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What apps and services did I pay for (and love) in 2020?

Steven Ovadia December 9, 2020

I missed the 2019 list, because when you’re a new parent, you often forget anything not directly related to your child. So this is really a 2019/2020 list. I just didn’t want the headline to get too long. But here are the apps and services I’ve paid for this past year (or so…), because I think it’s helpful to spotlight things worth paying for. Especially from a Linux perspective:

  • More Fastmail (referral link): I use a Gmail account for automated notices, like deliveries and orders. But I also used it for handling my music writing. It began out of laziness and convenience, but then continued until I had the bandwidth to grab a new Fastmail account and connect it to a different domain, so the music emails aren’t in my personal email account, but are also out of Gmail. Making the switch was easy. The hard part was emailing everyone and getting them to update their address books. And even that didn’t take too long.

  • TunnelBear: I switched my VPN to TunnelBear because my previous one felt laggy and also seemed to be constantly flagged as sketchy. TunnelBear works fine on my Android phone (there’s an app) and while it doesn’t have a Linux client, it integrates seamlessly and easily with OpenVPN.

  • pCloud: My wife and I both paid for Dropbox and were super sick of it; they charge way too much money for way too much storage. I grabbed a pCloud "lifetime" family account for $400, so if it works for 2 years, it’s paid for itself. It’s not as seamless as Dropbox. The initial file upload takes a while. We never got the client to install on my wife’s Dell XPS 13, which came with Ubuntu pre-installed. However, it worked once she upgraded to Ubuntu 20.04. But the pCloud technical support wasn’t helpful. I’ve also had sporadic issues with the Android client. So there have been bumps that have been resolved, but it’s definitely worth looking at. The more I use it, the less I think ‘This was so much easier with Dropbox.’

  • Otter: This is an automated, browser-based transcription service I use for interviews. It’s not flawless, but most of the time it gets you a good 80-90% of the way there, depending upon accents and speech speed. It’s a tremendous time-saver for me, well worth the subscription.

    TweetDelete: This is a bulk Tweet deletion service. I paid $10 in November 2019 and it’s now $15. One could argue this functionality should exist within Twitter. For free. And that no one should be on Twitter anyway. I agree with all of those points. I’ve been on Twitter since 2007 and while I’m not prolific, I don’t see the need to keep things up forever. I also now automatically purge Tweets after 90 days.

  • Zoom: I paid out-of-pocket for this for work before my institution got a subscription. It’s neither free nor open source and there are lots of privacy issues, which hopefully the Keybase people will address (acknowledging it’s a tall order). But it’s easy and it works and people know how to use it.

  • iReal Pro: My guitar teacher recommended this. It’s chord sheets and backing tracks so that you can play along with songs. The library is huge and you can change the key and the tempo. It’s perfect for practicing. At first, the $14 for a phone app seems high, but once you use it, it seems cheap.

  • L.A. Times subscription: I find the New York Times, especially their political coverage, hyperbolic. I switched to the L.A. Times, which has beefed up its reporting, and I’ve been happy with them, except they recently became problematic for me in their unequal treatment of some of their writers. I’m locked in for a year, though.

  • Trello Gold: I paid for this again. I’m not sure why. I go through Trello phases and I was within one when I upgraded. It’s a good tool, but it doesn’t work as a stand-alone answer for me. I was using it to track writing projects because AirTable can feel very busy to look at, but I ultimately decided to tweak an AirTable view so it looked like Trello. Trello is useful but I probably won’t renew.

Things I Paid For and Still Love

  • Remember the Milk
  • Newsblur
  • WordPress.com

Previous Installments:

  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016

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Making the Switch to elementary OS

Steven Ovadia December 1, 2020

Scott Nesbitt on switching to elementary OS. You can see his 2014 set-up here.

Scott’s post talks about elementary’s own apps, which I’m not sure I knew about. It looks like Quilter, the elementary Markdown editor, is even in the Fedora repositories.

I love that elementary encourages users to pay for apps and I think it’s nice that the price points are reasonable, but also suggested.

Making the Switch to elementary OS | Open Source Musings

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Linux desktop: The one moment in 2020 that is key to its success

Steven Ovadia November 24, 2020

For years, Linux users have been accustomed to purchasing hardware and having to install their operating system of choice–often struggling to get everything working properly. Although Linux hardware support has come a very long way (I rarely have issues installing Linux on modern hardware), for the average user, installing an operating system is well beyond their pay grade and knowledge–especially when issues with wireless chips come into play. With Lenovo, that ends. Linux users can purchase hardware without having to install an operating system and knowing that everything will work out of the box, which is guaranteed by the Linux Certification that Lenovo is attaching to the hardware.

That guarantee is a big jump ahead for Linux, and one that wouldn’t have happened without Lenovo putting its support behind the open source platform.

I’m not sure I agree. I think the average user can install Linux; they just don’t have any interest in it. So I think that same average user probably won’t go for pre-installed Linux, either. It’s just not on their radar.

Which is fine. Linux is always there for the interested user. It doesn’t depend upon the grace of hardware manufacturers, although it’s nice to see Lenovo taking an interest.

Linux desktop: The one moment in 2020 that is key to its success | TechRepublic

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Origins of the youtube-dl project

Steven Ovadia November 18, 2020

This is another youtube-dl takedown post, this one explaining how youtube-dl is an essential tool for people with inconsistent bandwidth and/or Internet access.

Luckily, youtube-dl’s GitHub repository is back online!

Origins of the youtube-dl project | Geek Blight

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November 2020, “Community Choice” Project of the Month – Pidgin IM

Steven Ovadia November 12, 2020

I miss Pidgin! I’m glad it’s still around. I wish more people used any of the old chat services (I know IRC is still going strong, but I always found it tough to use with Pidgin).

November 2020, “Community Choice” Project of the Month – Pidgin IM | SourceForge Community Blog

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Have you considered buying used hardware?

Steven Ovadia November 10, 2020

Yes! I have considered this!

Have you considered buying used hardware? | Christian Ştefănescu

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I am Seriously Considering Going Back to Desktop Computers

Steven Ovadia November 5, 2020

I use a desktop and I love it. It’s more comfortable to use and easier to upgrade than a laptop. And it was way cheaper than one, too. There are obvious limitations, like you can’t walk around with it, but I highly recommend them.

I am Seriously Considering Going Back to Desktop Computers | Miscellaneous Stuff

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On the youtube-dl DMCA Takedown

Steven Ovadia November 3, 2020

Wow. The youtube-dl repositories got pulled down. Many people aren’t happy. Interestingly, you can still download it. And it’s still in the Ubuntu repositories.

On the youtube-dl DMCA Takedown | Codeberg News

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CUPS Printing System Open-Source Development Has Seemingly Dried Up

Steven Ovadia October 21, 2020

Yikes! And just when I had gotten used to telling people printing on Linux isn’t that big a deal…

CUPS Printing System Open-Source Development Has Seemingly Dried Up | Phoronix

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Ubuntu Unity brings back one of the most efficient desktops ever created

Steven Ovadia October 14, 2020

Unity is back!

Jack Wallen, whom you might remember from here, really loves/loved it!

I never realized Unity let you search through an application’s individual menu options.

I don’t really miss Unity, but I’m glad it’s there for people who do.

(via Open Source Musings)

Ubuntu Unity brings back one of the most efficient desktops ever created | TechRepublic

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