Explaining like you are 5:

If you have worked with programming languages, you might have come across global variables and inbuilt functions/keywords. PATH is a similar global variable for your terminal session.

Every time you open up a terminal, you load up these “global variables”, and you/programs can access them (or the applications assigned to them).

So, let’s say you have your application (executable) as /home/werecat/corncob/bin/corn, instead of starting it with ./home/werecat/corncob/bin/corn ..., if you have /home/werecat/corncob/bin in your PATH variable, you can just use it as corn ....

export PATH="/home/werecat/corncob/bin:$PATH"

just means:

1. PATH = /home/werecat/corncob/bin + PATH
2. persist (export) path for the duration of this session (usually until you close the terminal tab)

If you see somewhere to add it to your /home/werecat/.bashrc file, it means “all commands in .bashrc file are auto-executed every time you start a new terminal session, so if you have it there, you won’t need to manually keep entering the command over and over again”.

You can list these environment variables by just running:

env

Also, recommend you have a look at https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-to-set-an-environment-variable-in-linux/.

Hope this helps. Good luck on your Linux journey.

I’m glad that you want to switch to Linux, but I think there’d be open source solutions for Windows too. I daily drive Linux, and I would begin with looking for open source timers if I ever need timers. Why not do the same in Windows too?

Here are a few: https://alternativeto.net/software/free-countdown-timer/?platform=windows&license=opensource

The article:

https://archive.is/MObDZ

sudo: apt: command not found

For a person with not much familiarity with Linux, and just wants to check things out, I would recommend starting out with a VM. WSL is good, but that is not the “Linux experience”. Moreover, if they are not already familiar with the command line, it may be a bit intimidating. The same goes for dual booting. It’s more technical, and it’s more appealing to just jump back into Windows when things go wrong on Linux. VM approach though, gives you a sandboxed space (with DEs and all) where you can smoothly get familiar and comfortable with Linux before making the final switch. That’s my personal opinion for beginners.

They do. It just doesn’t work for them, but they aren’t opposed to it.

Matrix doesn’t offer disappearing messages (which I consider important for digital minimalism and cybersecurity. Even if the user chooses not to enable this feature, it should be an option). Again though, if you have a found a use case for these messengers and they appeal to you and you’re able to get the people you interact with using them, great!

anime waifus

I rarely use AI, but when I do, I use local instances. I personally use Ollama (https://ollama.com). It exposes a REST API which extensions/plugins can talk to. I used Privy in VSCod(e/ium) and CodeCompanion in Neovim.

Then, to minimize the harm, be cautious of (third-party) cookies (reject them all) and may be use a different browser/session for Facebook.

What social media are we talking? I access Lemmy through Tor every now and them. As for more intrusive social media (like Facebook and Instagram), they’ll try to associate your IP to your profile. So, they would be suspicious of continuously changing IPs, and ask for more verification (even more intrusive), or just ban you from their services. Also, they can easily know if the request is made from a tor node (try opening https://www.dan.me.uk/tornodes from a tor IP).

However, if I were to even ignore you accessing their service via a tor IP, it is still not private. Facebook, for instance, is very adamant on users providing their actual info. I tried opening a facebook account on multiple occasions, both with fake and partial information, and always got banned from their service. I have completely stopped trying now.

Let’s say you already have an account, and you are accessing the service through Tor (without them blocking or banning you somehow). It would still be a bad idea privacy-wise, because all your user activity is still being tracked, and linked to your profile (which might have your real info). So, you are still being extensively profiled, and your data would still be used for “improving their services and the user experience”.

So, unfortunately, the only thing to do is not provide them with more data points to track you, i.e. avoid intrusive social media altogether or move to social media which collect less data.

The secret is to have no friends! 😎

Bet that thing has a bidet!

If you want updates, may be go for gen 6/7. 5a won’t be receiving updates after August 2024.

See: https://grapheneos.org/faq#device-lifetime

There’s a built-in network toggle for applications (in their respective App Info / Permissions page) in GrapheneOS. So, if you’re on Graphene, it’s a piece of cake.

Else, you might want to look into NetGuard (https://f-droid.org/packages/eu.faircode.netguard/), which offers app-wise internet blocking.

As for the “using app over a VPN” thing, you can just turn on “Always-on VPN” and “Block connections without VPN” toggles in Settings / Network and Internet / VPN / <Your-VPN-Settings>.

I agree. I myself use GrapheneOS. However, seeing that OP despises Pixels so much, I figured these would be the next best options.

May be check out other privacy focused custom ROMs:

LineageOS: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/

DivestOS: https://divestos.org/pages/devices

/e/OS: https://doc.e.foundation/devices

If I were you, I would just use Piped (piped.kavin.rocks). It stores all your subscriptions in Local Storage, and displays them in the “Feeds” section. The Feeds section also supports RSS, so you can get notified too. If you are on android, grab one of the Piped clients. NewPipe is the most recommended, but I really like the UI of LibreTube.