Yeah I'm not super happy with Signal's level of openness, but I also wouldn't call it proprietary. It is open source and I could run my own server if I really wanted to, but that would just make it harder.
At the time we were moving from a walled garden to one of 3 encrypted OSS solutions, and I had all of them until we naturally coalesced on one.
SMS at the time didn't work due to not having cell service, and while we "have" RCS now to solve that issue, I don't know anyone who uses it.
Yes, this is correct.
I could not have used SMS for most of the day since I worked on the top floor of a multi-level basement. I had wifi and a VPN though.
At the time I moved to signal, Google Message, or chat or whatever was being replaced with Allo and Duo and everyone was pretty un-jazzed about the whole thing.
At the time I was changing to signal, I only had google messages on my desktop, so I would answer accumulated messages at home.
There was no cell service at work so SMS didn't work, but I could use wifi.
In modern times, we have RCS so it's kind of not really a problem anymore, but everyone I know uses signal now anyways.
I didn't make it hard, I got Telegram and Matrix and met people halfway where I could. But naturally everyone I know just settled on signal since it also did SMS so it replaced an app rather than added one. Plus id didn't feel like a "sign up" since it just worked. Those days are gone but the network effect is already chugging along.
I make the private option easier than the locked in version.
Homeassistant will let us see our locations, run lights, run media centers, control AC, etc. So why do you need Google Home or Google Maps Location Sharing?
Signal will let us chat over WIFI unlike texts, and I will answer it unlike a Google chat account. Before the SMS death it was easier since it did SMS and signal in one app, easier to convince someone if it can replace the old one and add new features.
I configure two SSIDs, one for things I trust and one for those I don't. I can run firewall rules and add security on the backend where they can't see it.
Tiktok you can run a campaign against it by saying it damages cognition, is harmful to youth, supports the CCP.
You can run a pi hole style filter list,ehich might break some stuff so you have to be willing to play tech support.
I don't know anything about kids but it couldn't hurt to teach them some simple skills like html so they get a taste for what's happening behind the scenes.
Microwaves mess up basically any food
The school district lawyers have to use whatever argument they think will work best to win the case, it is their duty to their client.
No matter how unreasonable a position it is.
Robot vacuums are something non-tech people love, then they use the app and they don't love it anymore haha.
Shout out to Valetudo, which saved the day on our chinese roombas.
I am not quite happy with how the current iteration of the documentation no longer supports DIYing the firmware, it is actually still possible and you don't have to use dustbuilder.