Apple Xepher • 8 months ago • 96%

9to5mac.com

This seems like a pretty useful feature.

Tulsa Xepher • 9 months ago • 100%

*Generated article summary:* - New Chick-Fil-A in Brookside: A new Chick-Fil-A restaurant is planned for the site of the former Arby’s at 4143 S. Peoria Ave. in Brookside, a neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. - Mixed Response from Neighbors: Some neighbors are in favor of the development over an empty building, while others are concerned about the impact on the traffic, noise, and culture of the area. - Chick-Fil-A Representatives’ Meeting: Chick-Fil-A representatives held a meeting with the Brookside Neighborhood Association to outline the planned restaurant, which will have a drive-through window and heavy landscaping. - No Timeline Yet: A timeline of when the new Chick-Fil-A would open has not yet been determined. The property is already zoned commercial and does not require a zoning change. Chick-Fil-A has 16 other restaurants in the wider Tulsa market.

Tulsa Xepher • 9 months ago • 100%

www.newson6.com

*Article summarized by Google Bard:* On Tuesday, December 26th, at around 6:20 PM, a shooting occurred outside the north doors of Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Two people were involved in an argument that escalated, and one person shot the other before fleeing the scene. The victim is in critical condition. Tulsa Police are investigating the incident and have not yet apprehended the suspect. They have assured the public that the shooting was an isolated incident and not an active shooter situation. People inside the mall were advised to exit through the southern doors, and the mall was evacuated and cleared by police and security. Witnesses described the scene as chaotic, with people running for cover and confusion about whether the shooter was still inside the mall. Some stores locked down, and employees helped people find shelter. The investigation is ongoing, and no further information about the suspect or the motive for the shooting has been released.

Apple Xepher • 9 months ago • 94%

appleinsider.com

Full game is currently 50% off ($30) until January 17th. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/resident-evil-4/id6462360082?platform=iphone

Tulsa Xepher • 10 months ago • 100%

tulsaworld.com

When Carla Gibson first landed a server job at Molly’s Landing, she thought it would just be a way to earn a little extra money. “I already had two other jobs, at a Red Lobster and at a bar,” Gibson recalled. “I was kind of a workaholic back then. But Molly’s Landing was someplace special, and I realized that from the start. “For one thing, it was a high-end kind of place — I got my first ever $100 tip working at Molly’s,” she said. “Working there was really a nice experience.” Molly’s Landing, which has been an iconic restaurant along the Oklahoma stretch of Route 66 since it opened almost 40 years ago, was severely damaged Nov. 24 in a fire that officials said claimed the life of an individual. The victim’s name has not yet been released. Gibson, who owns and operates Gibby C’s South in Your Mouth restaurant in Claremore, announced on her Facebook page that she is willing to hire some of the 22 employees of Molly’s Landing for her own recently opened restaurant. “I’ve already had four young men who came by yesterday, and I got them jobs,” Gibson said. “We’re already fully staffed, but my crew has been taxed with overtime as we’re still trying to work all the kinks out of our systems, so more help is always welcomed. “Right now, we’re open Wednesday through Sunday, but once we get the new people trained, we may open an extra day to keep everyone working,” she said. A crowdfunding campaign has raised about $15,000 so far to benefit the 22 employees of Molly’s Landing, according to the organizers. Molly’s Landing opened in January 1985, but opening a restaurant was not what brought owner Linda Powell to Oklahoma from Phoenix, Arizona, a year previously. It was a boat. A 1991 story in the Tulsa Tribune recounted that Powell’s brother told her about a boat he thought she might want to buy. The vessel, a 119-foot-by-38-foot pushboat called the Molly Smith, had guided barges up and down the Mississippi River for almost 30 years. It was retired in the late 1970s and had been donated to a church in Houston, which was looking to unload the craft after a recent hurricane made owning a boat problematic. The Tribune story detailed how Powell sold her Arizona property, agreed on a deal for nine acres that would become the site of Molly’s Landing, and closed the deal for the Molly Smith, which — in something of an ironic twist — was transported to the Kerr-McClellan Navigational Channel in Catoosa as part of a barge tow. “Where other people see 200 tons of floating rust,” the 1991 Tribune story stated, “Linda Powell sees a luxurious restaurant. She hopes to make her vision — a pushboat turned floating restaurant on the United States’ most inland port — a reality within the next two years.” That dream never materialized, but Molly’s Landing, which started out as a club before being converted into a full-service, high-end restaurant, soon became one of the region’s most popular dining establishments. Powell was later joined by sons Doug Powell and Russ White to help run the restaurants. While the food was of high quality — premium steaks along with fish and seafood dishes, rarely seen items such as grilled quail — the look of Molly’s Landing projected a sort of rural bohemian ambiance. A 1991 review in the Tulsa Tribune described the restaurant’s unique decor as “an instant party” located within “a barn-size log cabin with a porch overlooking the Verdigris River. Decorations from floor to ceiling beams make the place seem ready for a weird garage sale: sacks of peanuts, bad paintings, an endocrine gland chart, signs, flags, deer antlers, a sombrero, deer antlers, a duck decoy, an aquarium, milk can, grindstone, a calf’s foot and strings of tiny, festive lights. The menus are painted on canoe paddles.” The canoe paddle menus later gave way to more conventional formats, but Molly’s reputation as a serious steakhouse remained. In 2006, the restaurant was recognized by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry as a Made in Oklahoma Restaurant of the Year, in recognition of its use of locally produced products, including cheeses, wines, seasonings and the mushrooms used in one of its most popular appetizers. The restaurant has also been praised for its willingness to contribute to local charitable causes. From 2002 to 2016, the restaurant was the host to the Ultimate Murder Mystery, a bimonthly dinner theater company. In a 2006 Tulsa World feature on the restaurant, Russ White said one reason for the restaurant’s success was its employees and his family’s commitment to treating those employees well. “We latched on employees who have been with us for years,” White said. “It really is a big family around here, and that makes it easier when it’s bad or when it’s slow.”

Technology Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

www.nytimes.com

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/8552498 > After six years of reviewing a variety of Wyze security cameras at Wirecutter, we’ve made the decision to suspend our recommendation of them from all our guides. > > On September 8, 2023, The Verge reported an incident in which some Wyze customers were able to access live video from other users’ cameras through the Wyze web portal. We reached out to Wyze for details, and a representative characterized the incident as small in scope, saying they “believe no more than 10 users were affected.” Other than a post to its user-to-user online forum, Wyze Communities, and communication to those it says were affected, the company has not reached out to Wyze customers, nor has it provided meaningful details about the incident. > > We believe Wyze is acting irresponsibly to its customers. As such, we've made the difficult but unavoidable decision to revoke our recommendation of all Wyze cameras until the company implements meaningful changes to its security and privacy procedures. > > The concern is not that Wyze had a security incident—just about every company or organization in the world will probably have to deal with some sort of security trip-up, as we have seen with big banks, the US military, Las Vegas casinos, schools, and even Chick-fil-a. The greater issue is how this company responds to a crisis. With this incident, and others in the past, it’s clear Wyze has failed to develop the sorts of robust procedures that adequately protect its customers the way they deserve. > > We spoke about this incident to peers, colleagues, and experts in the field, such as Ari Lightman, professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University; Jen Caltrider, program director at Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included; and Wirecutter senior staff writer Max Eddy. All of them agree the central issue is that Wyze has not proactively reached out to all its customers, nor has it been adequately accountable for its failures. “When these sort of things happen, [the company has to be] very open and transparent with [the] community as to why they screwed up,” Lightman explained. “Then the company has to say, ‘Here’s exactly what we’re going to be doing to rectify any potential situation in the future.’” > > If this were the first such incident, we might be less concerned. However, it comes on the heels of a March 2022 Bitdefender study (PDF), which showed that Wyze took nearly three years to fully address specific security vulnerabilities that affected all three models of Wyze Cams. The company did eventually alert customers of the issue, and it notably guided them to stop using the first-generation Wyze Cam because “continued use of the WyzeCam after February 1, 2022 carries increased risk, is discouraged by Wyze, and is entirely at your own risk”—but that was long after the serious vulnerability was first discovered and reported to Wyze, on multiple occasions, without getting a response. > > The fundamental relationship between smart-home companies and their customers is founded on trust. No company can guarantee safety and security 100% of the time, but customers need to be confident that those who make and sell these products, especially security devices, are worthy of their trust. Wyze’s inability to meet these basic standards puts its customers and its devices at risk, and also casts doubt on the smart-home industry as a whole. > > In order for us to consider recommending Wyze’s cameras again, the company needs to devise and implement more rigorous policies, as most of its competitors already have. They need to be proactive, accountable, and transparent. Here’s what we expect from Wyze in the event of a security incident: > > - Reach out to customers as soon as possible: Send an email to all customers, send push notifications in the app, put out a press release, broadcast in the Wyze Communities online forum. > - Describe the issue in detail and state precisely who was affected (and who wasn’t). > - Explain specifically what steps are being taken to aid affected customers and what if any actions the customer needs to take on their own. > - Follow-up with customers to let them know the issue has been resolved. > > For anyone who has Wyze cameras and intends to continue using them, we recommend restricting their use to noncritical spaces or activities, such as outdoor locations. If you are looking for an alternative, better camera options are available—even for smart-home users on a budget. > > This isn’t the first time Wirecutter has pulled a smart-home device due to concerns over accountability. In 2019, in response to a data breach at Ring, we retracted our endorsement of all of the company’s cameras. We eventually returned to reviewing Ring gear, and in some cases recommended them to our readers, after the company made a series of significant improvements to its programs and policies. > > We continue to recommend Wyze lighting, since we consider them lower-risk, lower-impact devices—a security breach of a light bulb, for instance, wouldn’t give someone a view of your living room. Should Wyze change course and adopt more substantial policies like those above, we will be happy to resume testing and considering them for recommendation.

Technology Xepher • 1 year ago • 97%

www.nytimes.com

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/8552498 > After six years of reviewing a variety of Wyze security cameras at Wirecutter, we’ve made the decision to suspend our recommendation of them from all our guides. > > On September 8, 2023, The Verge reported an incident in which some Wyze customers were able to access live video from other users’ cameras through the Wyze web portal. We reached out to Wyze for details, and a representative characterized the incident as small in scope, saying they “believe no more than 10 users were affected.” Other than a post to its user-to-user online forum, Wyze Communities, and communication to those it says were affected, the company has not reached out to Wyze customers, nor has it provided meaningful details about the incident. > > We believe Wyze is acting irresponsibly to its customers. As such, we've made the difficult but unavoidable decision to revoke our recommendation of all Wyze cameras until the company implements meaningful changes to its security and privacy procedures. > > The concern is not that Wyze had a security incident—just about every company or organization in the world will probably have to deal with some sort of security trip-up, as we have seen with big banks, the US military, Las Vegas casinos, schools, and even Chick-fil-a. The greater issue is how this company responds to a crisis. With this incident, and others in the past, it’s clear Wyze has failed to develop the sorts of robust procedures that adequately protect its customers the way they deserve. > > We spoke about this incident to peers, colleagues, and experts in the field, such as Ari Lightman, professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University; Jen Caltrider, program director at Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included; and Wirecutter senior staff writer Max Eddy. All of them agree the central issue is that Wyze has not proactively reached out to all its customers, nor has it been adequately accountable for its failures. “When these sort of things happen, [the company has to be] very open and transparent with [the] community as to why they screwed up,” Lightman explained. “Then the company has to say, ‘Here’s exactly what we’re going to be doing to rectify any potential situation in the future.’” > > If this were the first such incident, we might be less concerned. However, it comes on the heels of a March 2022 Bitdefender study (PDF), which showed that Wyze took nearly three years to fully address specific security vulnerabilities that affected all three models of Wyze Cams. The company did eventually alert customers of the issue, and it notably guided them to stop using the first-generation Wyze Cam because “continued use of the WyzeCam after February 1, 2022 carries increased risk, is discouraged by Wyze, and is entirely at your own risk”—but that was long after the serious vulnerability was first discovered and reported to Wyze, on multiple occasions, without getting a response. > > The fundamental relationship between smart-home companies and their customers is founded on trust. No company can guarantee safety and security 100% of the time, but customers need to be confident that those who make and sell these products, especially security devices, are worthy of their trust. Wyze’s inability to meet these basic standards puts its customers and its devices at risk, and also casts doubt on the smart-home industry as a whole. > > In order for us to consider recommending Wyze’s cameras again, the company needs to devise and implement more rigorous policies, as most of its competitors already have. They need to be proactive, accountable, and transparent. Here’s what we expect from Wyze in the event of a security incident: > > - Reach out to customers as soon as possible: Send an email to all customers, send push notifications in the app, put out a press release, broadcast in the Wyze Communities online forum. > - Describe the issue in detail and state precisely who was affected (and who wasn’t). > - Explain specifically what steps are being taken to aid affected customers and what if any actions the customer needs to take on their own. > - Follow-up with customers to let them know the issue has been resolved. > > For anyone who has Wyze cameras and intends to continue using them, we recommend restricting their use to noncritical spaces or activities, such as outdoor locations. If you are looking for an alternative, better camera options are available—even for smart-home users on a budget. > > This isn’t the first time Wirecutter has pulled a smart-home device due to concerns over accountability. In 2019, in response to a data breach at Ring, we retracted our endorsement of all of the company’s cameras. We eventually returned to reviewing Ring gear, and in some cases recommended them to our readers, after the company made a series of significant improvements to its programs and policies. > > We continue to recommend Wyze lighting, since we consider them lower-risk, lower-impact devices—a security breach of a light bulb, for instance, wouldn’t give someone a view of your living room. Should Wyze change course and adopt more substantial policies like those above, we will be happy to resume testing and considering them for recommendation.

Technology Xepher • 1 year ago • 98%

www.nytimes.com

After six years of reviewing a variety of Wyze security cameras at Wirecutter, we’ve made the decision to suspend our recommendation of them from all our guides. On September 8, 2023, The Verge reported an incident in which some Wyze customers were able to access live video from other users’ cameras through the Wyze web portal. We reached out to Wyze for details, and a representative characterized the incident as small in scope, saying they “believe no more than 10 users were affected.” Other than a post to its user-to-user online forum, Wyze Communities, and communication to those it says were affected, the company has not reached out to Wyze customers, nor has it provided meaningful details about the incident. We believe Wyze is acting irresponsibly to its customers. As such, we've made the difficult but unavoidable decision to revoke our recommendation of all Wyze cameras until the company implements meaningful changes to its security and privacy procedures. The concern is not that Wyze had a security incident—just about every company or organization in the world will probably have to deal with some sort of security trip-up, as we have seen with big banks, the US military, Las Vegas casinos, schools, and even Chick-fil-a. The greater issue is how this company responds to a crisis. With this incident, and others in the past, it’s clear Wyze has failed to develop the sorts of robust procedures that adequately protect its customers the way they deserve. We spoke about this incident to peers, colleagues, and experts in the field, such as Ari Lightman, professor of digital media and marketing at Carnegie Mellon University; Jen Caltrider, program director at Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included; and Wirecutter senior staff writer Max Eddy. All of them agree the central issue is that Wyze has not proactively reached out to all its customers, nor has it been adequately accountable for its failures. “When these sort of things happen, [the company has to be] very open and transparent with [the] community as to why they screwed up,” Lightman explained. “Then the company has to say, ‘Here’s exactly what we’re going to be doing to rectify any potential situation in the future.’” If this were the first such incident, we might be less concerned. However, it comes on the heels of a March 2022 Bitdefender study (PDF), which showed that Wyze took nearly three years to fully address specific security vulnerabilities that affected all three models of Wyze Cams. The company did eventually alert customers of the issue, and it notably guided them to stop using the first-generation Wyze Cam because “continued use of the WyzeCam after February 1, 2022 carries increased risk, is discouraged by Wyze, and is entirely at your own risk”—but that was long after the serious vulnerability was first discovered and reported to Wyze, on multiple occasions, without getting a response. The fundamental relationship between smart-home companies and their customers is founded on trust. No company can guarantee safety and security 100% of the time, but customers need to be confident that those who make and sell these products, especially security devices, are worthy of their trust. Wyze’s inability to meet these basic standards puts its customers and its devices at risk, and also casts doubt on the smart-home industry as a whole. In order for us to consider recommending Wyze’s cameras again, the company needs to devise and implement more rigorous policies, as most of its competitors already have. They need to be proactive, accountable, and transparent. Here’s what we expect from Wyze in the event of a security incident: - Reach out to customers as soon as possible: Send an email to all customers, send push notifications in the app, put out a press release, broadcast in the Wyze Communities online forum. - Describe the issue in detail and state precisely who was affected (and who wasn’t). - Explain specifically what steps are being taken to aid affected customers and what if any actions the customer needs to take on their own. - Follow-up with customers to let them know the issue has been resolved. For anyone who has Wyze cameras and intends to continue using them, we recommend restricting their use to noncritical spaces or activities, such as outdoor locations. If you are looking for an alternative, better camera options are available—even for smart-home users on a budget. This isn’t the first time Wirecutter has pulled a smart-home device due to concerns over accountability. In 2019, in response to a data breach at Ring, we retracted our endorsement of all of the company’s cameras. We eventually returned to reviewing Ring gear, and in some cases recommended them to our readers, after the company made a series of significant improvements to its programs and policies. We continue to recommend Wyze lighting, since we consider them lower-risk, lower-impact devices—a security breach of a light bulb, for instance, wouldn’t give someone a view of your living room. Should Wyze change course and adopt more substantial policies like those above, we will be happy to resume testing and considering them for recommendation.

Asklemmy Xepher • 1 year ago • 97%

Read [this Register article](https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/30/usenet_revival/) today and was wondering if anyone here still use Usenet newsgroups? And if so, what are your top recommended newgroups to subscribe to?

T-Mobile US Unofficial Lemmy Community Xepher • 1 year ago • 91%

tmo.report

T-Mobile and Best Buy go way back — and by way back, we mean just about two years as of now. Users could look through and shop T-Mobile’s plans and devices from Best Buy stores without needing to go to a T-Mobile location. That way, T-Mobile became more easily reachable by users. The partnership was sort of an extension and expansion of the agreement between Sprint and Best Buy prior to the acquisition of Sprint by T-Mobile. Unfortunately, not everything lasts forever. The carrier is apparently ending their partnership with Best Buy, and the retailer will not offer the carrier’s services through its stores anymore. As per a Reddit post and independently confirmed by us here at The Mobile Report, T-Mobile will not renew its contract with Best Buy, which first entered into effect in 2021. As a result of this change, T-Mobile’s plans and services will be slowly phased out over the course of the next few weeks. Best Buy will remove T-Mobile’s landing page from its website on August 31st, and two weeks later, on September 14th, the retailer will end all exchanges and activations in stores. From the period encompassing September 15th to October 1st, only returns will be allowed. These will shut down as well on October 1st, ceasing all links between T-Mobile and Best Buy completely. We’re not exactly sure of the reason behind this fallout, as neither T-Mobile nor Best Buy have commented publicly on the matter. It’s likely that as we near August 31st, some sort of public announcement will be published by one or both companies, given that the timeline we detailed above will probably need to be announced so users are aware of what will happen. For now, though, we can only speculate on what’s happening here. It’s definitely an important loss, however, given users were able to snag really good deals on phones sold through Best Buy during shopping seasons such as Black Friday.

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

www.newson6.com

TULSA, Okla. - Several hundred fish died last weekend in the pond at Hunter Park, with the City of Tulsa blaming hot weather and a possible algae bloom. Those conditions can cause the oxygen in the water to drop, suffocating the fish. City workers with nets cleaned up the pond Monday, after the fish kill was reported. A few dead fish remained Tuesday, along the bank. Parks staff didn't find any other aquatic animals injured or killed, but the City said teams will check the pond for the next few weeks. The state regularly stocks the pond with sunfish, catfish and bass, as part of a “Fishing at Home” campaign.

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

Elliot Nelson has to pause for a moment to figure out just how many restaurants he has opened in the past 19 years. “I think it’s around 15 or 16,” Nelson said, during a conversation in the dining area of Jimmy’s Chophouse, the newest addition to the McNellie’s Group of which Nelson is the founder and CEO. Named in honor of his father, Jimmy’s Chophouse is something of an homage to flavors and experiences from Tulsa’s culinary past, drawn from Nelson’s memories of visiting steakhouses such as Eddy’s and Jamil’s, the Italian Inn and the Celebrity Club. The new restaurant is already earning high praise from diners, as well as getting one of the highest ratings of any new restaurant this year from the Tulsa World. But Nelson and the McNellie’s Group are not resting on laurels. Three new restaurants are in the works and are projected to be open by the summer of 2024. First up will be City Hall Steak & Cocktail, which is planned for a spring 2024 opening. The restaurant will be at 123 E. Main St. in downtown Jenks, taking over a building that had once served as the town’s city hall. When the project was announced, the new restaurant was described as having “a blend of modern design and vintage accents that celebrate the building’s unique history. The atmosphere will be ideal for intimate dinners, special occasions, business meetings, gatherings with friends or just a glass of wine at the bar.” “That one is going to be closer to the traditional steakhouse than Jimmy’s,” Nelson said. “Steaks are certainly a main thing at Jimmy’s, but the menu here has a fairly broad variety of dishes,” Nelson said. “The focus at City Hall will be more on steak.” City Hall Steak & Cocktail is part of a citizen-led effort to rebrand the city’s historic Main Street as The Ten District, a reference to that particular corner of Main Street being 10 miles from downtown Tulsa, Bixby, Sapulpa and Broken Arrow, and also 10 blocks west of the Arkansas River. Another project in the works is Maple Ridge Grocery, which will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner in a space near the intersection of 18th Street and Cincinnati Avenue. Nelson said he hopes this restaurant will be open by March of 2024. “The building used to be a print shop,” Nelson said. “It’s just a block or so away from (Council Oak Elementary) school, and I envision parents dropping off their kids, and then swinging by for a coffee or breakfast. It’s also going to be on my way home from the office, so I can imagine people leaving work and stopping by there.” The third project is a proposed Italian restaurant that will be part of the Santa Fe Square development at the corner of Second Street and Elgin Avenue downtown, which will likely open in the summer of 2024. Nelson is one of the developers of this multi-use location. Although a few of the concepts the McNellie’s Group has opened over the years have closed (the Mexican restaurant El Guapo, which had locations downtown and in south Tulsa, for example), the majority of the company’s restaurants are still open. That includes Nelson’s first endeavor, McNellie’s Pub, which opened in 2004 and has since expanded to three locations in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The original location, at 409 E. First St., is now part of a bustling landscape of restaurants, clubs and other businesses. But that was not the case when Nelson first opened his version of an Irish pub. “I remember there was a welding shop on one side and a machine shop on the other,” he said, laughing. “It was pretty rough going the first couple of years. I think the thing that really saved us was that we were one of the first places to capitalize on the craft beer trend. It was something that got people to come downtown to an area that, at that time, wasn’t all that inviting.” One of the McNellie’s Group restaurants plays off the less-than-savory reputation of that neighborhood: Red Light Chicken, which opened last year in the spot that formerly held El Guapo, is named for the fact that one of the city’s most notorious brothels once occupied the building next door (a painting of Pauline Lambert, owner of the May Rooms, adorns one of the walls in the restaurant). It has been a busy couple of years for the McNellie’s Group. Besides Jimmy’s Chophouse and Red Light Chicken, the company has opened a stand-alone location of its popular Mother Road Market restaurant, Howdy Burger, on 11th Street; Mr. Kim’s, a uniquely personal reinterpretation of the traditional Korean steakhouse; and Bar Serra, an upscale bar and cafe that is the first new restaurant concept to open in Utica Square in nearly a decade. When asked if opening some 20 restaurants in 20 years, among other projects, is enough, Nelson gave a quiet laugh. “Well, there are still voids in the Tulsa dining landscape that we can fill,” he said. “But at this, we have so many employees who have been with us for a long time, and who have real ownership in the company. All our restaurants are wholly owned subsidiaries, and this allows us to offer more chances for ownership for them. “Our employees work so hard, and put so much into the successes we’ve had, and we want to provide as best we can the opportunity for them to retire comfortably,” Nelson said. “We’re just trying to be the best employer we can.”

Android Xepher • 1 year ago • 96%

www.theverge.com

Google is reportedly planning to introduce a new Android feature that will let users link their various Android devices together, similar to Continuity features across the Apple ecosystem. Android expert Mishaal Rahman posted about the potential feature, noting that it could allow Android devices that are signed into the same Google account to communicate with each other. This could enable features like “Call Switching,” which allows users to jump between connected devices during calls, and “Internet Sharing,” which Android Authority speculates could be an easier way to quickly set up a personal hotspot across the linked devices. Apple has a similar call-switching feature called “iPhone Mobile Calls” that allows users to make and receive calls from Apple devices like Macs and iPads signed into the same Apple ID, providing they’re on the same network as the user’s iPhone. Android Authority also notes, however, that Apple’s “iPhone Mobile Calls” feature doesn’t allow users to receive calls from another iPhone. The wording for Google’s “Call Switching” feature (as seen in the screenshot provided by Rahman) suggests that it could be used to switch between different Android devices, including phones. So you might be able to pick up a call on a phone and transfer it to another linked phone or something like the Pixel Tablet. We won’t know for sure until Google officially announces this, but if it’s genuine, then this could be useful for folks who need to carry more than one phone. Rahman claims that the “Link Your Devices” menu will appear under Settings > Google > Devices & Sharing in the device settings once the feature is officially released. Google has yet to announce the Android device linking feature, let alone a release date. We have reached out for comment from Google and will update this story should we hear back.

Android Xepher • 1 year ago • 97%

www.theverge.com

Google is reportedly planning to introduce a new Android feature that will let users link their various Android devices together, similar to Continuity features across the Apple ecosystem. Android expert Mishaal Rahman posted about the potential feature, noting that it could allow Android devices that are signed into the same Google account to communicate with each other. This could enable features like “Call Switching,” which allows users to jump between connected devices during calls, and “Internet Sharing,” which Android Authority speculates could be an easier way to quickly set up a personal hotspot across the linked devices. Apple has a similar call-switching feature called “iPhone Mobile Calls” that allows users to make and receive calls from Apple devices like Macs and iPads signed into the same Apple ID, providing they’re on the same network as the user’s iPhone. Android Authority also notes, however, that Apple’s “iPhone Mobile Calls” feature doesn’t allow users to receive calls from another iPhone. The wording for Google’s “Call Switching” feature (as seen in the screenshot provided by Rahman) suggests that it could be used to switch between different Android devices, including phones. So you might be able to pick up a call on a phone and transfer it to another linked phone or something like the Pixel Tablet. We won’t know for sure until Google officially announces this, but if it’s genuine, then this could be useful for folks who need to carry more than one phone. Rahman claims that the “Link Your Devices” menu will appear under Settings > Google > Devices & Sharing in the device settings once the feature is officially released. Google has yet to announce the Android device linking feature, let alone a release date. We have reached out for comment from Google and will update this story should we hear back.

T-Mobile US Unofficial Lemmy Community Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

www.tmonews.com

Last week, it was revealed that T-Mobile will no longer be offering Tidal as a perk to its customers. The company stopped offering the music streaming service as a perk yesterday, August 1st. And now, we’re learning what the Un-carrier’s next plan is. In the original report, T-Mobile promised that it would be replacing the service soon. But as [The Mobile Report](https://tmo.report/2023/08/t-mobile-is-offering-pandora-premium-to-those-that-are-losing-their-tidal-benefit/) shared, we now know what it will be. The publication obtained internal communication documents where employees were told of a new perk that will be replacing Tidal. As it turns out, select Magenta Complete customers will now be given access to Pandora. The document shares that only customers on a Plus or Premium rate plan will be offered the Pandora on US perk. The primary account holder on the plan will receive an SMS with a redemption link. The offer must then be redeemed by October 31, 2023. This will give them a one-year subscription to Pandora Premium. Meanwhile, customers who were affected by T-Mobile’s decision to stop offering Tidal received an email from the streaming service. The email contained a payment method so that they can continue using the service. Source: [The Mobile Report](https://tmo.report/2023/08/t-mobile-is-offering-pandora-premium-to-those-that-are-losing-their-tidal-benefit/)

Android Xepher • 1 year ago • 96%

Wanted to see how everyone in the community felt about the using the android navigation bar buttons vs using gesture control. I've used the navigation buttons since they released on android and just recently started trying to use the gesture based navigation. It's been a little difficult for me to adapt to it so far, but curious what others experience has been.

Lemmy Xepher • 1 year ago • 95%

cross-posted from: https://toast.ooo/post/232185 > Hey all, > > I’ve got an exciting thing to announce today, **Canvas — Lemmy’s r/Place!** > > We need to get our own traditions over here in the Threadiverse, why not start off with our own r/Place > > This weekend, we will open up a canvas to all Lemmy users, each user will be able to place 1 pixel every minute. This event will last 72 hours, starting **midnight EST on the 4th** and ending at **11:59pm EST on the 6th** > > Some instances that are joining in: > > - [toast.ooo](https://toast.ooo) > - [lemmy.zip](https://lemmy.zip) > - [lemmy.ca](https://lemmy.ca) > > Join the [Lemmy Community](https://toast.ooo/c/canvas) `!canvas@toast.ooo` > > Join the [Matrix Space](https://matrix.to/#/#lemmy-canvas:matrix.org) `#lemmy-canvas:matrix.org`

Technology Xepher • 1 year ago • 81%

www.wired.com

#Meta is giving its answer to OpenAI’s GPT-4 away for free. The move could intensify the generative AI boom by making it easier for entrepreneurs to build powerful new AI systems. In May an anonymous memo apparently written by a Google researcher concerned about the company’s future leaked online. It argued that, while executives squabbled about the competitive threat of text-generation technology from OpenAI, open source software was “quietly eating our lunch.” As proof, the memo cited Llama, a large language model made by Meta that was initially available only to researchers by invitation but within days leaked on 4Chan, and quickly became popular with programmers who adapted and built on the project. Within weeks of its release, variants called Alpaca and Vicuna were nearly as good as ChatGPT but agile enough to customize on a laptop computer. “The impact on the community cannot be overstated,” the leaked Google memo said. “Suddenly anyone is able to experiment.” Last week, Meta released the second version of its unexpectedly popular model, Llama 2. This time, it is open source and free for commercial use from the start. The new version was made using 40 percent more data than the original, and a chatbot built with the model is capable of generating results on par with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Meta claims. Just like ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and other generative AI models released recently, Llama 2 likely cost millions to create. But only Meta’s system is available for free to developers, startups, and others interested in creating custom variations of the model. By supplying a cheaper option, Meta’s Llama 2 makes it easier for small companies or lone coders to create new products and services, potentially accelerating the current AI boom. Meta isn’t offering up Llama 2 alone. It has support with some major partners that are already making the model available to their customers, including AI startups Hugging Face, Databricks, and OctoML. Microsoft, which has invested $10 billion in OpenAI, will nonetheless also offer Llama 2 downloads to developers for use in the cloud or on Windows. At a conference for Microsoft customers last week, CEO Satya Nadella talked excitedly about developers being able to use Meta’s open source AI alongside the proprietary offerings of OpenAI. Amazon’s cloud division, AWS, also offers access to Llama 2. Ahmad Al-Dahle, Meta’s vice president for generative AI, declines to say what role the leak of the first Llama model played in the company’s new strategy for Llama 2. “If you look back at Meta’s history, we've been a huge proponent of open source,” he says, pointing to the example of PyTorch, a popular tool for developers working with machine learning. “One of the major motivations for building a community around this was that we saw there was demand beyond researchers to work on these models and improve them.” Al-Dahle says work is already underway on the development of Llama 3, but he would not specify how it will be different. Though Llama 2 lends credibility to Meta as a leader in open source AI, not all aspects of the release can be characterized as open. The training data used to create the model is described in release materials only as “publicly available online sources,” and the company won’t offer further details about what went into the model’s creation. Meta’s license for Llama 2 also requires companies with more than 700 million monthly active users to establish a separate license agreement with Meta. It is not clear why, but the clause creates a barrier to other tech giants building on the system. The model also comes with an acceptable use policy, which prohibits generating malicious code, promoting violence, or enabling criminal activity, abuse, or harassment. Meta did not respond to a question about what actions it might take if Llama 2 was used in breach of that policy. Jon Turow, an investor at Madrona Ventures in Seattle, says Meta’s pivot from trying to restrict distribution of the first Llama model to open-sourcing the second could enable a new wave of creativity using large language models. “Developers and entrepreneurs are very resourceful, and they are going to find out what they can squeeze out of Llama 2,” he says. Turow likens Meta’s choice to release Llama 2 this month to Google introducing the Android mobile operating system in 2007 to rival Apple’s iOS. By giving away a cheap but powerful alternative, Meta can become a counterbalance to proprietary systems like the kind developed by OpenAI, sparking innovation that could feed back ideas that help improve Meta products and services. Llama 2 is the first openly released model on par with ChatGPT, says Nathan Lambert, an AI researcher at Hugging Face, a startup that releases open source machine-learning software, including generative models. He doesn’t consider the project truly open source, because of Meta’s limited disclosures about its development, but he is astonished by the number of Llama 2 variations he sees in his social media feed. One example is the latest version of WizardLM, an AI system, similar to ChatGPT, designed to follow complex instructions. Eight out of 10 models trending currently on Hugging Face, a number of which are made to generate conversational text, are variations of Llama 2. “I think there’s a case to be made that Llama 2 is the biggest event of the year in AI,” Lambert says. He says proprietary models have the advantage today, but he believes that later versions of Llama will catch up and, before long, will be able to perform most tasks that people turn to ChatGPT for today. Lambert also says the Llama 2 release leaves a number of questions unanswered, in part due to the lack of documentation of training data. And it will still remain the case that only major players like Meta, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI will have the computing resources and staff needed to make leading large language models. But he is hopeful that, despite the the success of OpenAI’s proprietary approach, language models are shifting into an era of transparency. A voluntary agreement between the White House and seven major AI companies calls for tests of things like potential for discrimination or impact to society or national security before deployment. It’s a trend that could be challenged by growing questions about legal liability for AI systems and increasing regulatory pressure from politicians, who fear that malicious actors will start using open source models. Like Demis Hassabis, the AI researcher now leading Google’s AI development, Turow disagrees with the assertion made by the leaked Google memo that it and other major AI companies are threatened by open source AI. He thinks data, talent, and access to computing power will continue to protect the biggest tech companies—but not make them invincible. He’s now watching to see what startups and researchers do with Llama 2, expecting to see them rapidly improve it, as happened with the first iteration of Meta’s model. He says that should create new possibilities for both startups and the broader field of AI. “We're seeing open source continually get better and better, so there may be surprises that upset the early leaders,” Turow says. “I don't know what will happen.”

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

State Superintendent Ryan Walters staged a press conference Friday on the grounds of Tulsa Public Schools’ administration building about an incident he views as a violation of a local school board member’s religious freedom. He vowed to make an issue of the matter when the school district’s accreditation is up for renewal next week by the Oklahoma State Board of Education. “I want to thank E’Lena Ashley for her stand for religious freedom. There is no more fine example today that religious liberty is under assault than what’s happening here in Tulsa Public Schools,” Walters said over constant shouting from the large crowd that assembled for the 3 p.m. press conference. “You have a school board member who uses her freedom of expression to say a prayer, and what do you see? You see the radical left who want to shout her down.” Friday’s press conference, which the Oklahoma State Department of Education announced on Thursday afternoon, appeared to draw an equal number of protesters and supporters, who, alternately, shouted over speakers at the podium and at one another over the course of about 20 minutes. Along with Walters, speakers at Friday’s press conference included Ashley, Bob Linn with the Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee, and state Sens. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, and Dana Prieto, R-Tulsa. Prieto brandished a thick stack of papers he identified as “almost 2,000 letters of support” for Ashley, drawing another round of jeers and cheers from the assembled crowd. Afterward, when the shouting had moved away from the podium in front of the Education Service Center’s marquee, Walters spoke to reporters and made this revelation: “The next (state) board meeting we have next week, we will be looking at Tulsa Public Schools’ accreditation for all their violations, … and we are going to make sure that religious liberties are protected in Tulsa Public Schools.” Ashley, a Tulsa school board member, spoke at East Central High School’s graduation ceremony on May 18 and invited everyone to pray with her. “I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that each one of you would walk forward from this moment in the excellence and love of God, that he would guide you, direct you and draw you to your ultimate goal. In the name of Jesus,” she said. Afterward, Ashley reported that she had received an email from the Tulsa school board president stating that both the president and Superintendent Deborah Gist had received numerous complaints from members of the school community and saying that the prayer Ashley made is not allowed under the U.S. Constitution and rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court. East Central High School students and staff also voiced their concerns during the citizens’ comment portions of the Tulsa school board’s meetings on June 5 and July 10. However, Walters zeroed in on objections from Gist and board President Stacey Woolley and used that as justification for not reaching out privately to discuss his concerns prior to Friday’s press conference. “We’ve seen exactly what Superintendent Gist and Tulsa Public Schools’ reaction to this was: attack a board member, to send an email that fundamentally misunderstands religious liberty and religious freedom and attack a duly elected board member for saying a prayer,” Walters said. “It’s outrageous, and we’re not going to stand for that.” In 1962, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Engel v. Vitale that school-sponsored prayer is a violation of the establishment clause of the First Amendment. Walters has previously stated that he believes the decision was wrong. Walters did not answer follow-up questions as to what specific provisions of the state’s accreditation standards he believes were violated by district officials’ criticism of Ashley’s prayer. A spokeswoman for TPS confirmed Friday morning that the district was not contacted by Walters or the Oklahoma State Department of Education about the state superintendent’s concerns prior to the press conference announcement that went out Thursday afternoon. As the press conference started, the district issued a written statement in response. “Tulsa Public Schools values and respects individuals from all faiths, backgrounds, and cultures. We strive to maintain a welcoming environment for our students, families, and team members,” the statement says. “The U.S. Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court rulings are clear: district officials may not lead prayer or promote religious views at school-sponsored events. By adhering to the law, we strive to uphold religious liberty and ensure that no student or family feels excluded at school events — particularly graduation, a once-in-a lifetime celebration.” Tulsa Public Schools’ state accreditation was downgraded in July 2022 over an allegation that it violated a state law commonly referred to as House Bill 1775, which limits classroom discussion on race and gender. The district was penalized for an August 2021 professional development session on implicit bias for teachers — not students — offered through a third-party vendor. The State Board of Education takes up every public school district’s accreditation renewal each July. This month’s meeting is set for 9:30 a.m. July 27. Attendees at Friday’s press conference included a half dozen or so faith leaders from across Tulsa, who watched from the back. The Rev. Randy Lewis of All Souls Unitarian Church said he came to hear Walters for himself. All he could do was shake his head in disappointment. “It’s horrible what politicians are doing to this country — right, left, you name it,” Lewis said. “We are one nation and one people. This division, this foolishness? Scripture says: ‘Divided we fall; together we stand.’” Walters told reporters after the event that he would have taken the same action had Ashley offered a prayer representing any faith background. However, requests from the crowd to allow an imam and a rabbi to offer a prayer at the top of the press conference were ignored. Shelley Gwartney, who ran an unsuccessful bid for a Union school board seat last year and who is a current candidate for state Senate District 33, attended with a handful of fellow Moms for Liberty members. “What this school board member did is protected under the First Amendment,” she said. “It was a public graduation. People are allowed to pray. If it can happen at TPS, how can it not happen somewhere else?” A woman with a son in Broken Arrow Public Schools said she attended because “we are not looking forward to forced religious observance in schools.” “I think Tulsa instituting religious programming would spread. It’s like this little spark,” said Melisa Mons. “But all of this yelling? I don’t think that solves anything. I can see where there’s that frustration of wanting to be heard, but it’s hard to hear other perspectives if everyone is yelling.” Gabe Woolley, who teaches fourth grade English and social studies at TPS and is of no relation to the school board president with the same last name, hugged Ashley after the press conference. He said he views the invitation to pray and the prayer she made at East Central’s graduation as the same as the moment of silence observed in public schools, where children can choose to pray or not pray. “If we’re really going to say we want free speech, you have to embrace the other side,” he said

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

ktul.com

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — Oklahoma Comic Convention will be held on Aug. 5-6 at the Cox Business Convention Center in Tulsa. The event will feature will feature guests from movies, television, anime, comic books, and cosplay. Guests who have confirmed attendance include Lea Thompson from "Back To The Future", Matty Cardarople from "Stranger Things", and professional wrestler Rob Van Dam. More guests will be announced closer to the event. Guests will attend both days and be available for autographs and pictures for an additional fee. The Oklahoma Comic Con will also have costume contests, Q&As with guests, fan panels, workshops, video game tournaments, tabletop game tournaments, an old school arcade, and more. Vendors and artists from across the country will be selling everything from t-shirts and comic books to swords and art.

DeGoogle Yourself Xepher • 1 year ago • 99%

cross-posted from: https://feddit.nl/post/318319 > It's foolish to think open source isn't possible on Android. > > # 0. Introduction > > I was a fool myself, I thought the apps my phone's vendor made were simply too aesthetically pleasing to switch from. I thought there were barely any good libre apps, and they were all limited in functionality compared to their closed source alternatives. I was ignorant to the fact that the apps I was using were filled to the brim with corporation branding, useless features, and bugs (which I thought were acceptible for some reason). But I digress, I'm here to show that there is a world where you install only libre software and still use your phone to do whatever you'd like. I needed this years ago, so I'll take you on a journey down the rabbit hole to prove it. > > Assuming you already have some idea why libre software is preferable, the first step is embracing minimalism. Of course, you will not find open source versions of the exact same proprietary apps you love and use on a daily basis. Though, an open source alternative will aways exist in some form. If you embrace minimalism and identify what you want from an app with precision, you won't be carried away with extra featues that may simply be bloat. > > Disclaimer: Some of the open source communities may be nasty, but at least they don't hide their dirt. > > # 1. Basic phone features > > You need to replace your default system apps. You didn't choose to install them, you were fed those apps. Just because the vendor doesn't want you to replace them doesn't mean you have to keep using them. Root your phone (Why is it dangerous and letting a company you know nothing about have control over your device and data isn't?) and delete those apps. > > **Phone app (Dialer)**: Go ahead and install [Koler](https://github.com/Chooloo/koler) or [Simple Dialer](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.dialer). [NoPhoneSpam](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/at.bitfire.nophonespam/) can be used to block based on patterns. [Call Recorder](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.callrecorder/) can be used to record your calls, use [Call Recorder - Skvalex](https://callrecorder.skvalex.com/get) (closed source) with its Magisk module if it doesn't work. Use [Share my number](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.characterdog.share_my_number/) if you need to share your number with a QR code. > > **Gallery**: [SimpleGallery](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.simplemobiletools.gallery.pro/) has an all albums view in addition to per album view. It can remove metadata, filter media, has a recycle bin support, and allows basic editing. > > **Contacts**: [Simple Contacts](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.contacts.pro/). > > **Files (browser/explorer/manager)**: Are you, by any chance, still using Root Explorer? Perhaps your vendor's modern files app? You could also be dependent on Google and using Files by Google. Maybe ES File Manager and its ads had an impact on you. No matter which one you use, [Material Files](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/me.zhanghai.android.files) welcomes you. It has everything you need. If you can't give up your files app because it cleans junk files / optimizes or speeds up your 256 GB phone with 8 GB of memory, know that you don't need any of it. If you're used to the 2 panel layout, remember minimalism. You don't need it, this app has multi-window support. > > **Messaging**: [QKSMS](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.moez.QKSMS) or [Simple SMS Messenger](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.smsmessenger), the former should be superior to the default messaging app. If you can get a friend to read this post, you can use [Silence](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.smssecure.smssecure) (not to be confused with [Silence the call blocker](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/me.lucky.silence)) to converse with them encrypted. > > **Software catalogue app**: [Droid-ify](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.looker.droidify) for open source apps and [Aurora Store](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store) for apps on Play Store only. You can log in to download the apps you've paid for. > > **Launcher**: Stop using a Google launcher, Nova Launcher, or OneUI's launcher. Yes, you can do without a Google search, weather, cpu temperature, and free space widgets (though you can still find them in libre launchers). There are a lot of open source launchers, though [Olauncher](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/app.olauncher) (for elegant simplicity), [KISS Launcher](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/fr.neamar.kiss) (power users), [Discreet Launcher](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.vincent_falzon.discreetlauncher) and [Omega Launcher](https://github.com/otakuhqz/omega) (more familiar) are some of the highlights. It's fun trying out new launchers, don't be afraid: F-Droid is your playground. > > **Voice Recorder**: There are decent open source voice recorders but the proprietary ones are way better, no doubt. You can still live without editing voice recordings though, install [Audio Recorder](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.audiorecorder) (not to be confused with [Audio Recorder](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.dimowner.audiorecorder/)), it allows you to go back a few seconds and record over. Check out [RingDroid](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.ringdroid/) if you want to trim an audio file. > > **Clock**: Yes, even the default clock app can be changed, so why not? Try [Clock (the new version)](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.best.deskclock/). > > **Camera**: [Open Camera](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.sourceforge.opencamera) is worth a try. If not, stick with what works best for your use case. Keep in mind minimalism, though. Don't take a photo unless you really want/need to and consider using a simpler camera app in case you don't need filters or anything like that. > > **Browser**: It might sound surprising but this is the easiest part. If you're using Chrome, install [Bromite](https://github.com/bromite/bromite). If you like Firefox, install [Mull](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/us.spotco.fennec_dos). There are some simpler browsers that run on WebView, you can test them out if you want. For syncing bookmarks, use [xBrowserSync](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.xBrowserSync.android). > > **Music**: [Newpipe](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.schabi.newpipe) (casual), [Seeker](https://github.com/jackBonadies/SeekerAndroid) (hq) to save locally. [Vanilla](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/ch.blinkenlights.android.vanilla) to play local music. [Blade](https://github.com/vhaudiquet/blade-player) if you're paying Spotify or want Deezer's library. [Spotube](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/oss.krtirtho.spotube) works as a Spotify client. [ViMusic](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/it.vfsfitvnm.vimusic) is a simple player that can play from Youtube Music. > > # 2. Social media > > Don't use it. If you must, [Frost](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.pitchedapps.frost) for Facebook, [Fritter](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.jonjomckay.fritter) for Twitter, [Infinity](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/ml.docilealligator.infinityforreddit) for Reddit, [Newpipe](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.schabi.newpipe) for Youtube, [NewPipe x SponsorBlock](https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/org.polymorphicshade.newpipe) for Youtube with SponsorBlock support (NewPipe's developers refused to implement it), [Clipious](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.github.lamarios.clipious/) as an Invidious client (you can use it to read replies to Youtube comments and proxy videos through Invidious), [Xtra](https://github.com/crackededed/Xtra) for Twitch, [GIider](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/nl.viter.glider) for Hacker News, [Jerboa](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.jerboa) for lemmy (the only working Lemmy client on Android so far). Use Matrix bridges for Discord and Telegram servers, [SchildiChat](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/de.spiritcroc.riotx) and [Element](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/im.vector.app) are two popular clients. > > # 3. The Google suite > > **Gmail**: [K-9 Mail](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.fsck.k9) hands down, [FairEmail](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/eu.faircode.email) is another solid alternative. > > **Google Drive**: [RCX](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/io.github.x0b.rcx) to access your files on Google Drive, Onecloud, Dropbox, Amazon Cloud. See also [Round Sync](https://github.com/newhinton/Round-Sync), an actively maintained fork of it. Any self-hosted solution like [Nextcloud](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.nextcloud.client) will still be better. > > **Google Translate**: [SimplyTranslate Mobile](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplytranslate_mobile) uses Google Translate, so the translation is decent. [Monocles Translator](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.monocles.translator) if you want to go all libre and use LibreTranslate, which has mediocre translations. [InstaLate](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.concept1tech.instalate) for seamless LibreTranslation with an overlay. > > **Snapspeed**: [Litrato](https://github.com/DrMint/Litrato) comes close depending on what you want to do. There's also [Phimp.me](https://github.com/fossasia/phimpme-android), which can edit images but it is far from a polished app. Don't use an image editing app, try Litrato and Phimp(dot)me if you must, go with Snapspeed if you really need those features. You can use [Simple Gallery](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.simplemobiletools.gallery.pro/)'s built-in editor or [Imagepipe](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/de.kaffeemitkoffein.imagepipe/) If what you need boils down to filters, cropping, rotating, sketching; [Pocket Paint](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/org.catrobat.paintroid/) also works as it has layer support, you can get creative with it. > > **Google Authenticator**: [Aegis](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.beemdevelopment.aegis) is just better. If you need MOTP, use [andOTP](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.shadowice.flocke.andotp) which is larger in size. > > **Google Photos**: Self-host a [Piwigo](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.piwigo.android), [PhotoPrism](https://github.com/photoprism/photoprism-mobile), or an [Immich](https://github.com/alextran1502/immich) server. Better yet, embrace minimalism and don't have thousands of images in your gallery. Frequently organize and delete unnecessary images. > > **GBoard**: [FlorisBoard](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/dev.patrickgold.florisboard) as it has detailed custom themes. FlorisBoard already has a clipboard. You can also try [XClipper](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.kpstv.xclipper) if you're not satisfied. > > **Google Keep**: This app is so basic that most open source note taking apps should suffice. As for the top editors, [Joplin](https://github.com/laurent22/joplin-android) is good, can sync pretty well and even has error correction tools in case sync goes wrong, but you can't attach files bigger than 10 MB to notes. [Neutrinote CE](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.appmindlab.nano) is almost just as good, it even has basic sketching feature but you can't attach anything other than images. It also doesn't offer anything to organize or group your notes that works with other apps. [Markor](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.gsantner.markor) has terrible UX but it has good attachment support. [Quillpad](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/io.github.quillpad) is the closest in UI to Google Keep. It has an enjoyable UX and live markdown processing. Unfortunately, you can attach only images in-line, and you have to manually put in the whole path to the image as though you're on PC. [Notesnook](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.streetwriters.notesnook) was added to F-Droid recently. It has clients on all major platforms and it might be the most modern libre notes app. Though, it has several features (some vital depending on the use case) locked behind a paid subscription. > > **Google Docs/Slides/Sheets**: [OpenOffice Document Reader](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/at.tomtasche.reader) can read and edit, but don't expect much. [Collabora Office](https://github.com/CollaboraOnline/online) is a way better editor, it works but doesn't have as many features as Google Docs does. Neither of these options offer collaboration. [Padland](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.mikifus.padland) has collab through Etherpad but it's well-known how hard it is to get everyone you are working with to switch to another app. > > **Google Fit**: [RunnerUp](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.runnerup.free) to track your runs with a voice coach. [Plees-tracker](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/hu.vmiklos.plees_tracker) to track your sleep. [Pedometer (Privacy Friendly)](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.secuso.privacyfriendlyactivitytracker) to count your steps. [MediLog](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.zell_mbc.medilog) to log weight, blood pressure and more. > > **Google Assistant**: [Dicio](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.dicio.dicio_android) is already on F-Droid but it won't get what you are saying. Possible actions are limited. There's also [Athena](https://github.com/Tadashi-Hikari/Athena) that's in development, though it is not ready for any kind of use. Depending on whether you need some sort of an accessibility service, you can get away with ditching Ok Google / Alexa / Cortana / Bixby. [TalkBack](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.android.talkback/) should help with it too. > > **Google Play Books**: [Aurora](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.funkymuse.aurora/) to get books, [Librera Reader](https://github.com/foobnix/LibreraReader) to read them, [Badreads](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.timenotclocks.bookcase) or [Openreads](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/software.mdev.bookstracker) to log and review them. > > **Google Calendar**: [Etar](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/ws.xsoh.etar) or [Simple Calendar](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.calendar.pro), can't go wrong with either. > > **Google News**: No alternatives. Unless it has to do with your job, it's a stressful form of entertainment, drop it. [News Provider](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/m.co.rh.id.a_news_provider) can get news from rss feeds though. [Thud](https://github.com/aerotoad/Thud) has a lot of feeds set up by default, but it is laggy. [Read You](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/me.ash.reader) offers the smoothest RSS experience I've had on Android. > > **Google Tasks**: [Tasks.org](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.tasks) is easily the best tasks app out there. It doesn't have smart language recognition or quick add, but it's still great. It's comparable to Todoist and TickTick. > > **Google Maps**: [Organic Maps](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/app.organicmaps) (based on OpenStreetMaps) can suffice. You probably think an offline map would just suck and you can't do anything with it, but it works pretty well. It has add-ons that can report traffic jams. Your biggest issue will be the lack of places (with user comments and additional information), for which you will have to use [GMaps WV](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/us.spotco.maps), a wrapper for Google Maps. > > **Wallpapers**: [Olauncher](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/app.olauncher) has a new wallpaper every day. [Cardboard Museum](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.example.forgottenumbrella.cardboardmuseum) changes your wallpaper periodically with a different one from Danbooru. There is [Muzei](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.nurik.roman.muzei/), which offers a new wallpaper every day. [Doodle](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/xyz.zedler.patrick.doodle) has several wallpapers and offers some customization. [Resplash](https://github.com/b-lam/Resplash) is like Google Wallpapers in how it pulls from a large online database, it is basically an Unsplash client. If you don't like any of these apps, browse the internet; don't use the the spyware that is Zedge. > > **Digital Wellbeing**: [UsageDirect](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/godau.fynn.usagedirect) can display your screen time per app. [DetoxDroid](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.flx_apps.digitaldetox) can make your screen grayscale (per app) and break infinite scrolling. With [OpenTimeLimit](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/io.timelimit.android.open), you can limit an app's usage for a user. [TimeLimit.io](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/io.timelimit.android.aosp.direct) can be used for multi device support either self-hosted or with monthly subscription. > > **Speech Services by Google**: [RHVoice](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.olga_yakovleva.rhvoice.android) offers TTS. No open source STT that works for the English language is available on Android ([Dicio](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.dicio.dicio_android), barely). > > # 4. Oddly specific alternatives > > **Samsung SoundAssistant**: [Audio HeadQuarter](https://github.com/Alcatraz323/audiohq_md2) works the same way with its Magisk module, is also way more customizable. At least some parts of it are not open source, however. > > **Goodreads**: [Badreads](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.timenotclocks.bookcase) or [Openreads](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/software.mdev.bookstracker) with no community reviews. Embrace offline apps. > > **Trakt**: [Episodes](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.redcoracle.episodes) for series (still needs some work for an enjoyable experience). [Nekome](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.chesire.nekome) can be used for anime and manga if you trust Kitsu. [CineLog](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.ulicae.cinelog) and [Movie DB](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.notabug.lifeuser.moviedb) can both act as a database where you save movies or look up other movies, but they aren't actively developed and lack organization features. This is where [SeriesGuide](https://github.com/UweTrottmann/SeriesGuide) comes into play. It can be found on Izzy's repository and it "tracks or reports your" activity but it can help you group and organize your series and movies. It has premium features (extra) that require a monthly subscription. There is also an alternative called [Showly](https://github.com/michaldrabik/showly-2.0). > > **Any streaming app (Hulu, Netflix...)**: [Cloudstream-3](https://github.com/recloudstream/cloudstream). See [CS3 Docs](https://recloudstream.github.io/csdocs) to learn to set up the app and install the repositories you want. > > **VPN**: Depends on the provider. [CalyxVPN](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.calyxinstitute.vpn) is free, [Mullvad](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.mullvad.mullvadvpn) is paid. Both have open source apps. > > **Spotlight-like**: [Blue Line Console](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.nhiroki.bluelineconsole), can be used alongside your favorite launcher as an assistant app. It can do basic math and unit conversions, supports widgets. It's addictive. > > **WinDirStat**: [DiskUsage](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.google.android.diskusage/) does not have a list but it offers a visual block view that can clearly show what's eating up all the space on your phone. > > **Github**: [OctoDroid](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.gh4a), very slow development but it's still good. It doesn't support Github Discussions and the new issue forms yet. > > **CamScanner, Office Lens**: [OpenScan](https://github.com/Ethereal-Developers-Inc/OpenScan) will get you covered. Don't use the 155 MB spyware CamScanner. > > **Forest, Flip (Productivity / Pomodoro Timer)**: [Goodtime](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.apps.adrcotfas.goodtime) is perfect, you can use it with your phone's screen locked. > > **Moon Reader**: [Librera Reader](https://github.com/foobnix/LibreraReader) is just as good, if not better. > > **Adobe Acrobat Reader (PDF read and annotate)**: [Librera Reader](https://github.com/foobnix/LibreraReader). > > **Sketchbook**: [Saber](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.adilhanney.saber) for basic sketching. [Krita](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.krita) is a great app that works properly only on tablets. Another option is [Pocket Paint](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.catrobat.paintroid), which is barely okay. [PxerStudio](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.benny.pxerstudio) is great for pixel art. > > **Your Phone Companion**: [Zorin Connect](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.zorinos.zorin_connect), [KDE Connect](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.kde.kdeconnect_tp/), [Device Connect](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.dcnnt) all do the same thing. [Share To Computer](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.jim.sharetocomputer) is the simplest wireless way to transfer files or text from phone to computer, as it doesn't ask for an internet connection, it's handled locally. > > **Whatsapp**: [Jami](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/cx.ring) has come a long way, use it if you have people who'd be interested in a libre P2P Whatsapp alternative that doesn't require any signup or phone number. XMPP/Jabber is also an option as long as you can host a server yourself. If not, then use [Signal](https://github.com/mollyim/mollyim-android), if that still doesn't work for you, no alternatives. You can use [Whatsapp Web To Go](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/io.kuenzler.whatsappwebtogo), it should work without the Whatsapp app. Try [Open In Whatsapp](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/io.github.subhamtyagi.openinwhatsapp) if you need to text people not in your contacts. > > **Vocabulary(dot)com, Knudge(dot)me**: No alternatives. If you aren't preparing for a test, don't bother with these and just consume media. > > **Merriam-Webster DIctionary**: [CollinsDictionary](https://github.com/Konyaco/CollinsDictionary) (MW alternative), [Notification Dictionary](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.xtreak.notificationdictionary) (simple text definitions), [WordBook](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/dev.atahabaki.wordbook) (personal dictionary), [EnglishWiz](https://github.com/ezechuka/EnglishWhiz) (offline with examples and word saving). > > **MyFitnessPal**: [Waistline](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.waist.line) is the only app that comes close but has only packaged products, so you can't use it if you don't consume a lot of packaged food. > > **Squid, Nebo (Handwritten notes)**: [Xournal++ Mobile](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/online.xournal.mobile) is not fun to use, but it is free software. [Saber](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.adilhanney.saber) is a new alternative. > > **Remote for Samsung TV (old smart TVs)**: [Sam Remote](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/mkg20001.net.samremote) uses Wi-fi, so there is no need for infrared. The app doesn't have play/pause buttons. > > **VirtualTablet**: [Weylus](https://github.com/H-M-H/Weylus) can mirror the screen to the client. [GfxTablet](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/at.bitfire.gfxtablet/) can also be used, though it has no mirroring. > > **AccuBattery**: [BBS](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.asksven.betterbatterystats) can be used to track what's draining your battery. [AccA](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/mattecarra.accapp) with its Magisk module is a must-have as it will help your battery last longer. > > **Any fitness app (Thenx, Sweat...)**: [Feeel](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.enjoyingfoss.feeel) for a workout database and how to do exercises. [Wger](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.wger.flutter) too has a database of workouts. [Workout Time!](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/es.ideotec.workouttime) has predefined workouts as well and it offers a timer, which helps if you have issues with resting too much. [GymRoutines](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.noahjutz.gymroutines) is a simple workout app, you can make your own routines. There are just so many apps with unique featues in the open source scene, just try them out. > > **PS Remote Play**: [Chiaki](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.metallic.chiaki). > > # 5. Essentials > > **QR/Barcode Scanner**: [Binary Eye](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.markusfisch.android.binaryeye), no doubt. This app can zoom, crop, use the flashlight, scan images from the gallery, use both back/front cameras, have history, create barcodes. > > **Calculator**: You don't notice how infrequently you use your calculator app until you delete it. For simple calculations, [Blue Line Console](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.nhiroki.bluelineconsole) can act as the most unobtrusive calculator. For complex calculations, try [num++](https://github.com/DylanXie123/Num-Plus-Plus) or [MicroMathematics Plus](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.mkulesh.micromath.plus) (plots, graphs). If you happen to make simple calculations frequently, there's [Calculator Notification](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.tananaev.calculator). [Calculator++](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/org.solovyev.android.calculator) is a good app with interesting gestures, a widget and a window mode. > > **Ad blocker**: [AdAway](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/org.adaway) edits the hosts file to block ads. > > **Reminder**: [SimpleReminder](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/felixwiemuth.simplereminder) is almost feature-complete now. > > **Metadata eraser**: Prefer [Imagepipe](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.kaffeemitkoffein.imagepipe) (over [ScrambledExif](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.jarsilio.android.scrambledeggsif), this one opens the share menu automatically instead of saving the image) for quickly cropping, scaling, and sharing images because it is lighter and still has more features. [ExifEraser](https://github.com/Tommy-Geenexus/exif-eraser) to erase metadata of all images in a directory. [Simple Gallery](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.simplemobiletools.gallery.pro/) can also remove metadata from multiple images. > > **Sync**: [Syncthing](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.catfriend1.syncthingandroid) is a godsend, you can use it to sync your notes, images, music, any kind of library and archive P2P in your local network. Use [WireGuard](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.wireguard.android) and sync from anywhere in the world. > > **Firewall**: [AFWall+](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/dev.ukanth.ufirewall) allows apps to access wifi/mobile/vpn/lan. Can't do without it. > > **Package manager (and the likes of SD Maid)**: [De-Bloater](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.sunilpaulmathew.debloater) to use custom scripts that can delete tens of apps at once, and restore deleted apps in case something goes wrong with its Magisk module. [App Manager](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/io.github.muntashirakon.AppManager) is an all-in-one tool that can block activities, permissions, control app ops, check app directories, disable modules, and so much more. It's powerful and you probably need it. > > **Text editor**: [Editor](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.billthefarmer.editor) by the amazing billthefarmer, master of lightweight apps. > > **Video player**: [mpv](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/is.xyz.mpv)'s UX is better than [VLC](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.videolan.vlc) and it doesn't try to be everything at once. It's just a video player, and it can play network streams. > > **Root**: [Magisk](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.topjohnwu.magisk) because why wouldn't you want to root your phone? It's systemless, has modules support that renders Xposed obsolete, and it is open source unlike SuperSu. > > **Search inside files**: [aGrep](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/jp.sblo.pandora.aGrep/) takes a string and a directory as input. It searches for the former inside the files found in the latter. > # 6. Quality of life > > **Image Viewer**: [ImgurViewer](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.ensoft.imgurviewer) (can see images/videos from a lot of websites), so you don't have to open media links in your browser. > > **Link manager**: [URLCheck](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.trianguloy.urlchecker) will make it much easier to deal with links as it allows you to view the full link before opening it, choose an app to open the link with, copy/share the link, and clean the link (delete unnecessary parameters that track you). > > **Image upload**: [Pomfshare](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/science.itaintrocket.pomfshare) can upload your images to Pomf(dot)cat, Sicp, Uguu, one by one, not as an album. When it works depends on the servers. > > **Redirecting**: [UntrackMe](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/app.fedilab.nitterizeme) redirects to open source frontends: Youtube to Invidious instances, Twitter to Nitter, Reddit to Teddit, Instagram to BIbliogram, Medium to Scribe, Wikipedia to Wikiless, Google Maps to OpenStreetMaps. > > **Share to save**: [SaveTo](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/xyz.myachin.saveto) saves files via sharing, you can use its companion app [SaveTo.Downloader](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/xyz.myachin.downloader/). > > **Showing an image**: [Secure Photo Viewer](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.gtp.showapicturetoyourfriend) is great if you happen to show an image to someone else. > > **2FA ease of use**: [BluePass](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.booncode.bluepass4) syncs your 2FA codes sent via SMS with your PC. > > **Quick music player**: [Dialog Music Player](https://github.com/VishnuSanal/DialogMusicPlayer) is useful when you want to listen to an audio file in your files app. > > **Password manager**: [KeePassDX](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.kunzisoft.keepass.libre) is one of the best password managers out there. > > **Blue light filter**: With [RedMoon](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.jmstudios.redmoon), you can adjust the color temperature, dim level and intensity level of the filter. It makes it easier to use your phone at night. > > **File Encryption**: [Secret Space Encryptor](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.paranoiaworks.unicus.android.sse) encrypts files or folders. [DroidFS](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/sushi.hardcore.droidfs), creates encrypted volumes that are easy to access. > > **Battery saver**: [SaverTuner](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/s1m.savertuner) is not a battery saver, rather it allows you to configure Android's builtin battery saver better. > > # 7. Miscellaneous > > [**OpenKeychain**](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.sufficientlysecure.keychain): PGP encryption for mails and files. > > [**Shelter**](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.typeblog.shelter): Use the work profile to sandbox apps and have two instances of the same app. > > [**Neo Backup**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.machiav3lli.backup): The ultimate backup app. Can back up / restore your apks and app data, you can even schedule backups. > > [**Screen Shift**](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.sagar.screenshift2): Change your screen resolution. > > [**Terminal Emulator**](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.termoneplus): Lightweight terminal, better than the default one with multiple window and special keys support. [Termux](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.termux) is a powerful terminal emulator. > > [**Video Transcoder**](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/protect.videoeditor): Simple video editor and transcoder. Use ffmpeg on Termux for faster and more accurate results. [VideoCrop](https://github.com/CherryPerry/VideoCrop) allows you to resize and crop videos, output is up to 20 seconds. > > [**Kotatsu**](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.koitharu.kotatsu): Download and read manga, 40 MB smaller than Tachiyomi. > > [**LibreTorrent**](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.proninyaroslav.libretorrent): Torrent app, pretty good. > > [**MyExpenses**](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.totschnig.myexpenses): A solid expense and debt tracking app where you add your transactions manually. There are lots of apps like this on F-Droid, check them out and pick whichever you think is the best. > > [**Decisions**](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/de.markusfisch.android.libra): Making better decisions. I wish I learned of this app sooner. > > [**Orbot**](https://github.com/guardianproject/Orbot): Tor proxy. > > [**LM videodownloader**](https://github.com/hikikomoriphoenix/Beedio): Download videos you come across on the web, pretty useful when you don't have a direct link to a video. Use [YTDLnis](https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/com.deniscerri.ytdl) on websites supported by yt-dlp, [Seal](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.junkfood.seal) freezes during some batch operations. > > [**Photok**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/dev.leonlatsch.photok): Image vault. Encrypt your images and view them conveniently. > > [**Currencies**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/de.salomax.currencies): Quickly convert currencies, it allows you to favorite frequently used ones. > > [**Monocles chat**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/de.monocles.chat): is an XMPP/Jabber client. You can join group chats and send direct messages to other users, you can think of it as federated Whatsapp. Monocles isn't very stable but it makes the chatting experience much better by merging messages sent by the same user under just one avatar unlike [Cheogram](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.cheogram.android), another XMPP client that is more stable but has less features. Both are forked from [Conversations](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/eu.siacs.conversations), which has no themes with pitch black background. > > [**FFShare**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.caydey.ffshare): It pipes multimedia through ffmpeg to compress them before sharing. > > [**Privacy Indicators**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.nitish.privacyindicator): An icon pops up when camera/microphone/location service is in use. > > [**Image Toolbox**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/ru.tech.imageresizershrinker): It is the best libre app to resize images. It supports batch resizing too. > > [**TextBender**](https://github.com/elizagamedev/android-textbender): Interact with any text on the screen. > > [**SuperImage**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/com.zhenxiang.superimage): An image upscaler that works locally. > > # 8. Games > > While video games aren't F-Droid's strong suit, there are some great games there. > > [**Gurgle**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/org.billthefarmer.gurgle): Bill Farmer's take on Wordle. > > [**Falling Lightblocks**](https://github.com/MrStahlfelge/lightblocks): It's an amazing tetris implementation, but it's not on F-Droid due to its closed-source backend for multiplayer. > > [**Lato**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/ardash.lato): A calming downhill snowboard game with serene landscapes. > > [**Rabbit Escape**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/net.artificialworlds.rabbitescape): A puzzle game that gets confusing early on. > > [**Antimine**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/dev.lucanlm.antimine): Modern minesweeper. > > [**Lichess**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/org.lichess.mobileapp.free): The best chess client on Android. > > [**Xeonija**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/xyz.deepdaikon.xeonjia): A creative adventure game with a plot. > > [**SuperTuxKart**](https://www.f-droid.org/packages/org.supertuxkart.stk): One of the best video games on Android. It's a racing game that also works on Linux, has singleplayer and multiplayer modes. You can even play soccer with karts. > > # 9. Apps tightly tied to a service > > Banking apps and shopping apps have no alternatives, you don't have to use them for the most part as they work in browsers. Do it in a work profile through Shelter if you need these apps. > > # 10. Magisk modules > > [**AudioHQ**](https://github.com/Alcatraz323/audiohq_module) module is required to use Audio Headquarters. > > [**ACC**](https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/acc) is required to use AccA. > > [**Webview Manager**](https://github.com/Androidacy/WebviewManager-Module) allows you to replace the webview installed on your phone with Bromite or Ungoogled Chromium's webviews (or a custom one if you wish). The webview installed can be updated through an F-Droid app, they are updated also when you update the module. > > [**De-bloater**](https://github.com/sunilpaulmathew/De-Bloater) companion magisk module. > > [**Disable screenshot and camera sounds**](https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/disable-screenshot-camera-sounds) disables screenshot and shutter sounds in case your rom does not offer an option to do so. > > [**MagiskHidePropsConfig**](https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/MagiskHidePropsConf) can be used to change your device's fingerprint and pass the SafetyNet test. You may need this app if you want to run banking apps. > > [**Call Recorder - SKVALEX**](https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/callrecorder-skvalex) is the module needed to record calls using the closed source call recording app. > > # 11. ROM > > Arguably the most drastic change. Go to your device's [Xda forum](https://forum.xda-developers.com/) page and pick a rom for yourself. Don't be fooled by the number of options, almost all are based on [AOSP](https://source.android.com/), [LineageOS](https://lineageos.org/), or [GrapheneOS](https://grapheneos.org/). If the rom has a different name than these three, then it has further customizations, which can be a great thing, though make sure it's not bloated. > > GrapheneOS is the first recommendation. [DivestOS](https://divestos.org) is the second one, followed by LineageOS. > > # 12. Device > > Get a Pixel and install [GrapheneOS](https://grapheneos.org). > > # 13. Concluding remarks > > When you go down the rabbit hole, you become part of the Android open source community and a supporter of the free software movement in a way. You may donate to developers, share the idea with masses through word-of-mouth, moderate communities focused on FOSS, be a number in the # of times an app has been downloaded, or write about it to spread the idea further like I did with this post. Using libre software also allows you to communicate with the developers, contribute to their apps, and have an impact on the development of the apps you love. This is incomparable to Play Store reviews or telemetry. > > I would have never imagined writing 3000 words promoting free sofware on New Year's Day if it wasn't for [F-Droid](https://f-droid.com/) and the community itself. Thank you.

www.popsci.com

After launching last week, Meta’s Threads app now has more than 100 million users. It’s a dramatic launch for the Twitter competitor and it will soon be the largest social network to use the open ActivityPub protocol. Here’s what that means for you. ActivityPub is a “decentralized social networking protocol” standard developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the group responsible for many of the standards that make the modern web work, like HTML and CSS. It’s basically a pre-designed social networking architecture that developers can use to create services similar to Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram—but much more open. Right now, the biggest social network to use it is Mastodon but Meta has promised to add support for ActivityPub to Threads. This would allow the two social networks to interoperate in ways we haven’t seen with major social platforms before. ActivityPub is designed to enable “the Fediverse,” or a series of decentralized social networks. The idea is that instead of your Facebook Posts, Twitter Tweets, and YouTube videos being locked inside their respective walled gardens, your Mastodon Toots would also be available in Threads. Similarly, your followers wouldn’t be locked into one app and nor would the list of people you follow. You’d basically be able to switch between Fediverse-compatible social networks as you like. While different apps and services could look different and have different features and moderation policies, the data contained within these sites, such as user-generated content or the network of followers and followings, would be available through any ActivityPub-supporting service. On a technical level, ActivityPub is pretty simple. It’s essentially a set of rules that allows decentralized servers to share posts in a standardized format and enables users to use client apps to receive that information from the relevant servers. It’s really similar to the way that Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter currently work, except open to the wider web. Crucially, ActivityPub allows for true interoperability. The magazine app Flipboard integrates with Mastodon using ActivityPub. Federated Mastodon Toots appear like Flipboard posts in the app and, if you like them or comment on them, the like also appears on Mastodon and the comments get posted as replies on the original Toot. In other words, you can use Flipboard to follow and interact with people on Mastodon without having to use a Mastodon app. It’s as if you can see Tweets on Instagram. As well as Mastodon and Flipboard, there are a couple of other ActivityPub-based social networks under development. Pixelfed is a decentralized Instagram alternative while PeerTube is a decentralized take on YouTube. The biggest news for the Fediverse, though, is Threads. While Threads launched last week without support for ActivityPub, Meta plans to add it. In a post on Threads, Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, wrote: “We’re committed to building support for ActivityPub, the protocol behind Mastodon, into this app. We weren’t able to finish it for launch given a number of complications that come along with a decentralized network, but it’s coming.” This will be huge for The Fediverse. Mastodon, the current face of ActivityPub, had less than 2 million users earlier this year—even after hundreds of thousands of people flocked to it from Twitter. Less than a week after launching, Threads has more than 100 million users. How many will stick around remains to be seen, but unless things go wildly bad in the coming months, Threads is likely to become the dominant Fediverse player once the integration launches. Of course, not everyone is happy about Meta moving into ActivityPub. Some Mastodon administrators are signing a pact agreeing to block Threads from interacting with the servers they control—something that’s possible because of Mastodon’s decentralized nature. In a blog post addressing Threads, Eugen Rochko, founder and CEO of Mastodon, takes a different tact. While attempting to allay Mastodon users fears that Meta joining the Fediverse will allow them to be tracked, or that Threads will somehow undermine the ActivityPub standard, he writes: “We have been advocating for interoperability between platforms for years. The biggest hurdle to users switching platforms when those platforms become exploitative is the lock-in of the social graph, the fact that switching platforms means abandoning everyone you know and who knows you. The fact that large platforms are adopting ActivityPub is not only validation of the movement towards decentralized social media, but a path forward for people locked into these platforms to switch to better providers. Which in turn, puts pressure on such platforms to provide better, less exploitative services. This is a clear victory for our cause, hopefully one of many to come.” ActivityPub isn’t the only attempt to create an open social networking protocol. Bluesky, another Twitter competitor that’s still in private beta, has developed the AT Protocol, which also allows for federated social networks. Its most interesting feature is that it allows users to select what algorithm they want to sort their social feeds. While it’s a cool idea, the service has only just reached a million users in approximately four months. Obviously, the social networking space is undergoing a major shakeup. Twitter under Elon Musk’s chaotic reign has seemingly created an opportunity for an alternative microblogging service. With Threads and Mastodon both embracing ActivityPub, it might not be one platform that wins out—but an open standard.

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

TULSA, Okla. - A new store in Tulsa's Woodland Hills Mall aims to take adults back to their childhood and bring out creativity in kids. The LEGO store will have a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. on Friday, July 14 to celebrate its grand opening. Store manager Tulasi Kimbrough said it is not your typical shopping experience. "We are all about play," she said. "Play with our associates and all of our guests, too, that come in." Kimbrough said the old saying, 'look but don't touch' does not apply at the LEGO store. "It is not like all of our sets behind and in the cases cannot be touched," she added. "We want them to embrace the product, touch and feel it, and play with the product too." Kimbrough said no builder is too young or too old to embrace their creativity. "We have the demo table that they will be able to create little sea creatures and add to the set which is super fun because you can say you built something for the LEGO store. We have our Duplo area which is for our younger kids. Those LEGO bricks are larger, so they are safer for the younger children. Also, the larger sets that are featured, we are able to pull those out and everybody can play with those as well," she said. The new LEGO store is only the second in Oklahoma and is on the lower level of Woodland Hills Mall. "We are ready for the opening," Kimbrough continued saying, "We are excited to see everybody, we are just super happy to be able to bring this to the community, and to bring bricks to the hands of children and create the future builders of tomorrow." The second LEGO store location in the state is inside Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City.

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

TULSA, Okla. — Curbside greenwaste collection efforts will start Friday, July 14, for Tulsa residents with leftover debris from the Father's Day storm. Collection will start in the areas in town most heavily affected and will conclude in the lowest-impacted areas. City contractors will work through the different zones over the next several weeks to collect curbside greenwaste in people’s yards that has not already been picked up or taken to the temporary mulch site. A zone map and additional information can be found HERE. When collections begins, contractors will be making a sweep through each zone, then they'll so one final sweep through when the initial collection ends. Residents are asked to prepare all greenwaste by getting it to the curb so that it can be picked up. Residents in neighborhoods where greenwaste may have been picked up by the city, ODOT or OTA will still be on the schedule for curbside greenwaste collection. To prepare for the citywide greenwaste pickup, the city created a list of information for interested residents: Stack (do not tie) greenwaste in lengths no longer than 5 feet long at the curb Make sure greenwaste is not placed in the street, around mailboxes, buildings, or on the tops of utility lids or boxes Make sure cars are not parked in front of greenwaste, or it may interfere with pickup operations Make sure greenwaste is not bagged, as only yard waste should be bagged Make sure greenwaste is free from storm debris, or it will not be picked up Important Definitions: Greenwaste – Cut up trees and tree limbs from the storm. Yard Waste – Grass clipping and leaves. Tulsa residents are allowed to set out 15 clear bags every week next to their trash bin. These clear bags should not be placed in greenwaste piles or in gray trash carts. Storm Debris – Shingles, construction and demolition debris etc. – Storm debris is not picked up in the City’s trash system, nor will it be picked up in the greenwaste pickup. Residents with storm debris will need to either work with their insurance company, hire someone to pick it up and haul it away, or haul it to the landfill. Household Items & Bulky Waste - Patio Furniture, Couches, etc. – Household items that won’t fit in a trash cart but are not greenwaste or construction debris are considered bulky waste. Please note, only household items be accepted in the City’s Bulky Waste Pickup. Please leave storm debris out of that pickup. Once exception is fence panels, which if they are part of your bulky waste pickup request, they need to be cut into 4-foot lengths and bundled at the curb. Greenwaste is not considered bulky waste and should be kept out of bulky waste pickup piles, and any bulky waste pickup items should not be included in greenwaste piles. Scheduling for bulky waste pickups has resumed. Citizens can schedule a pickup at www.cityoftulsa.org/bulkywaste. Temporary Mulch Site For residents who do not want to wait for curbside pickup but still want a free disposal option, they can bring greenwaste to the temporary mulch site at E. Latimer St. & N. 89th E. Ave., from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. daily. Tulsa residents, as well as Tulsa County, Broken Arrow, Bixby, and Jenks residents can utilize the site when they bring a photo copy of their ID or a recent utility bill.

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

ktul.com

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — If you're craving a cheesy jalapeno bacon burger, the McDonald's on Gilcrease Museum Road can take care of that with no problem, just don't ask them if you can pay your water bill. "They said that their phone's been ringing off the hook. It's been hundreds of calls," said a concerned resident who wants to remain anonymous but wants everyone to be on the ball when it comes to trying to pay their water bill over the phone when you call the City of Tulsa. "I put my credit card in and then it comes back that the input was bad and then it says it's transferring back to customer service but instead it transfers me to McDonald's on Gilcrease," she said. At first, she thought she had made a mistake, so she tried two more times before realizing that the problem was on the city's side, and when she called the city... "They weren't going to tell anybody about it. I said, 'If you know this is happening why are you sending people over and over again to put their payment information in?' and they said, 'Well, they didn't want to get everybody worked up,'" she said. Worked up as in the ransomware attack from the summer of 2021. "Are you worried that somebody out there that's not from the city has your credit card info?" NewsChannel 8's Burt Mummolo asked. "It seems definitive that somebody out there that's not the city has my credit card info because I don't know why else they would hack the payment system," she said. Meanwhile, in the drive-thru at McDonald's... "Can I get a large fry, a large Diet Coke, and can I pay my water bill here?" Employees declined to speak on camera but told us it's been happening a lot, which is what our concerned resident says she was told as well. "I said, 'Has this been happening a lot?' She goes, 'Oh, I've had to answer the phone all day long,' she goes, 'it hasn't stopped ringing,'" she said. Mummolo asked, "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the city's transparency on this?" "Zero," she said. The city of Tulsa has released the following statement: "At about 5 p.m. today, a City of Tulsa customer care agent notified management of a complaint from a customer advising they were transferred to a McDonald’s on Gilcrease Museum Road after making their utility payment. The report was marked as a priority concern and elevated to the City team and vendor. The payment the customer made was properly received and credited to their account. The misdirect seems to occur once the caller has completed their transaction within the secure payment system and opts to be transferred back to the City of Tulsa. Rather than hearing a customer care agent after that secure process, they’re somehow getting routed to McDonald’s. The glitch is a misdirect and no customer information is compromised. While we are working with our vendor to identify and correct the misdirect, that customer and any others who may be receiving the same misdirect can rest assured there is no breach of data."

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

www.newson6.com

TULSA, Okla. - McDonald's is getting ready to release a new sweet treat in just a couple of days, and they are made in Tulsa. The Bama companies are preparing to offer one of the first chocolate pie products sold by the fast-food chain. The new pies will be available at all Tulsa area McDonald's starting on Friday, July 14.

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

ktul.com

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — One of the fastest-growing, authentic Italian pizza brands, Marco's Pizza, will be opening a new location in Tulsa on Monday. The new location will be located at the corner of 8013 South Sheridan Road at East 81st Street. Marco's Pizza's largest franchisee Hoogland Restaurant Group is said to spearhead the opening. “We are thrilled to bring a new location to the city of Tulsa. Residents here already know and love us and we are so excited to grant them more opportunities to enjoy our authentically crafted Italian cuisine with their friends and families," said Regional Director of Operations Ray Whitmore. The pizza restaurant will offer pickup convenience for customers with services such as carryout, delivery, and app and online ordering. Marco's Pizza stated the brand prides itself on crafting every pizza using the freshest, highest-quality ingredients, including a "secret" original pizza sauce recipe from its founder Pasquale "Pat" Giammarco. The brand is also the first national pizza delivery brand to offer 'Specialty Pizza Bowls'. The pizza bowls are a crustless pizza option made to meet consumers' dietary preferences. More information about Marco's Pizza can be found online, on the mobile app, or by calling 918-289-2387.

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

www.newson6.com

TULSA, Okla. - Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum approved a contract that will help low income customers pay their utility bills. The contract with the Oklahoma Department of Human Services will allow the city to accept Low-Income Housing Water Assistance Program subsidies for the water and sewer portiond of utility bills for eligible customers. Open enrollment for the program has begun, and applications are available here.

Tulsa Xepher • 1 year ago • 100%

ktul.com

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — A man suspected of stealing catalytic converters for months was arrested this week after the owner says he caught him on camera. If your catalytic converter is stolen, it’s going to cause a number of run-ability issues. Your car will be loud, you will see a bunch of lights on your dashboard, and your pockets will be lighter. The Tulsa Police Department has been trying to catch a suspect for almost seven months who has been stealing catalytic converters from a specific shop. That shop is Paramount Capital Motors. They have had several different incidents at the same shop from the same suspect. That suspect, Robby Harvey, was arrested on July 3rd with four different catalytic converters. “Was able to make contact with the female inside who said she was driving the boyfriend who walked away from the vehicle towards that yard. Little further investigation they got into the yard there able to find a bunch of burglary tools that they were using to get catalytic converters, said Tulsa Police Officer Danny Bean. "Some help came and we were able to find our suspect hiding under a car where they made the arrest. No incident. Kind of gave up. Made the arrest and find out that this is our suspect that we have been looking for in this particular area," said Bean. This has become a huge problem worldwide. After TPD’s arrest in 2021, that turned into a major investigation that spanned multiple states. The total amount stolen in catalytic converters was over $500 million. How can you stop catalytic converter thieves? “Etch to protect and it was to help combat specifically catalytic converter thefts", said Bean. The program engraves or etches your VIN number on the catalytic converter so that it becomes indestructible and nobody will take it from the thief with your car’s information it. Jiffy Lube, who also partners with crime stoppers and TPD, has a free plan available all over town. “We’re happy to say that this is no appointment necessary service. Free to come in. Service does not take us long. Matter of minutes, most vehicles five to ten minutes. It’s a free service. All 17 area locations are participating in this service. We call it our etch to protect. A gentleman is going to go underneath the vehicle where the catalytic converter is located. And he is going to inscribe that on the catalytic converter ang again with that high temp paint", Jiffy Lube Tulsa area supervisor, Allan Mason.