For those on Pixel devices, check out GrapheneOS. If not CalyxOS or LineageOS

Its important that we have devices that we control. If your phone doesn't allow bootloader unlock so you can install a different operating system, that's a problem. Claims that security is compromised if bootloaders can be unlocked are just companies using a convenient excuse to maintain control over a device you paid for.

In order for that feature to work, you need to give google permission to see who's calling you and when activated (and possibly even when not activated) listen to the phone conversation. That data is going back to google servers for processing. Gemini is also feeding off of that data. If you're concerned with the original post regarding WhatsApp data being fed to Gemini, why would you be okay with allowing google to listen in on your phone conversations, all for the small convenience of avoiding spam bots?

If you have voicemail and caller ID, just don't pickup the call if it isn't from a known contact.

If you're also thinking that google isn't collecting data without your consent, they literally just got fined 300+ million for doing exactly that.

Modal editors in general are awesome. Currently using Helix as my goto editor

I like to use btrfs subvolumes inside a luks lvm volume for this reason.

I think Spotify is missing the point. People who care about Hi-Fi, care about the music, which means they care about the artists, which means they likely care about the treatment of those artists.

In my eyes the only real value Spotify adds is their discovery features.

There was no mention of this, but if you're dual booting (which I don't recommend to anyone anymore) that might be causing the Bluetooth issue. Windows doesn't properly "let go" of some Hardware when you "shut down" with default settings. This is because the default settings are to hibernate instead of properly shutting down. Linux boots up and the hardware doesn't load correctly.

I don't believe that's a pixel specific benefit but yes relocking the bootloader is best for security. The unlocking process is needed to install an alternative OS though.

Please don't associate dogs to those people. Dogs deserve better.

Signal is also a great alternative to WhatsApp. Molly for the extra privacy focused.

Long shot to try when all the other suggestions failed. If you're dual booting, you may need to disable hibernation on the windows side so that when it shuts down it actually shuts down and releases hardware attachments. Ive have network, Bluetooth, and USB issues when windows wasn't configured correctly to work in a dual booting setup.

Ive switched to running syncthing inside termux. Battery life has actually improved significantly. You need to manually start syncthing after a reboot though. There's probably a way to start it automatically using scripts or an automation app.

I'm guessing the use of AI is partially contributing to this drop.

A bit more setup is required but I love having a Wise (formerly TransferWise) account for the virtual cards and the low fee currency conversion.

Your correct. It is redundant. I think I needed the lvm layer to get an installer to recognize the luks partition. Can't remember if it's Pop or Fedora. That installer bug might be fixed now though. One day I'll check and update my drive so its just using btrfs on luks.

Not sure why, but BT experiences interference when in my pocket. The signal gets choppy when sections of my torso get in the way. Which is always when my phone is in my pocket. So I got USBC headphones/dongle.

On a bike ride, I noticed the audio was starting to disconnect. This happens often on rides and runs since the USBC plug sticks out a lot from the port and slowly wiggles loose. Except this time it wasn't loose. The leverage of the long plug on the short connector damaged the port. This never would have happened with a headphone jack. It has a strong connection that can rotate freely. Now I have a phone that can't charge or play music.

My next phone will be a sony xperia some they still have the jack and still allow the bootloader to be unlocked.

Okay, "never would have happened" is an exaggerated statement. But you're talking about the headphone wires breaking. I'm talking about the USBC port on the phone itself breaking. I've never had a headphone jack PORT break. But Ive had 2 phones USBC ports fail from pressure on the plug.

I would much rather have the wire on headphones fail instead of the port on the device itself.

I'm a fan of the uBlue distros Bazzite (gaming), Aurora (KDE), and Bluefin (Gnome and software devs). Other than that, Mint, Fedora, or Pop beta if you want to try the new Cosmic desktop

Question, do you have a gaming desktop? Could you just get a less powerful laptop and use sunshine and moonlight?

Might need to search around for exact commands but the main thing is you'll need the fdroid or source apk of termux for this to work from what I remember. So setup termux up on Obtainium or fdroid. Then inside termux pkg install syncthing should work. You might need to run the storage scripts found here https://wiki.termux.com/wiki/Internal_and_external_storage You can move over your existing syncthing exported config files (remove encryption first before exporting) to ~/.local/state/syncthing and edit the config.xml file. Remove the lines for username and password. This will allow you to create a new username and password when you run syncthing in termux. It should open a browser window to http://127.0.0.1:8384/ which is the normal syncthing web interface.

Throw out/donate junk food. Don't buy more. Ask yourself if your actually hungry before getting a snack. Often times I'm just bored or procrastinating. But ive found the most success with HARD REASONABLE RULES.

Example : 2023 was the year of zero alcohol. I did it for a year and gave myself permission to drink again after the year's end. I didn't. Stopped caring about drinking after a few months without it. I can count the number of drinks on one hand I've had since then.

Example 2: 2024 was the no Candy and no ice cream year. Candy was defined as "anything you could find in a Halloween bag"

Ive found a lot of success with HARD reasonable clearly defined rules.