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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: July 2nd, 2023

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  • My other half has new Ultra, I have an older Ultra model. Stuff i find invaluable that she hasn’t used once:

    • S Pen
    • Modes & Routines
    • Secure folder
    • DeX (to a lesser degree than the above)

    I try to use my phone as a Swiss army knife. Stuff I rely on that most normal users likely dont realise their phone can do:

    • Using Kodi the phone becomes fully fledged mobile media player. Great for vacations in case of poor weather (in conjunction with HDMI lead, controller/wireless keyboard)
    • OsmAnd navigation has an offline Wikipedia plugin. I set up a shortcut in it so i can display/hide all wiki entries nearby. Brilliant when on vacation
    • All my main apps will work offline in case of data outage: navigation, notes, password manager, books, music, podcasts, media etc etc
    • Password manager has more uses than simply handling passwords
    • Playing video sites in the background …with a timer if desired
    • Browser with uBlock “etc”
    • Manipulation of .pdf files
    • A good launcher. Mine is always set up the same regardless of device - I can access any app within 2 swipes & 2 taps
    • A good car dock
    • Most don’t realise that a simple DNS entry can help reduce the amount of ads they see
    • All manner of nerdy tech shit to interact with stuff on my network. No normal human needs to know that this usage factor exists

    And most importantly …using the camera in landscape so images/video can be viewed properly on a TV or monitor. And not using digital zoom in the dark to record an entire concert from row Q





  • Late to the party but just another vote for Nextcloud. I used a paid subscription initially but then took the plunge, bought a Pi 4 & SSD for storage then read up & figured out how to self host.

    It was my first experience with Linux, I fell over many times but dont give in as after all the hair pulling & teeth grinding it becomes rewarding & even a little “fun” when you get there & then become confident enough to take on & complete further Pi projects.

    The Pi can handle Libre Office (synced through Nextcloud, handled on mobile by Collabora Office).

    Whilst you’re at it, why not sync the notes you’ll inevitability make on your self hosting journey through your Nextcloud instance? Try Joplin & do away with Google Docs, Evernote etc into the bargain


  • Like others I used Liftoff but had to move on when API broke it & dev is getting on with real life stuff.

    Moved to Voyager. It’s good but as an android I still find it a bit strange using what looks like iOS interface. I still get a bit lost when uploading a post & usually have to edit it a few times. No biggie, maybe I should post more & get used it it 😃

    I still miss the Joey app from the other place.





  • I’ve found Routines to be one of the most important features with Samsung - set up a car mode to auto run when charging AND connected by bluetooth to a specific device …and have it set the brighness dependant on the time of day. Turn location off completely unless certain apps are opened. Protect your battery if charging overnight …but go into power saving mode should charging stop for some reason. I find it invaluable. Even more powerful when used with Routines+ add-on

    Looks OP has solutions but it looks like Routines also has options to separate sound on app specific basis




  • I dunno if TV is dead per se as we all enjoy watching shows/movies. Not really interested in gimmicks - we only have 4K as all new TV’s are 4K & we only got it because our previous TV failed & they can no longer be repaired.

    All i want is a good quality dumb screen. You can stick all your smart features where the sun dont shine, I’ll handle everything via a separate box that I control thank you. I’ll not be at the mercy of your shitty EULA, you won’t monitor my viewing habits or force ads into the UI or remove your dogshit apps without warning. Our TV has never been online, HTPC with a couple of USB TV tuners, uBlock Origin, an interface of my choosing, remote control & lots of storage handles everything. Still perfectly happy watching SD stuff, the only 4K we watch is YouTube.


  • I never had any issues before with cheap HDMI leads over a short distance, so just to throw something else into the mix for consideration - 4k & cable length. My scenario was getting 4K picture on TV from HTPC (home theatre PC, a PC based media player) via a Dolby Atmos compatible amp. Cable length approx 10m.

    Standard HDMI cables tend to be labelled as “HDMI 2.0/a/b compatible for 4k at 60Hz”. I bought several of these cables & had same issues with all of them - they would not display image on TV (though mysteriously they displayed an image if a games console was used rather than the HTPC). They sell them in all kinds of lengths but in my experience they dont work beyond about 5m.

    Close to giving in, I bought a 10m “active” HDMI optical lead which is directional - one end is labelled source & the other end labelled display.

    First one I bought worked perfectly.




  • The days before everything became enshittiffied, before 6 or 7 giant corps took over, the days before social media became a cesspit of slanging matches & false lifestyles, the days when search engines worked & displayed what you searched for not what they think you want to see, the days before shitty algorithms clogged your feeds up endlessly with shit that you searched for once during a conversation you had with someone at work, the days where news sites showed news headlines not bullshit clickbait lies, the days before evil corps tracked every move you make, the days before you were forced to have a shitty app for everything.

    The days when going online was fun & interesting. I hope Lemmy continues to bring back some of that fun!