Notices by Stefano Marinelli (stefano@mastodon.bsd.cafe)

I open the windows to air out the room, and it has been calm outside for hours. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind picks up...bam! The window slams. The glass cracks. The calm returns.
Murphy's Law or bad luck?

@justine I've always had problems with Windows 😆

This afternoon, an acquaintance joined a Mastodon instance and asked me which "celebrities" are present in the Fediverse, as if it were important to determine the value of a social network based on that.

I told him that the most important user in the Fediverse is him. Just as it’s you, reading this. Someone who has decided to interact with others freely. Who has chosen to trust their administrator (or create their own instance) more than they trust those who run traditional, monolithic, centralized social networks.

So, I want to thank all the friends of BSD Cafe, whether local or not, for being here and making this place what it is. And I thank all my friends in the Fediverse, who make my timeline lively, interesting, intelligent, fun, and thought-provoking - every day, at any time.

#BSDCafe #Mastodon #Fediverse #SocialNetworks #SocialMedia #Community #Trust #OpenSource #DigitalFreedom #JoinTheFediverse

41 years ago, I was riding an electric motorcycle.
I have always been a pioneer of the times, even many years (and many hairs) ago.

#photography #photo #ThrowbackThursday #Motorcycle #VintagePhoto #VintagePic

It looks like I'll have to install the Google Services: my Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 needs them and I can't get rid of it for now.

My next smartwatch will be a simple, notification device. I need notifications when driving, etc. and some outdoor sport tracking but don't need all the other fancy stuff those devices can provide.

#GrapheneOS #Pixel9ProXL

@mms I'm always taking care of my (and my customers') servers, so I need to check the notifications in real time. When driving or walking, etc. I like having those notifications on my wrist, without having to pull out my phone.

@vermaden @mms Yes, I've had one of those, too. I paid something like 15 euros and used it for a long time. And it had a great feature that Apple Watches or Galaxy Watches do not have: if I take a nap, they stop with notifications until I wake up.

I still have it, but the strap is broken.

@mms @vermaden I'm not sure the battery will last. It's from...I can't remember, but 2017 or 2018

For today's #ThankYouTuesday, I want to thank @grunfink
Their already excellent #snac improves with every release, and they are always available, friendly, and positive.

The world could really be a better place with more people with their skills and attitude.

#ThankYouTuesday #gratitude #opensource #community #positivevibes

@ricardo oh - again 😔

While it may seem strange, I find this phone...slow... I can't explain, but this is the current feeling.

#Pixel9ProXL

Witnessing the sun setting for the first time through the lens of a Google Pixel 9 Pro XL running GrapheneOS.

#Photography #Sunset #Photo #Picture #GrapheneOS #Pixel9proXL #GooglePixel #PhotoMonday #FotoMontag

I solved the Android Auto issues so...I did it!

I've just ordered a Pixel 9 Pro XL. I won't even try the stock Android, I'll immediately install #GrapheneOS on it since day 1 (that will be tomorrow).

With the Android 15 Private Space feature (and the GrapheneOS team made it possible to install Google Services inside it, disabling them when the space is locked), I can enable and disable that space (and Google Services) when needed and without having to change profile. This is impressive and, for me, a game changer.

I'll try everything for some time. The battery life of my Pixel 7 without the Google services has been impressive. Today, I had a great experience with it as a main phone.

While I used it all the day, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra was idle (5 minutes of screen time). The Pixel consumes 22% of battery, the Samsung 20% - just being idle. No calls, no videos, just a bunch of notifications.

If the Pixel will have a comparable battery life to the Samsung, I'll keep it and eventually sell the Samsung.

A huge thank you to all the people the helped me to debug all the issues (I'm not tagging them as I'm sure I'll forget some) and to the GrapheneOS team for the great, impressive work they're doing.

#Google #Pixel9 #Pixel7 #Pixel #Android #OS #Privacy #Security #OwnYourData

@joshaspinall it seems it did the trick!

Android Auto, installed with Google services inside the private space, is starting but constantly crashing.
I'll investigate.

#GrapheneOS

@justine @grunfink @normis this doesn't surprise me. I have been blocked because I write posts about the BSDs and not about their favourite OS. Snac is great as you can know who's blocking you, and the inbox collection greatly helps small instance to federate better.

Just for fun: the BSD Cafe instances have been defederated by some because we've been accused of sectarianism...

"You notice how much longer (multiple days) your phone can be on a single charge when Google Play Services isn't running in the background. This tells a lot about the background activities and indicates that using Google Play shouldn't be the norm."

Exactly my impression. Thank you, @snonux for this article!

https://foo.zone/gemfeed/2023-01-23-why-grapheneos-rox.html

#GrapheneOS #Android

Saturday relaxation: I'm doing some tests to see if I could use the Google Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS - and without Google services - as my main phone. I've solved many of the issues:

- F-Droid for downloading main apps
- Aurora Store for Play Store apps
- For push notifications, I already have the ntfy server on my own server. By using UnifiedPush, many apps can use it
- Tusky (or moshidon) perfectly supports UnifiedPush (although I usually have notifications turned off for social apps)
- FluffyChat and Element support UnifiedPush and work well on my server
- Whatsapp works perfectly with the Matrix bridge, so I don't need to install it
- Mercurygram for Telegram perfectly supports notifications via UnifiedPush
- For email, I'm unsure whether to keep a separate connection (also to receive email notifications if my ntfy server is down) or use NotiMail to redirect them to UnifiedPush
- 2FAS Auth for 2FA

I will probably create a profile with Google services only for the apps that strictly require them, but it won't run in the background and I'll only use it when needed. For example, everything related to banking apps comes to mind.

Some apps remain out, mainly intercom apps. However, I could integrate them into Home Assistant and use that for sending notifications.

Yes, I think I could use a device daily without Google services, being fully in control of my data.

#Pixel #GooglePixel #GrapheneOS #OwnYourData

@matuzalem I agree. OpenVPN is still a great choice for many use cases (if you need user/password auth, etc) but Wireguard is so good

Mullvad: Removing OpenVPN 15th January 2026

https://mullvad.net/it/blog/removing-openvpn-15th-january-2026

#VPN #Mullvad #MullvadVPN