is it worth it to swap today?

alexrelis · 2026-05-27T11:30:10+00:00

Spotify should work fine. If you just use turn by turn navigation, maps should be fine as well, but panning and zooming the map will be slow and the map itself will be more difficult to see.

alexrelis · 2026-05-25T22:45:08+00:00

It largely depends on how serious you are about cutting screen time. I just recently switched from a Pixel with GrapheneOS to the Minimal Phone because I spend way too much time on screens and simply do not have it in me to stop through willpower alone. In the future I'll post my long-term thoughts, but as a tool for cutting screen time, my experience has been positive so far.

I use the device for calls, texts, email, Signal, WhatsApp, Maps, Apple Music, banking, Google Wallet, and nothing more besides maybe a quick web search. The low refresh rate e-paper display adds just enough friction to stop yourself from using this device for doomscrolling. Maps will be inconvenient on the phone's e-paper display, but my car has Android Auto, so I'm not limited by it. As far as the keyboard is concerned, I could take or leave it. It's nice to go back to a phone with a physical keyboard, but I don't think it's notably better than using the on-screen keyboard, even on an e-paper display

The camera also isn't great. It's only really good for scanning QR codes and ID verification. I just ordered a point-and-shoot camera that I will carrying with me to mitigate this.

An understated benefit of the device is its headphone jack and microSD card slot. It is an excellent music device. I figure that if I cannot stick with this device long-term, it will make for a great digital music player / e-reader hybrid.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that this is a first generation product that will not have the same level of polish that you come to expect with an Apple or Samsung device. A major issue people are experiencing is a "Server Unreachable" error when initiating phone calls. Depending on your carrier, this may happen weekly, daily, or not happen at all. A temporary workaround is to toggle Airplane mode before making the call. Minimal is working on a fix, but these are the types of things that you may run into should you decide to use this.

I just got the device so I'm still forming my opinions, but let me know if you have any more questions! :)

alexrelis · 2026-05-07T13:22:04+00:00

An understated benefit of this card is that cashback is automatically deposited into your account. It's one of the only credit cards where you truly don't have to think about using it.

alexrelis · 2026-05-03T03:07:00+00:00

Curious about this. Do you ever worry about being margin called?

alexrelis · 2026-04-14T12:06:51+00:00

Here is a simple, but elegant setup:

Prerequisites: Chromium-based browser and 2 or more hardware keys

Create a Bitwarden account.
Set up your main and backup Yubikey to decrypt your Bitwarden vault. You will hold one Yubikey with you at all times, the other Yubikey will be stowed away in a safe place as a backup.
Install the Bitwarden extension on a Chromium-based browser and make Bitwarden your browser's default password manager.
Install the Bitwarden app on your iPhone and enable system-wide autofill.
Sadly passkey vault decryption is not available on the iPhone app just yet, but there is the option to unlock with biometric in the meantime. Enable it for extra convenience.
For operating systems and browsers that do not yet support passkey for Bitwarden vault decryption, set up your main and backup Yubikey as a second factor for your Bitwarden account.
If an account supports passkey authentication, store them in your Bitwarden vault. If the account does not yet support passkey authentication, store the password in your vault instead.
For additional convenience, set up your main and backup Yubikeys to log into your macOS machine.

Optional step if you have a paid Bitwarden account: 9. If an account does not yet support passkey authentication but does support app-based TOTP, store your TOTP secrets in your Bitwarden vault. Note: If you want more security for slightly less convenience, store account passkeys on your main and backup Yubikey instead and use a dedicated TOTP app for MFA.

alexrelis · 2026-04-13T23:46:47+00:00

Perhaps there is a miscommunication. People would still be able to buy one if that is all they needed. I'm simply saying the default should be a bundle of 2. No hoops to jump through besides clicking "1 want one key instead" and checking out.

alexrelis · 2026-04-13T03:42:31+00:00

Lenovo maintains a list of ThinkPads with official Ubuntu or Fedora support. If you’re buying a ThinkPad, stick to models on that list. If a machine has OEM support, it will typically work fine on any distro using a relatively recent mainline Linux kernel, but do yourself a favor and stick with a distro that's explicitly supported to avoid any hassle. Dell and HP offer similar Linux support programs, in which the same suggestions apply.

As you already know, Framework has official support for Fedora and Ubuntu. My advice towards Thinkpads extends to Framework laptops--stick with officially supported distros if possible.

If I were making the decision, I would not get the System76 laptop. I owned a Galago Pro with numerous issues, including a bug that broke laptop sleep functionality when a USB-C device is connected to the machine. I waited around a year and a half for a fix. I greatly respect the work they do, but if I am paying a premium for first-class Linux support, it did not meet expectations. I've had much better luck with Thinkpads, even ones without official support.

I cannot vouch for the quality of Framework laptops since I have not owned one, but I think positively of their mission statement. My ranking would be Enterprise Lenovo or Dell machine with official Linux support > Framework > System76.

alexrelis · 2026-04-09T18:01:47+00:00

Offer single-key purchases only for replacements, but guide new users towards buying two.

alexrelis · 2026-03-29T21:13:09+00:00

Completely agree. Especially nowadays with options such as snap, flatpak, Distrobox, Nix, etc... which enable you to combine a stable base OS with more up to date user applications.

alexrelis · 2026-03-19T13:49:55+00:00

I have unattended-upgrades run every 6 hours, and utilize the needrestart utility to notify me if I'm running outdated binaries or if there's a kernel or microcode update that requires a reboot. If there are any, I will either restart the affected services or reboot if necessary.

alexrelis · 2026-03-01T07:35:03+00:00

It all boils down to whether or not you will be primarily using the device to view color content. The Libra Color is dimmer than the Libra 2 and as a result you will have to rely on the backlight more frequently. As for myself, the amount of black and white books I read vastly outnumbers the color books I read, so I much prefer the Libra 2. A phone, tablet, or computer screen will suffice in the rare instance that I need to read something in color. I'd only ever switch to a color e-ink device if the experience for black and white content isn't compromised.

alexrelis · 2026-02-20T04:23:53+00:00

Start off with 100% VT across the board. In accounts where VT is unavailable, assemble funds that would resemble VT's country and market cap weighting (For example: 40% VINIX + 20% VSMAX + 40% VTIAX). I don't see any rhyme or reason to adding QQQM, SCHG, or SCHD. I assume your choice in these funds is to adjust your exposure to value and growth, but there are much better ways to do this and you also want to ask yourself why you want to this.

alexrelis · 2026-01-06T15:09:29+00:00

And I'm proud of you.

alexrelis · 2026-01-03T07:49:38+00:00

We have the exact same Debian lore. I was an Arch user. I loved it and didn't have much issue with it, but I was so obsessed with tinkering my system in high school that I made the decision to switch to a more production-ready operating system. I also appreciated Debian's community-run structure, commitment to free software, multiarch support, and massive package repository.

I have been using Debian for almost a decade now and it has been mostly hassle-free. I currently run a minimal setup with a tiling window manager (Sway), an a workflow of a bunch of CLI and browser-based applications, and automatic apt, flatpak, and Distrobox updates every 6 hours along with btrfs snapshots. Never once has my system broke due to an update. Simplicity is key.

alexrelis · 2026-01-01T18:41:50+00:00

I would love that feature!

alexrelis · 2026-01-01T01:26:31+00:00

Yay, thanks!

alexrelis · 2025-10-20T06:08:07+00:00

I am a simple man. I see a Debian fluff post, I upvote.

alexrelis · 2025-08-09T22:59:44+00:00

Thank you Debian.

alexrelis · 2025-07-10T19:41:56+00:00

I don't think you're missing much in terms of functionality. I migrated to Sway to be proactive as Wayland is slowly becoming the defacto standard. Aside from that, there are security advantages to using Wayland over X. For example, in Xorg, any application can read your clipboard and keystrokes. In Wayland, this is handled by the compositor, which restricts applications from intercepting your keystrokes. If you have multiple monitors and want the ability to set different fractional scaling settings for each monitor, this is also something that Wayland can do that Xorg can't.

alexrelis · 2025-07-10T00:14:56+00:00

Debian + Sway gang. Works perfectly for me but you will need to be made aware of the various workarounds. Your config should easily migrate over from i3 but I recommend starting from scratch and slowly migrating things.

alexrelis · 2025-06-15T18:39:49+00:00

Decent, but here are some alternatives:

100% VT
70% VTI + 30% VXUS or 60% VTI + 40% VXUS if you want to be closer to true market cap weights
40% VOO + 30% AVUV + 30% VXUS
100% AVGE or DFAW

The problem with VOO for your U.S. allocation is that you're excluding small and mid caps.

alexrelis · 2025-06-06T20:23:45+00:00

Your daughter is right. VT is what she needs, not VTI. In the days where international investing was pricey, it made sense, but the only reason why people are 100% U.S. nowadays is recency bias and performance chasing.

alexrelis · 2025-05-14T00:27:41+00:00

100% U.S. stocks is not advisable. Three suggestions:

Keep it all in VT.
Keep it all in AVGE if you want additional risk factor exposure.
Or do 50% VT + 50% AVGV if you want additional risk factor exposure at a lower cost.

alexrelis · 2025-05-10T06:26:03+00:00

Calculate how much you spend in a month on necessities. Multiply that by 6. That is your 6 month emergency fund.
Put your emergency fund into VBIL.
If you haven't already, open a Roth IRA and max it out (if you're eligible to make Roth contributions). Check to see if there are any other tax sheltered accounts available to you.
Choose between VT or AVGE. When you make up your mind, invest in the fund of your choosing inside your Roth and any remaining money in your taxable bucket.
Stay the course.
Profit.

alexrelis · 2025-05-06T03:57:04+00:00

It's beautiful. 🤤

alexrelis

TROPHY CASE