#30DayFOSSChallenge Year 2 - Week 0
2024-03-20
If you're not sure what this is about, start here.
11 days until the challenge starts. Here's an inventory of where I'm at.
The FOSS
Same as last year, I already use Debian on desktop and laptop. My phone uses GrapheneOS. Except what I discuss here, and some firmware I'm sure, everything on both of those devices is FOSS.
This includes two additions from last year's: vikunja and seafile. Vikunja has become my household's todo app of choice, and seafile is how we share documents with each other and with friends. Both require self-hosting, but neither has needed any maintenance from me since I set them up.
Workplace/Volunteer Tools
Google apps. My workplace uses gmail, and google calendar, voice, and drive. These are required parts of my job.
Discord. I use it for a few groups, but the one that's most pertinent is St. Louis Urbanists, where I volunteer. This group also uses google drive. I'll be simply taking a break from the parts of my volunteer work that involve these, but that's not a long-term solution.
If anyone has any ideas for how to reduce use of these (without quitting my job or convincing everyone else to move to a new platform) let me know.
Life Tools
Google Maps and Transit - both I use to get around my city. While I do use Organic Maps, it lacks both many private addresses and support for public transit timetables in my city. I'll have a lot to say on this particular topic, probably in its own post. For now tho, it's a frustrating wrinkle.
All Trails, to map hiking locations. I feel like this is one that probably has good alternatives I have not looked harder for. I'm hopeful this is low-hanging fruit.
Finances. Venmo, and my Bank and CC's online portals. Without going full cash and check, these are hard to avoid.
Everything Else
Videogames. I don't feel too bad that most games are not FOSS, because they are art and nothing else relies on them. But I do want to stop using Steam. Art shouldn't be locked behind a proprietary platform. Unfortunately, not everything I want is available on GOG or other platforms.
Let's see, what else is on my phone...
- Seek - A very cool app for identifying plants and animals from photos. I'm not aware of anything FOSS equivalent.
- Hoopla - My local library uses this for ebook and audiobook loans.
- Pandora - I started to miss music I can't buy through Bandcamp. Recently I've been made aware of Quboz and other stores to buy DRM free digital copies, so I might start doing that until my collection is big enough to not rely on Pandora.
Soliciting Suggestions
I have not looked too hard at how to replace any of these yet. So I am officially soliciting any and all ideas for how to replace the above proprietary software. I'm also looking for ideas for new FOSS games or other interesting things to try out. And if you're joining me for this challenge, I suggest you do your own inventory.
PS: Have thoughts about this post? Email me at nix@nullarch.com or message me on mastodon at @nix@social.stlouis.com.