Alright boys, I've been converted to the light side and have installed F-Droid. Now what?

Tangent5280@lemmy.world to Open Source@lemmy.ml – 159 points –

Basically title. I waited on installing F droid for a long time because my phone threw many scary warnings when I tried a long time ago. But now I have it, and I got some fossify apps, but since there is no "Editor's Picks" on F- droid I dont really know where to go from here.

What apps do you recommend I install first to remove my dependence on closed ecosystems?

What is my vulnerability surface ie, which sort of apps should I watch out for?

Are there any bad faith companies in the open source sphere?

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What apps you install depends on your needs and preferences. It might help others if you include those in any future requests for suggestions.

I suggest not worrying too much about "removing your dependence on closed ecosystems" immediately. Just do as you did before, changing apps as you find better alternatives---only, this time, considering the advantages of FOSS. Simply by giving F-droid apps a chance before opening (I assume) the Play Store, you're already doing better than the vast majority of people.

Regarding discoverability and security, I believe participation in the community helps:

  • The Venn diagram of "FOSS app users" and "software enthusiasts" is closer to a circle. People like talking about useful, good software they like. Word of mouth recommendations is how I got into this stuff.
  • You'll be more likely to hear urgent actionable news (e.g. X app developer sold to bad company, here's the fork that will carry the torch onwards).

And so that this comment isn't completely useless... Mozilla are currently working on a mobile version of Thunderbird for Android, built on top of K9 mail. Been using the beta and liking it so far. If you want a FOSS e-mail app, keep an eye on that one.

P.S. I much prefer the dark side, and don't forget the cookies!

The Venn diagram of “FOSS app users” and “software enthusiasts” is closer to a circle.

Now this is the quote of the week for me 😂 It is mostly accurate, unfortunately, but I cannot stop giggling about it.

Mozilla are currently working on a mobile version of Thunderbird for Android, built on top of K9 mail.

Is that what it is, or is K-9 becoming Thunderbird for Android? My understanding from official announcements was the latter.

K-9 is rebranding as Thunderbird for Android, indeed. But since many users of K-9 expressed their desire to keep the logo and name of K-9, Thunderbird agreed to publish both versions: one rebranded as Thunderbird for Android, and the other keeping its original branding as K-9. We will see whether that will complicate things for Thunderbird team too much yet.

I see! I missed that nuance since the announcement that K-9 would become TB Android. Thanks for the update.

I'm partial to the old K-9 logo too, but I love that the two email projects I use are working together for interoperability 🙂

My bad, I forgot you need to be careful using such metaphors when talking about software. It's as the other commenter said: a rebrand, but they might keep the old identity around for people who like it.

No worries, I was genuinely uncertain what the current status is. Appreciate the answers!