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Alright boys, I've been converted to the light side and have installed F-Droid. Now what? (self.opensource)

submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by Tangent5280 to c/[email protected]

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Basically title. I waited on installing F droid for a long time because my phone threw many scary warnings when I tried a long time ago. But now I have it, and I got some fossify apps, but since there is no "Editor's Picks" on F- droid I dont really know where to go from here.

What apps do you recommend I install first to remove my dependence on closed ecosystems?

What is my vulnerability surface ie, which sort of apps should I watch out for?

Are there any bad faith companies in the open source sphere?

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[–] mke 37 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

What apps you install depends on your needs and preferences. It might help others if you include those in any future requests for suggestions.

I suggest not worrying too much about "removing your dependence on closed ecosystems" immediately. Just do as you did before, changing apps as you find better alternatives---only, this time, considering the advantages of FOSS. Simply by giving F-droid apps a chance before opening (I assume) the Play Store, you're already doing better than the vast majority of people.

Regarding discoverability and security, I believe participation in the community helps:

The Venn diagram of "FOSS app users" and "software enthusiasts" is closer to a circle. People like talking about useful, good software they like. Word of mouth recommendations is how I got into this stuff.
You'll be more likely to hear urgent actionable news (e.g. X app developer sold to bad company, here's the fork that will carry the torch onwards).

And so that this comment isn't completely useless... Mozilla are currently working on a mobile version of Thunderbird for Android, built on top of K9 mail. Been using the beta and liking it so far. If you want a FOSS e-mail app, keep an eye on that one.

P.S. I much prefer the dark side, and don't forget the cookies!

[–] [email protected] 13 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The Venn diagram of “FOSS app users” and “software enthusiasts” is closer to a circle.

Now this is the quote of the week for me 😂 It is mostly accurate, unfortunately, but I cannot stop giggling about it.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Mozilla are currently working on a mobile version of Thunderbird for Android, built on top of K9 mail.

Is that what it is, or is K-9 becoming Thunderbird for Android? My understanding from official announcements was the latter.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

K-9 is rebranding as Thunderbird for Android, indeed. But since many users of K-9 expressed their desire to keep the logo and name of K-9, Thunderbird agreed to publish both versions: one rebranded as Thunderbird for Android, and the other keeping its original branding as K-9. We will see whether that will complicate things for Thunderbird team too much yet.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

I see! I missed that nuance since the announcement that K-9 would become TB Android. Thanks for the update.

I'm partial to the old K-9 logo too, but I love that the two email projects I use are working together for interoperability 🙂

[–] mke 3 points 11 months ago (1 children)

My bad, I forgot you need to be careful using such metaphors when talking about software. It's as the other commenter said: a rebrand, but they might keep the old identity around for people who like it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

No worries, I was genuinely uncertain what the current status is. Appreciate the answers!