I have an iPhone and a CalyxOS pixel 6. iPhone is still my main.
I use all the privacy and custom stuff, but i almost invariably use it alongside "normie" alternatives that I think produce good products. I use my Zorin linux and my Macbook in comparable amounts. I think of the custom/self-host setups as insurance and "extra capable" tools to help me avoid the pitfalls and restrictions of "normie" products. But I use them exactly to the degree that they help me concretely. I don't much care for "signaling" one way or the other like its an ideological choice. It's a practical and security one.
For the same reason, I intend to have a self-driving car in the not-too-distant future possibly. But I'll own one alongside a striped down, modified gas clunker that has no stock computer anything but instead has only what device i decide would make it better under my control and my software (granted my self driving car may very well be the same one based on the next few years with Comma.ai and competitors in that field. So it may not be the perfect example). One is for convenience, the other is for control.
Sometimes the convenient and "my control" option lands totally in the "normal product" space or the "full self hosted" space. On those occasions I don't get a backup. But generally speaking my stack is almost *always* a combination. And on that note I did test graphene, but have no immediate reason to switch from CalyxOS with my main android because I'm just using it for app testing and the apps I'm building myself. Then its also my business phone.
So the next time you are wondering which direction I chose. The answer is most likely "both."
TheGuySwann / Guy Swann
npub1h8…6rpev
2026-10-21 16:33:06 UTC
in reply to nevent1q…3uaw
Author Public Key
npub1h8nk2346qezka5cpm8jjh3yl5j88pf4ly2ptu7s6uu55wcfqy0wq36rpevPublished at
2026-10-21 16:33:06 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "I have an iPhone and a CalyxOS pixel 6. iPhone is still my main. \n\nI use all the privacy and custom stuff, but i almost invariably use it alongside \"normie\" alternatives that I think produce good products. I use my Zorin linux and my Macbook in comparable amounts. I think of the custom/self-host setups as insurance and \"extra capable\" tools to help me avoid the pitfalls and restrictions of \"normie\" products. But I use them exactly to the degree that they help me concretely. I don't much care for \"signaling\" one way or the other like its an ideological choice. It's a practical and security one. \n\nFor the same reason, I intend to have a self-driving car in the not-too-distant future possibly. But I'll own one alongside a striped down, modified gas clunker that has no stock computer anything but instead has only what device i decide would make it better under my control and my software (granted my self driving car may very well be the same one based on the next few years with Comma.ai and competitors in that field. So it may not be the perfect example). One is for convenience, the other is for control.\n\nSometimes the convenient and \"my control\" option lands totally in the \"normal product\" space or the \"full self hosted\" space. On those occasions I don't get a backup. But generally speaking my stack is almost *always* a combination. And on that note I did test graphene, but have no immediate reason to switch from CalyxOS with my main android because I'm just using it for app testing and the apps I'm building myself. Then its also my business phone.\n\nSo the next time you are wondering which direction I chose. The answer is most likely \"both.\"",
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