My other half has new Ultra, I have an older Ultra model. Stuff i find invaluable that she hasn’t used once:

• S Pen
• Modes & Routines
• Secure folder
• DeX (to a lesser degree than the above)

I try to use my phone as a Swiss army knife. Stuff I rely on that most normal users likely dont realise their phone can do:

• Using Kodi the phone becomes fully fledged mobile media player. Great for vacations in case of poor weather (in conjunction with HDMI lead, controller/wireless keyboard)
• OsmAnd navigation has an offline Wikipedia plugin. I set up a shortcut in it so i can display/hide all wiki entries nearby. Brilliant when on vacation
• All my main apps will work offline in case of data outage: navigation, notes, password manager, books, music, podcasts, media etc etc
• Password manager has more uses than simply handling passwords
• Playing video sites in the background …with a timer if desired
• Browser with uBlock “etc”
• Manipulation of .pdf files
• A good launcher. Mine is always set up the same regardless of device - I can access any app within 2 swipes & 2 taps
• A good car dock
• Most don’t realise that a simple DNS entry can help reduce the amount of ads they see
• All manner of nerdy tech shit to interact with stuff on my network. No normal human needs to know that this usage factor exists

And most importantly …using the camera in landscape so images/video can be viewed properly on a TV or monitor. And not using digital zoom in the dark to record an entire concert from row Q

Simplest option is probably speak to sales staff & specifically ask about the set up process. It might be worth phoning a couple of reputable TV vendors as they may have more understanding than the spotty herberts in the sheds at the local retail park.

I last bought a TV outside of your preferred time frame but back then Panasonic made, what for my needs, was the best panel for the price & didnt insist on having internet in order to set it up (no idea whether this has changed with current generation models)

It doesnt help with your hdmi concerns, but what about blocking the TV at router level or restrict it by putting it on VLAN/guest network then disconnecting it from the internet forever once set up.is complete?

For images, on Android you could use Imagepipe.

Once you’ve set it up, simply “share” the image to Imagepipe, it does its thing then automatically passes it on to whatever app you want - for example a messaging app for you to send on to others (it stores a copy of the image minus its metadata in an Imagepipe folder in your gallery for ease of access should you need it again).

For video, from memory I think mp3tag for Windows/Mac can remove metadata from some video formats

mobile Chromium doesn’t have ublock anyway…

Kiwi browser on Android is Chromium based & has had the ability to add extensions such as uBlock for years

Ha I once fell for this same issue with the exact same bars. To be fair they’re so darn tasty I’ve fallen for it again several times since!

Late to the party but just another vote for Nextcloud. I used a paid subscription initially but then took the plunge, bought a Pi 4 & SSD for storage then read up & figured out how to self host.

It was my first experience with Linux, I fell over many times but dont give in as after all the hair pulling & teeth grinding it becomes rewarding & even a little “fun” when you get there & then become confident enough to take on & complete further Pi projects.

The Pi can handle Libre Office (synced through Nextcloud, handled on mobile by Collabora Office).

Whilst you’re at it, why not sync the notes you’ll inevitability make on your self hosting journey through your Nextcloud instance? Try Joplin & do away with Google Docs, Evernote etc into the bargain

I really like it. Tech comminities & some others are very bouyant & interesting but niche communities really struggle. Even direct replacements of big subreddits struggle. Hopefully this improves.

One tip from my own experience. I use Voyager & blocked a load of US politics keywords.

And another, I subscribed to as many interesting Lemmy communities as i could then browse Home feed in the main & occasionally All to see if any other interesting communities crop up that could be worth joining.

Welcome & enjoy.

Like others I used Liftoff but had to move on when API broke it & dev is getting on with real life stuff.

Moved to Voyager. It’s good but as an android I still find it a bit strange using what looks like iOS interface. I still get a bit lost when uploading a post & usually have to edit it a few times. No biggie, maybe I should post more & get used it it 😃

I still miss the Joey app from the other place.

Came here since the Reddit 3rd party app fiasco. Initially I blocked a load of non English language communities which at the time seemed to fill the All feed. Kept adding to my subscribed communities list then in my app (Voyager after Liftoff stopped being developed) blocked a load of keywords, essentially Trump/US politics related.

Now my Home (subscriptions) feed has some great content. I check out All from time to time to see if I can subscribe to more communities.

Niche communities are still lacking but hopefully that improves over time.

Gilbert O’Sullivan - Alone Again must rank amongst the saddest & also most beautiful

Ah fair enough. This never occurred to me as we dont have a power socket in the bathroom. Also I’m a typical man so didn’t bother to read the instruction manual.

My Philips shaver does not work whilst charging. What’s that all about?

Luckily the battery is good but it gives very little warning when its about to run out. I dont grow facial hair very quickly or very thickly but several times I’ve had to leave the house partially shaved. Doesn’t make any sense. That’s the whole point of electricity, to use stuff whilst plugged in!

I dunno if TV is dead per se as we all enjoy watching shows/movies. Not really interested in gimmicks - we only have 4K as all new TV’s are 4K & we only got it because our previous TV failed & they can no longer be repaired.

All i want is a good quality dumb screen. You can stick all your smart features where the sun dont shine, I’ll handle everything via a separate box that I control thank you. I’ll not be at the mercy of your shitty EULA, you won’t monitor my viewing habits or force ads into the UI or remove your dogshit apps without warning. Our TV has never been online, HTPC with a couple of USB TV tuners, uBlock Origin, an interface of my choosing, remote control & lots of storage handles everything. Still perfectly happy watching SD stuff, the only 4K we watch is YouTube.

I never had any issues before with cheap HDMI leads over a short distance, so just to throw something else into the mix for consideration - 4k & cable length. My scenario was getting 4K picture on TV from HTPC (home theatre PC, a PC based media player) via a Dolby Atmos compatible amp. Cable length approx 10m.

Standard HDMI cables tend to be labelled as “HDMI 2.0/a/b compatible for 4k at 60Hz”. I bought several of these cables & had same issues with all of them - they would not display image on TV (though mysteriously they displayed an image if a games console was used rather than the HTPC). They sell them in all kinds of lengths but in my experience they dont work beyond about 5m.

Close to giving in, I bought a 10m “active” HDMI optical lead which is directional - one end is labelled source & the other end labelled display.

First one I bought worked perfectly.

Another vote for Voyager which caters for blocking of keywords. And thanks to whoever posted the US politics block list. Can’t upvote as I can no longer see their post.

This is what I do (assuming OP is on Android?).

You could use Github & Obtainium rather than F-Droid (faster updates for when the Muskrat dicks about with Twitter api again).

Or Mastodon. I like Megalodon

The days before everything became enshittiffied, before 6 or 7 giant corps took over, the days before social media became a cesspit of slanging matches & false lifestyles, the days when search engines worked & displayed what you searched for not what they think you want to see, the days before shitty algorithms clogged your feeds up endlessly with shit that you searched for once during a conversation you had with someone at work, the days where news sites showed news headlines not bullshit clickbait lies, the days before evil corps tracked every move you make, the days before you were forced to have a shitty app for everything.

The days when going online was fun & interesting. I hope Lemmy continues to bring back some of that fun!

Kiwi browser (Brave & Firefox on desktop) with: uBlock Origin, Sponsorblock, DeArrow (fights YouTube clickbait thumbs & titles, same dev team as Sponsorblock), Violentmonkey with a few scripts: Google Shut Up, Search cookie auto reject

If you’re an Android, Kiwi Browser has an option to remove AMP (use direct website over AMP version)

Windows, free, not well known/talked about?

Hands down qttabbar. Adds tabbed browsing to Explorer. Absolutely no idea why this isnt built into Windows, I’ve used it for some years & hate using a Window machine without it.

More well known:

• Joplin. Markdown note taking app. Also has a portable version (I use this over the .exe version). Can be set up to sync with your other (multi OS) devices
• ShareX. Screenshot clipper. Has a learning curve but the initial pain is worth it. Greenshot is a good portable alternative
• TeraCopy. File transfer tool. Much faster & far more reliable than Explorer copy/paste
• Everything. File search utility. Use this once & you’ll absolutely hate having to endure using the built in Explorer search. Also has a portable version