Freedom Tech

Sync Nextcloud Notes to QOwnNotes in…

Freedom Tech — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 03:00:37 GMT

### Sync Nextcloud Notes to QOwnNotes in Linux

Nextcloud doesn't offer a desktop Note app, but you can get functionality similar to Joplin by using QOwnNotes.

To get notes syncing between the Android "Nextcloud Notes" app, and QOwnNotes on Linux:

1. Install DAVx5 using F-Droid or the Zapstore. (Gives apps access to your Nextcloud/eCloud info)

2. Install Nextcloud Notes onto your phone using F-Droid. (not available on Zapstore ... yet)

3. With DAVx5 installed, the "Nextcloud Notes" app will automatically sync your notes to any Nextcloud/eCloud (Murena Cloud (aka eCloud)) account you choose.

4. Install QOwnNotes onto your computer following links 👉 at www.qownnotes.org/installation (scroll down)

5. Install "Nextcloud" onto your Linux computer.

sudo apt install nextcloud-desktop

6. Set up "Nextcloud Desktop" to synchronize a copy of the "Notes" file folder from your Nextcloud/eCloud server to a local copy on your computer.

7. Set up QOwnNotes to use the local Notes file folder you set up in step 6.

>Note: If your Nextcloud provider has the QOwnNotes plugin, you can sync directly with WebDAV without using "Nextcloud Desktop". eCloud does not have this plugin

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#QOwnNotes #FreeYourTech #Linux #NoteApps

Zapstore

Freedom Tech — Mon, 03 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

### Zapstore
(A Nostr Based App Store)

May 9th, 2024 was the initial release of a new app store called Zapstore coming from the NOSTR community (namezapst), and it shows great promise. You can find the official social media account 👉🏻 Zapstore .

It is based on the NOSTR protocol, which means it can be a decentralized app store, connecting to apps hosted all over making it near impossible to take down an app.

It now has have Bitcoin Lightning wallet integration, so you can send or "Zap" Bitcoin to developers to fund apps you like, or easily tip them to show your appreciation for their effort on apps you use.

Everything is still fairly new, but it has been evolving great over time.

You can grab the APK at Zapstore and sideload it onto your DeGoogled phone. Don't forget to verify the download using the SHASUM command in Linux.

You sign in with a NOSTR public key (npub), not your secret key.

If you don't have an npub key you can create a public/secret key pair using the Amber signing app, or other Nostr apps such as Amethyst or Primal app.

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#ZAPSTORE #FreeYourTech #AppStore #DeGoogledPhones #Nostr #Playstore #AppleStore

Zapstore

Signal Messenger

Freedom Tech — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 20:15:17 GMT

### Signal Messenger
(How to Get the APK for DeGoogled Phones)

Signal is a great open-source messenger app that is available across all platforms. Linux, Android, DeGoogled Andriod, MS, Apple, Linux phones, and iPhones.

Signal end-to-end encryption is the current standard that many chat apps follow and use, such as WhatsApp.

Unfortunately, Signal won't use F-Droid because they say the F-Droid app store is vulnerable to exploits. So if you want to install Signal on Android w/out using the Google Play Store, they offer an APK, and a signature key, but they don't make the APK easy to find.

So here's the link to the APK:

Signal Messenger APK

This 👉 post shows you how to verify the Signal APK signing certificate.

This 👉 post (video) shows you how to install Signal on Linux using an Ubuntu/Mint PPA.

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Signal - Verify APK

Freedom Tech — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 20:12:14 GMT

### Signal - Verify APK

1. Download the Signal APK from the link below to your Linux computer by clicking the "Download" button and saving it to a directory, such as the "Download" directory in your "home" directory:

Signal APK for Android/DeGoogled Phones

2. Install apksigner onto Linux. On Ubuntu based distros (Mint, Ubuntu, etc.), type this into a terminal:

sudo apt install apksigner

3. Open a terminal and go to the directory where you downloaded the Signal APK into, & type this into a terminal:
(replace this apk filename with your apk filename)

apksigner verify --print-certs --min-sdk-version 25 Signal-Android-website-prod-universal-release-6.6.3.apk

4. You can then verify the SHA256 fingerprint on the website with the SHA256 fingerprint from the output

5. Transfer the APK to your phone & install. You can transfer using a USB cable, KDE Connect, or by using SFTP and Material Files.

>Notes
"-min-sdk-version 25" means verify the signatures work on Android API versions 7.1 & higher. This will eliminate warnings for any unsupported version below 7.1

You can see 👉 more API levels here.

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#Signal #DeGoogledPhones #FreeYourTech

Nala - A Better Front End for…

Freedom Tech — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 14:08:04 GMT

### Nala - A Better Front End for APT

(Brought to our attention by Blueghost05)

Nala is a more user friendly front end to the apt command in Linux.

Nala adds color, progress bars and formats everything in a more human readable format.

This Tech Hut Nala video goes over the basics.

Here's the link to get Nala. If you scroll down the page you can find the terminal commands to install it under the Installation section.

You can install it with these three commands:

echo "deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf] http://deb.volian.org/volian/ scar main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/volian-archive-scar-unstable.list wget -qO - https://deb.volian.org/volian/scar.key | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/volian-archive-scar-unstable.gpg > /dev/null sudo apt update && sudo apt install nala

Judging from the logo, the Nala name, and the Scar repository, it seems they derived their name from "The Lion King" movie. 😂😂

Sidenote: We couldn't find a decent size Nala logo image for this post, so we had to redraw it from scratch in Inkscape.

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#Nala #Linux #Apt #FreeYourTech

Solaar - A Programmer for Logitech Receivers

Freedom Tech — Sun, 27 Oct 2024 16:40:35 GMT

### Solaar - A Programmer for Logitech Receivers

Logitech does not offer any software for connecting or managing their devices in Linux.

While the Linux kernel now does a great job of recognizing and connecting to Logitech receivers, there is no native support in Linux distros for switching your mouse, or your keyboard, to a different Logitech receiver.

Solaar is an open source project that has been around for a long time. It let's you connect your Logitech mouse or keyboard to any receiver, which is handy if you have a device or receiver go bad.

Note: The latest version of Solaar appears to require root privileges.

Solaar is available in the distro repositories, so it should be easy to install.

On Debian based distros you type:

sudo apt install solaar

This is the Solaar GitHub page:
https://pwr-solaar.github.io/Solaar/

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#Solaar #Logitech #LogitechReceiver #Linux #FreeYourTech

Grub Customizer for Custom Boot Menus…

Freedom Tech — Sun, 27 Oct 2024 00:18:20 GMT

### Grub Customizer for Custom Boot Menus in Linux

Boot your Linux laptop with a more professional or fun boot menu using the "Grub Customizer" GUI program, and then grabbing a theme from Gnome.org Grub Themes, such as the "Distro Grub Themes", which has individual custom files for whichever distro you want.

With Grub Customizer you can:

- Install themes from Gnome.org Grub Themes

- Move, remove, or rename menu entries

- Edit the contents of menu entries or creating new ones

- Set default operating systems and kernel parameters

- Customizing the appearance of the GRUB menu, including background images and text colors

Sometimes Grub Customizer is not included in the default repos, and sometimes it is, so here is the PPA. (for Ubuntu based distros).

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:danielrichter2007/grub-customizer sudo apt update sudo apt install grub-customizer

This 👉 post goes into a little more detail.

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#grub #Linux #FreeYourTech #LinuxThemes

Fedora vs Debian vs Arch

Freedom Tech — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 01:22:00 GMT

### Fedora vs Debian vs Arch

For all practical purposes, most Linux distros are built on one of three base distributions. Fedora .. Debian .. and Arch.

If you're curious what the differences are, the video below 👇 gives a good breakdown of these 3 base distros used for almost all Linux distributions.

https://youtu.be/UFv_uz5Rj18

Is it time to switch back to a Fedora based distro? Haven't run that distro in years.

He talks about rolling vs fixed distros. If you aren't familiar with Rolling vs. Fixed distros, 👉 this post explains it.

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#Linux #Fedora #Debian #Arch #FreeYourTech

How To Navigate on DeGoogled Phones

Freedom Tech — Thu, 10 Oct 2024 20:33:30 GMT

### How To Navigate on DeGoogled Phones

There are great open-source navigation apps for Android available on the F-Droid App Store, but they have one serious drawback ... and that is they can't find most addresses. Fortunately there is a work-around for this.

On F-Droid, the GMaps WV app will use and abuse Google Maps to get the coordinates of the address you seek, and then forward them to the open-source Navigation App of your choice, all the while blocking Google's telemetry attempts.

Two popular open-source navigation apps are OsmAnd and Organic Maps. Both are available from the F-Droid App Store.

Thanks to GMaps WV, the issue of not being able to find addresses has been mitigated until OpenStreet Maps gets to where address lookup works. OpenStreet Maps has made huge improvements in this area just in the last year.

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#Navigation #FOSS #GoogleMapsReplacement #OsmAnd #OrganicMaps #DeGoogledPhones #FreeYourTech

Nextcloud Hosting Options

Freedom Tech — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 20:50:32 GMT

### Nextcloud Hosting Options

Nextcloud is an open-source online ecosystem that you can use isntead of Google, Apple, or Microsoft, to keep all of your data private, secure, & out of the hands of Big Tech & out of the hands of Big Government.

This post list some Nextcloud options below.

>Note: Out of all of the options below, Cloudamo is the best option for people who aren't super techie, but want the ability to customize their own Nextcloud.

A Brief List of Nextcloud Options:
(There are many, many more Nextcloud options)

1. Pay For a Nextcloud Service Provider. You pay the Nextcloud provider money, and they DO NOT sell your data to anyone and everyone. If you go this route, you are stuck with whatever Nextcloud apps they install, and cannot customize your Nextcloud.

- eCloud/Murena, a French company that offers a free account w/free email, up to 1Gig.
- LibertyStratus, a conservative Patriotic company out of Arizona.

2. Host Nextcloud on Someone Else's Server (VPS)

- Cloudamo - Company out of Switzerland, with servers in the USA. You 100% control what gets installed on your Nextcloud.
- Linode/Akamai & DigitalOcean are some of the most commonly used hosts for this.
- With Linode and Digital Ocean you can do full disk encryption. This creates even more headache.
- Note: Even with full disk encryption, your Nextcloud VPS provider can still see your data if they really want to by doing a physical memory dump of the server hardware to get your VPS full disk encryption key.

3. Host Nextcloud on Your Own Hardware at Home. Self-Hosting on your own hardware is the ideal situation. Nobody can get their hands on your server without going through you.

Here are some tutorials on setting up Nextcloud:

- Installing Nextcloud on a Linode/Akamai VPS
- Video Tutorial on Installing Nextcloud on a Linode/Akamai VPS.
- The Official Nextcloud Install Script
- Note: You need to set up your LAMP server first. LAMP = Linux Apache MariaDB/MySQL PHP. If you scroll up, that link guides you through a LAMP install.

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#Nextcloud #SelfHost #Linux #FreeYourTech #GoogleAlternatives #MicrosoftAlternatives #AppleAlternaitves

Rolling vs Fixed vs Semi-Rolling…

Freedom Tech — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 02:36:49 GMT

### Rolling vs Fixed vs Semi-Rolling Distrod

There are 3 ways that Linux distros get updated.

These are known as

1. Fixed distros (security updates only)
- more stable
- more secure
- older app versions w/out new app features
- upgrades every 6 months to 2 yrs

2. Semi-Rolling Distros (security and 3rd party updates)
- core distribution files are fixed
- 3rd party apps are rolling

3. Rolling Distros (security, core, and 3rd party updates)
- latest app versions
- less stable
- possibly more security issues due to newer cutting edge code
- upgrades a package as soon there's a new release
- upgrades constantly

Here is an article explaining Rolling vs. Fixed Distros in detail with a few example distributions.

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#FixedDistro #SemiRollingDistro #RollingDistro #Linux #FreeYourTech

QGIS - Custom Mapping in Linux

Freedom Tech — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 00:53:15 GMT

### QGIS - Custom Mapping in Linux

QGIS is an open-source, professional grade, GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping and analysis program that is available for Linux. It is very useful for creating any size map, in vector format, which can be exported to .pdf format.

You can do things like build custom maps over Google Maps, and/or import map data from OpenStreetMap

QGIS comes in handy when you want to quickly make a map for things such as:

- Scout camps
- Church events/activities
- Event parking
- Event building locations
- Family reunions
- A global map of your ancestory
- Cell tower radiation patterns
- Emergency response plans
- etc.

Here are a few examples of what people have done with QGIS -> QGIS map examples

This -> python script can be run inside of QGIS to bring in links to many online mapping servers, such as OpenStreetMap and Google Maps.

Here are some QGIS learning links:
1. QGIS Course on Udemy.com
- A good course for only $15
2. Odysee QGIS Video Tutorials
3. QGIS Tutorials and Tips

Instructions on how to install the latest version can be found at the 👉 QGIS download webpage.

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#QGIS #Mapping #QGISTutorials #Linux #FreeYourTech

Inkscape Gets Multipage Support

Freedom Tech — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 21:19:18 GMT

### Inkscape Gets Multipage Support

The long awaited multi-page feature was added to Inkscape about two years. (Some of us had been waiting for 10+ years)

For 1.2 release notes. . . and some animated GIFs showing off new features in 1.2, go 👉 here.

To get the latest release in Ubuntu based distros, such as Mint and Pop!, add the PPA, update, and then install Inkscape.

Get Latest via PPA

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:inkscape.dev/stable sudo apt update sudo apt install inkscape

To Remove:

sudo apt remove --autoremove inkscape

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#Inkscape #PDF #MultiPageSupport #IllustratorAlternative #Linux #FreeYourTech

Mark37 Ghost Phone

Freedom Tech — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 19:35:12 GMT

### Mark37 Ghost Phone

MARK37.COM offers DeGoogled phones at the best price around.

The Mark 37 Ghost Phones are a DeGoogled Pixel Phones running Graphene OS, (currently Pixel 5 through Pixel 7), starting at $425.

You can order one using the link above.

In their own words, Mark.37 is run by American freedom loving patriots doing their part to fight "the tyranny of BigTech, BigPharma, and our very own government's attempt to silence, cancel and control us." 👊💪

MARK37.COM also has a
👉 video channel on Odysee.

A while back the founders kicked of a video series called "The Cowboy and the Suit" on Odysee, so if you're interested in getting to know them a little better. Go watch some vids and subscribe!

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#Mark37 #DeGoogledPhones #FreeYourTech

FUTO Voice Input Speech-to-Text…

Freedom Tech — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 18:14:23 GMT

### FUTO Voice Input Speech-to-Text Android Keyboard
(Open Source, not FOSS)

Did you know Google's voice to text app records and saves everything you say into it . . . forever? Yikes! No thanks.

Fear no more. Louis Rossman, and the FUTO organization he works for, have finally released their voice recognition app for Android phones.

The app is called Voice Input. It is based on OpenAI Whisper, which is really good. This means it does capitalization, punctuation, & works better than Google's offline version

This is the solution we've been waiting for! No Internet access needed. It's all done locally on your phone

The Voice Input app is open-source, but it's not FOSS, and has a very, very limiting license

Here is 👉 the FUTO F-Droid repo.

You can download the app directly from the FUTO company website.

Learn more about the app in
this 👉 video

Here is the 👉 FUTO Voice Input source code. (They run their own GitLab server . . 👍💪)

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#VoiceInput #SpeechToText #Futo #DeGoogledPhones #FreeYourTech

Smart Cards in Linux using Brave

Freedom Tech — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 17:02:09 GMT

### Smart Cards in Linux using Brave

1. 1st follow steps in this 👉 Firefox setup post.

2. Make sure NSS Tools are installed

sudo apt-get install libnss3-tools

3. Add Smart Card Module

- Make sure to close Chrome & you are in home directory before next command(s)

- To use opensc module type: (this one gives more certificate options)

modutil -dbdir sql:.pki/nssdb/ -add "opensc Smart Module" -libfile /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opensc-pkcs11.so

- ~~For coolkey module type:~~
(currently not working)

modutil -dbdir sql:.pki/nssdb/ -add "coolkey Smart Module" -libfile /usr/lib/pkcs11/libcoolkeypk11.so

4. Add PKI certificates
-Go to the dot menu and:
- Settings
- ->Privacy and security
- ->More
- ->Manage Certificates
- ->Import

- Browse to folder with PKI certificates and select the chain.pem file

5. To list installed modules on Brave

modutil -dbdir sql:.pki/nssdb/ -list

6. To delete a module from Brave, use module name in step 5.
- if your module name is "Smart Module"

modutil -dbdir sql:.pki/nssdb/ -delete "Smart Module"

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#SmartCards #Linux #BraveBrowser #Chrome #FreeYourTech

Configure Smart Cards on Linux & Firefox

Freedom Tech — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:46:35 GMT

### Configure Smart Cards on Linux & Firefox

1. Install the Smart Card programs and/or libraries

sudo apt-get install libpcsclite1 pcscd pcsc-tools coolkey opensc

2. Download your PKI Certificatees

You will have to get these from someone, like your employer

3. Import the PKI Certificates into Firefox
- Go to three bars menu in Firefox (upper right)

- Preferences
-->Privacy & Security
-->Certificates
-->View Certificates
-->Import

- Browse to folder containing your certificates and select the .der.p7b file that has all the other certificates linked in it.

4. Install Smart Card Reader module into Firefox

- Settings
-->Privacy & Security
-->Certificates
-->Security Devices
-->Load

- In "Module Name" Type in a name that you want, such as "coolkey Smart Module" or "opensc Smart Module"

- For opensc click Browse and browse to and select:
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/opensc-pkcs11.so

- ~~For coolkey, click Browse and browse to and select: ~~
(currently not working)

/usr/lib/pkcs11/libcoolkeypk11.so

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#SmartCards #Linux #Firefox #FreeYourTech

Murena Cloud (aka eCloud)

Freedom Tech — Sun, 15 Sep 2024 15:06:08 GMT

### Murena Cloud (aka eCloud)
(Replaces Google/Microsoft/Apple Online Ecosystems)

Murena Cloud (previously called eCloud) is a complete, fully “deGoogled”, online ecosystem.

It gives all the services offered by the tyrannical Big Tech companies, without the any of the privacy invasions or tyranny. Woohoo!

List of Services
***
- Free email
- Online file storage
- Contacts
- Calendar
- Notes
- Tasks
- Photos
- Online document collaboration

All done with open-source solutions, such as Nextcloud and Open Office.

eCloud integrates into the Linux desktops, Linux phones, and Android phones very easily. All you need to do in Linux devices is log into the "Online Accounts" app, and apps like Evolution, Geary, Kmail and Kontact see your eCloud email, contacts, calendar and tasks.

If you buy one of their /e/ Murena phones, or install /e/OS on your phone, that phone will automatically be set up to use eCloud services.

You can get an eCloud account 👉 here.

You can get /e/OS 👉 here, and install it yourself on one of these /e/OS compatible phones.

You can get an /e/OS phone 👉 here, such as the Murena Fairphone 5.

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#MurenaCloud #eCloud #Linux #LinuxPhones #DeGoogledPhones #FreeYourTech #eOS #GoogleAlternatives

Murena Fairphone 5

Freedom Tech — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 22:06:16 GMT

### Murena Fairphone 5

Last August (2023) Murena announced their DeGoogled version of the Fairphone 5, which is available for pre-order in select countries.

The Murena Fairphone is a Degoogled phone running /e/OS out of the box, and comes with a Murena/eCloud account to keep you free from Big Tech's online ecosystem and privacy invasions

Fairphones are designed to be easily repairable and focuses on all sorts of blah, blah feel good sustainability and fairness.

The Murena Fairphone 5 is NOT currently available in the USA, but they did release their Fairphone 4 to the USA about a month ago after running a trial campaign in the USA. You can see all of Murena's products available in the USA at

Here is Fairphone's 👉🏻 video that dives into the Fairphone 5 and what it is all about.

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#Fairphone5
#Murena #DeGoogledPhones #FreeYourTech #PrivacyPhones

Libiquity Computers

Freedom Tech — Thu, 12 Sep 2024 20:41:35 GMT

### Libiquity Computers

Libiquity is a company located in the rural mountains of Pennsylvania that offers Linux computers that try to adhere to the FSF (Freedom Software Foundation) standards, which run only FOSS software, and FOSS firmware and hardware drivers on their computers.

Although Libiquity is currently on holiday due to a family emregency, we are adding them to our list of merchants offering Linux computers because they will likely be operating again in the future.

Their Taurinus X200 laptop comes with Trisquel Linux, which is one of the few officially FSF approved GNU Operating Systems, and boots using Libreboot.

If you are curious about other Free Software Foundation (FSF) approved Linux distros, you can see their list here.

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#Libiquity #LinuxComputers #Linux #FOSS #FreeYourTech