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Here I share about my current hardware and what I found most helpful and/or interesting.
1) Current Hardware
2) Interesting Alternatives
3) Commentary on Operating Systems
4) Backup Procedure
5) Commentary on Phones
1) My current Hardware
Maybe thinkpads are a bit of a meme in the Linux community, but it's working well for me. The one I went with is a x200. Mine is also corebooted because I was experimenting with a more libre and privacy respecting laptop. So far, so good.
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 some alternatives. 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.
JingPad A1 - interesting ARM-based Linux tablet.
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 many people. When it comes to distributions, 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 experiences with:
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'm not much interested in phones. 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) and it works fine.
Some friends got worried about me not having a smartphone and gave me an older one that they weren’t using anymore (thank you, the gesture was very kind). So, with that one I installed LineageOS on it, and chose apps using the F-droid library.
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:
Antennapod - podcast manager and player.
Bromite - web browser (*avoid browsers if possible*).
F-droid - a free and open-source app library.
K9 Mail - mail client (if you really need email on your phone).
Netguard - block access to the internet per application.
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 wish to experiment with alternative smartphones, you could 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.