Memories of an Old Tech Man
## Archived 2023 Blog Posts
23.12.15 : End of the year
23.11.27 : Old computer shows
23.11.15 : A journey with a GrapheneOS Pixel 7
Seems everyone on social media are creating reviews of their favorite stuff in 2023. I've met some cool people on Mastodon this year and enjoyed reading their blogs. It's been a different year for me personally due to health and other personal events. Though I feel good where I'm at and look forward to a new year. I really try hard to be positive but I do break down some days.
As I get older, I seem to just allow myself to be me. I'm not concerned about what people think and after the pandemic it somewhat feels more acceptable. I'm an intorvert but in the past always put on a show when I had to in social settings. I would be drained afterwards and need to charge up my batteries which would take days. Now it may take weeks before being in another social setting.
My tech gear has changed this year. I started using GrapheneOS daily on a Pixel 7 with a different cell carrier due to pockets of no service with my old carrier. I keep an iOS device around to stay connected to family and friends. It's easier to do this with 99% of them in the ecosystem. Carrying two phones is new for me and I'm still figuring it out. After experimenting with one phone, it really didn't work out for various reasons in my situation. In the new year, I would like to find a balance with my computers and phones in my home office. Become more organized and minimalist if that is possible with my online and offline life.
Wishing you all a good holiday and healthy new year.
When I was younger we didn't have any local computer shows on TV. It wasn't until the 90's that society became more aware of the computer industry and more TV shows were available. In the 80's one popular show was called The Computer Chronicles. Once that series ended, a new one appeared called The Internet Cafe which was renamed Net Cafe. I've started building my own media server with a collection of these shows and others. It really has been a good way to pass the time or have it on in the background while I work during the week.
As I get older, newer shows and movies don't interest me much. I'm becoming my father more each day. He rarely watches anything new and I recall asking him long ago. He responded the same way I feel now. I still do enjoy some new series now and then but it is becoming rare to find anything that holds my attention as older series and movies.
I have always enjoyed side projects that distract me from my day to day life. My career path took me on a different life journey than what I thought as a kid. One project I've been recently working on is using a Pixel 7 with GrapheneOS. The web install is one of the easiest OS installs I've done and instantly I was on my journey.
Once I completed the install I was staring at a very simple phone setup. It's possible to use the phone as is without an app store. There are phones being sold with minimal apps and non-feature flip phones today but a used Pixel with GrapheneOS seems to be a better choice especially if security is priority to you.
There lies the main reason to install an alternative OS on your Pixel, security. I tried using it without an app store but that didn't last long. I installed f-droid at first, then as I read more online, I installed Obtainium to follow RSS feeds from various sources to get more apps and finally installed the Aurora Store to access the Google Play Store. I did try the phone with the sandboxed Google services provided by the GrapheneOS team to test out my Google accessories like the Pixel Watch and buds.
As I went down the rabbit hole here, I realized that even with the last option with Google services and store installed, it was still better than a stock Pixel phone running Google out of the box. The sandboxed concept is the main reason why your phone won't be calling in to Google every minute of the day draining your battery and sharing your personal details with every app on your phone. It seems this is the most popular option if your Pixel is your daily phone and you need certain applications to function such as banking apps for example.
I did feel dirty using this last option because I kept telling myself the point of this project was to see if I could have a phone without Google. It becomes easier to do when you have a second phone, perhaps an iPhone, to keep apps you need or if your family is into the Apple ecosystem making it harder to communicate without it! I preferred using the phone without any Google services even though there are some hurdles to get around and missing push notifications which run on the Google services.
One cool thing that came out of this experiment is learning about Github and other similar services. Connecting with indie developers making amazing apps to replace the ones I used to have access from the Google Play Store. I have a few new favourites now like Read You for RSS feeds, Obtainium to track the app RSS feeds and Geometric Weather.
If you can live with the limitations then this is a great option to rid Google from your life. Sandboxed Google is still a better option than stock too so give an alternative OS a try, you may just like it.
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