Easier said than done, especially as there are more models that don’t have any sort of support for those OSs than models that do.

This is a big hurdle. I had to buy a different phone to install a custom ROM. I bought it used, but even so still fairly expensive. And an extra cost can be a limiting factor too.

Not to mention the hassle to even enable the option to flash it and risk of bricking

GrapheneOS has a webUSB installer that is very easy to use. I would argue it eliminates the hassle. Bricking is still a risk.

Worse, banking apps may refuse to work.

I don’t use banking apps on my phone. I don’t like having anything installed that has access to money. I just access my financial institutions via their website. But I acknowledge they may fill some need others have that I do not. And that not everyone has access to a computer to access websites , and I can see banks trying to force app use when accessing from a mobile browser.

TIL about Citizen Eco-Drive watches. Looked them up. I like them!

I’ll try living that mechanical watch life first, but if I have the same irritations, could see me going the same route.

I just ordered a mechanical watch. Primarily because I think they’re cool, but it not even having a battery feels as far away from a smartwatch as you can get to me, and I like that too.

Not that some of the “they’re simply*” options are entirely incorrect for me, But nerd and/or geek is definitely a more apt descriptor.

I’ve been blocking communities that post news. It’s a bit of a heavy lift at first because there are quite a lot. But my all feed is now a fairly pleasant place and there’s still a decent amount of content. I don’t expect it’ll be much effort to maintain, either.

Almost any distro will work for pretty much all of that. Only potentially limiting thing I see there I don’t think that the Mullvad VPN client is generally available within distro repositories. Their site says it has clients available for Ubuntu, Debian, and Fedora. So perhaps pick from one of those?

For the steam link question, I know if I have a game running on my desktop it presents me the option to stream to my laptop (both Linux machines). I assume this is the same functionality. I don’t use it so can’t speak to how well it works.

Edit: It occurs to me this comment lacks a recommendation. Within the three listed supported distros for Mullvad, I think I’d recommend Fedora for you. Been some years since I used it last but I remember the installer being fairly robust and intuitive while still easy to use, and a pretty rock solid system once it’s up and running.

https://github.com/woheller69/FreeDroidWarn#solutions

Here’s a copy/paste, sans hyperlinks:

Developer verification will be enforced on certified devices with Google Play Services installed, which is the majority of Android devices. There are options to bypass the restriction:

• Use a free, uncensored Android system like /e/os, LineageOS, or GrapheneOS that does not preinstall Google Play Services.
• “Degoogle” by removing Google Play Services. If it is a system app, you can uninstall it using ADB.
• Install apps via ADB. Google has already confirmed that ADB will continue to work in the future. You can either use ADB from a PC as described below or use a wireless ADB based installer like anyapk.

OpenBSD on an old office PC I picked up from University surplus.

You don’t need an NVR. The camera supports a microSD card to store footage. It also supports FTP upload.

HomeAssistant isn’t required. It is supported and I do have it configured.

I have next to no recollection of how UniFi works so I can’t speak to that. Mine is connected to a 2.4GHz WiFi network. IIRC that’s all it supports. Might be different with newer models.

It also supports HTTP(S)/RTMP/RTSP/ONVIF streaming. Though I tend to just use the app (and I’m particular about installing apps) as I find it quite usable.

I bought a Ubiquity router once because a friend was raving about it. It crapped out on me after maybe 6 months? Will never buy their hardware again.

I’m using a Reolink doorbell camera and am happy with it so far. Had it for about two years.

My last PC I ran for, I’d guess, 7 years. Built a new one about a year ago.

I could see upgrading the GPU in a few years. But otherwise I’ll probably run it until it breaks. Hardware has a pretty long useful life these days. Assuming you don’t run an OS that pushes planned obsolescence.

Here’s an HDD synth project for that very thing I saw the other day! Though probably won’t work for your use case, admittedly. It’s intended for retro systems and goes in an ISA slot, and isn’t available for sale yet anyway.

YouTube video: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sASOfpzPjxg

Project page: https://www.strifestreams.com/hddsynth

I have a PC that I use as a router. It’s power setup is inverter > lifepo4 battery > battery charger. Relevance here is that it’s a “dumb” setup insofar as the PC can’t manage the battery.

What I did to help with battery health is figured out how long the battery should run the PC and have a scheduled disconnect of the mains power for about half that time once a day. Not as good a solution as something that can maintain a ~80% charge, but better than leaving it at 100%

It’d work for an old laptop too, and can be accomplished with a cheap aquarium light timer.