My videos aren't sponsored by anyone but you. Monthly sustainers get access to my Discord/Matrix space, and are what keeps the lights on around here. Thank you for your consideration!

https://patreon.com/VeronicaExplains

OK, so GrapheneOS. I've used it for almost three years now. I've very much enjoyed taking a bit more control over my privacy. Maybe you will too.

Links for the wicked!

From GrapheneOS directly (on their website or social media):

App stores that aren't Google:

About specific apps which might be helpful:

Also, thank you OpenMoji for the judge lady (CC BY-SA-4.0): https://openmoji.org/library/emoji-1F469-200D-2696-FE0F/

Chapters:

#android #privacy #grapheneOS

New year, new OS for this M1 MacBook Air!

I've been using Asahi Linux (via the flagship Fedora Asahi Remix) for a few weeks now. It's been my everyday laptop and I'm really impressed with how it's held up. Battery life is amazing, and the ARM Linux experience is fine for everyday use.

This video walks through how I installed Fedora Asahi Remix in December 2025, the process might change in the future and if it does, I might revisit it here or in a blog- watch for pinned comments I guess!

Important links:

Links to help support unsponsored videos like these... Patreon and Ko-Fi members get access to my Discord/Matrix server where I hang out:

Chapters:

#linux #apple #fedora

I'm one of those hipsters who doesn't use streaming services.

I did, a while ago, but I quit using them because the experience is kind of awful, and I'm happier now for it. I collect physical media and watch it using Jellyfin on my Linux-based home theater PC, and I'm completely satisfied with how it works.

I'm making this video because I am really troubled by algorithmic helplessness, and I feel like corporate-centralized streaming media makes that worse. Maybe this video will encourage someone else to cut the cord and rediscover an appreciation for owning your media and being choosy about what to "watch next". Or maybe I'm just wasting time. Who knows? I suppose, you know, you're reading this description, right?

If you read the description, say "algorithmic helplessness sucks" in the comments. That'll make me feel better.

Oh right, I need to tell you about the things I mentioned in the video.

Software:

Hardware I mentioned - not sponsored and no affiliate links.

Other links of note:

Lastly, links to support my very unsponsored videos:

Chapters:

You might not even like rsync. Yeah it's old. Yeah it's slow. But if you're working with Linux you're going to need to know it.

In this video I walk through my favorite everyday flags for rsync.

Support the channel:

Here's a companion blog post, where I cover a bit more detail: https://vkc.sh/everyday-rsync

Also, @BreadOnPenguins made an awesome rsync video and you should check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eifQI5uD6VQ

Lastly, I left out all of the ssh setup stuff because I made a video about that and the blog post goes into a smidge more detail. If you want to see a video covering the basics of using SSH, I made one a few years ago and it's still pretty good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FKsdbjzBcc

Chapters:

Oh what do you know, it's Bandcamp Friday and my retrotube faculty band, The Stop Bits, just put out a record!

Here's the Bandcamp link: https://thestopbits.bandcamp.com/album/return-from-interrupt

If you've ever wanted to listen to four YouTubers sing songs about the 6502 instruction set, dealing with the aftermath of a capacitor explosion, or putting Linux on increasingly random machines, this is probably the best way to do that today.

The band on the web: https://www.thestopbits.net

And my bandmates channels:

And and here's VCFMW's website: https://vcfmw.org

Does your Commodore 64 output pixel-perfect HDMI? Because mine does.

Thank you so much to Side Projects Lab for making this awesome kit. You can find out more at the GitHub for the project: https://github.com/sideprojectslab/HD-64/.

I bought this one myself for €109, from Retro 8-Bit Shop: https://www.retro8bitshop.com/product/spl-hd-64/.

You can also buy one from retro-updates.com: https://www.retro-updates.com/product/17245372/hd-64-commodore-64-hdmi-output-fpga

If you buy the kit, make sure to buy it from one of these two places. This video isn't sponsored, but it's a kind thing to buy this from a reseller that's working with the developer. Let's support cool projects like this.

Speaking of cool projects... I got my purple Retro Fuzion case from the initial crowdfund, but it looks like you can still buy them here: https://www.retrofuzion.com/products/breadbin-case-set.

If you need a new VIC-II, a good option if you can get it is the VIC-II Kawari, which will also hook you up with HDMI video out: https://accentual.com/vicii-kawari/

If you already have invested in an RGBtoHDMI setup, or just don't like soldering, I really like C0pperdragon's LumaCode project, and you can find out more at https://www.tindie.com/products/c0pperdragon/vic-ii-dizer/. Note that the LumaCode will need an RGBtoHDMI setup to work (unlike the build featured in today's video).

Lastly: these videos take forever to make and I rely on community support to make Veronica Explains happen. Monthly supporters get access to my Discord/Matrix room, and my immense gratitude:

Chapters:

My band has a website. I made it using 1990s technology. And 2K20s technology. And I think it's pretty nice.

In today's episode, I'll cover the Eleventy static site generator, and how I adapted a design made on vintage hardware (using AOLPress on Windows 95!) to a modern workflow.

Important links mentioned in the video:

And if you want to help me make more unsponsored videos like this one:

Chapters:

The commenters often tell me I must be using a Mac or a Windows PC for video editing. Nope! I use three important pieces of free and open source software in order to make these videos, and luckily for me they work great on Linux!

🎞️ Kdenlive for video editing: https://kdenlive.org/

Other useful links from this video (not sponsored, no affiliate links):

Lastly, these unsponsored videos are only possible thanks to supporters like you. $2/mo USD gets you access to a Discord/Matrix where I hang out every day with cool people.

Chapters:

#linux #videoediting #opensource

Let's talk about 45Drives, why I like their open source Cockpit modules, as well as their tutorials and documentation about open source projects.

I think it's rare to have a corporation care this much about open source. From my outsider view as someone who has never been sent anything from 45Drives, I think it's refreshing. And I want to talk about it!

This video was not sponsored, 45Drives has not only (to date) not sent me any hardware, but we've had no business dealings at all: no money changing hands, no free trips to see their factory, nothing like that. Again, this is as of filming: can't predict the future! 😃

Patrons and Ko-Fi members make Veronica Explains possible:

Links referenced in the video:

Chapters:

#homelab #linux #server

VimWiki is my preferred notetaking solution because it's intentionally minimal.

When I want to take notes, I want to take notes, not see a mind map or extra visualizations or photos to distract me. I'm old school! (Or just old.)

In today's video, I'll show you how to install VimWiki for yourself, as well as configure it to use Markdown (my preferred text formatting), and update the file path for VimWiki files so that it's easy to sync with third party solutions like Nextcloud Notes.

Significant links mentioned in the video:

This video has no sponsors except for my channel's Patrons and Ko-Fi members.

Chapters:

#linux #vim #homelab