u/Tight_Couture344

I am trying to de-Google/de-Microsoft right now and I was excited to see Proton debut Sheets, marketed as "New" (but not "Beta"). I don't do anything crazy with my Google Sheets, it's mainly just straightforward mathematical formulas and at worst, vlookups.

But wow, I spent this weekend trying to migrate 3 sheets, running into endless bugs. I've reported 9 different issues this weekend alone.

I get it, it's new. I've also worked my entire career at tech startups, so I know that moving quickly risks bugs, especially for a new product launch. But, this really should have been marketed as beta. "Usable" would be a stretch.

Now, I'm pretty committed to de-Googling, so I spent my time working around every bug I found to get my most frequently used Sheets working. And I'll continue to do so, reporting issues as I go. I just really hope the update that's coming this week delivers a lot of fixes for formulas and functionality that really should be working for a non-beta "stable" product (like paste special and dragging formulas not adjusting reference cells correctly).

Disclaimer: I am not a developer and ChatGPT has guided me through setting up my VM and attempting to set up the Drive CLI. Apologies if there are obvious things that I'm not catching.

I’m trying to use the official Proton Drive CLI on a headless Ubuntu Server VM for automated backups. The CLI itself installs and runs, but authentication fails when it tries to store the session in the Linux secret store. The server has no desktop environment.

Environment:

Ubuntu Server ARM64 VM
Headless / SSH-only
Proton Drive CLI installed
libsecret-1-0 and libsecret-tools installed
gnome-keyring and dbus-user-session installed

When running:

proton-drive auth login

I can open the browser login URL on another device and complete the login, but the CLI then fails with:

error: Object does not exist at path “/org/freedesktop/secrets/collection/login” (code: 19)
code: "ERR_SECRETS_PLATFORM_ERROR"

Testing secret-tool directly gives the same underlying issue:

secret-tool store --label="test secret" test proton-drive-test

returns:

secret-tool: Object does not exist at path “/org/freedesktop/secrets/collection/login”

I also tried running GNOME Keyring as a user systemd service, but it either hangs during startup or fails to create/use the expected login collection.

My questions:

1. Is the Proton Drive CLI currently supported for fully headless Linux servers?
2. Is there a recommended setup for the required Linux secret store on Ubuntu Server without a desktop environment?
3. Is there a supported way to authenticate the CLI for scheduled/cron backups without GNOME Keyring or KWallet?
4. If the CLI requires a desktop-style secret service, is server/headless backup automation not currently a supported use case?

My goal is simple scheduled backup automation: create Radicale backup archives on the server and upload them to Proton Drive.

Hi all, just looking for some feedback on my overall plan. My objective is to remove Google and Microsoft from my personal tech stack as completely as possible, while tolerating Apple where necessary. I use an iPhone, as does my spouse, and that part is non-negotiable, so I’m not trying to be perfectly anti-Apple. I’m mainly trying to stop depending on Google and Microsoft and remove my data from their servers completely.

Here’s my current high-level plan:

Domain	Current	Replacement / Plan	Caveats / notes
Desktop OS	macOS	Linux as primary laptop OS	iPhone remains & Mac is secondary laptop, so some Apple services stay.
Email	Gmail / Outlook / Proton	Proton Mail (with custom domain)	Migration is underway
Calendar	Apple Calendar (personal + shared)	Radicale CalDAV on home Linux server, synced to iPhone + Thunderbird	iCloud calendar for shared cal with spouse
Contacts	Google Contacts / Outlook Contacts / iCloud Contacts / Proton Contacts	CardDAV/Radicale	iOS and Thunderbird as clients, Proton is only mail contacts
Tasks / reminders	Apple Reminders	Testing CalDAV/VTODO/Radicale	Apple Reminders may stay because I use Siri heavily.
Files / cloud storage	OneDrive / Google Drive / iCloud Drive	Proton Drive for archive files; Syncthing/Möbius for active daily-use files	Waiting for a proper Proton Drive Linux sync client.
Documents / office files	Excel / Google Docs / Google Sheets	ONLYOFFICE for Office files; Proton Docs/Sheets for lighter cloud docs
Notes	Apple Notes	Standard Notes for simple/personal notes; Apple Notes for rich/collaborative spouse notes	Happy spouse, happy house
Browser	Brave	Brave	Already using Brave.
Search	Brave	Brave	Recently switched from DuckDuckGo to test
Maps	Google Maps	Apple Maps	Functionality matters most here, so I’m tolerating Apple.
Messaging	Apple Messages/SMS, Telegram, some WhatsApp	Signal for those who will switch; keep Messages/SMS and Telegram where unavoidable	Network effects make this hard. Goal is to use Apple Messages only for SMS
Music	Apple Music	Keep Apple Music	Free from my Sapphire Reserve and I don't need it outside my phone
Passwords / passkeys	1Password	Continue 1Password	Might try out Proton Pass
MFA / backup codes	KeePassXC + Strongbox via Syncthing/Möbius	Current setup works; may consolidate into 1Password
Photos	iCloud Photos	iCloud Photos	Not a priority right now

The biggest unresolved areas are Calendars, Contacts, Reminders/tasks, and whether CardDAV/CalDAV via something like Radicale and a local Linux server will ultimately work.

Maybe someday I'll try the GrapheneOS thing, but my spouse is very against moving away from Apple and I'm not looking to get a divorce. Admittedly, I do like Apple and between Google, MSFT, and Apple, I find them the least objectionable in terms of business practices. Still, I want to reduce my dependence where I can and focus Apple Services on places where I need to collaborate/share with my spouse.

Would appreciate thoughts, especially from anyone who has successfully de-Googled/de-Microsofted while still using an iPhone.

I am a normal, everyday computing user. I basically only use my laptop for web browsing, web apps, and Excel. That’s 99% of my use. I am not a gamer, not a developer, and not a “creative” (no need for video or image editing software).

I just ordered a Dell XPS 13 9350 pre-installed with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, officially supported by Dell/Canonical. My primary goal is to have modern/premium hardware running an optimized version of Linux where I can expect most things to “just work”, including the fingerprint reader and basics like sleep, wifi, bluetooth, audio, etc.

That said, I’m a tinkerer at heart. In my past, I’ve unlocked bootloaders and flashed alternative AOSP distros and played around with various Linux distros on older hardware (I’ve currently got Ubuntu 26.04 running on my 2017 retina Macbook 12”). Point is, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I intend this to be a stable machine for my actual daily use, so any tinkering I do would be in a separate partition.

So, my question… I like being on the latest versions of things. With 26.04 LTS out, my natural inclination is to upgrade the pre-installed 24.04 LTS to the newer one. BUT I also don’t want to compromise on hardware compatibility. Is there much risk to this? How likely is it that things might break (irreparably without restoring 24.04) if I upgrade to the “unsupported” 26.04? Will the Dell/Canonical-blessed drivers carry over with an in-place upgrade?

Anything else I should consider?

I am a normal, everyday computing user. I basically only use my laptop for web browsing, web apps, and Excel. That’s 99% of my use. I am not a gamer, not a developer, and not a “creative” (no need for video or image editing software).

I just ordered a Dell XPS 13 9350 pre-installed with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, officially supported by Dell/Canonical. My primary goal is to have modern/premium hardware running an optimized version of Linux where I can expect most things to “just work”, including the fingerprint reader and basics like sleep, wifi, bluetooth, audio, etc.

That said, I’m a tinkerer at heart. In my past, I’ve unlocked bootloaders and flashed alternative AOSP distros and played around with various Linux distros on older hardware (I’ve currently got Ubuntu 26.04 running on my 2017 retina Macbook 12”). Point is, I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, but I intend this to be a stable machine for my actual daily use, so any tinkering I do would be in a separate partition.

So, my question… I like being on the latest versions of things. With 26.04 LTS out, my natural inclination is to upgrade the pre-installed 24.04 LTS to the newer one. BUT I also don’t want to compromise on hardware compatibility. Is there much risk to this? How likely is it that things might break (irreparably without restoring 24.04) if I upgrade to the “unsupported” 26.04? Will the Dell/Canonical-blessed drivers carry over with an in-place upgrade?

Anything else I should consider?

I’ve been getting deep into trying to revive my old 2017 12” Retina MacBook by slapping Linux on it. It’s been a lot of fun, but ultimately doomed because the battery is garbage and not worth replacing.

I’m not new to Linux, and I am technically capable, but it’s been over a decade since I last used it. I’m also not an engineer, nor a content creator, nor a gamer.

What I’m trying to determine for myself is if I want to invest in a real, more modern laptop to see if I could really make Linux my personal daily driver. Honestly, it’s mainly just out of curiosity and interest - no other compelling reason. (My current MacBook Pro is fine, but it’s getting older and since it’s M2, only supports one distro with somewhat limited support.)

But every single review on YouTube and on most review sites/blogs is 90% dominated by choosing a distro then barely mentioning anything other than gaming and video editing.

I get it, the Venn diagram of people who produce “trying Linux” content and people who are PC gamers + content creators is probably just a circle. But it really tells me absolutely nothing about how good you’ve found the alternatives to Excel to be, especially if you’re syncing via OneDrive. Or how the open source mail clients work for you vs Apple Mail or Outlook.

And it’s almost always from the perspective of coming from Windows. It’s been longer since I’ve run Windows than Linux. What I want to know is how you’ve found the spotlight alternatives, or Airdrop alternatives. Yes, I could research what all these alternatives are, but I like to watch/read reviews from people who have actually experienced the switch and tried.

Anyway, just a rant as I’m trying to decide whether or not to buy a new laptop.

I'm looking to buy a machine specifically only to run Linux. I'm tech-capable, but not an engineer.

I’m looking for the best build quality for the lowest cost. My initial instinct was to look for a machine that came pre-installed with Linux with official OEM support. That led me to the 2025 Dell XPS 13. But I also saw the new XPS 13 that was just announced at a lower price point. From what I gather, the pros/cons are:

- XPS 13 (2025): “official” Linux support, better processor. But worse keyboard, trackpad, function row.
- New XPS 13 (2026): slightly cheaper and better keyboard, trackpad, function row.

If I upgrade the new XPS RAM to 16 GB, the prices are basically the same, so it's not a price-driven decision ($50 unless I can find a student to buy the new one for me...). And I'd be wiping Windows unless there's a compelling reason to dual-boot.

Is there any real advantage to having "official" support for Ubuntu? Does that mean that machine has drivers specifically developed for it (fingerprint, audio, suspend/hibernate, etc) by Dell/Canonical and therefore more stable? Would those drivers be useful for any distro I put on it if I don't keep their build of Ubuntu?

I haven't actually tested the keyboards or touchpads myself, so I can't say for certain, but if the poor reviews are to be believed, is the "official" support and the better processor worth the tradeoff? What would you do?

Following up on my recent post (https://www.reddit.com/r/linux\_on\_mac/s/ajEGk096U8) about issues running Lubuntu LXQt on my Retina Macbook 12” 2017, I’m asking the age-old question: which distro?

I’m asking this rather than just reading and picking another because this machine is, to my understanding, appreciably different from the Macbook Air and Pro models from the same era. It’s running a Kaby Lake CPU (Core i5-7Y54) processor rather than the U-series Intel chips in the Airs and Pros. It also has a non-standard screen size (2304 x 1440), used only in this model.

On Lubuntu, I was able to get the basics working: wifi, audio, trackpad. But the major issues left are:

- No suspend or hibernate (have to manually boot & shut down every time I use it)
- Poor scaling (different apps display at different sizes, tiny click targets, gigantic icons, wonky app header bars, etc)

First question: has anyone found a good distro for this model specifically? I suspect not, so I’ll ask my second question: given all that, what would y’all recommend?

I can deal with poor scaling if necessary, but not being able to close the lid and reopen it is kind’ve a deal breaker.

I’m trying to revive an old Retina Macbook 12" from 2017. It's long unsupported by Apple and I wouldn't mind having a smaller machine to travel with vs my current Macbook Pro.

But the hardware and system resources are...mediocre:

* Intel Core i5-7Y54 (Kaby Lake, ultra-low power, dual-core mobile processor)
* 16 GB RAM
* 256 GB storage

All in all, that wouldn't be a deal-breaker. But, I've been fighting with Lubuntu LXQt to get suspend or hibernate working and I've basically accepted the fact that neither will work. And it cannot seem to figure out how to properly scale for the 2304 × 1440 pixel display (226 ppi) without individually scaling individual apps and hardcoding window header sizes.

Now, I'm not a software engineer, but I'm tech capable. I'm willing to try different configs, kernels, flavors necessary to get this machine in a functioning state. But I wonder if I'm chasing an unrealistic dream given how unique this specific machine is.

I'm trying to revive an old Retina Macbook 12" from 2017. It's long unsupported by Apple and I wouldn't mind having a smaller machine to travel with vs my current Macbook Pro.

But the hardware and system resources are...mediocre:

• Intel Core i5-7Y54 (Kaby Lake, ultra-low power, dual-core mobile processor)
• 16 GB RAM
• 256 GB storage

All in all, that wouldn't be a deal-breaker. But, I've been fighting with Lubuntu LXQt to get suspend or hibernate working and I've basically accepted the fact that neither will work. And it cannot seem to figure out how to properly scale for the 2304 × 1440 pixel display (226 ppi) without individually scaling individual apps and hardcoding window header sizes. (Not to mention audio doesn't work without headphones...but I'm not worrying about that at the moment, that's probably fixable.)

Now, I'm not a software engineer, but I'm tech capable. I'm willing to try different configs, kernels, flavors necessary to get this machine in a functioning state. But I wonder if I'm chasing an unrealistic dream given how unique this specific machine is.

Context: I’ve only been using Macbooks for the last 10 years. But, I’m also a tech enthusiast and have, in my time, had many different devices from phones to laptops and I like to try out new things. I generally prefer to use stock versions of operating systems and was an early tester of Windows 8 when it was in beta and an early adopter of the original Surface tablet.

I’d like to pick up one of the new Surface laptops just to get reacquainted with Windows and see what the OS and the “best” hardware available can do. It wouldn’t be my primary machine and for the purpose of this discussion, let’s set aside the cost issue.

So, ignoring the price, my question would be: does it make sense to get the Surface Laptop 8 now or would you wait until 2027 to (hopefully) see where Microsoft is going with the next version/iteration of Windows?

I know Microsoft hasn’t announced anything and there’s no guarantee that anything will come in 2027 beyond additional Windows 11 enhancements, but I’m not in a hurry and if there’s a good enough chance that the 2027 hardware will be built for the next Windows version AND get the benefit of an additional year of Windows on the ARM architecture, perhaps that makes the most sense anyway?

Being a Macbook Pro user, I’m really picky about build quality and, in particular, trackpads. I tested out the Surface Laptop 8 at Best Buy over the weekend and I was really impressed by how much better it was vs 10 years ago. I didn’t do an extensive test, but it felt basically on par with the Mac. For me, this is more important than price.

Context: I’ve only been using Macbooks for the last 10 years. But, I’m also a tech enthusiast and have, in my time, had many different devices from phones to laptops and I like to try out new things. I generally prefer to use stock versions of operating systems and was an early tester of Windows 8 when it was in beta and an early adopter of the original Surface tablet.

I’d like to pick up one of the new Surface laptops just to get reacquainted with Windows and see what the OS and the “best” hardware available can do. It wouldn’t be my primary machine and for the purpose of this discussion, let’s set aside the cost issue.

So, ignoring the price, my question would be: does it make sense to get the Surface Laptop 8 now or would you wait until 2027 to (hopefully) see where Microsoft is going with the next version/iteration of Windows?

I know Microsoft hasn’t announced anything and there’s no guarantee that anything will come in 2027 beyond additional Windows 11 enhancements, but I’m not in a hurry and if there’s a good enough chance that the 2027 hardware will be built for the next Windows version AND get the benefit of an additional year of Windows on the ARM architecture, perhaps that makes the most sense anyway?

Being a Macbook Pro user, I’m really picky about build quality and, in particular, trackpads. I tested out the Surface Laptop 8 at Best Buy over the weekend and I was really impressed by how much better it was vs 10 years ago. I didn’t do an extensive test, but it felt basically on par with the Mac. For me, this is more important than price.

Having never been to the Admiral’s Club at LAX, I’m not sure if I should use one of 4 passes (from the AA Globe card) there or just go to the Centurion lounge.

Anyone here have an opinion? It will be early morning (7am ish)

I’ll be taking my first AA flight out of LAX this week (have really only flown Delta until now). I don’t yet know which terminal I’ll be out of, but I’m assuming it’ll be somewhere on the 4/5/6 side. Given the construction, is it still possible to get from there to TBIT on foot (airside)?

Mainly wondering just in case we want to hit up the Centurion lounge. Thanks!

This is a ridiculous complaint, I'm fully aware. But I used to love optimizing my spend. As you can see from my flair, P2 & I have a lot of cards. We had a hyper-optimized setup for every category.

But then came the BILT Palladium, which ruined the fun. We are not high spenders and we have a mortgage high enough that we're often times at or just below 75% of housing costs with our everyday spend. When combined with our unplanned spikes in spend (car repairs, vacation spend, etc) and the $200 annual BILT Cash bonus, we're earning enough BILT Cash to:

Given all this, plus the Rent Day bonuses, we're landing at around 3.5x-4x average effective return on all spend. That has decimated our optimized setup. It negates every single 3x and below card. And because we value BILT points significantly higher than Amex/C1/WF, it beats the 4x they currently or may ever offer on any card (for now, mainly the Amex Gold/Biz Gold).

In terms of everyday activity, that only leaves:

• Strata Elite: 6x dining on Citi Nights (we have this instead of the Strata Premier because the credits better cover the AF)
• 2x Custom Cashes: 5x on groceries and fitness/gym (both maxed out)
• OG Freedom: 5x rotating categories

Then there's the automatic and/or occasional use:

• Amex Plat: 5x on Delta flights booked using a companion pass (requires Amex)
  • Plus any retail purchases we want strong/easy purchase/return/extended warranty protections on
• CSR: 4x on all other flights, plus hotels
• Venture X for Costco in-store, CSP for Costco Gas
  • We don't want to deal with shop cards

My spouse has been in the habit of frequently asking me "what card do I use for X?" But now, every time, the answer is "Palladium." How boring.

ETA: In all seriousness, the Palladium has greatly simplified a lot of our spend and we’re enjoying that for sure. But I do miss the little things, like using the CSP for 3x at Whole Foods via QR…feeling like I’ve gotten away with a loophole.

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone here has booked a (non-basic economy) flight via Amex Travel with your AAdvantage number associated (so it shows in your AA account) and was able to modify or cancel the it directly through AA. I'm looking at booking a flight through Amex Travel using MR, but I may need to adjust the dates or cancel it.

(I would normally prefer to book direct, but I have a ton of Membership Rewards points to burn and booking via a oneworld partner award would not earn LPs.)

Hi all, I am wondering if anyone here has booked via a third party with your AAdvantage number associated (so it shows in your AA account) and was able to modify or cancel the reservation (not basic economy) directly through AA. I'm looking at booking a flight through Amex Travel using Membership Rewards points, but I may need to adjust the dates or cancel it.

(I would normally prefer to book direct, but I have a ton of Membership Rewards points to burn and booking via a oneworld partner award would not earn LPs.)

I needed a quick handyman job. I have an issue with a promo code and I wanted to call support. On hold for 10+ minutes twice and both times, a muffled sound happens like someone picking up a phone, then silence, then disconnect.

Whatever horrible outsourced phone support farm they’ve chosen are just faking being busy and then not answering calls.

Absolutely wild.

I was very excited to see AA add a nonstop between LAX and CLE since I'm based in LA but have family in Cleveland. I'll be taking that route in a couple weeks in fact.

But I was looking into flights next year (I'm one of those insane people who book a year in advance) and it appears the nonstop route availability ends April 5, 2027. I know AA suspended this route along with a few others later this year for a couple months due to fuel prices, but it picks up again into early 2027 through April 5.

I'm new to AA and unfamiliar with how they handle new route schedules in terms of bookability. Anyone know if this suggests it will actually end April 5, 2027 or if it's just a normal process and (assuming it's not entirely cancelled), it would start to be available later?

Thanks!

ETA: I *can* book past April 5, it’s just that the nonstop is not there, only connecting itineraries.