Replacement Operating System (Kernel)

Windows 11 → Linux Zorin OS Lite > XFCE Session

Why? This was the best option for my use case. I purchased a few secondhand Lenovo 300e G2 devices on eBay for approximately $80.00 each. These low-resource, budget devices paired perfectly with this particular distro, which provided a visually appealing option with minimal resource usage—at idle, 740–780 MB of memory usage; 2–4% CPU usage. This was a perfect starting point for me to build upon.

Replacement Productivity + Office Tools

Microsoft 365 (Office) → LibreOffice

• MS Word → Libre Writer
• MS Excel → Libre Calc
• MS PowerPoint → Libre Impress

Note: LibreOffice is free (though donations are accepted) and can open and work with various file
formats, offering additional tools worth checking out.

Adobe (PDF) Tools → Libre Draw + Okular + PDF Arranger

Why I use all three: I combine these open-source tools to handle different tasks: Okular for simple reading and highlighting, Libre Draw for more detailed editing and creating documents, and PDF Arranger for organizing and deleting pages. No more Adobe subscription fees! I’d rather donate to these tools and their developers.

Replacement Communication + Collaboration Tools

Email + Calendar

• Outlook → Mailfence
• Gmail → Proton Mail

Both options offer a free tier for trial and provide paid tiers worth exploring. Here’s how they compare for desktop use:

• Mailfence: Allows you to connect your email and calendar with the Thunderbird email client without needing extra tools.

• Proton Mail: Can also connect with Thunderbird, but you'll need a separate tool called Proton Bridge to make it work. It's not just for email, though; their paid tiers now include a VPN, password vault (Pass), and AI services.

Video Conferencing + Chat + Messaging

• MS Teams → Jitsi Meet + Element (Matrix)
• Text Messaging → Signal (Encrypted Messaging)

Both Jitsi Meet and Element are great, but they serve different needs:

• Jitsi Meet: Perfect for quick, simple video calls. As long as you have an account, you can share a meeting link with someone who doesn’t need one to join.
  Quick Tip: If you want to record the meeting, just use a simple screen recording tool to capture it.

• Element (Matrix): Best for persistent chat and threaded conversations, as both users need an account to communicate. Element is also working on a new video room feature to address the need for video conferencing as well as chat threads.

Replacement File-Server + Cloud Storage Tools

File-Server: I built a custom file-server/share/sync solution using a static site, python3 -m http.server, and Syncthing. Why? This gave me complete control over my data and storage, making it the ultimate privacy solution. In short, I created my own static site on a laptop connected to the physical storage on that laptop, served the static site using Python, and shared/synced files from endpoints to the file-server laptop.

Cloud Storage:

• OneDrive → pCloud

Note: While pCloud is closed-source, it’s highly regarded for its focus on privacy and security. The perpetual licenses are a rare and great option, and it works flawlessly across Windows, macOS, Linux, and iOS. They also provide a free option with limited storage space worth checking out to trial their platform and services.

Replacement Editing Tools

• Code/IDE Editor: VS Code → Geany

  Note: Geany is a great lightweight code and markup editor. For me, it is perfect; it works with HTML,CSS, and JS, and offers color coding for easier readability.

• Video Editor: Clipchamp → OpenShot

  Note: OpenShot is another fantastic lightweight video editor. I found it to be an excellent alternative—long story short, I performed some screen recordings on Linux that were .MKV files, and when I attempted to edit them on my MacBook, iMovie could not read these files. Then I tried editing on Windows in Clipchamp, but it constantly ran into buffering issues. So, I looked for an alternative and found that OpenShot was a solid recommendation for basic editors like me. It worked perfectly on my super minimal system without any issues.

• Audio Editor: WavePad → Audacity

Replacement Media & Entertainment Players

All-In-One Players:

• Windows Media Player → VLC Media Player

Video Player:

• Parole Media Player – A super lightweight video player alternative to VLC.

Audio Player:

• Rhythmbox – A super lightweight audio player alternative to VLC.

Note: All I have to add here is that if you have the storage space and resources, I recommend installing
VLC. However, if you have limited space or only need one type of player, then install what you need.

Video Streaming:

• YouTube → FreeTube

Podcast Streaming:

• Spotify → gPodder

Note: These are some great alternatives. FreeTube offers an excellent tool for watching YouTube videos—no account, no ads, and no tracking. gPodder allows you to locate your favorite podcasts, download, and listen to new episodes on your device.

Replacement Remote Software

• Remote Desktop Support: AnyDesk → RustDesk

Note: If you are familiar with AnyDesk, then using RustDesk will be a breeze. RustDesk is an open-
source alternative written in… you guessed it, Rust.

That is the primary lineup of all the tools that I currently use to replace Big Tech. To install,
just check your software application center on your distro.