Developers have been using tools like REA (Reverse Engineer Anything) to take apart apps with the use of AI. 🦾

This has resulted in many knock-offs of popular paid products like the Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, and Figma. 🥷🏿

🏗️ Some of them, like the “Crafting apps” by Brandon Thomas, are free and open source, so the community can continue building them.

But that doesn’t mean they can replace their official counterparts just yet. I suggest giving it some time for the hype to die down and the devs to get to work, for real. ✍🏿

Do YOU regularly use Adobe apps? Or are you a developer? Let me know what you think about this in the comments ⬇️

Zawadi is in her colourfully lit living room. She's wearing a black top and a blue cardigan and talking to the camera while sitting on a stool.

Meta has been pushing its new Muse Agent through incessant ads. But what even is an Agent?

Agents are like Chatbots that can keep running for days, and that have access to your computer’s or phone’s files and the internet.

Though they can be capable, they’re known to try and complete their tasks in unintended and sometimes harmful ways.

Giving Muse access to your most personal information is nothing short of dangerous.

And if an agent does something wrong on your behalf, Meta sure is not going to help you. Neither can your relevant authorities.

Zawadi is in her colourfully lit living room. She's wearing a black top and talking to the camera while sitting on a stool.

With your boot drive it’s possible to have both Windows and Linux on one machine. It’s a bit more of an advanced setup but if you’re serious about using Linux, it’s worth it!

Zawadi first is in her living room, wearing a colourful cardigan, explaining the context of the video. The video changes between the living room camera and a screen recording of the steps she's describing.

Let’s talk about Meta & Instagram.

Some clarifications I didn’t have time for:

1. How do we stay connected, not just in the case that Instagram takes down our accounts, but in spite of Instagram having this much control over our everyday connections?
2. How are we archiving our joy and our experiences in ways that act as a beacon and as historical proof for those who will try to deny our existence in the future?

Zawadi is sitting cross-legged in a field of grass. She's wearing a knit top and patterned black-and-white pants, holding a microhpone as she speaks to the camera.

Zawadi first is in her living room, wearing a colourful cardigan, explaining the context of the video. The video changes between the living room camera and a screen recording of the steps she's describing.

In this video I show you how you can try out Linux before committing.

Some clarifications I didn’t have time for:

• An “image” is an operating system but in file form. It’s almost like a picture of Linux.
• “Flashing” is the act of putting the image on the USB stick. To flash a USB with Linux is to turn it into a small Linux computer.

Zawadi first is sitting in front of her computer. Her computer desk is covered in many plants. Once she begins talking about downloads, here computer screen becomes the primary video, and a video of her floats in a circle around the screen. Once the computer is turned off the video switches to her perspective at the desk.

Step 1: Backup your data

Installing a new operating system will wipe your hard drive, so you want to make sure all your important data is in a safe place, like a USB, an external hard drive, or on the cloud.

Step 2: Check for Linux versions of your apps

Some programs are not available on Linux. Make a list of your most used apps, programs, or games, and see if they have Linux versions.

Step 3: Choose a distro

Each “distro” or flavour of LInux fills a specific niche. If you’re not sure which to decide, I’ll be showing you how to install Linux Mint, since it’s beginner-friendly.

Lastly, you’ll need a USB stick. It needs to have at least 8GB of storage, and will be needed for part 2!

Zawadi is sitting in her living room talking to the camera. Behind her to the left is a media console with a TV in it. The console is also filled with many books. Behind and to the right is a vinyl record player, with records displayed on a shelf above it, illuminated by a pink light.

Microsoft just revealed that they can track you despite using VPNs or physically changing locations.

They’ll also hand over this information if the government asks for it.

This is especially dangerous if you’re part of a marginalized community, because the same governments are punishing you for your existence.

What do we do then? Install Linux!

Linux OSs can be made much more private than Windows or MacOS could ever be.

Follow my page for the next video in this series on using Linux day-to-day.

It's a rainy grey day. At the start of the video I'm standing outside in a playground, and begin waving the South Sudanese flag to celebrate Indedependence Day. Then I move over to some cover, standing in front of a stone wall. Screenshots of various headlines appear on screen, supporting the claims I'm making.

I’m wearing a red, orange, and yellow leaf-patterned top, with my hair down. Behind me are a number of plants against a yellow and white wall decorated with vinyl records that are melted into the corners. Hand-drawn visuals appear on screen spelling out the website and commands I speak about.

I’m wearing a black beret and a thin cardigan with a black-and-white floral print, sitting in a room covered in colourful art. Hand-drawn visuals appear on-screen depicting the “tree” structure of a computer file system.

I’m standing in front of a hedge wearing a beret and a floral kimono-like cardigan. Hand-drawn animations appear on-screen representing the topics I bring up as I speak.

I go over some tips and tricks surfaced in the comments of a previous video.

I’m wearing a black beret and a thin cardigan with a black-and-white floral print, sitting in a room covered in colourful art. Hand-drawn visuals appear on-screen showing the command line tips and tricks I’m explaining.

Cyberdecks are the newest trend, but how do you get started if you don't have any hardware? I recommend learning about the Command Line!

I’m wearing a black knit top, sitting in a room covered in colourful art. Hand-drawn visuals appear on-screen showing the results of the basic commands I explain in this video.

I’m building a new social network for queer people of African heritage 🏳️‍⚧️🌍🏳️‍🌈

The goal is to connect queer Africans across the continent and the diaspora. The plan is to build in public to reach as many of us as possible!

I'm wearing a velvety green top and sitting on a similarly coloured chair. Behind me are colourful lockers. I speak with a small microphone in my hand, and screenshots and images of my documents and prototype appear on-screen as I mention them.

I’m building a new social network for queer people of African heritage 🏳️‍⚧️🌍🏳️‍🌈

The goal is to connect queer Africans across the continent and the diaspora. The plan is to build in public to reach as many of us as possible!

I’m wearing a pink beret, large sparkly gold earrings, and a silky pink floral top, while holding a small microphone. The room I’m in is bright and is decorated with colourful lockers. Behind me the words “Queer African Network” are painted on the wall. For each of the technologies I list, a hand-drawn version of its logo appears on-screen.

Knowing who has your data is the first step to de-googling and divesting from big tech. A password manager is an easy way to enhance your security and shed light on where you keep data online.

In December, my friend Nyobe and I held a download party — a session where we all teach ourselves about a new app and install it together. This is the recap.

Zawadi’s standing outside, with a large trees in the background. She’s wearing green eyeshadow with half her hair tied back, and an orange and green top. Animated graphics appear on screen as she speaks, depicting her words.

I’m building a new social network for queer people of African heritage 🏳️‍⚧️🌍🏳️‍🌈

The goal is to connect queer Africans across the continent and the diaspora. The plan is to build in public to reach as many of us as possible!

Zawadi’s in a black dress wearing big gold, black, and white earrings, holding a small microphone. She’s in a bright room with colourful lockers and a big whiteboard. Painted on the wall behind her are the words “Queer African Network”. As she speaks cute lettering and illustrations mirroring what she’s saying occasionally appear on screen.