You can already run Linux apps using Termux and Termux-X11, and I’d say the performance would be better than this demo, because this is running in a virtual machine and uses it’s own kernel, whereas with Termux you’re running your apps directly on top of the Android Linux kernel. Also, you don’t have the overhead of running ChromeOS on top of Android.

Because MIUI deviates from stock Android so much that it often causes unexpected behaviour and bugs. So it’s easier for developers to just say they don’t support it, instead of putting up with negative reviews and complaints.

Samsung midrangers like the A15 / M15 / A25 etc have both the jack as well as an sdcard slot. There’s also the Motorola G34 and the G84. And finally, there’s also a flagship - the ASUS ROG Phone 8 Pro. And a whole bunch of Chinese phones which I won’t bother mentioning.

That 240W is only for SuperVOOC. PD however goes only upto 65W. Plus, being that big and single-port only makes this thing completely pointless for everyone except VOOC users.

The answers here are only partially correct. If you want to use your device internationally, there are four things or categories you need to consider:

1. Carrier locked devices
2. Region-specific devices
3. Carrier whitelisting
4. Regulatory requirements

Carrier locked devices are exactly that, these are the ones sold by your carrier and subsidised, they usually mention that you can’t use them with other carriers. Eg the SM-S928U of the S24 works only on AT&T. If you have one of these, you may be able to buy an unlock code online to unlock your phone. Depending on your model, you might also need to flash compatible firmware or unlock additional bands from the service menu, if you want to be able to actually use it with your destination carrier.

Region-specific devices generally have limited cellular bands, meant for usage in that country. Eg although the SM-S928U1 variant of the S24 is factory unlocked (unlike the SM-S928U), it may not carry all the bands required for operation outside the US. If you’re unsure about compatibility, use this website to check the bands for your target country/carrier. Generally though, if you travel a lot, it’s recommend to buy the international / global variant of a phone. As an alternative, if you have a US variant Samsung, you could use the service menu to enable all bands. Though regardless of the variant, it’s always a good idea to check the band compatibility before you purchase the device/travel.

Carrier whitelisting is a recent annoying thing which carriers have started doing for some technologies such as 5G, VoLTE, VoWiFi etc. Some of these features may or may not be critical for you, for eg, if the destination carrier no longer offer 2G/3G services, that means you must be able to get VoLTE in order to make calls. And VoWiFi is needed if you’re in an area with poor reception, but have WiFi access. Finally, 5G would be a bonus thing but most carriers allow only whitelisted models to connect to their 5G services. Samsung normally should work in general, but given how many variants Samsung makes, there’s no guarantee that your specific variant would be able to use some/all of these services. So you’ll need to check with your target carrier in advance to see which of their services your phone would be able to support.

Finally, some countries may have regulatory requirements which may legally prevent shops/carriers from selling you a SIM card, if your phone isn’t in their database. For instance, in Japan, it’s technically illegal to operate a device without a “giteki” mark - and if your phone doesn’t have this, operators may refuse to sell you a card. In this case however, you should be fine if you order a compatible SIM/eSIM online before arrival (eg from Sakura Mobile).

It’s easiest to just register a domain name and use Couldflare Tunnels. No need to worry about dynamic DNS, port forwarding etc. Plus, you have the security advantages of DDoS protection and firewall (WAF). Finally, you get portability - you can change your ISP, router or even move your entire lab into the cloud if you wanted to, and you won’t need to change a single thing.

I have a lab set up on my mini PC that I often take to work with me, and it works the same regardless of whether it’s going thru my work’s restricted proxy or the NAT at home. Zero config required on the network side.

This shouldn’t even be a question lol. Even if you aren’t worried about theft, encryption has a nice bonus: you don’t have to worry about secure erasing your drives when you want to get rid of them. I mean, sure it’s not that big of a deal to wipe a drive, but sometimes you’re unable to do so - for instance, the drive could fail and you may not be able to do the wipe. So you end up getting rid of the drive as-is, but an opportunist could get a hold of that drive and attempt to repair it and recover your data. Or maybe the drive fails, but it’s still under warranty and you want to RMA it - with encryption on, you don’t have to worry about some random accessing your data.

GSIs are the way to go these days for anything that’s not a Pixel. I’m not sure if there’s a fully-degoogled GSI out there though, but you can check the list here: https://github.com/phhusson/treble_experimentations/wiki/Generic-System-Image-(GSI)-list

Or here: https://xdaforums.com/f/treble-enabled-device-development-a-ab-roms.7260/

And once you found a GSI you like, install using the instructions here: https://github.com/phhusson/treble_experimentations/wiki/Samsung

But it’s best to check XDA forums as well for any device-specific quirks.

Although not the same, this has been going on for about two years now. Jensen Harris, a former MS engineer, criticized the ads as well as the design of the new Start Menu, over here: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1564399431545667585.html

AIO Launcher - not for everyone, but I prefer function over form. :)

No, you’re right. There’s no organisation options. It’s pretty barebones overall, and doesn’t look great on large foldables either. Guess there’s no reason to switch from my current launcher.

This page is your friend, bookmark it cause you’ll be referring to it multiple times ;) : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-microsoft365-apps-by-date

In saying that, all Office versions since 2016 have been called v16 - so that first bit won’t change (unless MS pull another stunt like Windows 11).

Also worth taking a look at this page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployoffice/office-deployment-tool-configuration-options

Seconded. ODT is the way to go, used to use it a lot back in my sysadmin days to generate specific builds.

Firebase is a platform/service provided by Google, so it makes sense that the content goes thru Google’s servers.

Also, E2EE in a closed-source app like WhatsApp, run by a nefarious corporation like Meta, was always a joke concept, a marketing ploy at best. People who are truly concerned about their privacy would never touch WhatsApp.

Syncthing, it was made exactly for situations like this. And unlike DropBox etc your data stays local.

Neither do most phones these days unfortunately. The ones that do have them are not mainstream phones, which means the chances of a fully working custom ROM for them is next to zero.

Mercury is worth checking out - it’s based on Librewolf but has additional privacy and performance patches.

And refactor the code a bit to be on the safe side - change the name of the project and remove any references to litigious companies. And use an anonymous handle + VPN/proxy chains so they can’t sue you.

Honestly it boggles my mind that devs contribute to emulators like these using identifiable names and traceable IPs, when everyone knows how these greedy corporations operate. Did no one learn anything from the Sony vs Geohotz case, or all the subsequent takedown against emulators? Why do these devs keep falling into the same trap again and again?

Examples of Samsung bloat: AR Emoji, AR Zone, Bixby, Bixby Vison, Samsung Global Goals, Galaxy Wearable, Samsung Kids etc… there’s a whole bunch of them. I’ve disabled/removed all of them though.

The only Samsung apps I use are the basic ones such as the phone dialer, browser, camera, clock etc, and the system customisation tools part of the Good Lock suite. There aren’t any ads in any of these.

What is the C*****e company?

I’m talking about phones made by that country, such as Xiaomi, Huawei, Redmi etc. They usually tend to have ads, unwanted popups and third-party bloatware.