Happy to be part of the top 1% in this case.

No, I setup a MacOS VM on my home Linux server using docker-osx which runs a bluebubbles server. It doesn’t use Matrix.

This is cool but I’m happy self hosting bluebubbles.

I installed nameless on my 8t. It works well but Google Pay breaks occasionally with a “Device doesn’t meet security requirements”. On both instances, was able to fix with using a play integrity module but kinda annoying knowing it may not always be reliable.

Might regret it but I just ordered an S23 after trying it out at BestBuy. I saw that Samsung had a Black Friday deal for $200 off with trade-in of an old device. I have an old Galaxy S7 just sitting in a drawer and was amazed to see it on the list of accepted devices.

I’ve really been wanting a smaller phone as my OnePlus 8T gets really uncomfortable to hold after a while. Love everything about it except the size.

I also looked at the Pixel 8 but the S23 felt like the better choice with less compromises. Pixel 8 Pro is even bigger than my 8t, so no-go there.

Really wish the S23 was rootable (in US at least). That’s prob the biggest drawback for me. Will see if I can live without that.

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!

Might as well make it a burst of 9 presses, wait, and then 2 single presses /s

For the technically skilled, there is BlueBubbles to get iMessage on Android. I set this up recently and it works quite well. I’m running a MacOS Ventura virtual machine using docker-osx on one of my personal servers and pretty much all iMessage functionality is available. I modified the Android (flutter) project locally to get my own push notifications working using my self-hosted ntfy instance as a UnifiedPush provider instead of needing to use Firebase.

There is also Beeper which bridges iMessage and many other chat services in one app, but I wanted something fully open source that I can manage myself, plus I think there’s still a wait-list and I didn’t want to hand over my Apple ID to a third party.

It’s hard trying to convince people (esp. iPhone users) to use a cross platform solution because they perceive us Android users as the problem and they know iMesssge just works. And for the non- technical, that’s understandable even if frustrating. So as a software engineer, I am the one making accomodations so they can still use iMessage. But it also made for a fun project for me to learn about.

Ya Plex vs Kodi is really more an apples and oranges comparison. Should be Plex vs Jellyfin.

That said though, I did start off with Kodi as my own media center on a Raspberry Pi, but eventually discovered Jellyfin and have really enjoyed it. Kodi is great too, but I think Jellyfin is the more refined modern streaming equivalent akin to Netflix that’s fully open source unlike Plex.

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.

If this has HDMI output over USB-C, I might be tempted to buy.

PiHole with the Star Trek web UI theme. I think it looks pretty nice and has worked well for me.

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 def agree that there needs to be major interoperability improvements between platforms. Though I do not want to be locked into using Google Messages to get RCS. I wish they’d open their API to other apps and even more so allow self-hosting your own RCS server but I don’t foresee the latter ever happening.

Ya there’s Matrix and whatnot which I use with some people, but most everyone just wants what works by default. I like to tinker and have options, but most people don’t.

Till then, I’ll enjoy postage stamp resolution videos from my Apple friends /s

Part of their Zenfone marketing is keeping “legacy” features like headphone jack and small form factor, they should allow unlocking. Hopefully they’ll follow through and allow you to modify the device that you purchased.

I should rephrase. It works, but as of now the Android mode doesn’t look all that different. I notice some minor changes, but still feels mostly like an iOS app.

Ya that would be my main complaint. Awesome app for iOS users, but Android here. Doesn’t seem the Android mode works ATM but I’ll keep an eye on the progress! Good efforts from devs regardless!