Some tech apps/services I personally use instead of their American/Big Tech counterparts [Updated]
#europe #european #europeanalternatives #europeanalternative #privacy #opensource #software #freedom
Arch Linux as the alternative to Windows will make people never try Linux again. It should just say Linux, no flavours or personal preferences needed, alternatively a listing of the most newbie user friendly distros ever. Everybody already into Linux know what they want.
My current recommendations.
Just play games? Bazzite.
Just need a work machine? Debian 13.
Want a little of everything? Fedora.
Linux Mint as great middle
Personally I think opensuse tumbleweed is a great "little bit of everything" and you don't have to worry about full system upgrades.
How easy is it to switch completely from windows to Linux? Usability, feautures, costs?
imo its not that hard, but if its your first time with linux i'd suggest starting with a linux mint/fedora vm or install it on a spare laptop if you have one. this way you could learn it a bit before making the switch
You could also start with a dual boot windows-linux, and then slowly slowly transition to Linux. That's how I started and I never booted windows after.
That really depends on what you use your PC for. Are you deep into Microsoft Office suite? Do you play games such as PUBG, Battlefield 6 or other multiplayer games with a particular infringing anti-cheat? Maybe you use software from Adobe? Then no.
Otherwise, installing Linux is easy, if you know how to create a bootable USB-stick.
As a beginner, I would recommend Linux Mint.
depends on what you use your computer for. for video editing, you propably should learn davinci resolve sind adobe doesnt work, which could take a while. For me, i use my pc for software development and gaming, and the switch was practically "instant", anf i have been using arch (btw) for half a year now. it took maybe a week to get used to the terminal and after then it has been getting better and better. i suppose the "getting used to it" period is faster on something like mint
I don’t want to say it’s hard but it also feels disingenuous just simply calling it easy. honestly depends on the person and what they want to do with the computer
Installing it isn’t hard so long as you’re comfortable following some instructions to load a file onto a flash drive and hitting a couple buttons when your computer turns on
For usability, If you absolutely need specific programs that don’t work on Linux, like anything from Adobe, MS Office, CAD software, a lot of music production software, stuff like that, and an alternative just won’t work in your situation (such as if you need it for work) then unfortunately there’s not really a proper solution there. TONS of programs have a Linux equivalent that’s open source and free, many of them work fantastic, but also there’s many that aren’t ideal. For gaming though, it’s gotten REALLY good. With the exception of certain huge multiplayer games with anti-cheat, almost everything will just work if you use Steam, and most other things you can make work by adding them to Steam as a non-Steam game and clicking a couple buttons
As for cost? It costs no money but will cost you some time when you’re first setting it up and learning the ways it differs from Windows
If installing it doesn’t intimidate you and you don’t need any of the software that’s not supported, then it’s honestly not hard overall but there will be some adjustments
A bit off topic, but since you mentioned music production software I just wanted to quickly say I was surprised by how much easier it is to set up compared to Windows. Since Pipewire became a thing, it's really dead simple. No need to mess around with ASIO, virtual cables, applications using an exclusive lock on interfaces, etc. Ardour and REAPER are solid pieces of free (half-free for REAPER) software, and the commercial Bitwig (made by ex-Ableton staff) also has a native Linux build which works great.
Bottles work for almost every windows application nowadays. You will notice a slight performance hit, but for most desktop software on a halfway decent rig that's completely irrelevant!
Usability is the same or better, but this is incredibly subjective. The plus is there is probably a solution specifically what you prefer. If you're coming from Windows, KDE is probably the best starting point. "Desktop environment" is the key word of you want to see options.
Features are a bit more "it depends", generally more user friendly. But depends on the software we're talking about and can vary wildly.
There is no cost.
The only limiting factor for this endeavors in my eyes is that you might need some software that is Windows only. Many windows programs do run fine on Linux, which a lot of people don't realize. You can basically just install them using the compatibility tool "wine". You don't need to do anything for this to work on modern Linux. For games there is "proton", essentially a specialized version of wone. BUT there's software that will not run, or only after a lot of tinkering, or just not well (enough). If that's you, Linux isn't ideal.
If you're not in need of specialized software, just try it. Most Linux can not from a "live DVD". No need to install. Just use it directly. I've you want to keep your stuff (settings and such), install on a 2nd SSD for like 25 bucks.
I’ve been using Linux for more than a decade. Modern Linux is quite easy to start, compared to the old stereotype.
I highly recommend an easy way: for the daily softwares you use, you try to replace them with cross-platform ones, like libreoffice, thunderbird… when you want to try Linux someday, the migration path could be more smooth than you expected
How and why is Signal not "American big tech"? It even runs on Amazon' servers!
I read "American/Big Tech" as things that can be either the one or the other but not necessarily both. Telegram is a for-profit, publicly traded company based in Dubai that recently announced a partnership with xAI to include Grok into its services. Signal on the other hand is based in California and has been entirely non-profit so far. Pick your poison, I guess, but I know what I'm gonna pick.
Exactly, putting Telegram under American big tech, but not Signal has to be a bad joke! Telegram has its issues, but being American big tech ain't one of them!
Can also recommend Qwant besides Ecosia.
For AI chatbots I'd recommend Ollama, Kobold.cpp or Llamafix.
for mail, Mailbox and Tuta are great too.
For delivery services, Bol.com is better indeed (has better labour rights too), but ideal is to just go shopping in the city itself. It benefits local smaller stores too!
For YouTube, I'd recommend PeerTube.
For OS, it depends on how well you know Linux types. If you're new to Linux, and just want something that works, Linux Mint.
In general, the best bet would be as decentralised, open source, and horizontally organised as possible. Defederate from large companies. The less chance then, that a bad agent will be able to embrace, extend, and extinguish.
i had a bad experience with Qwant, i also wanna try peertube but they gotta let me make an account😭
Great list. My only recommendation is adding LibreOffice.
yeah i already use that too, i didnt rlly register it as an alternative which is why it isnt here ig😅
Bitwarden is from the US. KeePass would be an alternative. But ProtonPass ist great. Nice List.
Ecosia is debatable. Also, why the fuck would you introduce Arch Linux as an alternative for Windows?? Start them with Mint/Fedora/Ubuntu.
He wrote "what he personally uses" not what he recommends.
Linux is Linux. Archinstall+KDE is quite easy to install and get working. Sure, neon or some flavour of debian will be easier. But, it's practically all the same these days. Also, Arch may have better compatibility with some laptops because of the latest Linux kernel. Moreover, if the person is a little tech savvy, the arch wiki is an excellent place to learn about Linux.
Update, but it appears that Trump's Gestapo now has access to Graphite, which is Israeli spyware, designed with zero-day exploits. Apparently it can also hack Signal.
What we need is to criminally prosecute all who circumvent robust privacy laws using third countries. Especially companies and secret services. And if that means we need to arrest prime ministers, so be it. If Israel's terrorist Mossad arrests people on other countries' borders, who's to say we cannot do the same for their fascist terrorist leaders?
couldn't just say Linux lol had to include what distro btw
i use arch btw
It's his list. He didn't tell anybody to use what he use
yeah, the meme isn't "you should use arch btw" it's "i use arch btw" which is exactly what this list says.
Some Linux ditros are from the US, could be a no-go for some. The Linux HQ is also located in the US btw.
I don't work in IT or anything, but if I had to guess, they are just following what privacy guides say. Here's an excerpt:
Arch Linux is a lightweight, do-it-yourself (DIY) distribution, meaning that you only get what you install. For more information see their FAQ.
But they recommend Fedora before that.
P.S: I don't condone it, just trying to shed some light as to why.
Tell me about Bol please. I never heard of that. Good experience?
Bol (formerly bol.com) is a website where stores sell stuff similar to amazon, only downsides are the increased amount of dropshippers and they only deliver to the netherlands and belgium
they only deliver to the netherlands and belgium
Pretty large downside for 95% of Europeans
Nope to proton, it's weird how they always show up in these kinds of posts.
People say nope to proton and signal in here without offering a better alternative. I'm open to shitting on them (proton CEO really pissed me off by praising the trump admin), but just saying nope to them without functional alternatives isn't helpful.
Why? What's wrong with Proton
Nothing, but my opinion is the pricing is too high for their mostly incomplete apps. Other services usually offer more for less when you get them individually.
Don't use Bol. They rip you off exactly the same as Amazon, even though you find the exact same product from exact same factory listed on Temu/Ali at 10% of the cost.
I generally recommend to avoid Dutch retail. East European retails tend to be more efficient, though still not as efficient as the Chinese.
Any recommendations for the east european retail? I've ordered way too much from amazom and bol
It's a shame they have started selling more and more of that unbranded cheap stuff. They didn't use to do that but it's hard to find quality items now. I guess it started since they started allowing other sellers to sell their stuff on their webshop.
Not bad, but keep in mind thay Telegram is indistinguishable from an FSB honeypot.
i would change:
What about the fact that basically ALL entire planet goes through either Cloudflare or Akamai's infrastructure? I wonder if it is even possible to not use those, even unwillingly
ALL entire planet
Not the all planet but a big portion yes. There's a firefox extension that helps with that: Decentraleyes.
Don't let the good be an enemy of the excelent. There's some stuff that's unavoidable, but every tiny bit helps.
Appreciated as tried here we go and couldn't get on with it. Will try mapy
I wouldn't say Bol.com is a good alternative to Amazon as their terms towards sellers is quite toxic, but I also wouldn't know any other alternative either.
Bol.com has been infested with drop shippers using ai, try searching for "aanpassing titel" lol. Besides, because of their "free shipping", most products are actually more expensive because they have the shipping price included, and you can buy it for less directly from the seller's own website.
otto.de if you live in Germany, Austria or Switzerland.
i've never heard of here wego, but i cannot find it on fdroid, is it open-source? is it openstreat map based?
isn't opensource and also not openstreetmap. I use Comaps
here wego isnt opensource, but it is european (from the netherlands)
The popups, ads, and nags about disabling ad blocker on Ecosia... Ehh...
How is Bolt any better than Lime or Uber?
I've never heard of here we go. I'm a bit hesitant to go driving somewhere using navigation software that isn't extremely battle tested.
I'd recommend Osmand, that's what I use and it's alright for me. It's never sent me somewhere wrong until know. Not everything is on there but then I just add the place, if I can.
Bolt seems European I guess? Maybe a better plan would be to use the local uber alternative, like https://drivers.coop/ for NYC or https://eva.coop/ for Montréal. Three's also https://coopcycle.org/ bût that's for deliveries and takeaways.
OsmAnd is great because of how customisable it is imo, however it's very slow at plotting routes (especially while cycling, that's essentially the only use case I have for it) and rerouting doesn't seem to be a thing?
I would recommend CoMaps for a much faster, but simpler, user experience.
For mail I can also recommend https://soverin.com/
Image not working for me.
Great suggestions! Also ios/android -> e/os (by murena)
Is that fully functional, and works with mainstream apps?
I only had it on my new Fairphone 6 for about a month. I'm a longtime iPhone user and find it suiting my needs perfectly.
I am using in on my FP3+ for about 4 years. The only app that didn't work for me was myswimpro and I suppose it is because I am blocking ads/trackers at network level. Biometrical login to my bank app doesn't work (the app doesn't allow it, rather).
No other problems so far.
Proton mail is MAGA now. I would remove it.
@Cocopanda @blinfabian
Just because he agrees with Trump on certain topics doesn't mean he supports him.
What's the benefit in using the Aurora App Store? It just looks like an alternate interface, according to their site you're still using Google Play and you still need to log in with your Google account. Same with Vivaldi, isn't it just Chrome? I'm asking sincerely, these aren't attempts at gotchas or anything.
...you still need to log in with your Google account.
You don't.
To use Aurora Store, you can either login via your Google account or use an anonymous account.