Thank you, that’s a really useful list. A week or so ago I didn’t know there was an (unofficial) Firefox Nightly flatpak remote, so I had to use a tarball. This would’ve saved me a bit of time.
I also didn’t know flathub subsets for verified/floss apps were already available.
I will be surprised if Spotify won’t announce a new more expensive HIFI subscription with their support for lossless audio. Imo this still makes it less interesting than Tidal/Deezer/Qobuz since it’ll still be impossible to permanently download music from Spotify.
Nonetheless it’s great that Spotify will provide lossless audio for those who want it.
I’m not super familiar with the differences between x11 and Wayland, but I’ve been experiencing some screen tearing in games with x11 that I don’t remember experiencing in the past. I’ve heard Wayland is more performant, but does that mean anything when gaming?...
Are you using multiple monitors? With X11 multi-monitor setups one of the monitors always tears if the framerate aren’t multiples of each other (e.g. 120Hz + 60Hz works fine, 144Hz + 60Hz results in tearing with one of them). This is also the case with variable refresh rate (FreeSync), but VRR shouldn’t be an issue as it’s not enabled by default on X11 iirc.
You’d have to manually enable Wayland, because PopOS disables it by default (does not show in the login menu/GDM). Keep in mind that PopOS is based on Ubuntu 22.04, which is quite old at this point. Wayland might not be as good of an experience for you because lots of improvements happened over the last two years.
PopOS will release their new COSMIC wayland desktop environment with updated packages in a few months, which should work well for gaming and fix your tearing issues.
If you want to try whether Gnome Wayland solves your issue, you can edit /etc/gdm3/custom.conf and set WaylandEnable=true. After a reboot you should be able to select Wayland in the bottom right corner at login.
Sorry for a kinda clickbait title but it is what it is. I just watched a video about Android 15 changes and a lot of them are either not important or straight up bad....
It’s important to note that Android ≠ AOSP (Android Open Source Project). Most of the actually interesting features advertised in a new Android release won’t be available to you if your not installing Google Services.
E.g. heavily advertised features like Android 12’s “Material You” adaptive themes aren’t even available on AOSP and thus GrapheneOS, CalyxOS or LineageOS.
New privacy features often already existed for years on custom ROMs like LineageOS.
This is why since around Android 10 I’m not even following new Android releases, at least not beyond reading glancing over an article. I didn’t even notice my phone updated to from 12 to 13 (GrapheneOS) until I noticed the new background apps menu, which is pretty much all of the changes.
Edit: Being able to set a language per app is a great feature of Android 13.
Edit 2: As pointed out in comments below, my Material You example was wrong.
A better example are heavily advertised translation and image editing features, which are sometimes locked to Pixel and definitely locked to installs with Google Services. Same is true for apps like “Digital Wellbeing”, which don’t work on AOSP but its features are advertised as Android features.
tl;dr
Android updates are even more uninteresting if your using a custom ROM, because most features won’t even be available in open source Android.
You’re right, my apologies for confidently spreading misinformation and thank you for pointing it out. Material You colors are available on LineageOS and GrapheneOS, probably CalyxOS too.
With Android 12 GrapheneOS and CalyxOS choosing different colors was not possible, maybe because they didn’t implement something at first, but with 13+ Material You works as intended.
Google has always been able to remove installed apps remotely, although I believe they only use it for malicious apps, not for apps that simply get removed from the Play Store.
But I’ve also been mislead by the headline.
Clickbait makes me appreciate my preferred small tech news outlet, which has been doing serious journalism without sensationalism for over 25 years. The authors even interact in their forum, which is still active because of how the site actually cares about the community.
My mental list of sites I try to avoid is longer than the list of actually good sites. Sadly those thrash sites get pushed up in rankings of Google News and similar aggregators because clickbait clicks well.
If they use a natively supported graphics API, i.e. Vulkan there’s not really a difference between Linux binaries and Windows binaries ran through proton. The possibility of the Linux version running worse is also there because of likely less optimization done by the devs due to multiple versions having to be developed.
Yes, NixOS does need quite a bit of RAM while rebuilding (~1GB) and takes lots of storage because it keeps older generations (similar to OS snapshots) around.
Otherwise NixOS isn’t any more resource intensive than other OS. Anecdotal experience, but my NixOS system boots faster than Fedora Atomic with the same window manager and packages installed.
In any case, I’ve been using NixOS, Fedora Atomic and OpenSUSE MicroOS on my T480s without problems, so OP will be fine with any distro.
As a former LineageOS for microG user I’m happy to say that it’s no longer necessary to use it instead of official LineageOS because they finally added signature spoofing to upstream LineageOS [1].
As far as I understand, this allows microG to work perfectly fine with any app on official LineageOS, without any patching of the ROM needed.
I haven’t tried it and there’s no reason to switch of LineageOS for microG, but I’ll definitely give it a shot on a future device.
The recent addition of local in-browser website translation is an awesome feature I’ve missed for many years. The only alternatives I’ve found previously were either paid or Google Translate plugins. This translation feature is an example of an AI feature they’ve added.
It’s great how Firefox can be customized through userChrome.css und user.js. I’m only using the former to put the tab bar in the same row with the url bar to save vertical space while using sidebery/vertical tabs, but it’s good that it’s still available.
So I’ve been messing around with a few phones lately, a nexus 6p, a pixel 3a xl, and a s21 ultra, and I’ve noticed that on the 6p and 3a xl both sound louder, punchier, and clearer when compared to the s21 ultra. They also both have that thicc notch design with a massive speakerphone which might add to the high volume...
I don’t see how the ability of users to actually know which repository an app comes from and change the repository makes it more likely for devs to not remove anti-features.
I’ve had this exact issue a month ago where an app was available in official F-Droid repos and Izzy’s and I didn’t know which repo F-Droid selected by default.
The Register has learned from those involved in the browser trade that Apple has limited the development and testing of third-party browser engines to devices physically located in the EU. That requirement adds an additional barrier to anyone planning to develop and support a browser with an alternative engine in the EU....
My Pixel 4a is slower with GrapheneOS than stock. Disabling GrapheneOS’ Secure App Spawning helps noticeably.
With newer hardware it’s likely not noticeable. (The 4a is old and even only receives security updates by GrapheneOS (no firmware updates by Google), so I really should replace it at some point.)
My old $200 Motorola G9 Power phone lasted almost 4 years with only very minor scratches. Obviously in that period I have dropped it a few times getting out of the car, where the phone sometimes work itself out of my pant pocket while I drive, and then it slips out when I get out of the car. But no problem on my previous phones,...
Glass backs were already popular on Android phones when Apple started using them. Previously they used metal backs, but they aren’t compatible with wireless charging so manufacturers have to choose between plastic and glass — guess which one is more popular with reviewers?
The 13T Pro, as well as the standard 13T, come in two versions - dual-glass design and glass front with vegan leather back, both featuring plastic frames with matching colors and metal-like finish. [1]
The Xiaomii 13T Pro is available with a vegan leather back (plastic) which won’t break from a drop. Instead vegan leather likely deteriorates in look and feel over the years, but I’d prefer it over broken glass.
Note that some devices aren’t able to correctly mount the second partition.
I guess this is because the first partition is used to boot ventoy, while the second partition holds data and some devices (e.g. printers) won’t mount the second partition.
PS: I nearly wasn’t able to hold a presentation because of this, luckily a second stick/phone/copy on web storage saved me, iirc.
Or they do it like their e2e-encryption: proprietary extensions to RCS without any compatibility with other RCS apps (not that there’s any, given it’s necessary to partner with Google to do so).
In recently purchased Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro with MIUI I see the message app isn’t available for many popular apps, those messages usually show when the android version is old but I have android 13 so I don’t understand why I see those errors so much in the play store.
Huaweii’s HarmonyOS is also based on Android, just like other manufacturer’s Android reskins.
They might’ve hard forked AOSP without incorporating newer changes and over time farther deviate from upstream AOSP, but at least three years ago they basically just replaced all mentions of Android with Harmony.
Flatpak-remotes: A list of public Flatpak repositories (github.com)
A while ago I was looking for a list of available Flatpak repositories but didnt find one, so I made my own....
Why Do You Pirate Music?
I recently set up Sonarr and Radarr on my home server and I’m loving it....
Should I be switching to Wayland for gaming?
I’m not super familiar with the differences between x11 and Wayland, but I’ve been experiencing some screen tearing in games with x11 that I don’t remember experiencing in the past. I’ve heard Wayland is more performant, but does that mean anything when gaming?...
Android 15 is on the way. And it's pretty bad (youtu.be)
Sorry for a kinda clickbait title but it is what it is. I just watched a video about Android 15 changes and a lot of them are either not important or straight up bad....
Google Play Store quietly rolls out feature to uninstall apps remotely (www.androidauthority.com)
Google appears to have quietly rolled out a feature to the Play Store that allows users to remotely uninstall apps from other devices.
Die selbe Umfrage noch einmal? (infosec.pub) German
faz.net/…/cdu-beklagt-online-abstimmung-ueber-ver…
Nightdive Studios confirm Linux and macOS ports of System Shock are cancelled (www.gamingonlinux.com)
Kinda shady considering this was a Kickstarter stretch goal.
Here's Why Microsoft Buying Valve Is A Terrible Idea (www.thegamer.com)
Can anyone recommend a lightweight, stable distro for a thinkpad?
I’m looking to mainly use it for school and was wondering if there’s any recommended distros out there for thinkpads....
What Rom do you prefer for your Pixel device?
Hello everyone!...
Mozilla is adding tab grouping, vertical tabs, profile management, and local AI features to Firefox (connect.mozilla.org)
Do old phones just sound better?
So I’ve been messing around with a few phones lately, a nexus 6p, a pixel 3a xl, and a s21 ultra, and I’ve noticed that on the 6p and 3a xl both sound louder, punchier, and clearer when compared to the s21 ultra. They also both have that thicc notch design with a massive speakerphone which might add to the high volume...
Repository Overhaul in new F-Droid Client 1.20 (f-droid.org)
Apple limits third-party browser engine work to EU devices (www.theregister.com)
The Register has learned from those involved in the browser trade that Apple has limited the development and testing of third-party browser engines to devices physically located in the EU. That requirement adds an additional barrier to anyone planning to develop and support a browser with an alternative engine in the EU....
Winamp has announced that it is opening up its source code to enable collaborative development of its legendary player for Windows. (about.winamp.com)
Would be funny if Winamp gets a second life ~20 later.
4 months durability for an $800 phone!
My old $200 Motorola G9 Power phone lasted almost 4 years with only very minor scratches. Obviously in that period I have dropped it a few times getting out of the car, where the phone sometimes work itself out of my pant pocket while I drive, and then it slips out when I get out of the car. But no problem on my previous phones,...
Every time I search for a USB key, I end up finding the ones flashed with OS ISOs! I don't have a normal key anymore lol (sh.itjust.works)
Google Messages' text editing feature is live for beta users, and it could come to you soon (www.androidauthority.com)
Google Messages’ sent text editing feature has now begun rolling out to beta users, indicating that stable rollout is around the corner.
Why many Android apps are unavailable for MIUI phone?
In recently purchased Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro with MIUI I see the message app isn’t available for many popular apps, those messages usually show when the android version is old but I have android 13 so I don’t understand why I see those errors so much in the play store.