Just downloaded it to give it a try! So far missing autocorrect a little bit, but, honestly, I’m optimistic about how the keyboard can improve my typing (and diction). Much slower but also more well thought out. Auto lets you type fast, maybe too fast.

I will have to get used to typing apostrophes again though…

How long have you been running it so far? Any issues?

Everyone outside of the U.S. almost assuredly still has SMS capabilities, it’s just not common utilized because everyone is already on WhatsApp or Telegram. It’s where their friends are, locking them into the ecosystem, which is exactly what I just said. And I would be willing to wager the only reason WhatsApp really got huge was because SMS hasn’t always been free to use and may still not be free in some countries and with some plans.

Telegram, Signal and WhatsApp are fine, as for privacy how exactly are SMS better?

I wasn’t speaking to privacy specifically, but where all your friends are.

If you want privacy, then you shouldn’t be using Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp anyway, considering both are owned by Meta and their privacy track record is shaky at best.

Signal is a great choice, but we get back to the main point where not everyone is on Signal, and once you are on Signal you’re locked in to using Signal and must have their app to participate in the conversation.

My point wasn’t that SMS is better, but it’s simpler and more widely available and doesn’t require a standalone application to use.

Ideally we would use an open standard like the Matrix standard to communicate, that way you can download whatever application you want and have all the privacy you could ever desire, but not have to download some random messaging application just to catch up from Gary from primary school

If you’re technically savvy, it looks like you could self-host the application. https://github.com/beeper/self-host

It sounds like a too good to be true situation. Definitely an interesting concept though. Sounds like they use remote servers to connect to the third-party apps using your credentials and then transcribe the messages using the Matrix protocol to the app. Source here and snippet below

Beeper consists of two main components:

• A client app that runs on your devices.
• A web service run by Beeper.

… Beeper’s web service consists of a Matrix homeserver and infrastructure to run open source bridges that connect to 15 different chat networks.

Currently free but also will be a Plus version eventually rolling out, according to the FAQ

For now, everyone has access to all the features of Beeper Plus for free. At some point in 2023, we will begin charging $5-10 per month for Beeper Plus.

Also, no humor is lost on the fact that it is dangerously close to Wuph from The Office…

It’s exactly what social media platforms, particularly Facebook, want. They want you to feel locked in because your friends are there

I don’t know why people don’t just use more SMS. You don’t need all the fancy bells and whistles, it shouldn’t change the conversation you’re having, especially with the gradual rollout of rich messages, and it has a wider audience than Facebook will ever have. More people have SMS than have Facebook

Definitely would second Plex. Previously I just had an external hard drive with my library on it but that isn’t as accessible.

With Plex, you can easily get started just installing it on a personal computer and let it grow over time. I had mine on my personal computer for years before recently upgrading to a NAS and it’s top tier. Makes streaming to any device effortless and helps you organize your library

Awesome list. I was already using most of these but the DNS is new to me, so I’ll give it a spin. I was already using AdAway on my phone but that was already handling the DNS traffic, so I had to disable it. I like the Mullvad DNS better because AdAway was working as a psuedo-VPN which wasn’t ideal

This is so wacky it’s astounding.

You don’t buy a company for their servers or employees, those can be found elsewhere for the same price. You buy a company for its users and its brand. To throw away one of the most icon brands in the world, which is present in the footer of every major website in the world, is baffling.

What is the end game here?

I think this is just so funny. They took what was simple, made it way too complex, and are now scrapping the whole concept which has been around for a decade because it’s too cluttered because of the complexity they introduced

Also worth mentioning that dual booting with windows is easy and will give you some time to transition. Get yourself used to Linux while still having a “fallback” if things get too hairy

You can also print at a library in the US

Flipboard is a little more customizable but not sure if it meets all your requirements.

You could also give Pocket a try, it has a “Discover” mode that could be what you’re looking for. Made by Mozilla so (hopefully) that comes with a little more privacy built in. It’d be my personal choice, but I’m not sure what features you need

I prefer Edge to Chrome (for Chromium uses, Firefox all the way for anything else), but Edge is starting to get so bloated. It’s becoming reminiscent of the old Internet Explorer toolbars. They just have so many features the screen is getting cluttered

They truly are some of the greatest disappointments of our cinematic era. So much hype for nothing. The Hobbit and Game of Thrones will outlive most movies and shows culturally just based on how badly they were received