I’ve been looking into non Google/Apple smartphone alternatives in a serious way since Google set a path to abandon sideloading (it’s happening, they will use a phased approach) as I use a lot of open source apps and I avoid Google Play whenever possible.

For whatever reason it seems Pine Phone is often very difficult to get up and running, this is of course just anecdotal evidence. I actually heard about Pine a long time ago when evaluating their Rock series SBCs; they looked good on paper, but practical implementations left much to be desired.

I am personally saving up for Jolla phone:

https://commerce.jolla.com/products/jolla-phone-sep-ii-2026

I want to get the 12/256 variant, so that works out to €800+.

Pricey considering I’ve been getting mid-range devices ($450 absolute max) for the last 10 years; but this seems like the most user friendly option for a phone that doesn’t run on a US-based software platform.

Wrong post/thread?

I will respectfully disagree.

Reputational risk of the kind offerred by contractual engagement with Palantir (or say Meta) can only arise if you have a system for managing high level oligarchs and corruption.

US doesn’t have it and very likely won’t in the next 20-30 years minimum (you likely need a whole new generation of people).

EU perhaps has the opportunity to address these issues (more than the US), but they have their own failures in different related arenas.

Or you need a situation that’s unpredictable and no one knows what is going to happen next and how things play out.

I have a little bit of exposure to silicon valley companys and culture through long-lasting friends (some emigrated from other countries).

I find it difficult to believe that the notion of working for Palantir or Meta has any negative associations for vast majority of people with relevant skills. Not saying everyone, but the median individual who can get recruited to Palantir/Meta has other concerns.

Not a miniscule number of projects in silicon valley that I encountered where straight up legal scams. Perhaps scam is not the right word, but it was clear that they are not legitimate businesses, but more like schemes for the founders.

To be honest, I don’t think individuals leaving Palantir would matter (although it is likely within their capabilities).

Palantir had ~4,500 employee in 2025 as per Wikipedia. Replacements will be found.

To paraphrase my other comment in this post, people leaving a company/vertical hasn’t really ever made an impact (I am sure there are edge cases, but I am talking in terms of systemic impact).

It’s usually the other way round, things start to happen on the street and then people bail because they don’t want the risk/personal reputational damage.

The framing of the article is fantastical, I don’t think employees starting to question the nature of their conpany/segment has led to anything meaningful. Sure some verticals suffer from reputational damage (e.g. online gambling, blockchain “projects”), but it’s more of a relative thing.

I am on an older version and I so not looking forward to moving to another launcher.

Nova just so many small useful things that all just work (folder/icon gestures, icon pack support is exemplary).

Is 5,000 mAh a big deal though? My Samsung A73 has 5,000 mAh and it’s from 2022.

American “freedom” themed polemics are such farce in every way imaginable.

The big one for using storage space is 4K video and various video enhancements like ML based Slow Motion (5 min of footage can take 7-8 GB easily).

All the amazing stuff will be shut down in a few years. They will most definitely block access outside if your home network.

There will be an additional monthly charge of 8.99 for getting access to adfree in your car.

Best option is to support creators you enjoy directly.

If they were serious about malware, they would have to permanently ban all Meta apps (potentially even blacklist senior Meta executives so apps from other companies would also be banned if they hired the Meta hoodlums).

But again, Google is a large American technology company; i.e. a rat’s nest of crime, lies and degeneracy.