OSM will steadily outperform GMaps in more areas as data is continually added. Sort of like what happened with Wikipedia and Britannica.
(Edit: god I wish I could show you my area now that I have it more-or-less fully mapped out and the routes without doxxing myself. GMaps just shows a near-blank blob without the satellite, whereas OSM is entirely readable without that. GMaps' cycling route takes me biking through a huge, dangerous, sprawling parking lot to lose time and 0.1 miles while OSM takes the optimal route down a cycle path. Everything is perfectly documented. It's glorious and makes GMaps look like child's play.)
You give me hope. I love Osm, especially through osmand. I am active on streetcomplete, but have just downloaded vespucci, to check it out.
If we ever meet in person (Osm-con?) I would love to see how you have contributed to your area, and vise-versa. I believe in the free future. The positives far outweigh the negatives.
This is 100% correct. You can add a lot of parameters to stuff in OSM, and buildings can have the type of building (e.g. apartment building, nail salon, etc.), the name, and the address (as well as dozens of others such as contact info, hours, air conditioning y/n, toilets y/n, specific ones like bar y/n for restaurants, etc.) If the addresses exist but not the names, it's likely these are stored right now as generic "building"s and just need someone to come along and add the name and type of business. This process is completely trivial and can be done in maybe 20 seconds per business.
Edit: Here's an example of what a business looks like (don't worry, I don't actually live in Boise, Idaho; also, I just noticed there's a "Sells Used" parameter for pet stores, which maybe we should tone down a little? lol):
Yeah I've had exactly the same experience. I think it's an OM UX problem, not an issue with OSM itself.
It is an issue with OSM itself, although it's not a fundamental issue as much as it is a transient, easily fixable one: the data for the address of that building is missing in the database.
I find better luck finding addresses when adding a comma between the house number and street name. i.e "123, James Road".
Good question! Hopefully my answer below can help. The short answer is, no, you're not using it wrong, although contributing these addresses will make them show up.
Do you know if there's a way to improve the routing part? I find it often takes really obtuse paths that go out of the way and add time. It shows the more optimal roads as existing, so I'm not sure why. Maybe missing speed limits or something that make it think worse roads are more optimal?
OsmAnd? I've found it's often worse than GMaps for driving but ends up strictly better for walking, cycling, or just telling me where I am right now. OsmAnd for me often goes out of the way in weird ways by car, so right now I use OsmAnd for cycling, walking, and orientation where it's quite superior (and where I'm less familiar with good routes) and then use it just to tell me where a destination is if I'm driving and figure the route myself. This route-self-figuring isn't practical for everyone (longer routes, more complicated infra, just not that good with directions), and for that I either recommend something other than OsmAnd like GMaps (GMaps seems to give basically optimal routes for driving; it just falls flat on its face for walking and cycling) or, if you're feeling like having fun about it and have time to kill, looking along the route to see if there's missing info (either along the route OSM chooses that would negatively impact it or along the route you would choose that would positively impact it). The level of data granularity on OSM is kind of insane, so I would keep it limited to things that could plausibly impact travel times.
Something to keep in mind is that OSM at its core is the database itself. The renderer, navigation, visual editor, etc. are just plug-and-play – anyone could use the underlying dataset to try their hand at it. For example, a slightly suboptimal route I was talking about earlier happens on OsmAnd but not on the OSM website proper, which gives a perfect route between the points. Thus, I don't let OsmAnd's driving bugs dampen my enthusiasm for the project, since OSM stores much more information than GMaps and is thus perfectly capable of enabling routing software to make great choices. I've also seen OsmAnd continually improve over my time using it, where now it takes fewer questionable routes (likely both the data getting filled in and the routing algorithm being improved). This is definitely speaking from a position of privilege, though, since I'm not e.g. in a new city where I'm still learning where everything is; I'm instead in a position to take missing info as it comes and fill in the gaps.
I will note that sometimes it really is because some data is missing. For instance, I performed a stress test by creating a bicycling route diagonally from one end of town to the other. Adding data about traffic signals like stop signs meaningfully changed the route and seemed to improve it. With the crazy level of navigation-relevant detail that OSM stores (this also includes highly granular accessibility info), I would be surprised if a routing app hasn't outpaced GMaps for literally everything in the next 5–10 years.
For editing, I recommend Vespucci and StreetComplete. I personally much prefer the former, but some people swear by StreetComplete.
For navigation, I recommend OsmAnd or Organic Maps. This is another situation where some people swear by Organic Maps but where I much prefer OsmAnd.
In addition to the ones already mentioned, there is another one for contributing called Every Door
E.g Osmand, organicmaps, magic earth. Magic earth is as far as I know the only one supporting real time traffic (and hence route optimization upon traffic incidents)
the easiest way to contribute is by using the app streetcomplete. It's basically like a game.
Thank you Thetechinician! That's great advice indeed as OpenStreetMap needs all the help it can get! I'm currently using Organic Maps/Every Door and Go Map!! to contribute to the mobile side of things. Then on Desktop, I'm using the JOSM editor however it has quite the learning curve.
I use Street Complete on mobile to make contributions.
Its intuitive and surfaces less often though about attributes like wheel chair accessibility and hard surface textures
U.S. citizen here. Don’t even blame you. Just to be clear, we hate this too. Maybe Canada can save us.
You guys should be out on the streets protesting en masse. Being complacent is the same as showing you're okay with all of these.
Meanwhile actual americans are being pulled into unmarked vans for looking latino.
Believe me, we are. They just don’t show it on the news. Plus boycotting mainstream vendors like Walmart, target, etc.
Also going to rallies and down ballot candidates. Some important local elections coming up and watch Florida for their special election.
It sucks. But, we have to fight our way out of it.
I see. I'm glad to hear it.
Just remember you're not alone. Canada, Australia, and Europe are actively boycotting the US economy as much as possible.
We're with you. ✊
Take photos and spread the word on social media to get more people to join
Media is not showing anything. We are out in 1000s
That's true as there has been more protests than Trump's first term. Read your independent media!
Something like 60-70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Most people can't afford to protest. And healthcare insurance and other things are tied to our jobs.
Then fight against misinformation, protect democracy, and spread the word about civil rights and voting in upcoming elections.
You guys earn way more than us, but we still find ways to protest more often.
It really is about finding ways, its never gonna be a convenient thing you do on a sunny afternoon...
yall have free healthcare, if a cop injures me at a protest, its even more debt
The average US salary is more than most European countries average salary because we work more hours on average, have less time off, and have higher expenses for things like healthcare, groceries, utilities, etc.
I understand that, my point is the size of the salary has nothing to do with your capacity to protest, otherwise we wouldn't be able to do it over here.
I can assure you we are not leaving our jobs just to protest, and also a majority of people love paycheck to paycheck. You need to find the time and organize.
yall have like no land, dense ass populations, it takes like 3 hours of driving to leave a country lol (it takes me 6 hours to get halfway through my state) we are spread the fk out and have car based cities/towns, we dont have a sense of community lol
How long do you think it takes to go from Madrid, Paris, Berlin or Rome to the frontier?
I think it's their lack of free time. They have no protections if they want to take half a day off to protest.
I sincerely hope ruminating about the economics of your past lives are enough to keep you mentally occupied and busy while you're in a detention facility.
US the 11th Canada province when?
The beavers will fight back!
For fuckin years the foss community has told us to stop using these products. It only took them all turning into literally fascist for people to finally stop giving them power
It only took them turning facist? We‘re not even remotely close to not giving them power in the corporate world. :/
Very few people are giving up this corporate tech as it is.
FOSS is so much better!
Canadia really are in no position to call others fascists anyway.
Icl I never personally fully agreed with their govt's politics, but at least they can stand on fucking business, unlike their conservatives. Imagine if Poland just bent over backwards when Hitler invaded, instead of fighting. How can you fully question your own sovereignty like that, especially to a "country" that "gained their independence" from YOU.
How can Keir Starmer not show unwavering support to a country that not only shares a head of State but also as a Commonwealth nation. UK politicians showing way too much support to a country that couldn't give a toss about them. Canada should be demanding the land they once had back from the US, and Mexico should demand the land that the US stole from them.
TF are you talking about? I'm Belgian.
I KNOW they have a lot of fascist ukrainian influence historically and now even more with Trumpist influence from their twin brother the US.
Not to mention the awful treatment of indigenous people to this day.
Shouldn't make unfunded assumptions.
Take off, eh
Just a reminder, if you are in the EU or the UK you have a right to request the personal data collected by the service you want to leave. Acquire this data before you close your account!
JCB is a japanese alternative to the American credit card payment processors.
It didn't participate in visa and MasterCard's collusion to boycott and bankrupt manga, anime and art sites.
I really wish JCB was in Canada. C’mon Japanese friends make a deal with Mark Carney to strengthen our economies together.
Wait what, what happened with Visa and MasterCard and manga sites?
They have been sanctioning sites like pixiv for years, and last year also were the reason Ken Akamatsu's (Love Hina author) manga archive site for out of print manga was shutdown, and why sites like Melonbooks (one of the largest in japan) only can accept JCB payment now.
Visa and MasterCard have a history of sanctioning anything that has anime and manga adult content, and I'm not talking about loli, just any adult content.
That's really shitty
This is the first time I’m hearing about this.
How does one realistically move away from Google maps?
Consider switching to ![email protected]
Also, make an account on OpenStreetMap (OSM), which is what Organic Maps uses for data. OSM is the Wikipedia of maps. You can use Organic Maps or any other OSM editor to add anything that's missing and correct anything that's wrong or out of date, then see your changes in the next map update.
That's the way. Everybody takes care of the place they live in and it's the best mapping project ever.
And if you use StreetComplete, you can fill out missing info about places that you visit
Why use organic maps instead of openstreetmaps?
Organic Maps is a client that uses openstreetmap.
Organic maps is much better for search and has a simpler interface (assuming you mean osmand). Organic maps is just an app based on openstreetmap data.
I disagree that organic maps has a better search interface. In Osmand you have a very powerful POI search. You can automatically filter for restaurants, that are open and serve vegan Indian food, and so on. Organic maps has just a text search and categories.
Actually you might be right, I was rather thinking of openstreetmap.org itself. I don't use osmand too much since lot of good features are not free.
I got it from f-droid, and AFAIK that version feature complete and free, at least I don't miss anything.
I started using Osmand, before Organic Maps existed, and got used to all its features, when I tested out Organic Maps, it felt very feature-lite and I was missing out a lot (POI search, routing customizations, etc.), I assumed it is just very early in development, but it seems now they are targeting a different audience than I am.
There are a couple of things I am missing in Osmand, coming back from Organic Maps, its nice looking and fast map renderer, and it seems like the text search might work a bit better. Otherwise, the more powerful POI search, and the better internal routing customization are what brought me back to Osmand. Osmand even has brouter support.
True. Organic maps is actually thought for a broader audience with daily use so they keep it simple. I use mostly organic maps and when I need something specific I switch to osmand but it always takes me time to figure out how to set up what I need.
It's still possible to buy an all-in-one navigation device to keep in a vehicle. They're often much nicer than phone apps, now.
Magic earth
OSMand~ app
I've had my Google Voice number since 2005 when it was originally called GrandCentral.
I don't think there is any place I could port my number that would let me keep service for free.
And I have never found a reasonably price alternative that doesn't seem sketchy or gimmicky or built just for business, that also seems like it will be around in another 10 years.
Any ideas?
I wouldn't count on google keeping any service around for the next 10 years.
To the point of replacing Visa/Mastercard: it would be great if the EU could continue in line of SEPA and create an EU payment processor. Now, I want to be very clear, it should be owned by the member states' governments, and profit (if any) should go into the EU budget. No neoliberal bullshit of "oh we're going to put out a contract/give out loans for anyone to set up a payment processor and the market will decide". It should be a state owned payment processor, to finally stop the likes of Mastercard, Visa, etc. from leeching off every single consumer transaction in the economy.
Is crypto the answer?
No. It is never the answer.
Crypto is often a scam.
And paying 30% of every purchase to apple isn't? Or even 2% of every visa transaction?
Sincere question: Is it really an American company if the products are designed and built all over the world? Like if it’s a car company, and those cars are built in your country — are you doing more harm than good?
(Not that you shouldn’t be boycotting most of the items in your list for being shitty, not just American.)
American here
A large portion of it is about who is at the controls and what jurisdiction they are beholden to. I would recommend against buying a GM car built in Canada for this reason alone
Voting with your wallet in tangible money is naturally also very helpful as the only god our companies worship is The Dollar.
Good is not the enemy of perfect though, less money and control to my fascist occupied country is the goal, even if incremental.
I look at it through money. Where is its HQ located at and where does it “apparently” pay its taxes. If any of that Info is in USA then it’s an American Company. Hit their bottom line by not paying into what they are dealing.
Assuming they're an American-owned, American-headquartered company, more harm than good is debatable, but they don't operate in other countries out of charity. It has to be profitable. And it's the profit that goes to America. Yes they build local factories, yes they pay local employees, sometimes they buy local commodities, perhaps they do a bit of local charity (usually for tax breaks) and in these ways they contribute to the local economy, but the profits go back home. And if they ever decide it's not profitable anymore, they will lay off most of those employees, sell anything that isn't easily movable or worth moving, and take all that money back home too. Some of your money stays local, but a lot of it leaves the country, sometimes the lion's share of it, and even more of it is only in your country temporarily for as long as you remain profitable.
That said, the reasoning breaks down with most of the megacorp brands you're familiar with. The billionaires that own them and even the less hyperwealthy executives are essentially nation-fluid black holes of money. It doesn't matter if they're "based" in your country, they will never pay tax, and your money will most likely never see the light of day again. It will only be used for their demented vanity projects, wasted in pointless displays of madness and excess, burned to fuel their enormous egos.
That's why it's just as important to support small, independent, local business as much as you possibly can. They don't have the resources of the megacorps, they won't be advertised as well, they won't be organized as well, they won't have the same services, they won't have as many choices, they may be less convenient, and they almost certainly won't be as cheap, but they actually deserve our money. They do pay tax (usually small business owners end up paying the most total tax compared to any group when you count both corporate and personal taxes) and will generally put it back into both their own business and the economy in meaningful and practical ways. If you want your country to be a better place, if you want actual economic progress, support small businesses.
Apple was the first to go on my list. Google secondish because I switched from iphone to graphene pixel
How have you been getting on with graphene and how did the flashing process go for you?
Edit: started looking in to it/supported devices- there aren't any Pixels with SD card slots? AAaaaarggghhhh- I really, REALLY like having a massive amount of music local on my device ><
not OP either, but I've been using graphene for a bit over a week now. bought a second hand pixel 7 pro for about 300. literally followed a YouTube video for installation (there's a ton, and the install process hasn't changed at all over the years).
now I use magic earth, get all my apps from the neostore or aurora (which is an anonymous app that allows you to interact with the back end of the google play app repository - allowing you to bypass their front end; therefore avoiding fingerprinting).
its an absolute pleasure to know that apps are sandboxes and I sleep like a rock at night knowing that big tech ain't got shit on me.
..... except for the google pixel hardware....
get it!
@[email protected]
Have a look at this and see if you like what you see.
https://odysee.com/@NaomiBrockwell:4/Graphene-Install:e
Good luck
You waited this long to get rid of Apple?
I have had a used pixel running Ubuntu Touch for months that I’m using more and more of lately.
I've just been looking into these other OS systems, I currently use Samsung devices and am torn between the US hardware and US software. Samsung isn't American which is great, but im stuck on full data collecting android, whereas pixels are US phones but the data collection , the most valuable aspect financially is removed even though its built on android.
I just need Samsung to develop an OS, or even better yet, the return of Blackberry.
Do you think Linux phones are ready to swapped in mainstream yet? My next phone will be a Linux phone for sure but my current phone is too new to replace so I'm still 2 years or so away.
Not until the VoLTE support is rolled out to more models and the GPS and RCS begin functioning on Ubuntu Touch. So I wouldn’t declare it ready yet.
I would imagine the Linux phone scene would be much more developed by that point as the interest is really growing.
GrapheneOS is a good alternative to iOS/Android, although still Android-based
Are there lots of reports with security applications not liking Graphene OS?
I'd like to migrate, but i need to make sure my banks and job authenticator can work on it.
I'd love to get a secondary phone for these, but then it still yas to be on an up-to-date phone so I can't simply use my old one.
Check if your banks work ok in a web browser, that's kinda my method for most things that really don't need an app
My bank app works. Westjet app for flights is very intrusive and needed the special per app compatibility mode turned on to allow app to work. It reduces GrapheneOS exploit prevention for that app, but for some reason Westjet needed more device identity confirmation than my bank app.
All apps I need for banking, 2 factor authenticator, etc work in my GrapheneOS phone, with the exception of one particular app used for ID authentication in the country I reside. The reason is bc this app uses Google's Play Integrity API to check the phone's OS, and since it does not match with Google's Android OS, it stops working since it does not pass integrity checks. As far as I know, there are few apps that do this, and as time passes more apps are moving towards hardware-attestation tests, as GrapheneOS facilitates, instead of relying Google's Play Integrity. For me this is not an issue, because the government provides other means for ID authentication, but some other countries only relies on apps, and that might be a show stopper.
Grapheneos requires a google phone, which is american.
Iodeos is French
It supports a few non Pixel phones, pixel had the high security capabilities thus the focus on Pixels
It doesn't. You're probably thinking of calyxos.
I just checked their list, it is different now than when I moved to Graphene, they had support for my Essentials PH1 before. Their support list does have emulated and generic targets, beside pixel targets, but they no longer list the other devices
Back to flip phones? Or what alternative are you guys looking at?
Google and Apple are a bunch of bootlickers imo to the Trump administration.
Fairphone with /e/OS
I'm on a pixel with graphene but I guess if you go flip phone, garmin gps, and dedicated computer then you aren't missing out on much
I really want to try a Furi FLX1.
It’s Ubuntu Touch/Mobian/Sailfish/Postmarket OS/Graphene OS from here on out for me.
You can have 2 platforms running side by side. Have Friendica be your main focus and then post all the bare essentials such as the event dates on the Facebook page. I know convincing the folks in our life can be difficult but they will eventually come to realize that big tech isn't all that great.
Their job is to convince people to sign up to yoga, not sell them on another social media platform where none of their friends or family are.
You don't put all your marketing focus on the channel with the least reach
You can say the same thing about people who don’t use Facebook but are forced to sign up on the platform to attend events.
No you can't. Those are called warm leads, people seeking your services. This person is talking about cold leads who are people that haven't saught them explicitly.
Don't beat yourself over it if you're only using Facebook to take value from it.
Hell, I'm in the US and this sounds like a great idea. Tired of being tracked and monetized for every single thing I do.
What are you replacing google maps with? I've been getting more and more annoyed with it for a while.
It keeps wanting me to do U turns on ultra busy roads when I could just make a left turn at a light.
The recommendations are:
Organic Maps: walking/hiking/cycling.
Magic Earth: driving.
Osmand: advanced search.
Here Wego: owned by Mercedes Benz and BMW, the maps that power their in-car navigation available as a free app.
OSMand~ I prefer how the maps look. And directions have been good. Initial address search is not as slick as GMaps, but it is OpenSourceMaps so :)
Organic maps for most usecases. Mapy.com is also alright
The thing which really stops me from Google Maps alternatives is the lack of reviews. Very useful.
Plus, goddamn I wish they would modernize their UIs.
There's an issue open for the Organic Maps project to implement Mangrove Reviews
Yeah, that's a big one. Have you considered Here Wego? Its european and integrates TripAdvisor reviews (yes, US I know. Still better than feeding Google Imo). It doesn't have everything but for restaurants and POIs it usually has the info you need if you live in a bigger city.
That’s what I use, works pretty good so far.
Ah gotcha. Strabic me completely misunderstood your comment lol.
Nah I'm not OP so you got it right, just meant to second your comment that Here WeGo is pretty darn good at least in Europe.
Just took a look but the reviews for the app seem not great.
It's one of those apps where you can't go by the reviews.
Basically they changed the interface quite a bit recently and so old customers got upset. But I use the app daily and they are seriously improving it to the point that I'm relying less and less on Google Maps. They keep adding more and more business details to the app.
If we were having this conversation a few months ago I would have said something different, so really the Improvements have been noticeable lately. I recommend that you give it a go for a couple of days at least and see how it serves you.
OSMAnd is pretty good.
Yup. It's tough. People don't understand it this way but Google Maps is actually a social network, in addition to the navigation features. It's an absolutely huge plus and I wish someone else would integrate the social features. It has given them the largest and most helpful worldwide POI database that exists, afaik.
I picked Apple to be the one tech company that gets to stick around for now. I canceled my Apple One bundle but there’s still a dependency on maps and mobile OS. Will only buy used and when necessary going forward. My phone is 2.5 years old and I think I will be able to get at least another 2.5 years out of it.
Apple isn’t as private as you think, they donated 1m to Trumps inauguration, the black representation is at 7% well below the 12.4% portion of the US demographics, their hardware is not very repairable, the manufacturer Foxconn that Apple uses has many cases of worker abuse, ios is very locked down.
Not to specifically defend Apple, but the race demographic issue is slightly more complicated.
The inequality is more systemic. Educational investment and economic inequality means that there's a difference in educational outcomes for the black population in the US.
Basically, to have representation in line with the population Apple needs to make a deliberate effort to hire in that proportion. Having an unbiased hiring process falls back to the systemic bias that shifted the hiring pool. That 7% is basically the representation of black people in the hiring pool for high tech jobs in the US.
There are still major issues with tech companies and diversity, such as not addressing the issues that created an environment that pushed people out of the sector, but that 5% difference represents a naively unbiased process, as opposed to a specifically biased one.
Oh I know. I’m not a big fan. Struggling finding a google enough Apple/Google map alternative or a non iOS/Android alternative. Picked Apple as the better of the two evils but not giving them money anymore.
You can use Organic Maps/Magic Earth/OsmAnd instead of Apple/Google Maps.
For your operating systems you have: iOS < Graphene OS/ Ubuntu Touch/ Mobian/Sailfish/ Postmarket OS.
I mean it as a list of bullet points, I have reviewed all the Apple apps and they collect a lot of data.
You didn't do that already?
Nope, would get a new phone every 2ish years. Now I’ll just replace the battery and hopefully be able to hold on to a phone for 7-8 years.
I cancelled my Apple 1 account as well, I guess I still have a lot of data on their cloud stuff as I got billed for the 50gb plan it was a little over $1 not happy about it but I need to figure out what is up with that.
Wow, such a weirdly violent way to look at simply uninstalling an app.
On one hand, yes, but on the other hand I would consider those organisations quite violent themselves.
Yeah, the important thing is to intellectualize it and pretend you're too evolved to get off on the imaginary violence.
We definitely live in an age of casualised and normalised violence. I can't watch violent movies anymore. But I didn't take the illustration literally and welcome the metaphorical "death" of these companies and what they represent.
One thing those companies represent is rent, groceries, etc. for a couple million people working for them, who just show up every day to do paperwork or whatever and go home. People with no evil intentions who are kind to their dogs and have no influence over the behavior of their CEOs. But if their welfare gets in the way of vengeance against billionaires, well too bad. I really wish we could get away from that kind of simplistic meme-level thinking and humanize these social issues more.
Isn’t GrapheneOS Pixel only? you’d still need to buy a Google device. Better to use something like Fairphone with /e/OS
Do banking apps work with it? These are pretty much the only dealbreaker for me.
They have a list of baking apps that work. https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8330-app-compatibility-with-grapheneos
Can you access it from your browser? That's my plan if my bank doesn't work.
Fairphones are expensive. :(
That's what you get for paying workers fair wages
Fairphone doesn't supply directly to Australia and the replacement parts are apparently even more difficult to get here. And they're still expensive.
Fair enough
You should replace apple with GrapheneOS, and icloud/G drive with preferrably self-hosted Nextcloud the only replacements for US payment processors (Visa, MasterCard, Amex etc.) are cash and Monero (on sites like shopinbit - EU based - moneromarket, XMRbazaar, monerica, kycnot.me, coincards) and cash/Monero-bought gift cards (coincards).
You can replace Intel/AMD with a RISC-V CPU (a well-funded open source CPU architecture, already available on Framework laptops, but still have a long way to go, so I'd recommend sticking with an AMD CPU since intel is known to be backdoored). You can buy (literally) anything using Monero using shopinbit (anything not listed can be sourced by them using their concierge service).
I long ago gave up on Twitter, prior to it becoming X. I was briefly on X but closed that account. Facebook I still have an account, but from what I understand it cost the Zuk more to have a barley active account then have a closed account, but it will probably be closed soon. Reddit is something I am trying to get rid of but it keeps sucking me back in, I have however removed myself from all the groups that are not Canadian centred. The only reason why I have a google account is for youtube, I got off of all the other services because of ads and all of that. I moved all of my subscriptions to things to Apple’s hide my email so I would get less junk mail. I also got a pihole setup on my LAN to see less ads so less google ad sense. I was never really a windows user so that is not a problem for me. I was fine with Apple Maps but now if I need a map I use open maps or whatever it is called. I have decided that I will not buy another apple thing, rather get things updated/repaired at shops local to me.
I have gone through my web services and cancelled everything that is not Canadian. I have moved my blog off of square space and onto Hosthero with a .ca address and I use it to create all my emails for things I may signup for. Unlimited emails so that I can signup for unlimited free trials to things, like I did with Apple’s hide my email!
Yes I agree ARM needs to be accepted a little more so Linux computers using it can be used as better (non Apple) desktops. Payment methods need to be developed even more in Canada outside of interact. I will have difficulties moving away from iOS because of FaceTime and messages.
That’s great progress.
Check out Organic Maps that uses openstreetmap data.
Then check out the element client that uses the matrix protocol to have video calling and secure texting.
I tried to move people to matrix, but it is hard.
I'm sure the numbers are irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, but it still brings me satisfaction to upload loads of long videos to Facebook, all set to Visibility: Just Me, just to cost them more in storage than they earned off me in ad revenue.
Windows is a hard change. I tried it before without success.
Linux is so good now!
Switched all my PC's except my sim racing rig becuase of all the accessories, but even that sounds like it should work just fine.
Manjaro is great, PopOS or soon to be Bazzite for gaming, lots of choices!
I personally wouldn't say Manjaro is great (for people converting to Linux for the first time) - mostly because of how annoying it is to install stuff on it.
When did you try? I tried it a few months ago, expecting it to be hard but it really wasn't. I'm extremely impressed by how polished many Linux distros are nowadays (I'm using opensuse tumbleweed with KDE)
I have used ubuntu in the past (long ago), and i tried Arch last year with KDE. Maybe it was a bit steeply, and i should try something easier. Maybe Ubuntu again or Mint, or Zorin or Fedora. Damn i must do a research.
It's really hard to go wrong with Mint. Distro hopping can be fun, but Mint is a fantastic all-around operating system.
Same here, but 2 months ago I moved to Linux Mint and it's been a breeze. I'm committed to not going back to Windows. Not a gamer tho. But I was once a Microsoft employee.
Windows became an unacceptable choice way back in the 90s.
Lol my family had our first computer in 1999. With windows 98 and i put XP after. I was 11 years old then. I haven't heard anything about linux until 2005.
and?
I mean in the 90s only windows was known to new users.
Yes, and Microsoft exploited that to the detriment of not only their users, but to all computing. Saying you got in in the 90s is just admitting that you've stayed with an abuser for 30 years.
Give Bazzite a try, it's a complete different approach from traditional Linux. Instead of trying to make it easier to tinker with, they're trying to make it so you won't ever need to. Bazzite is focused on being a Linux for gamers, but it's pretty good for regular use too. Other options without the game focus are Bluefin and Aurora.
I've been using Linux for work for several years, but Bazzite was what finally made me go full Linux for everything just earlier this year.
I will try give it a try. Although for gaming is hard for me to evade windows. I use steam, gog and epic. I know that with the proton the tables are turning, but there gonna be incompatibilities. But gonna check it before i migrate fully to Mint.
Bazzite has out of the box support for those too! Though Epic specifically tries to go out of its way to break stuff on Linux.
You can get the same stuff on Mint too if you configure it.
The truth is that Linux can not reach the Windows level on gaming. Even without the compatibility issues, NVIDIA GPUs, like mine, have way less performance on Linux. So a dual boot seems a necessary compromise. That is the sad truth.
Ditto. Took me three tries to give it up. But it finally stuck.
Now I'm annoyed when I do have to use Windows, because Windows is not as nice, or as configureable, or as fast, or as ad-free, or as straightforward to use as Linux.
I guess i must make some tries cause Microsoft is going the full shit mode again.
New Windows 11 build makes mandatory Microsoft Account sign-in even more mandatory
I recommend the distro Linux Mint 🇮🇪 and it comes with the LibreOffice 🇩🇪 suite.
I am between Mint and Zorin OS. Gonna do a small research and try it on my old SSD.
i use Mint LMDE since a week! :)
I can’t give them up for work tho 💀
It can be hard to convince others to switch over to foss alternatives in that setting but as long you’re doing the right thing yourself that’s all that counts.
Keep supporting the developers building better software and the businesses will eventually take heed to their work.
Does anyone know an app that has the same features of Google maps about the info of local stores/restaurants/bars etc?
I use OpenStreetMap.org on the PC, it has info about shops.
OSMand on the smartphone.
And brouter.web for planning bike commutes.
I am downloading Organic Maps. Supposedly, it runs off openstreetmaps.
Now back to kaspersky
/s
Google maps is still tough for me. What do you use?
I have switched to Organic Maps.
I was hoping that there would be a Wikipedia of maps, and it appears that Organic Maps is the closest thing we have to that.
Organic Maps uses the data of Openstreetmap which functions like the Wikipedia of maps.
Same. So far it's great.
Organic maps. Its pretty good. And they aren't tracking your data
Here WeGo
I also suggest WazeGoogle bought waze 20 years ago
Damn it, I didn't get the memo
Waze is Israeli
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/jun/11/google-buys-waze-maps-billion
The company is still based out of Israel.
https://boycott.thewitness.news/target/waze
And it's still owned by Google for over a decade. Large companies have offices all over the place
Doesn’t change the fact that my original statement is still accurate.
Actually it does. When a company gets bought. It's no longer in existence. Trust me, I know I work for startups and it sucks sometimes but the exit money that would be part of the one point. Whatever billion that you get paid is pretty awesome
I will keep my old Apple iPod classic, since it is paid for and does not track me. I never thought I would regard it as such a treasure since it is the one way I can listen to music without worrying about being attacked by 4 billion parasites.
Yeah now do steam next... I didn't think so
Good Old Games is a great drm-free alternative as they’re polish 🇵🇱
Ok. Do it. Delete your account... Send screenshots
Why are you an assohle about it?
I'm sorry if someone has a different opinion than you that doesn't make them an a******. But to answer your question hypocrites be hypocriting and I called it out.
You're still being an ass.
you're just a dick bro
This is the big one. Steam are currently seen as the exception to the rule largely due to Gabe's commitment to the gaming community. It's one of the few large American companies that actually seem to practice what they preach. This is probably largely due to steam being privately owned rather than publicly traded, so Gabe can afford to do stuff that benefits his customers, rather than milk them for the shareholders benefit.
Once good ol' Gabe is gone though, steam will likely eventually be sold publicly and the gradual enshittification brought about by the American shareholder will be inevitable, so whilst steams not an immediate threat like other American platforms, you're certainly not wrong to bring them up as a potential threat.
You don’t have delete your account. Just stop buying games on steam.
So you're not removing it from your life?
I just gave you an alternative, it’s not about being perfect but to reduce our reliance on the us.
This response reeks of defending your questionable choices as you attacked others for being “hypocritical” while unironically intending to continue to buy all your games on steam.
Buying most of your games from alternatives stores is much better than only on steam. Also fyi information itch.io is also American.
Someone earlier called me out for largely using Costco instead of just farmer’s markets/local groceries/ethnic stores and I didn’t lash out at them like you did earlier.
So then you're not trying to eliminate All American companies from your existence. You just want to remove some of them. For what reason? Where is the line? Help me understand your point of view.
Also, I am not going around saying I'm eliminating all x from my life for reasons I'm unable to articulate. I mean it sounds like you want to eliminate all American companies except for the ones from the Pacific Northwest like steam and Costco. Does that mean you're supporting what Boeing has done?
Like I said I'm planning to completely migrate away from the american stuff but it takes time to remove some of them as you need to research and adapt to the alternatives before you're comfortable enough to switch over. First you have to identify the problem before you begin to fix it. That's why I have a list of 34 american companies that are still in use that I'm whittling away at, I just got rid of Bluesky, Apple Music and Duolingo.
Companies in that region tend to have the best work culture but the ceos such as Gabe Newell and W. Craig Jelinek are still paid way too much above the average worker. Valve and Costco are definitely last on the chopping block due to their good reputations. The goal is to use GOG more and visit Farmer's markets more often before I ditch the last 2 companies based in Washington.
That is an example of whatboutism. No, that's why I prefer Airbus because they have a better track record. The commercial aircraft manufacturing sector needs more competition that's for sure.
If you have already purchased your steam games what is the point of deleting your account?
Also, I use Gog with steam. But Gog by itself without steam input and steam's backing of proton makes it kind of untenable
Well I got Factorio directly from the devs. Also been playing a few games from GoG but I do wish they better supported Linux.