Post · bonfire.cafe

My ongoing effort to de-Apple the iPad

As someone who had come to prefer using an iPad for all of my computing the switch to GNU/Linux was an unexpected turn but one that has been far better than expected. Delightful even. But, seven months in, a laptop is still a laptop with a permanently attached keyboard and no multi-touch screen. There's no denying it, I have missed the experience of using a detachable touch screen computer...
#Apple #FreeSoftware #iPad #GNU #Linux
https://beardystarstuff.net/posts/2025-09-24.html

Robert

@ro@mastodon.nl replied · 2 weeks ago

@dennyhenke For syncthing on iPad you might also have a look at Synctrain. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/synctrain/id6553985316

Beardy Star Stuff

@dennyhenke@social.coop replied · 2 weeks ago

@ro

Thanks, I'll have a look!

Mark Stoneman

@markstoneman@zirk.us replied · 2 weeks ago

@dennyhenke What about Vivaldi? Seems good, though I only use it occasionally. As far as using a tablet with Linux, I wonder if a used Microsoft Surface could be repurposed. Or is the problem not getting software onto hardware but getting software that uses touch onto such hardware?

Beardy Star Stuff

@dennyhenke@social.coop replied · 2 weeks ago

@markstoneman Vivaldi is a no go because it's as proprietary as Apple and no more private or secure. That said, I just took another look at privacy tests and the DuckDuckGo browser may be the better option in terms of privacy and Apache License... so a bit more open. Not sure I've tried that one!

A used Surface, yeah, that's an idea. I'll have to look into that at some point, thanks for mentioning it!

https://privacytests.org/ios

Which browsers are best for privacy?

An open-source privacy audit of popular web browsers.

Chris Geoghooligan

@VTDARKSIM@toot.community replied · 2 weeks ago

@dennyhenke oh man, I was reaaaaally hoping you’d found a way to replace an iPad iOS with a form of #Linux. Good work though. De-mega-giant-ing is difficult. I’ve found it much easier to purge Amazon & Google (although I’m still at ~90% there, stupid Gmail & calendars) & use open-source and/or E2EE-apps like Ente, Signal, Bitwarden, Proton, etc. Microsoft and Apple are so much harder to quit.

Beardy Star Stuff

@dennyhenke@social.coop replied · 2 weeks ago

@VTDARKSIM I WISH!! I suspect/hope that before that happens a reputable company like Framework might release a tablet with a replaceable battery. I hope to get 7+ years out of the M2 iPad Pro so I can wait. Even just an alt app store would be an improvement... and alt web rendering engines.

I think even just making the effort, taking steps is worth celebrating. Have you written or about your process and what's working for you? I think the more we talk about it the better to encourage others.

Chris Geoghooligan

@VTDARKSIM@toot.community replied · 2 weeks ago

@dennyhenke I have a personal 2018 iPad that’s pretty much unusable now with iOS bloat, and a company-assigned one that is also almost unusable because it is 64GB & the iOS takes up 12GB+ alone 🙄

I haven’t written recently, but I cranked out a poorly crafted missive late last year or early this year. I think it’s pinned to the top of my bio. I probably need to update it and make it less apocalyptic while I’m at it.

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