Well, California was a Spanish colony, sfter all.

This stuff is embarassimg. I swear, next time i travel I’m gonna have to claim I am Canadian.

The stupid - it burns!

I’m American and switched to all that except ksuite over a decade ago. Started with linux back in '95 with Slackware.

I suggest you fully switch to Linux, and use QEMU to host Windows 10. Fire that up when necessary. Most windows software including games can be run in linux with Wine/Proton - no Windows needed.

Best to have 32G RAM, for flexibility.

Once you get comfortable, set up your own cloud. The simple hands-off choice is Synology, but there are good FOSS options. Set up a personal vpn secured with a certificate and a domain name, and you have your cloud wherever you need it.

I use OpenVPN and activate it briefly when i need something on my NAS, then disconnect. Joplin via WebDAV works well with this setup, as do shared volumes.

I’m the same way, been using that for my P6 and P2 XL. I thought the P2 battery or usb-c was failing 4 years ago until I degoogled it with Lineage for MicroG. Zero problems charging it after that, and battery is still adequate. It disxharges faster now, but at 6 yo, one has to expect degradation.

Adaway is the other must-have app for me as it blocks adware, spyware, malware at the OS level.

I will unroot my phone or use a different encryoted phone when i travel overseas because rooted phones are insecure if the bad actor gets physical access.

Must be nice. I bought mine 5 years ago and apparently will never receive it. $700 - poof! $700 gone forever. At this point, it’d be good for a paperweight.

I know a few are on F-droid, so he could get those at least

I get those with Magisk/LSposed, but having it by default is nice. Maybe i will check it out sometime.

Does it have parental controls?

Anything you get from f-droid or Izzy will work fine. OsmAnd is on F-droid. Anything from play store will expect google push notifications, etc., so you need microg or equivalent.

I found that google voice is working with LineageOS with MicroG. The last time i checked a year or so ago, it didn’t.

Written with a slightly more precise wording, they know Linux users have full control of their devices, so cannot keep them from using it in ways the company does not like. In this case, fine. Go away and take someone else’s money.

Stated from another angle, they won’t support it because they can’t hijack it for their own purposes.

Neo Backup is the new titanium as of about 5 years ago. Now, if only i could get TWRP back…

Neo Backup on F-Droid. Backs up everything based on how you configure it. Copy the backupsvto your new phone and restore.

It requires root, of course. Yet another reason to have root. I run backup before flashing and copy it to a flash card in case i have to reset or wipe the phone as part of the process, or i screw it up and have to start from scratch.

I feel the way you do. I always keep some cash, don’t bother with those cash apps, and use a credit card with a good cash back plan. To me the cost of going digital in this area outweighs all benefits.

This. This, this, this, this!

My linux computers are rooted. I can get root any time i need it and nobody is refusing to offer their sevices on linux because it is vulnerable.

Nobody ever points out that when any app wants root, you get a dialog to ask if it can have it. If you don’t know why it’s asking, say no. It ain’t rocket science.

Now, if you are going through customs and you don’t want them to copy your phone and read all your personal documents, that is a different situation. Lock your bootloader unrooted and encryped to the nines. Preferably use a phone with almost nothing on it.

Enjoy the much safer Chinese military spyware.

Those of us who actually use VPN don’t have that option since only one can be in use. Magisk + AdAway, for me.

It’s painful disabling knox so you can root or flash custom roms.

This is what i motivates me, too, though you go in more than i. I love having my degoogled pixel 2xl on Android 14 and running almost as snappy as my pixel 6.

I finally gave up on my moto x 2013 about 2 years ago, but i still have it. It’s like holding a river stone that perfectly firs my hand.

That only blocks for the browser. What about your apps? I never see add banners or popups in apps as i use adaway. Further, I can customize with well maintained blocklists that include other categories like malware and harvesting sites.

I left the pc gaming scene about 20 years ago and only came bacj this year. I found my steam credentials from when they were initially seeking players and revived my account (I closed my email on the account back in 2009, so i couldn’t recover).

I’ve mostly been playing vSkyrim, BG 3, and a few emulated Zelda games. I finally ordered a new gaming laptop because Cyberpunk 2077 is hard to rrad on the Deck, even on a 50" tv on hi-res.

All that is just so you all know where I’m coming from, i am both a newb and a veteran!

From a business standpoint, looking ant it form the non-gaming financial point of view, the move to online-only makes very compelling sense.

It fully implements the licensing model, gives them total control over the property, enables them to generate reports that accurately identify trndsvin user populations, pinpoint steady revenue figures, and they can kill the game as soon as it isn’t valuable to them anymore, and they don’t have to worry about losing revenue from sharing, passing the copy to an otherwise paying customer for free, or a significant pirtiin of piracy loss.

Itvis the end state of the “we are mearly licensing it to you until such time as we decide ee want it back” model.

It sucks, and if i can know it is online only before buying, i will pass. All of us should. Revenue is king to them, and if they lose even a little, they will try something else.

Well said… Two weeks before the equivalent i posted moments ago.