This list is not exhaustive. If a recommendation is needed, I will add it here. I doubt anyone really cares which calculator app, or brand of USB-C connector I use. This list is for the consequential software and hardware I use.
Software: I am a libre software evangelist. While I do not follow all of the ideals and principles of libre software as envisioned by Richard Stallman, I do my best to move ever closer to those ideals. I will only recommend to people use libre software because I do not believe it is ok ethically to recommend someone use something that will ultimately harm them, even if they do not believe they are being harmed. If you would like to learn more about libre software, I recommend reading the Free Software Foundation’s page on the matter (https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.en.html).
Arch Linux: Arch is a GNU/Linux distro that uses a rolling release model. This means there are always updates for the system. Using Arch or Arch based distros such as Manjaro or Garuda will encourage, or even necessitate using the command line. This is a good thing. Accept the command line. If you don’t feel confident installing Arch “The Arch Way” (using the ISO and the archlinux.org guide), you can always use the archinstall script. If the archinstall script still scares you because there’s no GUI, then use Manjaro, Garuda, hell, even use another distro like Debian/Ubuntu, or Fedora, or whatever. Just get off of Windows or macOS. (https://archlinux.org/)
GrapheneOS: It’s an Android based phone operating system, with HEAVY emphasis on security, privacy, and anonymity. The cool thing about libre or open source projects like Android, is that even though an evil company like Google is developing it, Google understands that if the source code is open, people will add their own work to it, and Google can basically get free software development. By default, GrapheneOS scrambles your mac address, encrypts various system services when the phone is locked, uses some heavy duty encryption when you power cycle the phone, and an inexhaustible number of other features. If you never own a computer larger than a phone, as the very least toss whatever proprietary garbage you have in the trash, buy an unlocked Pixel, and use GrapheneOS. https://grapheneos.org/
F-Droid: An app repository for mostly libre mobile apps. Most of the apps on there a privacy respecting, minimalistic, lightweight, and do one thing exceptionally well. 2/3rds of the apps on my phone are on F-droid. For the most part, if I can’t find something on F-droid, I learn how to live without. https://f-droid.org/
Aurora Store: Downloaded through F-Droid, it gives you anonymous access to the Google Play store. If you have installed GrapheneOS or CalyxOS, then you will not have Google Play installed, and any app you download that requires Google Play services will not work. I have a handful of apps that I’ve downloaded through there, grudgingly, and ever working on bringing others out of that prison. Although strangely if you want to download Signal, you have to download it through Google Play.
Hugo: Hugo is a command line website builder. It’s super fast and easy to use. I recommend watching Luke Smith’s tutorial on how to use Hugo, if you are interested in creating a website (https://gohugo.io) Luke Smith’s video: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFL09qhKi5I).
Vim: As stated with Arch Linux, we have gone away from the true path of computing, and vim is by far the best text editor. I barely know how to use it, and I’m far faster with it than using a GUI text editor, or an IDE when I was learning basic programming.
Signal: Signal is a messaging app that encrypts messages, much like iMessage on Apple software. You can also install it on your desktop/laptop, and text people from there. It also has a note to self function, where you can text yourself notes, or even have it function as a basic file transfer. I’m huge into encrypted messaging. Nobody who is not the intended recipient needs to know what you are sending, even if you have nothing to hide. Because we cannot trust other people, namely psychotic government agencies, not to look, I have to work a little harder, and Signal. (https://signal.org/)
KeepassXC: It’s a locally stored password manager. Super duper easy to use, and it’s cross platform, so you can install it pretty much anywhere. The database is encrypted by default, so you can even keep it on a USB storage device. If you lose the USB, it won’t really matter as long as you have a strong password. (https://keepassxc.org/)
Firefox: The web browser. I’m not a fan of Mozilla, and more recently they’ve started installing spookier stuff to track you, however it is possible to turn this stuff off, and because Mozilla’s source code is open, you know that turning it off actually turns off the software.(https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/)
Newpipe: Watch Youtube, and other sites, without ads. You can also download videos, and play them with the screen turned off. Only available on Android. Sometimes Google will update the API, and break Newpipe for a few days. If this happens, just go outside and touch grass for a bit. (https://newpipe.net/)
FreeTube: Similar to Newpipe, but cross platform for desktop and laptop. It’s a little jenky, so get ready for some bugs.(https://freetubeapp.io/)
FitoTrack: A GPS app designed to track runs, walks, hikes, etc. Works off of OpenMaps/OmsAnd+. I like it because it tracks pretty much anything you could think of wanting to track: Distance, splits, heart rate, elevation, route, pause times, average speed, top speed, and on and on and on.(https://f-droid.org/packages/de.tadris.fitness/)
Mull: Mobile version of Firefox, from F-Droid. It comes security hardened and anonymized out of the box. I prefer it because by default it starts in private browsing mode, which means the search history is never saved. It also disables autoplay of videos, so those annoying ads don’t start playing in the background. It breaks a lot of sites, but I’ve come to realize that there are a lot of sites I shouldn’t even be going on in the first place. (https://f-droid.org/en/packages/us.spotco.fennec_dos/)
LibreOffice: Stop using Microsoft Office and Google Docs. Yes, the cloud stuff is pretty handy I guess, but learn how to live without it. Plus it’s free as in freedom, and free as in free beer. You can even us it right now on Windows or macOS. https://www.libreoffice.org/
Hardware: I do not really game anymore, and I do not foresee myself doing much gaming in the future. If I stream, the current hardware I have is more than capable enough to run the game and the stream. I prefer older hardware to newer hardware anyways, as it is easy to fix or replace, and extremely cost effective.
IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad X220 Tablet: A laptop from 2010. With Arch installed, and an i7, there really isn’t much I can’t do that the majority of people with the latest macbook or Windows OEM such as Toshiba or a Dell can do. Most people just use their laptops either to browse the web, or use an office suite like Word, Excel, or Powerpoint (stop using those and use LibreOffice instead). Stop the e-waste. Unless you’re doing a dedicated computing function such as gaming, programming, or rendering, you do not need the newest hardware.
Google Pixel 3a: I’m most likely going to get rid of it soon, as the 3a is not supported by GrapheneOS anymore.