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    1. I am a graphenOS user and am considering getting a secondary iPhone, but I need more perspectives on how to set it up

      as a grapheneOS user, I obviously care about my privacy, hence why the iPhone will not be my main driver, the grapheneOS device will continue to be. but I might be getting a free iPhone soon and I...

      as a grapheneOS user, I obviously care about my privacy, hence why the iPhone will not be my main driver, the grapheneOS device will continue to be.

      but I might be getting a free iPhone soon and I have an idea of what I would use it for (Podcasts as Apple Podcast is the best cross-platform podcast app I have come across) but am not sure what else I would be comfortable using it for as I don't know what actions are safe without having Apple gather that much data or telemetry on me.

      I know that I won't be using iCloud on it. I have no need for Apple's data storage. Nor do I see myself ever using the App Store, except for installing a VPN app. I might install Signal on it but not anytime soon (not least of which cause Signal does not yet support multiple smartphone usages for the same device). I definitely won't use iMessage as I don't believe in using a messaging service that is limited to a specific ecosystem.

      I will note that I wont install a SIM on it. It will be using Wi-Fi for the foreseeable future.

      Given these things, i am not sure if there is anything i should be on the look-out for in terms of privacy concerns with the usages I have outlined above

      Edit:

      Based on the answers to my post, I am getting the sense I didn't explain my current situation, which fair enough.

      I have audio and video podcasts I consume, for my audio podcasts that I tend to listen to while commuting and exercising, AntennaPod proved a God send for this, to the extent that I wanted to support the app financially until I saw that they said their costs are already covered and it made me appreciate them even more for their honesty.

      However, I have a free iPad I got by accident (not worth going into here) and I prefer to consume my video podcasts on a bigger screen than my google pixel. I don't trust Google with tablet development after a bad experience with another tablet I had from them so that was out. so I decided to just use the free iPad and was delighted to find their Podcasts app also supports videos.

      However, I wanted 1 service that I can use on a phone and tablet. AntennaPod does not have any iPad apps. I saw this page and the 2 alternatives seemed to be Pocket Casts and Podverse. I tried Podverse but the iPad app would not even launch for me, it crashed every time so I said goodbye to that.

      reading into pocket casts, it seems they do collect some data and they do have the option opt-out of that but that could very well change, which means I'd be in a situation where I could be paying for a product while also having my data collected and I disagree with that business model.

      So, Apple Podcasts is probably collecting some data on me but I figured all it knows is what podcasts I listen to, which isn't terribly useful (I hope) considering I have subscribed to podcasts from a feed I generate myself.

      And I happened to already have an old iPhone lying around at home so I decided to switch to using that for my audio Podcasts and use my iPad for video podcasts and its sometimes glitchy since I would call the Apple Podcasts synchronization experience (between devices) half-baked at most but I can make it work for my use case. So I am already using a separate iPhone just for podcasts and I might be in the position where I get a new iPhone which would replace the current iPhone but not sure what new threats to be aware of privacy-wise. I would be upgrading from an iPhone SE first gen to whatever new version I am getting.

      16 votes
    2. Collab between Alton Brown & Guga Foods

      Two channels I follow both released separate videos of the collaboration they just did together at Alton's studio, that I thought others here might enjoy seeing as well. Alton's channel: Alton...

      Two channels I follow both released separate videos of the collaboration they just did together at Alton's studio, that I thought others here might enjoy seeing as well.

      Alton's channel: Alton Brown Cooks Food | Episode 16: Guga!
      Guga's channel: I finally Cooked Steaks with My Culinary HERO!

      9 votes
    3. The ethics of buying, playing military, war or games inspired by them?

      I liked playing Ace Combat since I've been a kid, Ace Combat 2 was one of my favorite PS1 games alongside Crash Team Racing at the time, and I did play AC3 as well but don't remember much of it. I...

      I liked playing Ace Combat since I've been a kid, Ace Combat 2 was one of my favorite PS1 games alongside Crash Team Racing at the time, and I did play AC3 as well but don't remember much of it.

      I completely skipped PS2 generations since I was on handhelds instead, so my first interaction with Ace Combat since 3 was ACAH(Yuck) on PS3, but I ended up buying Ace Combat 7 since that was actually a good game, but being bad at committing to one game hasn't allowed me to finish it, with AC8 being announced to come out soon, I decided I should try and focus on clearing AC7.

      I never gave it a mind at the mind but since now I'm aware of what Lockheed Martin is, I noticed it when I started up the game the past few days at one of the splash screens at the start of the game, and given that Lockheed Martin's involvement with the current ongoing wars, it's safe to assume that Bandai Namco have had an agreement that most likely has had financial and monetary incentives to license their planes.

      licensing weapons and arms aren't particularly a new thing afaik in games, I'm not much of an FPS person myself since I stick with Doom and Bioshock if I want a more "traditional" FPS experience (But prefer things like Ultrakill or Metal Hellsinger) and never been into CoD or other military shooters.

      So depending on their license agreement, they either have paid the royalties upfront(Unaware of how licensing typically goes but I assume it's most likely to be this one?) just to have their arms in the game, or they get a portion of their sales. If it is the former then sales of the game do not directly(as in unless sequels or relicensing occur) contribute to their bottom lines, if it is the latter then every sale contributes to wars.

      Posting this in places like reddit or other gamer spaces I'd imagine would elicit a "Don't bring politics to my games" kind of response.

      I'm curious what Tildes users would think of this, I think that would make pirating these games or buying them secondhand(impossible on Steam though Steam family could count) be more ethical than buying them in a way, though I imagine some may advocating for separating the art from... whom the artist pays?

      27 votes
    4. Colossal Game Adventure Schedule: April - September 2026

      Schedule Month Game Host April 2026 Space Rogue Space u/vili May 2026 Sid Meier's Pirates! Pirate u/vili June 2026 Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow u/Lapbunny July 2026 Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals...

      Schedule

      Month Game Host
      April 2026 Space Rogue Space u/vili
      May 2026 Sid Meier's Pirates! Pirate u/vili
      June 2026 Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow u/Lapbunny
      July 2026 Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals u/zod000
      August 2026 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past u/Boojum
      September 2026 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 u/J-Chiptunator

      Discussion Topics

      Each month will have two discussion topics:

      • "Insert Cartridge" - 1st of the month
      • "Remove Cartridge" - 28th of the month (25th for February)

      Insert Cartridge topics are primarily for getting the game set up and running. Remove Cartridge topics are primarily for reflecting on the game once you've played it. However, the game itself and anything else related to it can be discussed in either one.


      Hosting

      Each month, the discussion topics will be posted by a different "host" who will act as the emcee for that month.

      Hosting is not required, but it is encouraged that people host months for games that they are either already very familiar with or that they are strongly interested in playing.

      People who nominated a game will be given preference for hosting, otherwise it will be given to whomever claims it first.

      Check out old months to get a feel for what it's like.

      Required Hosting Responsibilities
      • Editing the templates for the month's "Insert Cartridge" and "Remove Cartridge" topics.
      • Posting the month's "Insert Cartridge" and "Remove cartridge topics.
      Optional Hosting Responsibilities
      • Talking up the game.
      • Giving tips/tricks/guides/cheats.
      • Sharing your own thoughts/memories/reflections.
      • Asking questions.
      • Anything else you feel like doing (e.g. setting up a multiplayer tournament, making game-related memes, sharing fun trivia, etc.)

      If you would like to host a month, let me know which one and I will add you to the schedule.

      Before your month begins, I will send you a "Hosting Package" featuring templates that you can edit to your liking.

      If no one claims a month, I will host it as a fallback.


      Voting Results

      The top 6 games from the voting round were chosen to be played.

      Of the remaining games:

      • The top 50% will advance to the next round. They will start the next round with a base score of 30% of their vote totals.
      • The bottom 50% will be removed from the list.

      Removed games will be able to be re-nominated in future rounds if someone chooses to do so.

      Game Votes Status Rollover Votes
      Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow 31 Won
      The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past 29 Won
      Sid Meier’s Pirates! 26 Won
      Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater 2 26 Won
      Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals 25 Won
      Space Rogue 23 Won
      The Grue That Binds 22 Advances 7
      Another World 19 Advances 6
      Back in a Flash 18 Advances 5
      Tetris 18 Advances 5
      Mother 3 17 Advances 5
      The Genesis of Treasure 17 Advances 5
      Descent 16 Advances 5
      Resident Evil (REmake) 16 Advances 5
      Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist 15 Advances 5
      Beneath a Steel Sky 13 Advances 4
      Crystalis 13 Advances 4
      Maniac Mansion 13 Advances 4
      Red Dead Redemption 12 Eliminated
      Scroll Lock-on 10 Eliminated
      The Colonel’s Bequest 10 Eliminated
      Threads of Fate 10 Eliminated
      Behind the Wheel 9 Eliminated
      Metroid 9 Eliminated
      StarTropics 9 Eliminated
      Metroid Prime 8 Eliminated
      JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future 7 Eliminated
      Lode Runner 7 Eliminated
      16 votes