Welcome to newsletter #2! I posted a series this past month showing off several Linux distros: Mint, Zorin, elementary OS, and Pop!_OS. I wanted to show what these look like. I think people aren’t sure what to expect, but Linux isn’t as weird or different as you might think. I showed two different desktop environments, too, GNOME and Xfce.

What’s next on the blog? Phones!

This month, I want to focus on alternative phones or privacy phones.

There have been announcements from Google about some changes for Android, so I wasn’t surprised to see visits to my blog post on the website about my privacy phone. If you’re not familiar, Android is basically the operating system on most phones if they’re not an Apple iPhone. I say most, because I’m an exception.

My privacy phone’s operating system is based on Android, as in the open source project, but it’s not technically Android. It’s called Graphene OS. Sometimes this is treated like a strange choice or people think it’s something only for “hackers,” but I beg to differ. My life is like any regular person who has kids, paperwork, appointments, and a job, and this phone fits in with that.

I have a regular life, but there is a difference. I am technical, and I’m willing to say “no” to features I don’t like. Sometimes it’s a QR code restaurant menu or forced online forms. In this case, it’s saying “no” to Google or Apple tracking 100% of my entire life. I like that there’s a group who wants to do something different. The team in charge of Graphene OS take privacy seriously. I don’t think you should have to be technical for this type of benefit in your life.

If you want to see what it looks like to actually have a Graphene OS phone, I have a youtube video where I walk through what mine looks like. You can see most of my apps, and I talk about what works and what doesn’t.

Check out The Crosswalk blog

• Start Here on the website

• Why I switched to Linux, and why I think you should too.

• Thinking about ditching your phone? Here's an overview of my privacy phone

Have a great month!

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