Sparrow is a desktop Bitcoin wallet for people who care about coin control and privacy: it connects through your own node if you run one, supports multisig, and lets you see exactly how your transaction will be constructed before broadcast. It is deliberately expert-facing, and connecting your own node is the intended setup. The most […]
Murena sells phones with /e/OS pre-installed, from refurbished Pixels to its own Fairphone models: no Google account, no Google apps, and an optional cloud that is not reading over your shoulder. The setup requires zero flashing skills. You accept /e/OS’s slower Android updates and a smaller app ecosystem in exchange for the cleanest out-of-box experience […]
Fairphone, from the Netherlands, builds modular phones designed to be opened and repaired with a screwdriver, with long software support and fairer supply chains than the industry norm. It ships with normal Android, and de-Googled builds like /e/OS are available for it. Performance is mid-range and the price is not, which is what ethical manufacturing […]
GOG sells PC games without DRM: download the installer, keep it forever, install offline on hardware you own in twenty years. A curated catalog, fair prices, and refunds handled like a shop rather than a service. The new-release selection trails Steam, and some modern titles never arrive. Every game you buy is actually yours, which […]
itch.io is the open storefront for independent developers: experimental games, tools, and a revenue split that lets creators take home almost everything. No DRM, pay-what-you-want models, and a real discoverability path for tiny studios. Quality varies wildly by nature, and the store interface rewards digging. The best place to watch tomorrow’s developers today.
Joplin is open-source note taking with end-to-end encrypted sync to storage you control: Nextcloud, WebDAV, or the cloud of your choice. Markdown-based, with web clipper, notebook organization and apps on every platform. The interface is utilitarian and sync setup takes ten minutes of your attention. In exchange, your notes outlive any company.
Obsidian keeps your notes as plain markdown files on your own disk and builds a linked web of thought around them: backlinks, graph view, and a plugin ecosystem of unusual depth. Free for personal use, and your data never leaves your computer unless you say so. The program itself is proprietary, and official sync is […]
Standard Notes encrypts everything end-to-end before it syncs, has passed independent audits, and runs from a company whose entire product is note privacy. The free tier covers encrypted text for life. Rich formatting and editor extensions live behind the paid plans, and plain text discipline takes adjustment. For a diary or a lifetime of notes, […]
Mastodon is decentralized social networking: thousands of independently run servers federate into one shared timeline, with chronological feeds, no ad targeting and no single company deciding what you see. You pick a server, and you can move with your followers if you outgrow it. Choosing an instance is a real decision, the network is smaller […]
Pixelfed is what Instagram would look like without Meta: federated, chronological, no ads, no engagement metrics unless you want them, and open source top to bottom. Your photo archive can live on a server you trust. The network is young and smaller, mobile apps are maturing, and instance choice matters here too. A genuinely pleasant […]
BellCrier breach check
Most people are, and never hear about it. BellCrier checks your email against known data breaches for free, then alerts you when it turns up in a new one, with exactly what leaked and how to fix it.
