BigVault

I was pained to move to iOS when my kids decided they wanted iPhones and I needed one to manage their parental controls, but boy do I love the form factor of the 12 mini I got.

Everything out there seems so huge now.

I’d love to have more options for smaller, manageable phones, especially as my workplace have given out work iPhones now, I could realistically go back to Android again come upgrade time as I can manage their accounts with that.

No problems! 😀

When I was on Android I used to love the F-Droid open source repository. Both Newpipe (3rd party YouTube app) and DNS66 (local VPN on device that blocked ads throughout the phone).

I switched to iOS and really missed those applications and needed a solution for my new phone. Those 5 things above (Vinegar, Banish, AdGuard, WireGuard and PiHole) have worked wonders helping me when I switched.

Wouldn’t be without them now.

Edit:
If anyone happens be be on android or still uses Android devices with their Apple things, here are the apps I used to use:

https://f-droid.org/en/
https://f-droid.org/packages/org.jak_linux.dns66/
https://f-droid.org/packages/org.schabi.newpipe/

Both platforms with compelling solutions to block ads and nagging popups.🤝

To get that ad-free YouTube experience, I use Vinegar safari extension and have pinned the YouTube site to my home screen rather than using any apps.

I also use Banish to remove all those annoying “Open in our app” pop-ups in Safari.

Lastly, I use AdGuard to block ads on the phone locally and have also set up my own Wireguard VPN server at home with PiHole so that I’m always protected ad-wise when I’m out and about over 5G and on any public Wifi (I used to use my own Wireguard VPN with my old Pixels too).

Absolute bliss.

Keep a log of anything you do successfully find that you may need later.

I’ve started bookmarking anything I do find genuinely useful as there’s a chance that the a similar search would yield different results that wouldn’t help at all.

I’ve also installed archivebox on one of my home lab pcs to grab a snapshot of any sites and pages that I want to keep (you never know if you’ll go back and it’s gone).

Retaining good information for yourself is just as important on the web now given all the bot spam and affiliate laden shit out there that Google and Bing seem to be promoting these days.

I liked my N-Gage and it’s good to see that sidetalkin’ is still up.

Hospital emergency rooms across the UK are likely to be declaring a major incident to deal with the rash of injuries caused by the force of facepalming and banging heads against desks throughout the tech sector.

The NHS is struggling enough as it is.

I know it’s not the latest and greatest but I’m so happy I’ve got a 3090 to play this on. Can not wait.

We have English (United Kingdom) as a localised install.

Not any more bloated then English (US) but if this English (World) install is even cleaner as Andi says, I’ll start using that instead for fresh installs.

Nice Tip.

On my way home from Spain as I type this, AirTags in luggage as always.

Haven’t had to rely on them at all due to loss luckily but I do like having them in our luggage.

Somehow, us Brits think that by sticking it to these needy people, our own lives will get better all the while the elites get to hoard all the wealth and live lives of luxury.

Of course it’s immigrants and their families wanting to escape a war/economic destruction we most likely meddled in that are causing all the issues over here, not the years of shit governance by the clowns that keep getting elected.

Dehumanising the needy and striping me of more of my rights is the new hotness right now.

I like being able to use my the same charger universally with my and my families:

• Steam Deck
• iPads
• PlayStation 5 controllers
• XBOX Series X Controllers
• Laptops
• Phone power banks
• Magsafe Charger
• Nintendo Switches
• Beats Fit Pro
• Samsung Galaxy Tabs

I detest the:

• Shitty USB 2.0 Lightning cable

This is great stuff.

I’ve got a Libreddit docker instance running on my home server and together with the libredirect browser extension, if I click on a Reddit link through a search or news article with a link to Reddit, my browser automatically goes to my Libreddit instance with the content on full display.

Now, whilst on my Libreddit instance the other day after being redirected from a news article I took a peek at r/all and the whole feed was pure shit, nothing like I’d seen before on Reddit.

For some reason, it was full of doordash posts, rateme style posts taking advantage of thirsty usersand shitty TikTok reposts.

They may well have won, but at the moment there is a glut of absolute shit on the front page of the platform. I’d guess quality content has taken a hit.

Pihole on my Debian system with PiVPN WireGuard server.

Safari extensions:
Vinegar to block YouTube ads in Safari. I don’t use the app at all.
Banish to stop websites showing those annoying “open in the app” pop ups.

Ad and nag free bliss.

Well I’m going to be all over this when I finish work later today.

I absolutely love WipeOut.

The ZX Spectrum port was legendary. Couldn’t believe I was playing R-Type in my home back when the arcade machines were so far ahead of what home computers could pull off.

Our local pub had a little arcade section for the kids with R-Type as one of the machines and I remember pumping in plenty of 20p coins into it.

Another fond memory is the excitement of getting R-Types on PSX back in the day.

I guess I need to try out this Amstrad port to see how good it is…