My guideline for choosing free and open source softwares is functionality and liberty.
First, operating system.
For desktop, Linux can do daily work perfactly (see 《完全用 Gnu/Linux 工作》1). Distros won’t be too different, except Ubuntu (for its proprietary Snap repo), so avoiding it is a better choice. Packages arn’t 100% open source usually for proper functions, and policies for proprietary packages differ between distros (see Explaining Why We Don’t Endorse Other Systems).
For mobile devices, after unlocking the bootloader, you can flash Android community distros like LineageOS and crDroid, or Linux distros like postmarketOS.
Second, utilities and softwares.
For Linux, there are utilities in popular desktop envirments like KDE, GNOME and Xfce, covering media playing, design, programming, communication, etc. For Android, there are app stores like F-Droid providing FOSS utilities and softwares.
For more detailed software lists, see AlternaticeTo.
To be continued
| OS | Device |
|---|---|
| Arch/Debian/Fedora | Lenovo G5000 IRX9 |
| crDroid | OnePlus Ace 5 |
| F4HWN | Quansheng UV-K6 |
| OpenWrt | Cudy TR3000 |
| Raspberry Pi OS | Raspberry Pi 5 |
| Software | Platform | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Acode | Text and Code Editor | |
| Adaptive Theme | Dark Mode Based on Ambient Light | |
| Aurora Store | Google Play | |
| aria2 | Downloader | |
| Blender | Modeling | |
| Bluke | Virtual Keyboard | |
| Breezy Weather | Weather | |
| Chromium | Web Browser | |
| Clash Meta | Network Proxy | |
| Collabora Office | Document Viewer | |
| ComfyUI | Local Image Generation | |
| Droid-ify | F-Droid Client | |
| DSU Sideloader | GSI Sideloader | |
| EasyEUICC | Pluggable eSIM Manager | |
| Element X | Matrix Client | |
| Fcitx5 | Chinese Input Method | |
| Fennec | Web Browser | |
| FFmpeg | Media Transcoding | |
| Firefox | Web Browser | |
| FontForge | Font Editor | |
| Forgejo | Git Hosting | |
| Fossify Calendar | Calendar and Schedule | |
| frp | NAT Traversal | |
| GIMP | Image Editor | |
| GKD | Auto Click for AD Skipping | |
| GPT-SoVITS | Local Voice Generation | |
| htop | Process Manager | |
| Hugo | Blog | |
| Image Toolbox | Image Editor | |
| Inkscape | Image Editor | |
| Jerboa | Lemmy Client | |
| Kate | Text and Code Editor | |
| Kdenlive | Video Editor | |
| KeePassDX | Password Manager | |
| KeePassXC | Password Manager | |
| KernelSU | Android Root | |
| Klick’r | Clicker | |
| Krita | Image Editing and Painting | |
| Lawnchair | Android Home | |
| LibreOffice | Document Editor | |
| LibreTorrent | BitTorrent | |
| LibreTube | YouTube Frontend | |
| Llama.cpp | Local Language Inference | |
| LocalSend | Intranet File Transfer | |
| Lutris | Game and Emulator Manager | |
| Mastodon | Posts Sharing | |
| Material Files | Root File Manager | |
| MediaWiki | Wiki | |
| microG | Google Play Service | |
| mihomo | Network Proxy | |
| Moonlight | Intranet Streaming | |
| mpv | Media Playing | |
| MuseScore | Music Score | |
| Neo Store | F-Droid Client | |
| nginx | HTTP Service | |
| ntfy | Push Notifications | |
| Obtainium | App Updates from the Source | |
| OBS Studio | Streaming and Recording | |
| OpenCode | AI Coding | |
| OpenKeychain | GnuPG Encryption | |
| PeerTube | Video Sharing | |
| PiliPlus | BiliBili Frontend | |
| Podman | Container | |
| ProtonPlus | Windows Game Compatibility Tool Manager | |
| qBittorrent | BitTorrent | |
| scrcpy | ADB Streaming | |
| Shizuku | ADB Privilege Service | |
| SimpMusic | YouTube Music Frontend | |
| Smartspacer | At a Glance | |
| Sunshine | Intranet Streaming | |
| Termux | Linux Emulator | |
| TestDisk | Recover Deleted Files | |
| TeX Live | TeX Suite | |
| Thunderbird | Mail Client | |
| Tor | The Onion Router | |
| Uptime Kuma | Status Monitor | |
| Waydroid | Android Container | |
| WireGuard | VPN | |
| Xournal++ | Handwriting Note | |
| Xray | Network Proxy |
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The author explained more for this later: 《谈 Linux，Windows 和 Mac》. ↩︎