Neo Backup is the new titanium as of about 5 years ago. Now, if only i could get TWRP back…

Neo Backup on F-Droid. Backs up everything based on how you configure it. Copy the backupsvto your new phone and restore.

It requires root, of course. Yet another reason to have root. I run backup before flashing and copy it to a flash card in case i have to reset or wipe the phone as part of the process, or i screw it up and have to start from scratch.

I feel the way you do. I always keep some cash, don’t bother with those cash apps, and use a credit card with a good cash back plan. To me the cost of going digital in this area outweighs all benefits.

This. This, this, this, this!

My linux computers are rooted. I can get root any time i need it and nobody is refusing to offer their sevices on linux because it is vulnerable.

Nobody ever points out that when any app wants root, you get a dialog to ask if it can have it. If you don’t know why it’s asking, say no. It ain’t rocket science.

Now, if you are going through customs and you don’t want them to copy your phone and read all your personal documents, that is a different situation. Lock your bootloader unrooted and encryped to the nines. Preferably use a phone with almost nothing on it.

Enjoy the much safer Chinese military spyware.

Those of us who actually use VPN don’t have that option since only one can be in use. Magisk + AdAway, for me.

It’s painful disabling knox so you can root or flash custom roms.

This is what i motivates me, too, though you go in more than i. I love having my degoogled pixel 2xl on Android 14 and running almost as snappy as my pixel 6.

I finally gave up on my moto x 2013 about 2 years ago, but i still have it. It’s like holding a river stone that perfectly firs my hand.

That only blocks for the browser. What about your apps? I never see add banners or popups in apps as i use adaway. Further, I can customize with well maintained blocklists that include other categories like malware and harvesting sites.

I left the pc gaming scene about 20 years ago and only came bacj this year. I found my steam credentials from when they were initially seeking players and revived my account (I closed my email on the account back in 2009, so i couldn’t recover).

I’ve mostly been playing vSkyrim, BG 3, and a few emulated Zelda games. I finally ordered a new gaming laptop because Cyberpunk 2077 is hard to rrad on the Deck, even on a 50" tv on hi-res.

All that is just so you all know where I’m coming from, i am both a newb and a veteran!

From a business standpoint, looking ant it form the non-gaming financial point of view, the move to online-only makes very compelling sense.

It fully implements the licensing model, gives them total control over the property, enables them to generate reports that accurately identify trndsvin user populations, pinpoint steady revenue figures, and they can kill the game as soon as it isn’t valuable to them anymore, and they don’t have to worry about losing revenue from sharing, passing the copy to an otherwise paying customer for free, or a significant pirtiin of piracy loss.

Itvis the end state of the “we are mearly licensing it to you until such time as we decide ee want it back” model.

It sucks, and if i can know it is online only before buying, i will pass. All of us should. Revenue is king to them, and if they lose even a little, they will try something else.

Well said… Two weeks before the equivalent i posted moments ago.

I’ll elaborate for him/her: mesh devices sold by untrusted companies with a profit model will almost surely be collecting your data.

The problem is not “mesh”, it is the companies using a new, cool, buzzword to sell their spyware that is the problem.

They are basically enhanced repeaters that don’t require a seperate network access point.

If you get a device that is primarily marketed as basic hardware, like the Asus router, you are more likely to avoid the collection. Bonus points if you can flash FOSS software to it, also like Asus, so yiu know it is clean. Regardless, use a VPN for external communications.

My home is small enough that mesh is unnecessary, but I’d buy another Asus device for mesh if it were necessary.

Well, i haven’t neen much of a gamer for years (got too adicted to WoW), but just started again this year. I am amazed by Skyrim, and am now modding it up.

I also just got Cyberpunk 2077, and will get into it soon.

I can’t speak on multiplayer experiences, but i have several emulators set up on my OLED deck. GameCube, N64, switch, ps2. They work well, and i have a 3DO pro2 i use while it’s docked to my 4k tv, sound through a surround sound bar with woofer - amazing sound. I mostly run skyrim and Balder’s Gate 3 at the moment, but i enjoyed BotW and my son likes sonic.

Yep, it’s that easy. I have it on my pixel 2xl, degoogled and it’s still usable {android 14)

I’m late to the comment board, but I had to say something. I was amazed when one day my broken Balders’ Gate III P22 install suddenly not only worked, but worked with Vulkan. Until now, I figured it was an improvement to the Proton-GE or Experimental that came down around that time. Anyway, when I loaded my game (in the underdark) on my OLED, I was shocked at the improvement.

Not only was the framerate closer to 40+ vs 28-30, but it was vibrant. The resolution appeared to be better, too. It was gratifying to see it looked better than on my ancient Lenovo gaming laptop (circa 2016), which, to my surprise, handled it quite well considering the age of the NVidia card.