This really resonates with me. I haven't gone so far as to run LineageOS (because I want to be able to use Lyft, Google Pay, etc.), but I do some of this stuff. I have a Raspberry Pi controlling all my smart home hardware, with the internet-connected bit running on a server I control. My TV is from 2007 even though I'd really like a larger, better, higher-resolution TV, because I don't want a TV that tries to connect to the internet. I run Linux as my daily driver because I don't want Windows tracking everything I do and popping up ads in the start menu, and don't like Apple's trend toward locking down their OSes to the point where it's not even my hardware anymore.
I would love to get Google out of my life, but Google Photos is easily my favorite phone app, and I still get a lot of value out of GDocs, GDrive, etc., and managing a Nextcloud instance sounds like more work than I want to do.
I do feel like I have an antagonistic relationship with technology, and as someone who works in technology, that makes me really sad.
I'm reminded that, in the mid-90s, one of Microsoft's branding slogans was "where do you want to go today?" While that seems funny in retrospect, back then MS's software really did let you do more or less whatever you wanted. These days our platforms are becoming more and more locked down, and meanwhile they're actively leaking our personal information to third parties who are the poorest stewards of it imaginable.
I want to be optimistic for the future of technology, but it's really hard to be.
I would love to get Google out of my life, but Google Photos is easily my favorite phone app, and I still get a lot of value out of GDocs, GDrive, etc., and managing a Nextcloud instance sounds like more work than I want to do.
I do feel like I have an antagonistic relationship with technology, and as someone who works in technology, that makes me really sad.
I'm reminded that, in the mid-90s, one of Microsoft's branding slogans was "where do you want to go today?" While that seems funny in retrospect, back then MS's software really did let you do more or less whatever you wanted. These days our platforms are becoming more and more locked down, and meanwhile they're actively leaking our personal information to third parties who are the poorest stewards of it imaginable.
I want to be optimistic for the future of technology, but it's really hard to be.