Minimalism isn’t about owning fewer devices, it’s about reclaiming attention, one’s dignity even. You don’t get to have dignity with big tech and the mainstream platforms they control.
My flip phone, MP3 player, and RSS setup give me exactly that; minimalism. A smartphone, no matter how “minimal” the intent, is still a portal for manipulation.
That’s what I heard. They discontinued it. But it’s been forked.
I just think it’s best to drop anything Android now; and truthfully, just stop bothering with smartphones at this point. Or don’t use Android for much other than in a locked down phone that comes out of the factory with no Google BS; like the XP3 Plus flip phone I bought for a fraction of the price that a trash smartphone would be.
To be frank, I don’t use Android for much of anything now. I’ve completely given up the smartphone. I don’t miss it. And honestly, it’s a relief.
Will the F-Droid website shutdown as a whole if the project ends?
I’ve gone back to flip phone. Yes, an XP3 Plus running android; but with no app store and no apps that use Internet. Data, and WIFI is off forever. It just comes with basic apps out of the box. Nothing Google is on it. It’s just for phone calls.
And I’ve gone back to a standard MP3 player. All this because the smartphone ecosystem is utterly chaotic and fragile. Anything smart is nothing but a headache to me now. Smartphones are anything but convenient to me today (they are more like dopamine slot machines with the trash social media apps that come pre-installed on them to keep people scrolling).
But I have an old Samsung tablet running LineageOS that I just use for reading. Never put it online. And I see no reason to update any apps. Maybe in the future, I might consider installing other apps (highly unlikely). But I’m fine with how it is. And since Syncthing is no longer an option on Android, I’ll just use Rsync to sync my books directly to the micro SD card I use with it.
I don’t use anything Google anymore (yes, not even YouTube). And I really don’t want to install Google’s shitty app store and make a new Google account (after getting rid of all my Google accounts). This is why I’m wondering what the plan is for the F-Droid project.
Is it time to just dump anything Android too? Unless it’s a scaled down version of Android that comes with the device like my flip phone?
All valid points you bring up.
No, the story telling hasn’t improved in the slightest. And the TYBW arc is perhaps the worst in canon. It’s even more flash and no substance than ever before. And as I said in the original post, Ichigo’s been reduced to a cog in the machine. So, you definitely haven’t missed a thing. I’ve seen the recent anime, and the pacing is awful too.
Because Kubo didn’t bother with interpersonal relations, this is people (like me) are coming to these conclusions (like Ichigo and Uryu being a better match); especially after Kubo had enough of rinsing and recycling the same idea over and over, leading to a epilogue where he just shoved Ichigo and Orihime together.
But yeah. Because of how Kubo handled interpersonal relations, it’s not to hard to see Icihgo as being gay, since he seems to have more chemistry with Uryu than he ever did Orihime; along with him looking horrified when any girl showed him some skin, or him not grabbing a hint when a female character was into him. Meanwhile, in that scene, with Ichigo talking to Uryu, it looked almost like subtle flirting that Ichigo himself wasn’t even aware of. And which gave me a creative idea for dialog.
It’s not surprising people are writing gay fics about Ichigo on AO3. And a lot of them are not even using canon in the slightest. Because I assume canon is just too much of a mess to pick up from. So, those writers are generally making their own AU with the characters in it.
Ain’t that the sad truth? The art was on point (for the main characters). The character development? No. But hey. It’s about money, right?
No wonder Kubo wrapped up the story abruptly. He was running on fumes and shoved Ichigo and Orihime together as a packaged deal. So much for that. No chemistry for that pairing to even make sense. Now, Ichigo and Uryu? Makes more sense. But Kubo would never do something creative like that. Because as you mentioned, the classic, boring trope came first.
And it wasn’t even a good trope. Makes me think of the TV shows and movies today; recycling the same crap because it’s safe and makes money. Western producers don’t take risks like they used to. And Kubo’s Bleach universe? It mirrors that.
Huh… Sounds so exciting. But wasn’t it Kazui, who came out of nowhere?
Actually makes a ton of sense; it was rinse and repeat. Ichigo had next to no development; especially after the Soul Society Arc.
The filler was better throughout. Except maybe the Bount Arc. But I didn’t really think it was that awful. Unlike the TYBW arc that’s been animated recently. Ichigo’s just not even there; even when he’s in any scenes. Except for when he looks like he’s low-key checking out Uryu (which gave me a creative dialog idea). That’s about it.
This is the digital minimalism I am talking about. Don’t twist what I’m saying. Using a flip phone and an MP3 player is completely minimal compared to the smartphone you walk around with everywhere.