Would anyone post a quick guide on how to run WhatsApp l using atl?

There is some documentation on https://gitlab.com/android_translation_layer/android_translation_layer/-/blob/master/README.md and I am rather sure it’s the right project, but some sort of installer would be nice. I think installing all those dependencies by hand is not a good solution in the long run. Wasn’t there supposed to be a flatpack container to be downloaded somewhere?

Exacly, these popups are completely unnecessary and just a form of malicious compliance by the website creators.

its very easy to install via docker as mentioned above. Mumble is very lightweight. You could run the server on your desktop in the background easily or even on your router, there is a package for openwrt. The sound quality is awesome, voice is e2e encrypted and bandwidth should not be a problem either for a couple of people in the chat while you are playing.

I’ve been using docus (izzys fdroid repo) for some time and can recommend it.

Edit: it seems it’s no longer being maintained.

Podcasts are a leftover from the non centralized and non-monetized internet of the past. Because is that most Podcasts are still available as rss feeds, so you should only ever get adds if they are spoken by the Podcasts hosts. Ate you taking about those? Only something like sponsorblock would help against those. I use antennapod (fdroid) on android to listen to Podcasts. Sine hosts always start their podcast with an add, but you can autoskip the first minute of a certain podcast with antennapod every time. It has a setting for that. Antenna pod itself is foss software without adds.

There were problems like these ten years ago in Europe, but nowadays it works very well. W

They use xmpp as their messaging system I think. Xmpp is open source, but I am not sure about the licence used.

This is not bad for a start (common commands):

https://linuxblog.io/90-linux-commands-frequently-used-by-linux-sysadmins/

I use Syncthing-fork (fdroid). It lets you set you granular per folder settings like only sync on home WiFi.

I have been using ps3 controllers on Linux for a couple of years now. They are dead cheap used but you might need to replace the batteries if you need to use them wirelessly. The drivers were included in popos, so plug and play basically. Just get a compatible bluetooth USB dongle, or maybe the deck already has Bluetooth? The original ps3 controllers are very sturdy and work reliably. I would still be using my old ps2 controllers, which are basically the same, but the usb adapters seem to brake way to often and wireless play is rather convenient.

I’d say it’s best to only buy routing devices supporting openwrt. Some Ubiquity devices seem compatible, so maybe you are in luck. In my opinion it’s just best to stay away from preinstalled commercial software and just install Linux. You get away from the whole process of enshitification, gain long term support and an incredible set of features commercial software will never provide (at a reasonable price) imho.

I’ve been using droidcamx to utilise any android phone as a webcam for a couple of years and it’s working great. Phones tend to have way better cameras compared to webcams so the video quality will be top notch in must most cases.

It’s cool they included this into android 14, though.

Could you explain why you wouldn’t use it?

I’ve been using it for a couple of years and am happy with it, it grants an extra layer of security I think, if you can wipe the device when lost/stolen. Also very handy if you misplaced the phone and its set to not ring, as with this it will ring at full volume. You don’t need to use their server for the app to function, if that is your concern. I use a secondary device from my household. You can send a text message to your phone to let it ring even when its set to silent mode/get its location/or even wipe it remotely.

Ok, yeah, you’ve got a point I think. But one could argue if microg is enabled by default, at least some info might leak to google as their push servers are contacted and a device id is created (even if the data is anonymized to some extend.). (Depending on if these settings are enabled by default in microg which I am not sure of).

Here’s some info from the divestOS faq (cmp.: https://divestos.org/pages/faq):

"Anything important I should know about microG?¶

The 'Google device registration' and 'Google SafetyNet' options WILL make microG connect to Google servers.
The 'Cloud Messaging' option WILL make microG maintain a persistent connection to Google servers.
The 'Cloud Messaging' option does NOT require a Google account.
The 'Google SafetyNet' option WILL download and execute proprietary obfuscated code from Google and is strongly NOT recommended.
While microG itself is open source, any apps talking to it will do so using the proprietary Google Play Services library."

It goes on to provide some guidelines if you want to use microg:

How should I configure microG?¶

"Depending on the apps you want to use there are a few different ways you can use microG.

Some apps don't need microG but check that they were installed via Play, in this case you only need microG Companion/FakeStore and to install the app via `Aurora Store` (via session installer) or `Obtainium`. This mechanism only works on 18.1+ currently, adb workaround still necessary on older versions.
Some apps will work with microG simply installed without any Google connections, in this case it is strongly recommended to revoke Network permission from the microG app.
Some apps need push notifications via Google, for them you must let microG maintain a persistent identifiable connection to Google. Enable 'Google device registration' and 'Cloud Messaging' in microG.
Some apps require a captcha to be performed by the user, for them you can enable the 'Google SafetyNet' option.
Some apps require SafetyNet to work, while the option to enable it currently exists it will not work in the unprivileged mode that DivestOS uses and will be removed in a future update."

So depending on your thread model, you still would want to disable some of the options in microg to have absolutely no leakage of data to google. For example I am not comfortable any more with using push notifications since it was revealed that state actors use this info to tail users communications.

Here is a thorough analysis of /os’s security and privacy.

https://www.kuketz-blog.de/e-datenschutzfreundlich-bedeutet-nicht-zwangslaeufig-sicher-custom-roms-teil6/

Tldnr: it’s alright but but grapheme, divestos or calyxos should be preferred if those are available on your device.

Problematic seems the unique device id /e os generates and sends on every update and also security updates for the integrated webview browser have been severely out of date in the past.

You don’t really need the sever at all if you have another phone in your family that can send a text message. Now that I think of it it might not be a bad idea to set up a sever as backup. But the public sever from the developer should be fairly safe to use as well…

Another option would be to install an im server that is low on resources and not eating your sdcard. I think xmpp would work a lot better on a pi. Prosody, ejabberd or snikket should work nicely.

Are you implying the tabs backups are not written into the profile folder? Because think 10 - 20 GB a day is still something to be convened about. https://www.servethehome.com/firefox-is-eating-your-ssd-here-is-how-to-fix-it/

I have used Firefox in ram for a couple of months now without problems and am pretty happy with it.

Conversions on android keeps a websocket connection open to receive messages. It’s supposed to generate very little overhead in battery consumption. The unified push app on android uses the same technique to provide other apps with pushes. So you could set conversations to be the push provider on your phone and would not need the unified push app any more. This way you would be using the same amount of battery as before.

The conversations xmpp support channel is very helpful if you have further questions: someone there will also very likely know if any apps with unified push support exist.

xmpp:[email protected]?join

They technically already get 300 Dollars a year out of you without you ever subscribing so who’s laughing now?