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A cool guide to move away from big tech and discover new and better tools! (thelemmy.club)
submitted 3 weeks ago by FallenWalnut@lemmy.world to c/coolguides@lemmy.ca
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The hope is that this guide and website can act as a simple way to introduce newcomers - whether it's you, friends or family - into this space and try something else besides the default options!

There is also a community-driven, open-source site ( https://purchasewithpurpose.io/ ) that aims to make this even easier. This includes screenshots, ratings and a larger feature list.

Every time I post these guides, there is always feedback on things that can improve, or I got wrong. Please do share, as it is the best way for these to evolve.

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[-] jeena@piefed.jeena.net 28 points 3 weeks ago

This is the list with my annotations. A lit of things missing there where there are good alternatives, but it's a good start.

nHVjCfb3gil1NJq.jpg

[-] FallenWalnut@lemmy.world 23 points 3 weeks ago

Thanks for the feedback! I had to limit the options presented to avoid making the guide overwhelming. Most of those options are listed on the website - https://purchasewithpurpose.io/

Out of interest, you circled a few options. Any reason? Or are those the tools you use?

[-] otter@lemmy.ca 14 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I like the site, it's clean and straightforward

I appreciate your work!

[-] FallenWalnut@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

Thanks! Put a lot of effort in making it as user friendly as possible. More updates to come!

[-] jeena@piefed.jeena.net 6 points 3 weeks ago

Those are which I actually use, the ones which were available I circled, if not ai added the name of the one ai use.

[-] MissingGhost@lemmy.ml 7 points 3 weeks ago

I also prefer your recommendations. I would add Debian and OpenBSD in the operating systems. Also Lemmy in "social media". I also believe Lagrange gemini/gopher client should be widely used.

[-] jeena@piefed.jeena.net 2 points 3 weeks ago

I prefer PieFed over Lemmy. .what are you using Gemini/gopher for?

[-] MissingGhost@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 weeks ago

I haven't tried PieFed yet. Gemini/Gopher allows people to self-host a personal page without the bloat of html/css and without advertisements. I like reading personal blogs. Also Lagrange Gemini browser is just a beautiful software visually on its own.

[-] 6nk06@sh.itjust.works 15 points 3 weeks ago

Web:

  • add LibreFox because it's the most paranoid out of the box, and it's good

Email:

  • Fastmail should be removed. They have the best UI ever, but their servers are still in the USA and they don't have any E2E encryption
  • I don't see Posteo here: https://purchasewithpurpose.io/category/email/, it should be added (if that's you)

Passwords:

  • 1password had a few controversies in the past, I would never use it

Search:

  • Qwant sucks, that's all, they have sucked since the beginning
  • add Searx https://metasearx.com/ which could be good for some people

Music:

  • Deezer hates VPN, I don't know how you could show that but it drove me away
[-] calliope@retrolemmy.com 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

1password had a few controversies in the past, I would never use it

Can you link to the controversies?

All I see is that people download unrelated malware, which obviously gives access to everything on the system.

[-] killabeezio@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

They have had multiple leaks

[-] 7uWqKj@lemmy.world 8 points 3 weeks ago

No Nextcloud? No KeePassXC? No Startpage? Rubbish

[-] FallenWalnut@lemmy.world 13 points 3 weeks ago

These are all on the website. The guide is more geared towards less technical users. https://purchasewithpurpose.io/

[-] Jason2357@lemmy.ca 7 points 3 weeks ago

I would love to find a low-effort meme and “fun” pics stream like Imgur. Pixelfed is too serious photographer, and while lemmy has plenty of meme pictures, the UI makes it awkward to just scroll at breakfast and send something funny to fam. Just a wall of images and short videos, and no comments unless you click them.

[-] iconic_admin@lemmy.world 5 points 3 weeks ago

Alright comments, let’s hear it. Why do all these tools suck? Why are they the wrong thing?

[-] FallenWalnut@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

haha been pleasantly supportive

[-] iconic_admin@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

That’s a nice change of pace.

[-] buffaloseven@piefed.ca 5 points 3 weeks ago

I self-host Bitwarden and it's been great. Used 1Password back in the day but their shift to SaaS has made it expensive and bloated with a bunch of crap I don't care about. Made sure to set up a backup of the BW databases and auto-updating the docker image that it runs in. Set up secure access for my family, and even managed to host it for a couple friends.

Keepass has always interested me, but I haven't been able to figure out if there's a browser extension that supports accessing databases stored remotely as I use my passwords on a few computers I can't install applications on, but I can use extensions.

[-] salvaria@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 weeks ago

How hard is self hosting for someone who is a completely Linux noob? I have an extra PC that I'd love to use for it, but I have no idea how to start. Searching the web seems to only return guides for people who are used to using CLI on Linux already, which I'm not used to.

[-] fristislurper@piefed.social 1 points 3 weeks ago

Realistically, it will need to be a new hobby. You need to get into it and be confident that backups, etc., are well done. Especially for sensitive stuff like passwords and pictures.

'Simply' following an online guide blindly basically guarantees you will lose your passwords at some point to a crash or something.

[-] salvaria@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 3 weeks ago

Understood, but where is the starting point for a noob?

[-] fristislurper@piefed.social 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)
  • Step 1: have an old laptop/computer/Raspberry Pi that you can leave on at all times. Probably install Linux on it. Specs really do not matter, basically anything will work.
  • Step 2: think about what you would want to self-host. Check here for a good list. Start out with something that is not a real problem if it does not work, like a personal wiki or notes or something. Choose a reasonably popular project so you can look up problems more easily.
  • Step 3: try to install it: find step-by-step instructions and just follow them. Try to understand what you are doing. Ideally, use Docker containers for easy and reusable things.
  • Step 4: use it and see what happens!

Check the lemmy selfhosted community (or shudder its Reddit equivalent) to get some feeling for the community.

[-] buffaloseven@piefed.ca 2 points 3 weeks ago

This is a good list. The reality is that at the end of the day, you have a really important question to answer: Do I want access to this outside of my home network?

If you don't, this can all be pretty easy; if you do, it gets significantly more complicated for most solutions.

Keeping it internal, it can be very simple: get Docker, fire up some containers of software you like, make sure you have your ports mapped properly and you're off to the races. You'll want to set up a system to make sure you're at least aware if new versions of your software are released so you can upgrade, and that you have a backup system in place for your data.

I have a few things I now run on my home network, including:

  • Homebridge - enables non-Homekit smart devices to be used with HomeKit
  • Jellyfin - Media sharing
  • Bitwarden (via the Vaultwarden fork) - Password manager
  • Forgejo - Code repository
  • Podsync - Convert YouTube channels to video Podcast feeds
[-] ABetterTomorrow@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 weeks ago

Is Orion legit for Apple users? https://orionbrowser.com/

[-] FallenWalnut@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

Yup! An excellent option for Apple users.

[-] mr_might44@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

Funny how reddit isn't on the list (or maybe I'm blind), but I guess it doesn't really have to be since we're already here anyway.

[-] 0xalivecow@piefed.social 4 points 3 weeks ago

Can you please share how you created the guide? I would like to make one myself.

[-] FallenWalnut@lemmy.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

I used canva.com - feel free to post to !PurchaseWithPurpose@lemmy.world once you have put it together

[-] RedstoneValley@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 weeks ago

I'm still looking for a Microslop Teams and Office replacement. It needs to be usable in a business context. I had a look at Nextcloud Talk for the Teams part but it looked like an absolute nightmare to set up.

[-] FallenWalnut@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Infomaniak/OnlyOffice might be a good bet. I'm personally giving MobiOffice and have been pleasantly surprised.

[-] scytale@piefed.zip 3 points 3 weeks ago

Anyone aware of any issues with Filen? I’m interested in giving it a shot.

[-] konki@lemmy.one 2 points 3 weeks ago

Vivaldi is Norwegian, not EU.

[-] Kaiserschmarrn@feddit.org 2 points 3 weeks ago

I think CachyOS should be listed in the OS category (could even be part of the gaming sub category).

[-] EarWorm@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

What's wrong with Thunderbird email? Since Firefox is there, you'd assume Thunderbird would make it too, no?

[-] WalrusDragonOnABike@reddthat.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

It's a client, but it doesn't do emails itself yet.

[-] k0e3@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 weeks ago

Im trying to like Sync but I don't think it's very good. It's slow and the UI is so clunky. Also no desktop app for Linux.

[-] restingboredface@sh.itjust.works 1 points 3 weeks ago

I use several services on this list and I'm curious about everyone's opinions on multi-service providers and whether it's a good idea to go with all-in-one or purchase services separately. I have a paid Proton account and use the mail and vpn, but kept 1password and dropbox accounts as well since they were already set up. It's tempting to have everything integrated and pay one bill, but it feels risky to put all my digital eggs in one tech company basket.

What do you think?

[-] cybernihongo@reddthat.com 1 points 3 weeks ago

I like that the originating countries are listed. Some services are very hard switches like Discord, or everything MS offers, but I want to rely less on US products. That's a start for some things but do take the other bits of feedback.

[-] Butterphinger@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 weeks ago

takes his XMPP sign and goes home

Matrix.... ugh

[-] fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 1 points 3 weeks ago

we should try extending XMPP and making it have all the features we need

[-] Butterphinger@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 weeks ago

Aside from group chats and iffy onboarding. It's ok?

Conversations and Snikket make it psedo-easy.

For onboarding for apps like this, top server owners should offer to be featured as places to register, maybe sorted by ping?

[-] fluffykittycat@slrpnk.net 1 points 3 weeks ago

Mandatory E2EE is something I want. It should be impossible to accidentally have an insecure chat

[-] recursive_recursion@piefed.ca 0 points 3 weeks ago

It's unfortunate but I'd recommend removing Firefox, Protonmail, Duckduckgo.

  • Librewolf is better, SearXNG is more trustworthy than DDG.

I personally wouldn't recommend ZorinOS, Ubuntu, and Pop!OS.

  • Linux Mint is a solid recommendation.
  • EndeavourOS is also pretty good.
  • Arch Linux (base) is getting really good due to improvements to archinstall.
[-] RedstoneValley@sh.itjust.works 5 points 3 weeks ago

What's wrong with DDG? I noticed that the result quality deteriorated in the last months. It now displays a lot of garbage results that are based on the most common of the entered search terms and completely ignores the rest, just like Google does. They also have an AI that gives answers which are actually related to the search query. This seems to be an effort to push AI by artificially worsening search results. Even with quotes its almost impossible to find anything that isn't completely trivial.

this post was submitted on 11 Jan 2026
251 points (97.4% liked)

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