I set up Mint for a non-techy relative on their old desktop.

• Their use-case is almost entirely web browser, so there was no need to cover installing programs. Click the same browser icon and it should behave basically the same way.
• No need to explain the terminal beyond “this is where you can type advanced commands, you don’t need to worry about it”.
• If there’s an error message, read it and try to understand what it’s actually saying rather than just dismissing it. Do a web search if you’re feeling confident, send me a photo of the screen if you’re not.
• Explain how to install updates (or just configure automatic backups and updates for them).
• Explain when and why the computer will ask for a password (e.g. login and updates) and how that password is for the computer, not for their email or whatever.
• Explain the basics of folders. This is your home directory, here’s where downloads go, here’s how to create a folder and drag your files into it.
• Tell them not to panic. I’ve seen a lot of older people terrified of pressing the wrong button, make sure they know how to understand what they’re doing and undo their mistakes.
• Be patient!

While it does have a paid tier it’s fully useable for free, and I’m pretty sure you can import from keepass

Not even based on, it is Android

Whose legs does Linus have on his desk? They definitely don’t look to be attached to his body…

There’s !linuxphones@lemmy.ca / !linuxphones@lemmy.ml which often have some interesting chats about projects like PostMarketOS. I’ve not seen anything that is a viable replacement for a “daily driver” smartphone yet, but if you’re keen to tinker then there’s probably some cool stuff to try out.

I think this has fixed it! You’re a wizard!

No games seem to work

FYI there’s !linuxphones@lemmy.ml and !linuxphones@lemmy.ca if you’re looking for more enthusiasts

Any beginner’s guides for this? I hadn’t thought about it until now but my fans do seem louder since I switched from Windows!

Is it? I’m no security expert but doesn’t that go against things like the principle of least privilege? Even obsessive security people like GrapheneOS say root access breaks the Android security model.

A rooted phone is as secure as you make it, because you are in control of your device’s security.

I agree in theory, but you’re never completely in control of what’s running on Android because there are still proprietary bits (like device firmware) that we can’t replace, right?

Because unfortunately rooting makes the device significantly less secure. It was fine back in the day when a smartphone was a cool new thing to tinker with but now it’s got all my personal information and more on it I value security a little more.

The true cyberdeck experience

Solaar is the one I use, it was a Lemmy recommendation and I think there’s at least one other implementation out there

Good point, I’ve used a Logitech mouse and I think that needs software (FOSS implementation available) for button remapping, could be different for a keyboard though

Alternatively, you can assign one of Logitech’s Smart Actions to the key to, say, ask Perplexity for an answer to your query in your browser. Or, you can just set it to be right CTRL.

Entirely reprogrammable though, as with most uses of “AI” it’s just a buzzword to sell to a few extra chumps.

They are apparently looking to partner with an OEM to build them their own devices, I wonder if that would mean they can hire a full time media person who can do all the public communications so the security guys can focus on what they do best.

As a GrapheneOS user that’s my take too. The paranoid security-obsessed developer who is focused on making the best software to the point of being rude and isolationist is not the kind of person I’d want to hang out with but kind of is the person I want doing security work for the device I have all my personal info on. Sure it would be nicer if they weren’t so abrasive but I’d rather they channel an angry Linus Torvalds than some slick weasel-wordy Steve Jobs.

Ah, I thought I’d seen this story already:

There is one potential downside to the Risk-Based Update System, as highlighted by the folks behind GrapheneOS, a privacy and security-oriented fork of AOSP. In the past, Google gave OEMs a one-month heads-up. Now, they receive several months of advance notice for the larger quarterly updates. This longer window could be problematic, as it gives bad actors more time to potentially find leaked vulnerability details and develop exploits before patches are widely available. While the private ASB is shared securely, it’s accessible to tens of thousands of engineers across dozens of companies, making it conceivable that details could leak to malicious third parties. This remains a hypothetical risk, though, as it would require bad actors to leverage the right exploit on the right devices before they’re patched.

I saw winboat recommended the other day and was pleasantly surprised at it’s performance, so yeah I’d recommend giving it a try too

I imagine it doesn’t happen that often, but that’s a really nice success story