The only real trouble I had was with WiFi. When it installed it saw that I had a “broadcom” and asked if I wanted to install the “drivers”. I said yes and it did so, no problems.
Then it immediately did a huge system update (which it told me in advance it was going to do, so no surprises). But the update broke the WiFi. After a few hours of cursing my tech support and bed warmer got it working again, but I would not have been able to do that myself.
There were problems with one of my Bluetooth devices, but I rarely use it with a computer anyway (this was more a test) so it didn’t matter.
I’d de-googled, de-facebooked, and de-twittered a long time ago (like before Melon Husk took over Twitter time frames). I’ve dropped bourbon (😢) and Diet Coke from my drinks rotation and when I want a Snickers I eat the Russian “Input” or “Sprint” bars instead: I think they’re the same thing, but I can get boxes of 18 full-sized “Sprint” bars at about 6-7 bucks, so that’s what I go for, then eat them sparingly over a few months. The penultimate step was removing myself from Windows at home, and the ultimate step will be when my phone outlives its usefulness (I’ve owned it since 2021-ish, so I’ve got a few more years left) and I switch to a phone that runs HarmonyOS.
I recently got a Fairphone with /e/os, and I’m pretty happy with it. Now, the only time I ever have to use a proprietary OS is when I (very occasionally) need Secure Boot to get past anticheat.
Honestly, the only American companies I’ll struggle to boycott is videogame distributors. I think the only non-American company that sells videogames (digitally; obviously there are physical retailers) is Nintendo, and I’m not buying a Switch, because they’re pretty frickin’ expensive.
Congrats on your progress toward digital sovereignty thus far; it’s honestly quite impressive.
I’m immune to the charms of video games, thankfully, so it’s easier to get rid of American products. For social media, I shifted to Mastodon and Pixelfed.
I never really used social media (I lurked, but I didn’t sign in), but then I found the Fediverse. I particularly enjoy this lil corner (the Threadiverse).
I suppose I could just play FOSS games, but at the same time, I don’t think Steam is making much money off of me playing the games I already bought.
I mean, it kinda is better. Chinese companies won’t rat you out to Uncle Sam.
I’m a (rightfully) paranoid trans woman, and I don’t trust the big tech companies to not rat me out if the government escalates to full-on genocide against us trans folks.
The only real trouble I had was with WiFi. When it installed it saw that I had a “broadcom” and asked if I wanted to install the “drivers”. I said yes and it did so, no problems.
Then it immediately did a huge system update (which it told me in advance it was going to do, so no surprises). But the update broke the WiFi. After a few hours of cursing my tech support and bed warmer got it working again, but I would not have been able to do that myself.
There were problems with one of my Bluetooth devices, but I rarely use it with a computer anyway (this was more a test) so it didn’t matter.
I’d de-googled, de-facebooked, and de-twittered a long time ago (like before Melon Husk took over Twitter time frames). I’ve dropped bourbon (😢) and Diet Coke from my drinks rotation and when I want a Snickers I eat the Russian “Input” or “Sprint” bars instead: I think they’re the same thing, but I can get boxes of 18 full-sized “Sprint” bars at about 6-7 bucks, so that’s what I go for, then eat them sparingly over a few months. The penultimate step was removing myself from Windows at home, and the ultimate step will be when my phone outlives its usefulness (I’ve owned it since 2021-ish, so I’ve got a few more years left) and I switch to a phone that runs HarmonyOS.
I recently got a Fairphone with /e/os, and I’m pretty happy with it. Now, the only time I ever have to use a proprietary OS is when I (very occasionally) need Secure Boot to get past anticheat.
Honestly, the only American companies I’ll struggle to boycott is videogame distributors. I think the only non-American company that sells videogames (digitally; obviously there are physical retailers) is Nintendo, and I’m not buying a Switch, because they’re pretty frickin’ expensive.
Congrats on your progress toward digital sovereignty thus far; it’s honestly quite impressive.
I’m immune to the charms of video games, thankfully, so it’s easier to get rid of American products. For social media, I shifted to Mastodon and Pixelfed.
I never really used social media (I lurked, but I didn’t sign in), but then I found the Fediverse. I particularly enjoy this lil corner (the Threadiverse).
I suppose I could just play FOSS games, but at the same time, I don’t think Steam is making much money off of me playing the games I already bought.
Same status as me and Android. The damage has been done. But Alphabet isn’t getting another cent out of me.
I mean, Alphabet makes most of their money by selling user data, but switching to a new phone simply takes time.
Ah, but my phone is an HONOR and is not part of the Alphabet soup. I have Chinese companies spying on me instead which is much better! 🤭 </s>
I mean, it kinda is better. Chinese companies won’t rat you out to Uncle Sam.
I’m a (rightfully) paranoid trans woman, and I don’t trust the big tech companies to not rat me out if the government escalates to full-on genocide against us trans folks.