There are a few things that don’t work very well, mostly to do with multi window apps and how some older apps need to run through XWayland (which 99% of the time it works brilliantly! There are a couple weird issues, but most of those are easily fixable through some command argument before opening an app)

I an also running EndeavourOS (which is awesome!) with Niri + Noctalia (which also uses Wayland), and I have no issues :D

systray-x works very well as an alternative on Wayland!

Note that the term is most common for people of East Asian backgrounds! And, at least from my experience in HK, the term is also used for Asian people (mixed or otherwise) who grew up in Western culture.

Westernised Asian, mostly used to describe mixed people (East Asian and European), but I have also heard it being used to describe Asians (mixed or otherwise) who grew up in a western culture (at least it’s common in Hong Kong).

It’s sometimes used for people who are proud of their heritage / background, but it is unfortunately also often used in a negative sense by bad people.

I am not too big of a fan of the term, it’s a bit silly and too generalised. Somebody who is part Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, etc. will all have different cultures, experiences, and traditions! It also doesn’t help that it’s another term that generalises “Asians” as specifically meaning just East Asian people. However, some people are perfectly fine with the term, and that’s ok too!

That’s good to hear! I wish you all the best then :D

Also, why are you (cm0002) cross-posting so much of the content of .ml constantly, good or bad? It’s nice to see more activity on the Fediverse, but mate not all the stuff from .ml should be reshared (one of the reasons why it was defederated was poor moderation!)

Nothing against you in particular, and giving more activity to other communities is important, but maybe don’t reshare what are basically advertisements? It doesn’t help that you aren’t citing where you got the specific post from.

I think your intention is good, and keep doing what you’re doing, but check the quality of the stuff you share maybe?

…why would you want to run an LLM on a USB stick? That seems like a horrible idea!

requires an internet connection and user sign-in

That’s a big nope, especially for something that’s meant to be portable!

Again, you have dodged all my other points. Plus, using it as a tool (checking for bugs, running tests, that sort of stuff) is very different from telling your staff to only vibe code software!

And it’s still not working, the Linux client for Epic Games failed spectacularly with lots of issues. The recent vibe coded replicas of Photoshop and friends have lots of bugs and crashes too (morally grey area in my book due to Adobe being an awful company, less people paying their exorbitant subscriptions is always better, but undeniably the “clones” are broken)

My personal opinion is that LLMs shouldn’t be used at all except for certain use cases, namely translation and processing large data sets (computers are good at repeating tasks, LLMs are no different). However, of course, some people will be using LLMs for programming. I do not and am against it, but people do what people do, however there is a difference between using it a tool and claiming that it will replace human programming. Neither is particularly amazing in my book, but almost everybody would agree that the latter is much, much worse, for jobs, the maintainability of the codebase, and user experience (broken apps are bad!)

Epic Games are claiming to “vibe code” all their software and repeating the rhetoric of the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic. Turns out, everybody does not like it when companies ship broken software that doesn’t work at all, and boasting about it will hurt your image.

that matters very little here

I would imagine most people would prefer supporting someone who doesn’t donate to racists! LLMs, especially corporate ones, are typically associated with the far-right because it’s literally giving a handful of companies supreme power over your information, your code, your independent thinking, and most importantly in this case your creativity (a fascist’s wet dream).

Also, you seem to have ignored my main points about Valve. Their monopoly is bad, we should support other third-party stores like itch.io and GOG more! You have also ignored Valve’s contribution to Linux gaming and their genuine innovation in hardware (see Steam Deck, Frame VR headset, Steam Controller 2, etc.)

Hi friend! Epic Games actively promoting that they are “vibe coding” all their software and being all cocky is not good.

The effective monopoly by Valve is not great, and DRM games are not good at all, but prices aren’t being driven up like the console market is, they are awesomely supporting Linux with projects like Proton, they are innovating with hardware (albeit unfulfilled orders are big problem that they need to fix!), meanwhile Epic is boasting about a broken vibe coded Linux client and they are not offering anything much of value to the open-source community, nothing like Proton at the very least!

I would encourage everybody to purchase games through GOG and itch.io if it’s available there, with Steam as a last resort e.g. for some multiplayer titles! Lutris, Heroic, etc. exist if you use Linux :D

The CEO of Epic Games has also donated lots of money to Omarchy, and tells you all you need to know about their beliefs (if yapping about LLMs replacing human programming wasn’t enough).

Just because code isn’t copyleft doesn’t mean it does not require attribution or consent to being scraped by LLMs!

Also, I don’t think there’s any model out there that has asked for permission for scraping, and if any claim they do, they’re almost certainly liars.

In my opinion, you should ideally avoid LLMs if you can do the task yourself. It definitely has some genuine applications, especially translation, but functionally, ethically, and legally, it is not a suitable option for most people.

mailbox.org, posteo.de, and Fastmail do not have free plans. If the email service is free, it is likely that you are the product. Disroot is Dutch 🇳🇱 and one of the only providers I know that offer free email services and have an actual no logs policy, but they manually verify each sign up (alright for a single personal email but annoying to deal with).

I do not live in Australia, I’m a resident of Hong Kong 🇭🇰! Bolt does not operate there, but I’ll be moving to the UK soon for study (where they do operate!)

This is why I don’t like the CPU duopoly…I really hope RISC-V takes off soon! Or at the very least maybe ARM chips from a variety of different brands, I dunno

Yay, another person using the Fediverse! That is always nice, it’s so amazing that people from different services hosted in so many places can communicate almost seamlessly!

As for communication stuff, Signal is quite good. Don’t let perfection become the enemy of good, it’s a hell of a lot better than WhatsApp and has the security audits to show for it. I would encourage more people to use XMPP (and for larger communities, Matrix) since you aren’t reliant on a central server (hosted in the U.S.) and a single client! All are better than being under the thumb of Facebook though.

Yay for the Firefox-based browsers! LibreWolf is awesome, though I personally am currently using Floorp.

Huh, I never knew that DeepL and SoundCloud were German! The more you know. I do prefer doing both translation (“Offline Translator” on F-Droid and the built-in translation feature on Firefox based browsers is very good!) and music (headphone jack forever!) locally though.

If you need other email recommendations, I know mailbox.org and posteo (both German 🇩🇪) are highly regarded, and if you’re fine with us Aussies 🇦🇺, Fastmail is awesome too!

The KeePass ecosystem is truly awesome, as is AntennaPod!

Have not heard of Bolt, will look into it, looks very cool (and Estonian 🇪🇪!)

Linux is the GOAT, and wish you all the best on mobile Linux! It’s so cool that Linux phones actually becoming a feasible alternative for many people (desktop Linux has been amazing for ages, especially with Proton making gaming awesome too)

And yay for supporting local businesses!

Ok that is weird…on my end the formatting is correct on the website, but incorrect on all three mobile apps I have installed (Interstellar, Summit, and Blorp). Very strange indeed.

Next time, please format the post to be more readable, it would be really nice if you did! (unless Frendica’s formatting is different? I dunno, but on Lemmy/Piefed it looks like one big glob of a paragraph EDIT: this appears to be an issue with the Lemmy/Piefed mobile apps, on the website it works fine. Weird!)

You can use " - " to create lists, and new paragraphs need a newline in between (e.g. line 1: paragraph, line 2: empty, line 3: paragraph). Something like this maybe:

Hello, people. I managed to settle on a few alternatives hosted/created in Europe, and I decided to make this post to serve as an inspiration for others into picking European alternatives to American Big Tech. I will also mention how close I am to fully commit using them completely. Here we go:

• Facebook ------> Friendica (99% of the time - I noticed it’s been weeks since I last accessed Facebook. Down from pretty much all the time at its peak)
• Instagram -------> Friendica and the Fediverse, via Friendica (75% of the time - I still have friends sending me reels and stuff, and nowadays, it looks like new people are more likely to connect with you on Instagram. However, I am aware of who owns that thing and how addicting it is, so I am trying to limit its usage as best as I can. I did create a pictures-only circle to compensate)
• Reddit -------> The Fediverse, via Friendica (70% of the time - Reddit still has native content for my own language and the old Reddit interface which makes it sane enough to use - even though the content gets more and more garbage. I created a circle called “Frontpage” on Friendica that I seldomly visit)
• YouTube -------> PeerTube, via Friendica (5% of the time I guess - YouTube has this talent of getting you through rabbit holes, and the content creators are paid, unlike on the Fediverse, where some PeerTube instances actually charge you to put their videos there, so probably not that enticing for them. Shout-out to some of the YouTubers I do follow who moved here though).
• WhatsApp --------> Signal (5% of the time, some friends are really starting to use that), XMPP (0.5% - seldomly enter for some groups, but no one is using this, sadly), Briar (0% of the time - literally not a single soul there. The concept is nice, since that’s why I’m still having that installed, but that’s the only reason I keep it. Getting people on XMPP seems easier than this imo)
• Goodreads --------> Bookwyrm (100% - fuck that shithole Bezos who owns Amazon and doesn’t give a crap on this platform)
• IMDB ----------> Moviebuff (100% - yes, that is a federated alternative to IMDB and Letterboxd; also fuck that shithole Bezos who owns Amazon and doesn’t give a crap on this platform)
• Last.fm --------> Libre.fm (40-50% I guess - great platform. Not so good when it comes to certain features, but shout-out to Matt Lee for keeping the lights on for so long, and for continuing to do so)
• Geocaching.com -------> opencaching.ro (0% of the time - sadly had no time to look for caches anymore. Bummer. I’d love to log something)
• Google Maps ---------> Organic Maps (60% of the time - in process of changing for CoMaps - the clanker-free version of Organic Maps, sorry), InfoTB (40% of the time - this is the local transit app. It is proprietary as fuck but since it is made by my local transit agency I can be 100% sure it’s gonna work properly and be more up-to-date than even Google Maps. And there are plenty of missing features from Google Maps itself compared to this afaik)
• Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box ---------> Nextcloud (99.9% of the time - I still have data there, but I seldomly use these. Also there’s no Linux client, so eff them), pCloud and Filen (whenever I want to transfer something larger - haven’t committed to storing all the stuff there. Will need to do some cleanup through my cloud storage accounts too), Mega (50% of the time - larger stuff goes there; got my account when they offered 50 GB for free)
• Google Contacts, also on Microsoft and Yahoo -------> Nextcloud contacts (65% let’s say - new contacts go there. Need to do some purge on the others whenever I have the time)
• Google Calendar ---------> Nextcloud calendar (10% of the time - have to move some recurring events there, which are 90% of how I use that service tbh; also need to do some cleanup)
• Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo -------> Eclipso mail (0% of the time - feature-wise seems good enough for me, but just like in the other cases, I need to do some cleanup - need some time to spare; I am thinking of leaving yahoo for good out of the other 3; I may leave the other two as well if I find a good aliasing service. IDK, thinking how to move things forward)
• Keepass (100% of the time - never used another password manager; used one of my cloud providers for syncing)
• Google Photos -------> My own laptop, backed up to an external hard drive (100% of the time - cannot get any more European than that) - I use Shotwell for organizing stuff
• Google Keep ---------> Nextcloud Notes (100% of the time); in the past I used Zettel Notes on Android, now I am only keeping it to read articles offline
• Microsoft OneNote --------> Nextcloud Notes (0% of the time - I need to move out some of the notes from there)
• Google Translate --------> DeepL Translate (100% of the time - never seen another product that was literally on par with the American product - even better); also I am looking for some dictionaries to use locally with Goldendict; I do have some, but not enough
• Chrome --------> Librewolf (100% of the time)
• Microsoft Office ---------> LibreOffice (100% of the time when I’m opening any document)
• AntennaPod (100% of the time - never used anything else for podcasting; currently syncing my podcasts with Nextcloud)
• Spotify --------> SoundCloud (0% of the time currently, have used it extensively in the past; this is pretty much the only service that I accept as streaming), I also currently mostly buy music, so most of the time I am listening offline (let’s say 100% of the time); there’s also Nextcloud music installed on one of the servers I’m on.
• Netflix ---------> local cinema (100% of the time - yes, I do have such a thing. Better to support your local business).
• Uber ---------> Bolt (100% of the time), I’m also using the public transport, and I’ve started riding my bike more.
• Windows --------> Linux (100% of the time - switched since almost 10 years ago; that shit belongs to the dumpster).
• Android ----------> Sailfish OS (90% of the time - wow, that’s such a fantastic system if you manage to around some of its shortcomings; can’t wait for the 5.3 version, that will have broader support for Android banking apps such as Revolut. Can’t wait for it!). Of course, I am using the new Jolla Phone, so another point for a European smartphone.
• Mastercard, Visa ---------> RoPay (0% of the time - it’s a recently launched thing in my country. How the hell does that shit even work?!? I tried to use it twice at a self-checkout in Auchan, and it was just not working), Wero, other European solutions (???% - the idea behind them is good, but those are not even available in my country, what the hell?!?).
• Amazon -------> eMag (30% of the time - Amazon is not even present in my country. But we fortunately have the same shitty version of it that tries to sell everything called eMag), brick&mortar stores (70% of the time I guess), I’m aware that I’m privileged to live in a big city, so I have plenty of options available, but if you do have the opportunity as well, why not go take a breath of fresh air on your way there.
• McDonald’s, KFC, other fast food chains -----> Hesburger (10% of the time - meh food but at more affordable prices), shawarma places (5% of the time - yes, there’s plenty of them here, but don’t want to spoil myself too much), pastry shops (are they called like this in English) such as Luca or the local mom&pop ones (10% of the time, Luca expanded into Poland too, that shit is good for a snack), regular restaurants (50% of the time).

And that’s pretty much it, I guess? If there’s anything missing it means I have found no alternative to it or haven’t thought of it. By any chance, did I miss something though? And how do you fare with your usage on European alternatives? Did you find your own Euro-Stack? Do you miss something yourself from it?

ah ok

It worked for me, so dunno if this is a widespread issue. I now use Sable though since I prefer it over Cinny (it’s a fork with extra bits I think)

For me, I would first replace the smartwatch, since that’s the most intertwined with the “ecosystem” (more like a hellish prison, but whatever…), then try and replace the computer(s), since Linux devices will work better with iPhones than Mac does with Android (and mobile Linux) devices.

I used to use an iPhone, and moving to an Android device was relatively smooth bar WhatsApp, which was incredibly annoying to deal with. It is possible to transfer message history though, and my family (now on Android) are very happy to get much better battery life!

If you need specific recommendations, I would go for the Fairphone if possible, else Sony Xperia and OnePlus devices are pretty neat too (former if you like headphone jack and notchless display, latter if you want top spec mobile gaming). You also have mobile Linux being a real option nowadays with the Jolla Phone (SailfishOS) and Nura devices (OnePlus 6/6T, Pocophone F1, Fairphones, etc.)

As for smartwatches, you have WearOS watches of course, but jumping into another ecosystem isn’t great. Pebble is really fun, and if you are into fitness Garmin has lots of options, and both work for iOS and Android (nice!), meaning it is an easier transition.

For Android tablets, OnePlus ones are pretty good though, and GrapheneOS can run on the Pixel Tablet. You of course have the various x86 tablets that can run Linux, as well as many ARM devices that support Nura (formerly postmarketOS), the latter usually being some sort of Chromebook (please don’t use ChromeOS)

And of course, the laptop. If it’s an M1/2/3 Mac, Asahi Linux could be an option, then you don’t need to buy any hardware! Old Thinkpads are awesome on budget, and you have a variety of Linux oriented laptops (System76, Tuxedo, etc.), and most Windows laptops will run Linux just fine as long as you’re not running an old kernel (e.g. Debian) on very new hardware.

As for desktops, you have endless amounts of Windows mini PCs and old workstations to choose from, buy used because memory prices are insane. Go for the ones available on the nearest used marketplace for cheap! It’s amazing how compatible Linux is with older devices, even more so than Windows.

If you need good alternatives to proprietary software, you have LibreOffice, Pinta (or GIMP if you are fancy), Inkscape, Kdenlive, Audacity/Tenacity, an endless number of code editors, etc. If you want to game, Linux is a lot better than Mac in this respect nowadays with Proton and such, Steam, Lutris (all-in-one, super customisable), Heroic (for GOG), and Minigalaxy (also for GOG) are awesome