Amazing how easy it is to sell the US Gov new toys it doesn’t need.

“…ensure the U.S. is at the bleeding edge of next-generation drone warfare.”

Translation:

Pay threw the nose for expensive proprietary software that will eventually be made obsolete by it’s open-source equivalent.

Google Pixel hardware is focused on providing a private relationship between the user (your data and behavioral patterns) and Google.

Depending on your threat model you can flash custom roms to enhance your privacy and security posture.

A lot of folks here seem to be of the “…just flash GrapheneOS and you’re good…” crowd but it’s not that simple and there are trade-offs that impact usability and user experience.

There are a lot of interesting projects out there to choose from. Best advice is to work-up your real world threat model and do your reasearch.

You may find Louis Rossman’s experience with GrapheneOS relevant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4To-F6W1NT0&t=1

Here’s a few links to help get you started - there are many android projects. I am not affiliated nor am I explicitly endorsing any of these projects.

CalyxOS https://calyxos.org/

LineageOS https://lineageos.org/

HavocOS https://havoc-os.com/

ResurrectionRemix https://resurrectionremix.com/

DerpFest https://derpfest.org/

PixelExperience https://wiki.pixelexperience.org/

GrapheneOS https://grapheneos.org/

St, Xterm, Terminator - depends on hardware and os.

I’m most comfortable when my window manager and terminal emulator are well integrated and keyboard centric.

Love that I can easily switch from phone to laptop when working with Fadein.

Linux makes a fantastic writing / research machine but helping folks make the transition to Linux can be difficult.

Everyone comes at it from a different angle and with a different intensity. Sometimes just letting them explore available options can be what they need. I’ve found that allowing the transition to be an open, running conversation, can be really helpful and much less stressful. There’s a lot to learn, even with Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, etc…

If you haven’t found them already, here’s a few personal favorite writing apps/systems (in no particular order) I’ve enjoyed using over the years.

Fadein https://www.fadeinpro.com/

Focus writer https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/

Wordgrinder http://cowlark.com/wordgrinder/index.html

Emacs org-mode https://jacmoes.wordpress.com/2019/09/24/creative-writing-with-emacs/#Manuskript_and_the_cork_board

No. ReadMe files should be concise, explicit, and text only. UI/UX screenshots can be part of the repo, wiki, or associated website but they shouldn’t be in the ReadMe.

If you don’t understand the software you’re installing from some rando stranger’s git repo then you shouldn’t install it. Period. Take the opportunity to learn more or use another tool.

Git repos are not app stores. The devs don’t owe you anything.

The vast majority of software in publicly accessible git repos are personal projects, hobbies, and one-off experiments.

Your relationship with the software and the devs that create and maintain it is your responsibility. Try talking to the devs, ask them questions, attempt to understand why they constructed their project in whatever specific way they have. You might make some new friends, or learn something really interesting. And if you encounter rudeness, hostility, or incompetence you’re free to move on, such is the nature of our ever-evolving open-source community.

We bring a lot of preconceived notions into the open-source / foss / software development space as we embark on our own journey of personal development. I try to always remember it’s the journey of discovery and the relationships we curate along the way that is the real prize.

Quillnote + Signal’s “note to self”

You can find Quillnote in both Droid and Google’s Play Store.