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How do you make a normal life?

Added by average user almost 5 years ago

Hi everyone, my name is Carlos and I'm new here.
I apologise if this is not the proper thread to speak about the following topic, which is:
how do you usually socialise with your Replicant smartphone?
I've been using Replicant for 1 year. I have only this smartphone (previously I owned a 'dumbphone') and I can't keep up with family or friends. Mainly because of whatsapp. I ended up installing fakesbook's app on an old tablet which I can check when arriving at home.
However, this results in progressive marginalization.
It would be very kind of you if you could share with me how do you live your everyday (social-network) life.
(I'm an IT-illiterate, but thank to you all my beloved world IT-crew I manage to maintain a Debain9 old PC and my Replicant S3! Thank you, by the way! :D )


Replies (3)

RE: How do you make a normal life? - Added by Xan VFR almost 5 years ago

Your question poses a new question: What's a normal life?

I'm kidding (am I?). I guess you mean that you can use a smartphone to keep in touch with everybody you want and use every app you need.

I've accepted that freedom isn't free (and I'm not talking about money, but also): I can't, and fortunately don't want to, use certain apps as the ones you've mentioned, for instance.

I use a Galaxy S3 with Replicant installed to make and receive calls, and to keep in touch with my family and friends I use Kontalk. If they really want to keep in touch they can use that app or call me. If they don't want to, and I need to reach them I just call them (the old fashion way).

I also only install apps from F-Droid.

I must say I'm not fully consequent with free software/hardware philosophy: I use proprietary firmwares for GPS, bluetooth and, despite I have a free compliant WiFi dongle and RepWifi, I use proprietary WiFi firmwares (I don't want to carry that WiFi dongle everywhere). If everybody would use encryption I'd probably wouldn't use BT and WiFi proprietary firmwares. And I guess I could live without GPS, but it's quite useful when traveling.

So I think it's a matter of reaching a balance between how badly you want to use and support free software and your needs.

P.S.: Uninstall and leave those spying apps/networks ASAP. Don't feed the monster. ;-)

RE: How do you make a normal life? - Added by average user almost 5 years ago

Thank you a lot. I'll try to get at least bluetooth and GPS installed (I miss both badly while driving) and I've already installed Kontalks (I didn't even know of it!).
As for 'the monster', I can see yours and Shoshana Zuboff's and Cathy O’Neil's points of view. Unfortunately, every single one person around me doesn't.
Thank you again: it is sometimes hard believing in FOSS O:)

RE: How do you make a normal life? - Added by Daniel Alsace almost 5 years ago

Hello,

I decided to chose a Samsung galaxy S3 i9300 precisely to install 100% free software, to have the safest phone possible, and relatively cheap (the wifi key and OTG cable where the same price than the phone!).

For me there is no way to put something proprietary on this phone (Lineage do it well) because of I don't trust proprietary drivers (and I use a dell E6400 with archlinux and some proprietary drivers, but for a phone I think it's even more important than for a computer to have only free software - too much stalking!)

For me there are so many free software to socialize!! Just, when I say to people to try them because of there are great, they don't want or like, because they don't accept these free socializing software to be better, different, less featurefull, bugged, under construction by volunteers, etc…

Framasoft made a great work ( https://degooglisons-internet.org/en/ ), riseup too made a great work ( https://crabgrass.riseup.net/ ), a lot of people work for mastodon, diaspora (social networks), tox (skype alternative), peertube (great youtube alternative - thorium is the peertube app for smartphones), yacy (p2p search engine), beaker (p2p web hosting) and more great work!

For example, peertube is for me better than youtube, because of ease to download videos, independance, efficiency, no ads, etc… in this case I don't understand why it doesn't develop faster!!

Other example, even more stunning: openrouteservice ( https://maps.openrouteservice.org ), is by far the best route planning website, far better than google, mappy, etc… (who must be jealous) with a lot of great features, for different styles of cyclists, pedestrians, wheelchair… and it's free and open source and we can donate to help them… but it's not really known by most people!

For me it's not something rational, and some people don't put liberty, humanity, ethical and political reasons first.

It's like what some people say about organic farming: "atmosphere is dirty, organic farming can't exist, we can continue to use chemical farming" (which is inefficient in many ways, and pollutes water fastly and badly in France for example)
The same idea exist with internet: "privacy and liberty don't exist in internet, all is compromised, we can continue to help stalkers to developp facebook, it doesn't matter"

But these GAFAM want to concentrate stalking and power, people must be aware of this ( https://peertube.cpy.re/videos/watch/d2a5ec78-5f85-4090-8ec5-dc1102e022ea ).
Maybe internet dictators and stalkers success to appeal people… and they have money to make big research and softwares.

When some people ask me why I don't use what's app, I can say that it's not possible to install it on my phone because of security purposes, and why they don't use deltachat, riseup, XMPP, tox, mail, forums, couchsurfing private messages, old-school paper letters with writing machine or pen, freenet private messages, morse with torch flashlight… tox can do good secure instant messenging and can be the only app I can advice first :)

Socializing with free software is not difficult, there is so much choice.
Richard Stallman says "if people really want to contact me, they will success"

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