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I personally switched from NextCloud to Syncthing.

Syncthing:

• is easier for me to maintain,
• allows for the “server” to be behind NAT,
• lets me have multiple “servers” at the same time (eg. something at home and a VPS)
• lets me have certain “servers” set as untrusted, so all data on them is encrypted, while others can have it unencrypted for easier access I put “server” in quotes, as Syncthing doesn’t really have a server, all clients are equal peers.

On the other hand, NextCloud:

• gives me a way to share files by link with others,
• lets me browse files via a web interface,
• mobile app lets me access files as I need them instead of having to synchronize everything.

I wonder how it compares with Ergo IRC Server. Seems to take the more minimalistic approach.

It uses systemd services. My understanding is that it aims to have the applications installed in the most straightforward way possible - avoiding containers where possible.

Looks like YunoHost, but hearing about the licensing issues, I’ll stick with YunoHost.

I do - because shipping with Windows means that I pay for a Windows license when buying the product.

I did! Don’t expect too much stability out of it, but I was surprised to say that the latest version worked pretty stable and nicely for me. I can definitely recommend it.

Unpopular opinion: non-pro can handle the OS just fine and then some. Try out SailfishOS (unfortunately not OSS) - it’s as smooth as butter. Or UBPorts - it works great (unfortunately both Sailfish and UBPorts aren’t as polished when it comes to actual hardware support on PinePhone, but they show nicely what could be done). I don’t think I even need to mention Sxmo, which is no surprise that it works great, but its approach is definitely not for everyone.

It’s just Gnome/Plasma that are mainly developed for “big” computers and are pretty wasteful. But the situation is definitely improving.

It’s mandated by the EU: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52021XC1229(06) (see point 6a).

Matrix works, but it’s way harder and more expensive to selfhost than for example XMPP, which can be hosted even on cheapest VPS or first RPi. I would definitely take the cost and “how hard is it to maintain in the long run” into consideration.

Mattermost also works and is pretty easy to selfhost, but it doesn’t have federation.

Another option is always an email with delta.chat - I don’t think it offers voice calling, but email is one of the most basic services one can host, and many automated solutions to help with that exist.

Vim/Emacs/… starter kits achieve the same experience.

Which Vim/Emacs/… starter kit sets up the same keyboard navigation model as Helix uses? I think that it’s its main strength, the selection -> action approach, which is quite intuitive (at least for me once I’ve tried) is what really matters in Helix. The rest is just an addition, the one that makes it a quite competent and convenient environment to work with, but an addition.

I have a PinePhone and the article is on point.

My understanding is: Android is here for many years now. When it was just released I got the HTC G1 and it was only barely better than what Mobian + Phosh present right now. Add to that many years of polishing by some of the most powerful corporations out there and you end up with Android as it is today.

Mobile Linux made unbelieveable progress. It is, in my opinion, almost as usable as a dumb phone as first Androids were. The problem is as others have pointed it out, we need people working tirelessly on thankless polishing of everything around it. It’s hard without throwing money at that issue.

Not if you’re willing to flash your own firmware, what is often possible: https://tasmota.github.io/docs/ (and others)

Most of the time it requires opening the switch and connecting to the serial port that’s inside more or less exposed. Nothing especially difficult, but can be a little intimidating at first. It’s not easy to fail, though, and those switches are so cheap that even if you manage to break it somehow then the loss is not great.

Personally I’m using Fedora and it’s as painless for me as it gets. I don’t think Linux desktop can get any smoother than that.

As far as I know the Fedora Workstation (with Gnome) is really polished. I’m personally using KDE, which - being KDE - has a rough edge here and there, but it’s getting so much better with each upgrade that I’m really impressed now.