Just switched to a new phone carrier, and they had a promotion that included a free phone: the Google Pixel 8. I’m not a fan of Google, but I am a fan of free, so I took the bait.

It’s already bombarded me with pitches for their new AI bullshit. I’ve opted out of as much as the settings allow, but I’m under no illusion that doing so actually provides any real privacy.

So, damage control time.

On my previous device I used YouTube Vanced for music and videos, but I guess Vanced isn’t around anymore, and I’m pretty out of date on what the current options are… any insight on streaming specifically?

 

*I’m a medic who’s only surface-level competent with tech, so please idiot-proof any instructions.

Thanks all!

  • @TazerfaceEnglish
    1•21 days ago

    A couple of days ago I installed Futo’s keyboard, not bad. The swipe typing needs a lot of work but improving this is on their to-do list. Nice to have a keyboard where the swipe engine is not Google.

    I don’t use the built-in voice typing but the their voice input app. The large model is far more accurate and doesn’t take very long to process on a Pixel running GrapheneOS.

      • @TazerfaceEnglish
        1•20 days ago

        Futo Voice is in the keyboard but the separate app has the option of the large voice model which has more words and is more accurate. Downside is a larger voice model takes longer to process your speech into text and isn’t suitable for slower devices. The keyboard does offer a way to move to a larger voice model (settings > languages) but I couldn’t figure out how to make the switch. Maybe it’s currently not available.

        Edit: Clipboard is a keyboard feature I use nearly everyday. Turns out Futo keyboard doesn’t have it and it’s not a planned feature. Perhaps I’ll check in a few times per year to see if this has changed.

              • @TazerfaceEnglish
                2•19 days ago

                Clipboard is copy/paste but instead of one copy, the clipboard can hold several items. One of the ways I use it is to copy my username and password into the clipboard when the password manager can’t autofill. This keeps me from have to pounce back and forth between apps. Yesterday, I wanted to copy/paste several lines from one document to another. No clipboard makes this more time consuming.