this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2025
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[–] manxu@piefed.social 137 points 1 day ago (5 children)

By a wide margin the many different projects for an open source phone OS. From GrapheneOS to PostmarketOS, from Ubuntu Mobile to Plasma Mobile.

I am sick and tired of corporations telling me how I can use my phone. I am sick and tired of corporations deciding what apps I can install, from where, and what data they are allowed to collect. I am done with enshittification and the gradual disappearing of all useful information, either behind a paywall, or replaced by monetized content.

The last straw was when Google Maps decided to replace the "gas station on the route" feature that sent you to the cheapest gas station to some other logic it didn't disclose, but that stinks of affiliate preference.

[–] hansolo@lemmy.today 34 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Absolutely, fully agree here. An Open Source widely applicable phone OS would benefit millions of people. Possibly billions.

[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

The frustrating part of this is how much of the smartphone world is dependent on companies playing along.

I have a Venmo business account I use from time to time. I tried to log in on it from my laptop yesterday to check my balance. I was met with this:

collapsed inline media

We used to complain that apps are just worse versions of websites, but increasingly, you're being forced to install an app just to do basic things.

Is there any way to guarantee every app will be available on a linux phone? We can grab APKs at the moment off sketchy websites, but I don't know how much longer that's going to work after Google kills sideloading.

[–] hansolo@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Can you not just log in on a mobile browser in desktop only mode?

[–] ch00f@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago (4 children)

No. This is literally from a desktop browser. That feature is only available on the app.

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[–] manxu@piefed.social 6 points 1 day ago

Let alone open source!

[–] cyborganism@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 day ago
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[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 73 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Best answer: Blender by far, Blender is ON FIRE right now, so many exciting things are happening.

The answer my heart gives: Beyond All Reason (my heart really loves watching robots and tanks blow each other up in scifi battles).

[–] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 22 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Blender is a contender for the best go-to example in the history of open-source software. It's easy for any layperson to understand what it is (unlike, say, Linux), and it's genuinely better than the for-profit competition in a lot of aspects. There's nothing else like it.

It's been growing for decades, and its community is the best.

I'm really not in that space so I only get to watch from the sidelines, but I've always been in awe of Blender.

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[–] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 day ago

I used 3dsmax a lot around 25ish years ago, and even though I pirated it, I remember it costing a fortune.

After getting back into 3D printing I needed something with which to do modelling, and as I'm exclusively on Linux I decided to dive into Blender.

My conclusion is that blender today is better than 3dsmax way back. I just need to translate allof my learned 3dsmax terms and techniques into blender.

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[–] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 64 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm going to have to say OpenStreetMap, it's always going to have a place in my heart.

[–] paper_moon@lemmy.world 4 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

Are there any mapping apps thats not google maps that has traffic data? I haven't looked in a while, but last time I did it was a 'no' and I'm just shocked this hasn't really been solved. Either by highjacking google maps data, or using local news data to fill in areas of maps with heavy traffic etc. There's gotta be some way to solve this.

Like I get it, projects can't just wholesale use google maps data, they'll get shut down, but there's no side loaded plugin you can load to use Google's traffic data and the project just kind of winks in their github page and says 'we don't encourage anyone to use this plugin...'?

[–] sem@piefed.blahaj.zone 7 points 21 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

Magic Earth. Sometimes it crashes and gives confusing voice instructions. But it has traffic data and is therefore my daily driver.

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Magic_Earth

Not ~~owned by Haliburton~~

https://ir.halliburton.com/news-releases/news-release-details/halliburton-announces-definitive-agreement-acquire-magic-earth

I am now wondering if these are two different things both named magic earth?

Yeah. My bad. Not owned by Halliburton. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Earth_Inc.

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 54 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Meshtastic. I don't use it yet, but it is something interesting that I've kinda been low-key obsessed about.

Eventually, telecoms are gonna require IDs, internet service will require IDs. Computers will have DRMs and "AI" scanning your device to censor stuff.

Meshtashtic could be the backbone of a new "internet". One that's free from corporate control. We could build a forum on top of it.

[–] mmmac@lemmy.zip 14 points 23 hours ago (4 children)

Lol, I'm pretty deep into meshtastic but there is no chance that LoRa could be the backbone of a new internet. Bandwidth is far too low

[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 8 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago) (1 children)

Who needs Bandwidth
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⠤⣚⣻⣥⣴⣶⣶⣯⡕⢄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠔⣡⣾⣿⡿⠟⠛⠛⠛⠻⠛⠻⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣚⣿⣿⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣿⣿⣯⠞⣻⡆⠀⢀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣼⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⢠⣿⡿⢣⡾⢻⣷⣾⣿⣿⣿⡟⠻⣿⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣿⡇⢸⣼⠯⢿⣯⡙⢋⣡⣄⣀⣈⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⡧⠤⠉⠉⠙⡦⢙⣿⣯⣿⣿⣿⣿⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡿⢷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠁⣼⣿⣿⣿⣶⣶⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⣀⣴⡏⠀⠸⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣯⡅⠒⡄⢀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠾⠛⢋⣠⣡⡆⠀⣳⡀⠀⠀⢠⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣇⠀⠀⣆⣈⣗⣄⠀ ⠒⢿⡶⢾⣽⣧⣼⠁⠈⠉⢚⣿⣿⠏⠋⠘⢻⣿⣿⣿⣤⣤⣽⠘⣿⣿⡦
when you can just send ASCII Memes?

(Roll Safe, aka: "Guy Taps Forehead" Meme)

[–] mmmac@lemmy.zip 4 points 21 hours ago

🤣 how many chars is this? Would it make it past the 200 character limit?

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[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

I love these kind of things too.

[–] Olgratin_Magmatoe@slrpnk.net 40 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It's been a hot minute since I've touched it, but godot is always going to have my favor. It works very well, doesn't have any bullshit.

I just need more motivation to finish my existing project, and keep the desire for a new one at bay.

[–] NeatNit@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 1 day ago (3 children)

I've recently heard of Bevy, which is a new FOSS game engine made with Rust! I don't know a lot about it but my gamedev friend is excited about it. He doesn't care as much about it being FOSS (he's using Unreal for his current game) but it's supposed to just be good. Unreal is an absolute pain to work with.

That said, it's still in early stages. It's usable from what I understand, but even their quick start introduction warns about it and advises people to use Godot if they're looking for a mature, stable engine.

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[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Godot is the beast. Using it on linux with C# and except having to deal with C# 🤓 it works fantasticly well!

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[–] crozilla@lemmy.world 37 points 1 day ago

Home assistant!

[–] 6nk06@sh.itjust.works 29 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Ladybird because Mozilla is killing Firefox as fast as they can and I refuse to use Chrome or one of its forks.

[–] m_f@discuss.online 26 points 1 day ago (1 children)

At a slightly lower level, I'm excited about Servo. Activity died off for a bit but it's gaining steam again. Still behind Ladybird progress-wise, but it will make a very strong foundation for a new web browser.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 10 points 1 day ago

Servo is extra-important for things like webviews embedded in other apps.

[–] T4V0@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

I am a tad disappointed in Ladybird due to Andreas and Kirk debacle.

[–] ExtremeUnicorn@feddit.org 22 points 14 hours ago (1 children)
[–] DeathByBigSad@sh.itjust.works 4 points 13 hours ago

Oh yes, we're gonna need it for the battle ahead, the battle for freedom

[–] TabbsTheBat@pawb.social 19 points 1 day ago (2 children)

For me it's COSMIC desktop

But that's been something I've been excited about for ages lol

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[–] traches@sh.itjust.works 19 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Well Immich is pretty fucking great

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[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Exciting enough for me to use on a daily basis, and I'm actively following their development progress. Not contributing, mind you. Nobody wants me of all people touching their codebase.

FreeCAD - The open source alternative to various proprietary parametric CAD and solid modelling software such as Solidworks, Fusion360, OnShape, etc. This recently passed its milestone 1.0 release at which point it could finally be considered actually broadly functional for actual real world use. Among various other widgets, I prominently used it to make this and this. Yeah, you guys know how it is.

I consider FreeCAD pretty important coming from the 3D printing hobbyist's perspective because its the lone bulwark (well, okay, maybe also along with Blender and OpenSCAD) standing firm against the tidal wave of predatory bullshit being peddled by the commercial modelling software options, all of which at this point are genuine full-blown instruments of evil desperately trying to strangle, gatekeep, and paywall humankind's ability to just make some goddamned shapes to 3D print.

In other news, I complied UZDoom from source the other night because somehow I missed that zdoom.org has precompiled binaries on their site, which I haven't had to visit in years, but the UZDoom Github page doesn't. We live and learn. UZDoom is pretty exciting because it's a continuation of GZDoom with the added feature of kicking its insane former lead developer off of the project, or rather forking it out from under him. And everybody loves to play Doom.

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[–] Interstellar_1@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

Currently I think the one that is the most exciting to me is Natsumi Browser, a modification for most firefox-based browsers with an interface similar to arc or zen browser. I used zen for months after it released, but every few updates some core functionality would break and they kept removing features that were essential to my workflow so I much prefer this as a modification on top of Floorp. I think the dev just does it as a hobby project, but there's new useful features added frequently, and keybindings!

[–] TabbsTheBat@pawb.social 4 points 1 day ago

As someone who used zen for a while I feel that lol. I ended up going back to firefox, and I found ways to make it work for my workflow :3

[–] Agosagror@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Thrive and Veloren

Open source gaming will get a massive leg up from these 2

[–] abecede@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] Agosagror@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 day ago

Good point

I was mostly thinking in terms of Foss directly

Most gamers don't make their own games as far as I know

[–] ripcord@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago

Immich has been the biggest impact for me lately, but I wouldn't say it is the most exciting. I need to find one of those.

[–] ayyo@sh.itjust.works 12 points 1 day ago

I think everything going on with the open source phone space is very exciting, also I think copyparty is very cool.

[–] Valmond@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

Mine of course! A decentralised sharing/file system.

Soon to come; web compatibility...

[–] LesserAbe@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A buddy and I were playing with Sonobus this morning. It lets you collaborate on music remotely.

Musicians will know already, but if you're not aware, the latency (lag) between participants makes it impractical to play in time together. But if you can get it below 30ms then it's roughly equivalent to playing with someone across the room. Needs a hard wired connection and the other people probably can't be more than 500 miles away. But for me eliminates a two hour round trip to work on a song.

[–] scrion@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I'm currently compiling a list of open-source audio streaming solutions and I think Sonobus is not on there yet, so this is a pretty useful comment to me. Thanks.

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[–] ServeTheBeam@lemmy.world 8 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Plasma Bigscreen. I would love to replace my Apple TVs with something more open.

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[–] jcr@jlai.lu 8 points 1 day ago

The GNU project as a whole.

[–] KiwiTB@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago (4 children)

Haiku. We need a more modern OS to compete against Linux.

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[–] CAVOK@lemmy.world 7 points 9 hours ago

I like I2P. Such a cool concept and there are plenty of services that can be built upon it. Most famous for anonymous torrenting I suppose, but it can do so much more.

[–] daggermoon@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

RPCS3 and ShadPS4

[–] imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 10 hours ago

I am super hyped about Arrs. I have configured a stack and yet to activate it. Waiting til I can install Raspberry pi with vpn in another country for an endless downloads.

All the Arr stuff is working really great already. Whats going to happen in future? Can't wait!

Other than that, Immich is dope.

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