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Here I share my personal journey with hardware and what I found most helpful.
1) My journey & preferred Hardware
2) Interesting Alternatives
3) Commentary on Operating Systems
4) Backup Procedure
5) Commentary on Phones
1) My journey & preferred Hardware
The first purchase I made when I started getting paid to work was a cheap laptop so I could use it for university. In a year the thing broke twice. Then I started just looking for something reliable, that would last me many years. I thought that if going cheap was my mistake, then I should try the other way around. So I went with a Macbook Pro. To be honest that machine lasted 10 years. At the very end it just got as slow as a turtle (I like turtles, but not as a comparison to my computer speed). After that time I didn’t have the money to afford an Apple product anymore, but I also lost interest in it.
My family had older laptops that weren’t working properly, so I started researching and found out that I could use a lightweight Linux distribution on the older laptops and bring them back to life. It worked! Then I found out that there are older laptops that are very well built, much cheaper, and easier to repair… So I bought my first Thinkpad.
Maybe thinkpads are a bit of a meme in the Linux community, but it actually works very well. The one I went with is a x200, from 2008. Mine is also corebooted because I was trying to go for a more libre and privacy respecting laptop. So far it has been working very well for me. I would definitely recommend Thinkpads and GNU/Linux distributions as alternatives to other devices and operating systems.
2) Interesting Alternatives
I haven't used those machines personally, but those are alternatives I find interesting, in case you are looking for one. There are other (more popular) linux machines, but here I wish to promote the projects I like the best. They are more experimental, so, please, do you own research.
Pinebook - cheaper machine, and you can find lots of reviews on these.
MNT Reform - this one is earlier in development, but it seems ready for purchase.
EOMA68 - I want this one to work, but it's not ready yet for purchase.
3) Commentary on Operating Systems
This is a harder thing to choose, and some people are very passionate about it. But I can confidently suggest GNU/Linux as a great option for most people. When it comes to distributions, then you can choose the one that works best for you. Some are built to only work with free software, while others (most) allow proprietary software. Some people avoid systemd, while others don’t mind it so much. Please do your own research according to your needs and preferences. Up to now, I've had a good experience with:
Also, I’ve been experimenting with using my OS from a flash drive and it has been a positive experience so far. I can write more about that another time.
BSD’s also seem interesting, but I don’t have much experience with it. If that tickles your fancy, I would suggest:
4) Backup Procedure
I prefer to store my data on external drives instead of utilizing cloud services. I have one drive readily available, and another one stored. With that system I can even store all my data exclusively on external drives, leaving my main machine clean. You can find what works best for you. If you feel the need for a cloud service, I would consider:
If you don’t know how to set up a Nextcloud server, you could set a free account on:
Yeat another alternative could be:
5) Commentary on Phones
I don’t particularly enjoy phones (I was never much of a talker). I find them to be too distracting, as well as not being a good option in regards to privacy. Ideally I would have no phone at all (apart from a house line), but that is not how I am living at the moment. I bought a simple Nokia 3310 (a feature phone). It works pretty well and I have with it a simple prepaid service.
I guess my friends got worried about me (not having a smartphone) and gave me an older one that they weren’t using (thank you, the gesture was very kind). So, with that one I installed LineageOS on it, and chose apps in the F-droid library.
Mind you that LineageOS is not necessarily the best OS for privacy, but it was the one I could install easily. Even if you don’t want a custom rom (OS), you could still use F-droid to download the apps you wish (as long as you are using an android phone). My preferred apps are:
Bromite - web browser (*avoid browsers if possible*).
EDS lite - disk encryption software.
F-droid - a free and open-source app library.
K9 Mail - mail client (if you really need email on your phone).
Linphone - voice calls, text messages, and video calls.
Organic maps - maps (also, only if you really need it).
Simple Mobile Tools - a bundle of basic tools (*they are offered for free via F-droid*).
As a final note, if you must buy a smartphone (hopefully you won't need one at all), then I would consider checking:
Pinephone - interesting affordable open-source phone.
Librem5 - open-source phone, but expensive for what you get.
Keep in mind that open-source phones are still new and experimental, but it is good that we can find alternatives.