I figured this may lead to an interesting discussion in the comments.

How has your use of Technology changed in the past year? I’ll start.

  • Due to the rise of streaming services and Sony/discovery removing content from libraries, I downloaded all my iTunes purchases onto a 2TB SSD (which I’ll soon need to get another).

  • Like many, I’ve stopped using Reddit outside of Google search.

  • I’ve reduced my subscriptions to just two. (Apple One and Google One)

  • I’ve purchased DVDs/Blu rays of my favorite uncensored shows (Family Guy and American Dad) and ripped them and watch them through Cloud storage (Google Drive via Infuse for Apple platforms, and Kodi for Windows)(I’ve also purchased MakeMKV just because it is so damn useful)

  • I’ve used Google App Scripts to bypass some Gmail limitations to make filters that I otherwise couldn’t. For instance, in Outlook.com, you can block email addresses and domains before you have ever gotten an email from them. In Gmail, you can’t. The best you can do is create a filter that deletes them. In my case, I’ve created a Google App Script that runs every hour and looks for (@.mil) domain emails and marks them as spam. (I am in college, and I fucking hate that they give my email to recruiters.)

  • FiveMacs@lemmy.caEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    I’ve stopped trusting anything online due to AI being a cancer on the internet and it’s only going to get worse.

  • Lettuce eat lettuce@lemmy.mlEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    I’ve started archiving my media much more vigorously. Due to the corpos enshitifying so much, the amount of media I have ripped and preserved on my own NAS has exploded.

    I started torrenting again for the first time since college.

    I gave up reddit and use Lemmy and Fediverse exclusively, except for the occasional tech issue I have and then search old reddits for advice/solutions.

    I watch YT exclusively through GrayJay, NewPipe, and FreeTube now.

    I’ve become much more active converting people to Linux. So far I convinced two friends to buy Steam Decks, one friend to buy a Framework laptop and put Fedora on it, converted my parents to Linux Mint, and may have two more people switching to Linux on their main computers in the coming year.

    I’ve also been pushing more FOSS software and hardware to family and friends, trying to convince them to care more about right to repair, FOSS and the like.

    This year I am planning to build a new NAS that will be a self-hosted defeater for streaming and get my close friends and family onboard using it to slow the hopefully eventually give up their subscriptions.

    We’ll see how it all goes, but I’m very optimistic about FOSS tech in the coming months and years, so much great stuff happening!

    • BoisZoi@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      0·
      9 months ago

      I definitely feel the enshittification of such platforms had lead to some great software, updates and alternative front ends. It sucks seeing platforms decay, however, I love seeing the fightback from users who aren’t going to tolerate bullshit from any company.

  • Altima NEO@lemmy.zipEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    I’ve been using the every living heck out of Stable Diffusion. Shit is so fun. It’s another tool for me as and artist to learn and utilize.

    • BoisZoi@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      0·
      9 months ago

      Same, but with Microsoft’s Image Creator. At least for me, I like using it to create pixel art for my own personal GitHub repos.

  • Noel_Skum@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    One of the national mobile networks finally put up a blisteringly fast 5G mast near my house. I have finally reached the totally cable-free nirvana I dreamt of in 1997 when I held my first Motorola Startac in my hand and took an office call on a park bench.

  • Unpigged@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    I quit Facebook for good, almost quit Reddit and am enjoying reading more books and exploring fediverse a bit.

    Also protectively try to get less and less screen time, using the morning time which usually was lost to doomscrolling to do zazen.

  • molave@reddthat.comEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago
    • No longer using imgur for hosting images
    • Reddit use reduced to specific communities. Former use cases are migrated to Lemmy
    • Changed mobile browser to Firefox
    • Using a searxng instance as my search engine
  • Thymos@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago
    • I started using Lemmy
    • Got back on Mastodon when it got rolling a bit more. I follow more accounts now and it’s actually fun.
    • Got back on linux after a 5 year hiatus. I should have done it a whole lot sooner, I enjoy using my computer more.
    • Needed a laptop and instead of buying a new one, I got a secondhand laptop from a local system administrator who put linux on it. Debian is great and I love the old Thinkpad.
    • I’ve applied to a learn/work program in web development. I haven’t started yet, but I will soon. I’m so excited for that.
      • Thymos@lemm.eeEnglish
        0·
        9 months ago

        It’s a local program (I live in the Netherlands) for people with autism or similar issues. They teach you html and java and some other stuff I don’t remember. Eventually they help you to work on projects they do for other businesses and even find a job with a “regular” company, but only if you’re ready for that and able to do it. It’s government funded and aside from the IT professionals, they also have healthcare professionals who help you with any issues you encounter in the work environment. After having been unemployed for years due to mental health issues, it’s a very exciting opportunity for me. I’ve already visited the company and the people and work environment there seem really suitable.

  • rhabarba@feddit.deEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago
    • Stopped using reddit, went here instead.
    • Intensified my Mastodon usage, winding down my Twitter activity.
    • Started using my own mail server for more than just a few tests.
    • Changed search engines a few times (I’ll probably stick with Kagi now).
    • Reduced my subscriptions and cleaned up my RSS feeds.
    • Stopped doomscrolling (I subscribed to a weekly paper newspaper instead).
    • Started using Ulysses for writing. Works very well.
    • BoisZoi@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
      0·
      8 months ago

      If you subscribe to RSS feeds that sometimes due ads in the form of articles (looking at you daringfireball); services like SiftRSS let you use Regex to filter out titles that match (i.e., sponsor, sponsorship) so you only get organic content.

  • jcrabapple@infosec.pubEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    I completely gave up on Google Search and started using Kagi which has changed the way I find things on the Internet.

    Switched from Chrome to Firefox.

  • hulemy@ani.socialEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago
    • Started using Mastodon and Lemmy
      • Deleted Reddit account
    • Changed a lot of my apps to FOSS alternatives using NeoStore
    • Got a text-based launcher (Lunar Launcher)
    • Started contributing to community projects
    • Set up a JellyFin server

    Probably some more but I forgot. My case fans are really loud though when I keep my pc on at night to keep running the JF server for my users. Perhaps I should have bought a P600S case with the dampening foam. Looking into buying a Pi 4 this year to run services on instead of my main rig.

    Really am enjoying using FOSS software, even though it can be a little limiting in some ways. AAAAXY is a really fun game btw!

  • SuperSpruce@lemmy.zipEnglish
    0·
    9 months ago

    1. A slow diversion from Chrome. I used to use Chrome for 30% of my web browsing and games, but have switched that to Firefox and Vivaldi.

    2. I almost completely stopped using Reddit, and instead, switched to Lemmy.

    3. A big shift to majority of headphone usage being wireless, mostly due to the BT600ANC headphones I have with excellent noise cancelling.

    4. A renewed push to seriously consider dailying Linux. Windows 11 was just Windows 10 but with some UI changes running at 0.3x the speed. But MS keeps making Windows worse, and I’m scared of Windows 12.

    5. Considering Third Party Apps for existing software, whenever I could. Most recently, Steam has been super slow so I really wanted a third party launcher to bypass Steam. Same for EGS, except Heroic fulfills that duty, until it fails to work.

    6. Due to YT being especially greedy this year, I’ve soured on it enough to sometimes adblock it, use it less, and most recently and hopefully most devastatingly for YT, purchasing a year of Nebula to watch many creators videos there (ad-free) instead of YT. As a creator myself, I empathize with creators of all sizes.

    7. Oh, almost forgot. I stopped listening to the Linux podcasts I was previously listening to. I just find it more enjoyable to listen to music at the moment.

    Wait, actually forgot these:

    1. Purchased my friend’s old PC for cheap. He likes to be on the bleeding edge and I’m perfectly happy with a water cooled 3900X + 32GB RAM + 2.5TB storage + everything except GPU for $400.

    2. And now the most unfortunate thing. My Facebook usage increased from basically zero to occasional use of the marketplace. It was how I found my GPU replacement for the PC, and my first motorcycle. I still adblock it hard whenever I can.

    Wait, how can I forget this one!

    1. Use of AI as a debugging tool has skyrocketed. I now default to ChatGPT before StackOverflow because on average it’s way faster with ChatGPT.