Yes, you should support open source when possible if the project(s) you use are beneficial to you! Your dollars are far more valuable to help out a small team of independent volunteers vs multi-billion dollar corporations that really don't need it.

If you can't donate money, donate your time / skills or do both! Make the world of software a better place, one small contribution at a time!

I used to use Brave, then used Bromite but that got abandoned. I think there's another fork of it, but ultimately I just use Firefox which has worked better for me overall.

Browsers are a big attack vector for exploits and security is very important. Firefox releases patches regularly and I don't have to worry about it being abandoned like some others. I disabled whatever telemetry / sponsored stuff they have enabled by default and feel it's a good balance of security & privacy + doesn't have the DRM crap chromium is trying to add.

Their extension support is nice too.

That's great! Deceptive pricing is so annoying. First time I had to rent a U-Haul, I quickly learned it does not cost $19.95. Not even close.

Dreame L10 pro robo vacuum / mop. I rooted it and run Valetudo on it so it doesn't use a proprietary third party cloud service. It works very well and my floors have never been cleaner!

Ugh, why must the Pro be so much larger than the regular Pixel 8? I really would prefer an 8 Pro with a smaller size.

I've been wanting something smaller than my OnePlus 8T, but the 8 Pro is even bigger.

I enjoyed my time with Windows 7. I even remember the Windows 7 launch party marketing. Never upgraded to 10, certainly not upgrading to 11. Happy with my adventures in Linux.

While I love Raspberry Pis and have a few older ones, it's a shame that the latest ones were very hard to come by and far exceeded the $35 price point.

I was looking to upgrade to a Pi 4 a while back but prices were outrageous or it was sold out completely. I eventually discovered tiny form factor PCs.

I bought some used Lenovo Tiny ThinkCentres (which are about 10x more powerful than a Pi 4), off eBay for ~ $70. I upgraded the Ram and SSDs and they are quite capable, low power units!

So to anyone looking for a low power computer to run Linux, consider buying used off eBay. You can get some pretty good deals on used hardware that's more capable.

It's a good feeling knowing that my basic non-internet connected car can't receive an OTA update to make me start paying a subscription to use something I already have just because the company decided they want more money.

I'll admit the hardware on iPhones is excellent but waaayy overkill for iOS.

Let me install my own third party apps w/o the App store (I know altstore exists, but needing to renew apps every few days is super janky). If I spend my money on a device, I should be allowed to put whatever I want on it, however I want. Let me, the consumer accept the risks of doing so.

Let me use HDMI out over USB-C to an external monitor and have a full desktop with ability to run desktop class apps. Let me use the full potential of the chipsets to get actual work done and effectively replace a computer.

Till then, Android it is for me because I can do both these things easily. I know my use cases are more niche, but "Pro" naming on consumer Apple products is just fluff.

I use Vim everyday! I'm so glad I took the time to learn it as it has increased my productivity significantly and now I can't imagine not using it. Thanks Bram, for your amazing work over the years. RIP

Termux

This app alone is one of the huge reasons why I prefer Android. I love that I can natively run a bunch of Linux utilities directly on my phone and use it like I would a regular computer. Everything from Vim, Python, and various networking utilities, I've played around with so many different tools which has helped expand my skillset over the years.

I also use the Termux-X11 addon to have a full xfce desktop environment running on an external monitor with HDMI out over USB-C.

Phones are quite capable devices and using tools like these really unlocks their full potential.

Less tactile controls made me choose a 2014 over 2015 Honda Accord when I bought my car a few years back, and I'm very happy with it! Can't imagine having most everything controlled with a touch screen. The only tech I need is Bluetooth and a backup camera. Screw software subscriptions and OTA updates to potentially alter the car I own outright.