If you want good X, buy it from a company whose whole existence is predicated on providing good X

I try to choose products and services by that heuristic. That pretty much excludes all ad-supported platforms.

Here's an updating list of technology I like and would recommend. Trying to put my money where my mouth is, I've marked the ones I have paid/donated/am paying for with 🩶

Mobile apps

• Librera Reader 🩶
  • I actually salvaged an Android 4 tablet, managed to force it to 5 and then install this baby on it. Makes for a pretty good offline e-book reader
• Loop habit tracker
• Fossify mobile tools 🩶
  • Gallery, Calendar, Tasks...
• Feeder RSS reader
• Power Ampache 2 music player 🩶
• FlorisBoard
• Signal 🩶
  • also has a desktop app
• Firefox
  • listed here since I also recommend it on phones, but naturally it's also my desktop browser
  • 🩶 - donated to Mozilla for a while but as it turns out, hardly any of it goes to Firefox
  • Aaand apparently now Mozilla sells your data as well... Hurry up Orion 🙏

Web services

• Bear blog 🩶
  • this blogging platform right here! <3 Love the ethos and that the publishers pay for the platform instead of the readers
• Uruky 🩶
  • read what the experience was like when I switched from Kagi
• Pi-Hole 🩶
  • running this baby on a Raspberry Pi W Zero keeps me and mine protected from unwanted network traffic whenever we're connected to the home network
• Proton Pass 🩶
  • read what the experience was like when I switched from Bitwarden
• NextCloud (Hetzner Storage Share) 🩶
  • photos, documents, media
  • read what the experience was like when I moved my photos from Ente
• NoScript (browser extension)
  • I like blocking all js by default and only allowing what I want/need. This also visualizes perfectly the obscene amount of tracking and other bs that fills some sites
• UBlock Origin (browser extension)
• Tridactyl 🩶
  • vim in the browser? Outrageous! Works well with Teams and Outlook
• Xeovo when a VPN is required 🩶
  • I especially liked their simple signup

Stores and such

• Bandcamp
  • I'm trying to rebuild the 'library' I got used to over the many years of Spotify usage (stopped streaming in late 2023). It feels so nice to actually own the songs I love
• Humble Bundle constant stream of good book bundles (and games and software as well)
• Fanatical
  • they have really nice DRM-free ebook bundles now and then

PCs

• Freetube Youtube client
  • I must admit, it feels right to 'steal' from Google. I support the creators I follow via other ways (Patreon mostly) so I don't feel too bad about it
• Kubuntu
  • The default OS I'll first put on anything. Stays out of the way and Plasma is a very clean DE
• Steam Deck
  • the perfect handheld console for business trips etc. Also works as a proper PC when plugged to a USB dock

Work stuff

• Toggl Track time tracker
  • never ever impose this on your workers - the tracking is way too detailed to be used for good 😅 Only use it for personal tracking if you so desire
• NeoVim
  • I've moved to the dark side from Rider
• Skoruba IdentityServer Admin apps
  • Just an excellent piece of OS software. Wish it was easier to donate work money...
  • SustainSys SAML2 allows IS to work with SAML2
• MediatR
• EF Core Power Tools 🩶