stillgreenmoss

previously on my wiki i had a section called “how i compute”

it described basically the hardware and software that i use for computing. this feels relevant to write about because computing is a major focus of my life and yet also i feel a permanent tension with how i do it that keeps me trying new things, which is sometimes fun and sometimes frustrating

currently i use basically only two devices to compute, a phone and a laptop

phone

my phone is a google pixel 8 running a FOSS android distro called calyxOS

i'm very happy with it for these reasons:

• it gives me a very functional phone with optional access to the normal app store without requiring logging into a google or apple account
• calyx institute, the organization that makes calyxOS, is a formally incorporated non-profit organization. for software as critical as the operating system on my phone, i actually prefer that it be made by a publicly accountable organization rather than a diffuse network of contributors
• it's a US-based project, and i like giving money to projects in the place that i live when feasible

when i was making the decision of which phone OS to use, i was choosing between calyxOS and grapheneOS. i decided to go with calyx both because of the formal organization behind it, and because of graphene's history of public conflict.

i do not have very much software on my phone. the browser is disabled most of the time. i would really like to fully uninstall it (possible with ADB) but sometimes i absolutely must use it to pay for parking or some other frustrating tiny thing. installed on it i have email and private 1-1 chat apps (not discord, zulip, et. al.), calendar, todo list, weather, white noise app, banking apps, camera, maps, the wikipedia app, a podcast app, lyft (for emergencies), and that's it.

until recently i had social media (fediverse) installed on my phone too, but i think that was a big mistake.

laptop

my laptop is a framework 13. i put fedora on it because i'm feeling tired of fussing right now (i also like this about calyx, it's pretty low-fuss). i'm very happy with fedora. i use the default terminal, thunderbird for email (many such email addresses), and firefox etc etc etc it's not fancy. it's super default, i'm very happy. currently i've just got one user on here but i'm planning to soon create a second user and then have a “personal” account and a “work” account.

i'm not going to write an entire framework 13 review here but i will just say that i have never been happier with a linux laptop.

i usually use the laptop on a couch or at the kitchen table, but sometimes i do plug it into a dock at my desk that's connected to lots of other things. the dock is not connected to a monitor though.

other things

i have a backup chromebook in case something happens to my phone and laptop and i need to recover my digital identity from scratch. also useful in the event that a website i'm being forced to engage with gets upset about linux/firefox. i basically do not use this chromebook other than to turn it on and install updates every few months.

having a backup chromebook makes sense for me because my alumni email address from my alma mater is a google account, and i care more about being able to use the library and other things at my alma mater than i do about having zero google accounts. so i keep the google account, delegate it to its own device, and call it a day.

the chromebook is a manufacturer refurbished dell 3110. it's meant for schools and is extremely sturdy.

i have a mountain of other used computers that i am always figuring out what to do with. usually they are being given away to friends and acquaintances who need a computer

that's it for now

my computing framework is one of incentivizing using the productive device (laptop) and disincentivize using the consumptive device (phone) except where it substantially improves my life (maps, lists, calendars, photos, secure communication with loved ones, etc.). this writeup is specific to “early 2025” as it says in the title. the way i compute and devices i use changes a lot so i figured i'd just plan to write multiple of these from the jump

be well <3