Ente Photos is an Open Source End-to-End Encrypted Cloud Management Photo Management Service Ente is a service that provides a fully open source, end-to-end encrypted platform for you to store your data in the cloud without needing to trust the service provider. Ente Photos is a paid service, but they also offer 5GB of free storage, and there is the option to self-host yourself too. It has built-in machine learning, much like Immich has. What may be more unique is their Legacy option, allowing pre-determined family members or friends to gain access to your account if you have passed away. See

XDA

9 reasons Ente Photos is my favorite open-source photo management tool

Store your photos with utmost privacy and accessibility

#technology #photography #photomanagement #opensource

Top 7 Best Open Source Skype Alternatives In 2025 Skype feels like it has been around forever but “May 5 2025, is the day Skype will cease to exist as Microsoft retires it, pushing people to switch to their Teams offering. The death of Skype was a slow one, but one that has been coming for quite some time now.” But there are some excellent alternatives. I've long been using Jitsi myself, and even if you don't want to self-host it, you can use their cloud hosted version for free (with no 40 minute limit). See

It's FOSS

Top 7 Best Open Source Skype Alternatives In 2025

With Skype going down, a switch to open source alternatives has never been more compelling.

#technology #videoconferencing #opensource

4 reasons I choose Firefox over Brave for maximum security “Brave and Firefox are two of the most secure browsers out there. Brave has made privacy its key selling point, integrating features that block ads, prevent tracking, and stop fingerprinting. Firefox, on the other hand, is the OG secure browser, challenging Chrome’s dominance for as long as we can remember. Both Firefox and Brave offer strong security, but if you’re looking for the most secure option, Firefox takes the lead.” Ironically enough, I did not move from Brave to Firefox for the security considerations. In my case, there was an annoying UI issue creeping in, supposedly inherited from Chromium. But regardless, I did check out the Firefox privacy and security considerations and was happy with them. One feature I really like is the master password for the Firefox profile that locks and unlocks the whole browser. The other thing I like is that Firefox still runs a fully functional uBlock Origin extension, along with its own built-in protections. See

XDA

4 reasons I choose Firefox over Brave for maximum security

Both Firefox and Brave offer strong security, but if you’re looking for the most secure option, Firefox takes the lead

#technology #security #privacy #browsers

How Noise-Cancelling Headphones Work—and Why You’ll Never Go Back “Have you ever wondered about the magic behind noise-canceling headphones? It's an amazing feature to have for headphones, shutting you out from outside noise that can be distracting. The truth is, I can't ever go back to regular ones anymore.” So very true. I forgot my noise-cancelling earbuds at home a week or two back, and I was amazed at the constant barrage of music, announcements, and noise at my local shopping mall. Once you've used noise-cancelling headphones/earbuds, it is very difficult to go back. The same goes for a vacuum cleaner operating nearby. What I also like is that without that background noise, it is also possible to listen to quieter music like classical music. It may be that the sound quality is slightly affected, but certainly not that I've ever noticed. For me, the absence of background noise is far more important. See

How-To Geek

How Noise-Canceling Headphones Work—and Why You’ll Never Go Back

How do noise-canceling headphones know what to block? The secret is inside.

#technology #audio

Forget about Excel — You can self-host open source Grist to manage your spreadsheets “Excel may be the dominant spreadsheet-editing software, but there are plenty of alternatives that can fulfill your data analysis and number-crunching needs. Whether you’re paranoid about storing your precious files on Microsoft’s servers or want a neat app that doesn’t force you to pay subscription fees, you’ll find plenty of decent Excel alternatives. Grist is one such option that you can self-host on your local hardware, and here’s a byte-sized guide to help you integrate this neat utility into your workflows.” Grist is definitely NOT an Excel clone. It does things quite differently. My biggest pain was to ditch the “=sum(formula)" type approach. It's easy once you realise you must use the + to add a new column and choose formula. Another key difference is the way that you set a format for currency. Excel (or LibreOffice) would be a right-click and select currency. With Grist you pick a type as numeric, then click on spinner, and then select the $ symbol. Because it is powered on the backend by a database, a column is essentially a field name and type, whilst the rows would be records. One advantage of this is that by changing a column to be say hyperlinks, the whole columns records instantly become hyperlinks. The reasons why it is different, is partly because although it is a spreadsheet UI, it can have relational database tables working from the spreadsheet view, and it also supports Python syntax. It has various widgets, or you can also build your own for various custom views. There is a paid enterprise service, but the core version is fully open source. Docker is also not the only way to install and run this app. Yes, there is LibreOffice, FreeOffice, etc but if you want a modern looking and solid cloud based spreadsheet service, this looks pretty interesting. Actually, it is pretty good to see a “spreadsheet” that looks and works differently! See

XDA

Forget about Excel - I self-host Grist to manage my spreadsheets

Step aside Excel, there's a new spreadsheet tool in town!

#technology #spreadsheets #opensource #selfhosting

Breezy Weather is an open source Android weather app with many local weather services supported inc 17 African states More than 50 weather sources are supported (none of which are pay only sites), and it has a large selection of home screen widgets, and even live wallpapers. Very importantly (especially for weather type apps), it is privacy respecting. Of course, weather forecast data is very relative to the location it is being used, so mileage will certainly vary depending on where you are. But even so, this app does give many options to choose from for weather data sources. See

GitHub

GitHub - breezy-weather/breezy-weather: A feature-rich weather app with good visualizations and more than 50 sources.

A feature-rich weather app with good visualizations and more than 50 sources. - breezy-weather/breezy-weather

#technology #weather #opensource

Poynting Antennas is an internationally recognised manufacturer of antennas based in South Africa “Poynting Antennas founder and CEO Andre Fourie is not only an entrepreneur and former Wits University professor; he and his team are arguably the top antenna engineers in the world. Poynting has over 50 patents and registered trademarks, including 12 registered patent families consisting of 26 registered patents, and 41 registered designs.” Many of us have likely seen the brand around, but probably don't realise this was some really solid engineering design and building that came out of South Africa. They have been around for many years and their products have stood the test of time. I remember having one of their outdoor fixed wireless LTE antennas when I used fixed wireless for my Internet connection at one time. I sold that antenna about 2+ years later, and it was still like new. See https://mybroadband.co.za/news/wireless/584196-the-south-african-who-revolutionised-antenna-design.html #technology #southafrica #antennas #radio

Firefox continues Manifest V2 support as Chrome disables MV2 ad-blockers “Mozilla has renewed its promise to continue supporting Manifest V2 extensions alongside Manifest V3, giving users the freedom to use the extensions they want in their browser. Despite the intentions, Manifest V3 places restrictions on certain types of add-ons, like ad-blockers, that can render them less effective. As Manifest V3 enforcement is rolling out, extensions not compatible with it are being disabled from people's browsers, depriving users of the choice of functionality over risk.” I moved back to Firefox about a month ago, not due to the Manifest V3 roll out, but rather because the mouse right-click was broken on Brave browser (it kept triggering the menu actions when I released the mouse button). I can say that everything I need to do, works just fine on Firefox. It also has a very rich selection of extensions to choose from. Firefox actually had vertical tabs before Chrome did, which an extension implemented very well. Firefox, not being Chrome at all, is also a positive factor for many. See

BleepingComputer

Firefox continues Manifest V2 support as Chrome disables MV2 ad-blockers

Mozilla has renewed its promise to continue supporting Manifest V2 extensions alongside Manifest V3, giving users the freedom to use the extensions...

#technology #browsers

I monitor my home network by self-hosting ntopng - here’s how “If you’re into the server ecosystem, you may already have a couple of monitoring tools set up on your home lab. While Uptime Kuma and Prometheus + Grafana configurations have their perks, you’ll require something more advanced like ntopng to keep tabs on the network resources of your local server. Since ntopng can seem intimidating for newcomers, here’s a detailed guide on how you can deploy and use this neat utility to monitor every aspect of your home network.” Docker is of course not the only way to run this service. Mine actually installs as plugin on my OPNsense firewall appliance. Either ways, it is a really useful tool and some quite basic alerts can also be set to just warn you when any device is granted DHCP connectivity outside a range you have specified, e.g. unknown guest devices. It is especially useful for drilling down into what traffic flows from which interfaces or VLANs, who the top talkers are, what sites are being most visited, and I do like the GeoIP map showing where connections are being made to/from. It has also helped me identify which applications on a device were trying to access a specific port on my server's old IP address. This is otherwise difficult to do with basic port scanners that don't do packet inspection. See

XDA

I monitor my home network by self-hosting ntopng - here’s how

From analyzing your traffic to snooping on malicious devices connected to your network, ntopng can do it all!

#technology #networks #opensource

Clicks keyboard comes to Android to give your Galaxy, Pixel, or Moto that BlackBerry look “Remember Clicks? The iPhone keyboard accessory that can help you relive the early 2000s Blackberry charm? Yep, the slab-like case that gives you access to a physical QWERTY keyboard on your latest iOS device. Upon the accessory's initial launch, it was only available for the iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. However, it soon expanded to the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, and the iPhone 16 series. Now, a little over a year later, Clicks has its sights set on the Android market.” It looks like it will be coming out for the Motorola Razr (2024), Motorola Razr+ (2024), Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and the Samsung Galaxy S25. I suppose a challenge with Android for physical devices, whether camera lenses, lights, keyboards, etc is that there is no “standard Android size/shape”. But still, for many this might be quite welcome (or have today's users all got over losing their physical keyboards?). Initially, I was a bit frustrated when I had glitches or stutters with early on-screen keyboards, where the physical keyboards always just worked. But I have to say that was a long time ago. Today's on-screen keyboards are pretty smooth and fast, and of course will also apart their layout, theming, and lots more. That said, these Clicks keyboards do add a quite funky and quirky splash of colour to the phones, and look like they will also be quite good protectors for the phones themselves. See

Android Police

Clicks keyboard comes to Android to give your Galaxy, Pixel, or Moto that BlackBerry look

Remember Clicks? It's back, in Android form!

#technology #keyboards

9 hidden features in VLC you might not know about “If you're one of the millions who already know that VLC is one of the best media players around, maybe you also know a few of the hidden things on this list. But if you've never experienced one of the best open-source media players to replace Windows Media Player in your daily routine, you're in for a treat.” VLC is an amazing app with its cross-platform support, multilingual UI, and many features packed into it. I knew about the streaming option as I've used it to view my Wi-Fi cams before, but oddly enough, I always wondered about why there is no scrubbing options on the UI. Well, this article below put that wonder to rest — it's actually quite simple to scrub back and forth. I'd also never used the subtitle downloading before. See

XDA

9 hidden features in VLC you might not know about

Why use any other video player?

#technology #VLC

5 ways ZFS is superior to Btrfs for storing data “ZFS and Better File System (Btrfs) are two popular modern file systems. Both are designed with advanced storage features and offer snapshot capabilities, data integrity protection, and highly efficient storage management. However, ZFS has been the more reliable option for both personal and enterprise-level usage.” I found this interesting as I did try a switch to Btrfs myself a while ago, but seem to remember I had speed issues as well as an inflated storage requirement. I liked the concept though. It is something I want to revisit in the future again, but I'll probably give ZFS a more serious consideration then. Right now I'm back on EXT4 with daily mirrored backups to two separate locations, and a selected cloud backup of critical data. See

XDA

5 ways ZFS is superior to Btrfs for storing data

ZFS vs Btrfs? Check how ZFS is better in handling and storing your data than Btrfs

#technology #filesystems

What is a Home lab, and why tech enthusiasts should build one “With the ever-changing tech landscape, having hands-on experience is more valuable than ever. While textbooks, YouTube videos, and online courses provide a solid foundation, nothing beats the practical knowledge gained from working with real systems. That’s where the power of the home lab comes into play. It’s a dedicated space where you experiment with various software and hardware, including desktops, networking gear, and Chromebooks.” A home tech lab is not something that just appears overnight. It grows over quite a time. There is also no set way to do it, but the core of it is usually some form of self-hosting some services, whether on a humble Raspberry Pi, a mini-PC as a server, or a NAS. You start out with one thing, and you keep adding to it, and then upgrading parts as your lab grows. Apart from skills development, saving money by hosting at home, you also end up with lots of flexibility with what you do. Bear in mind though if you grant access to the outside world, you do introduce some risks if you have not got your firewall, reverse proxy, and other basic security set up properly (but that is part of the learning too). I just recently moved all my devices onto their own grouped VLANs. This improves their security as well as reducing lots of broadcasts across my network, but this was quite a bit more complex to do. If you think that any form of home lab is just unnecessary, think for a moment that if you are adding no-name Wi-Fi cameras, Wi-Fi switches, audio speakers, etc to your home network, that you do want to really separate those types of devices from your actual computers and phones and the network. See

Android Police

What is a Home lab, and why tech enthusiasts should build one

The secret weapon for tech careers

as well as this one about VLANs at

XDA

3 reasons you should you be using VLANs on your home network

Virtual LANs are excellent for creating the perfect network.

#technology #selfhosting #homelabs

I did notice with previous version that my phone's HEIC photos were not sharing. I coukd manually post them to Nostr, BlueSky and Mastodon tho. Hope this is fixed as my phones camera defaults to HEIC.

Wox is the open source Alfred alternative Windows users need to boost their productivity “Windows search is slow, frustrating, resource-intensive, and prone to burying the file you actually need under irrelevant results. With a built-in Bing search engine, it’s undoubtedly a common pain point for Windows users. And that's even before mentioning the full-screen takeover that disrupts your focus. Overall, it’s nowhere close to app launchers like Alfred, Raycast, and even Spotlight Search on Mac.” Many 3rd party alternatives are often more flexible than Windows' own built in tools. Wox has a plugin store to also extend its functionality a lot further. The biggest challenge for many is to overcome the muscle memory. You need to remember you have a tool like this, otherwise it falls into disuse. I'm frequently amazed at how much stuff I've installed, and completely forgotten about! See

XDA

Wox is the Alfred alternative Windows users need to boost their productivity

Wox will help you search, launch, and automate everything on Windows

#technology #opensource #productivity

6 reasons Darktable is better than Adobe Lightroom for hobbyist photo editors “This open-source photo editor offers professional-grade features without the subscription cost, making it an excellent option for everyday photographers who want to enhance their images without breaking the bank.” Darktable is an open source photography workflow application and raw developer. A virtual light table and darkroom for photographers. It manages your digital negatives in a database, lets you view them through a zoomable light table and enables you to develop raw images and enhance them. As it costs nothing, you really can't go wrong with trying it out. I also use digiKam a lot for my photo editing and organising. See

XDA

6 reasons Darktable is better than Adobe Lightroom for hobbyist photo editors

Why pay for Lightroom when Darktable does more?

#technology #opensource #photography

You can turn an old phone into a Stream Deck for your PC: here's how Macro Deck is an open source software to use your Android smartphone, tablet or almost any touch screen device with an internet browser as a simple macro pad or even as a powerful automation solution for streaming, gaming, content creation and more. This is just the companion app, so will you also need the Macro Deck application on your (Windows) PC. Another option similar to this, though, could be to use BitFocus Companion configured with a virtual Stream Deck. BitFocus has the application that will run on Linux, Windows or macOS, and similarly can be controlled by any remote device on the network with a browser. It may be more flexible than the Macro Deck solution as it is cross-platform. See

XDA

You can turn an old phone into a Stream Deck for your PC: here

You no longer need to give Elgato your money

#technology #opensource #streamdeck

#caturday

WikiTok is a Web App Is TikTok for Reading Wikipedia “WikiTok, which, as its name alludes to, is a web interface that combines TikTok and Wikipedia. Unlike traditional video-sharing platforms, WikiTok offers users a refreshing respite from the relentless algorithms that dominate our digital landscape. The web app delivers an article at random, with an engaging image filling the display. If something interests you, you can tap “Read More,” and then the full Wikipedia article will pop up in another window. If it doesn't catch your fancy, you scroll up, and another article will randomly appear.” I was just listening to a podcast today where a mother was talking about how her daughter telling her their school was taking away phones during the school day, and the daughter thought it was a good thing as “the kids addicted to TikTok are anyway unhappy” and this may give them a chance to recalibrate. WikiTok has no algorithm that is tailored to a person's interests. The articles are random, but at least it is real knowledge of a general nature, and without the addictive pull. It is a similar format in which it is presented, but without the algorithm, it also means that it will present articles of a broader interest. This option is web based, so you need to bookmark the link in the linked article below, or save it to the home screen to open using the browser similarly to an app. See

Lifehacker

This Web App Is TikTok for Reading Wikipedia

Make screentime a little more mindful with this algorithm-free web-based interface

#technology #WikiTok #TikTok #Wikipedia

Apple hearing aid feature now available in South Africa “South Africa’s hearing aid market might be in for a big shake-up: Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 hearing aid functionality is now available in South Africa. Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 were set apart from other Bluetooth earbuds in the market when US regulators last September approved their use as hearing aids, opening up a potentially lucrative new market for the California-based technology giant.” Yes, with hearing aids costing from R10k to R100k, even Apple AirPods will seem very cheap by comparison. The point of this functionality though is not just about amplifying sound (many ear buds can do that), but it is about assessing hearing loss and compensating properly for it. It is amazing this has taken so long to get to market if I think about own long we've had super cheap reading glasses available in discount pharmacy stores. For many, they just want “good enough” to use. See

TechCentral

Apple hearing aid feature now available in South Africa

South Africa’s hearing aid market might be in for a big shake-up.

#technology #southafrica #hearing #airpods