In the Lab: OnlyOffice, a Travel Phone, and More Nym VPN Testing
It has been a busy couple of months in the lab. We made a robot vacuum our own, improved the speed and quality of Home Assistant’s voice interface, and started planning the next projects based on feedback from our real users: our families.
That feedback matters. As developers, we often stick with what works for us. Ubuntu with Gedit and Brave or Mullvad Browser is a great setup in our hands. It is not the best fit for everyone else. That is what led us to Zorin OS, which feels more approachable than standard Ubuntu.
Like many Linux distributions, Zorin ships with LibreOffice, a solid Microsoft Office alternative. Across desktop and mobile, though, there are still gaps. That is especially true with older Microsoft Office files collected over the years. LibreOffice is fine, but it is not perfect. The interface complaints we kept hearing pushed us to look for something else.
One of the most recommended open source office suites is OnlyOffice. It claims full compatibility with Microsoft Office formats and uses DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX as its own native formats, so files can move back and forth without conversion. The interface also looks familiar if you have used Microsoft Office.
We started by installing the ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors Flatpak. In early tests it opened documents from both LibreOffice and Microsoft Office without trouble. We still need to test more platforms, but the first results are encouraging.
Because we like to double-check our assumptions, we also tried Collabora Office. It gives LibreOffice a more modern look while keeping LibreOffice underneath. It is an interesting option, but OnlyOffice seems closer to what our families actually need. Testing continues.
Last year we wrote about our GrapheneOS travel phone on vacation. After another long stretch in the Caribbean with the same device, we made a few more refinements that tend to show up with time and new software.
That included running the Alpha version of the GrapheneOS messenger, which finally got some needed updates. We usually skip Alpha builds, but this one was solid from the start. Not long after we got home, it moved to the regular release channel. The team has promised more improvements, including RCS support. They have also mentioned updates to the basic camera app, and we are looking forward to both.
On the same trip we used Nym VPN in more situations: different mobile networks, hotel Wi-Fi, and Starlink. Overall it was a strong experience for speed and for mixnet when we needed it. Server list updates caused a couple of hiccups, but we are still happy with the service.
Back home, we also updated to the major new release of our Jellyfin media server. A lot of work went into the Jellyfin 12.1 update, with improvements across the board. The Docker upgrade went smoothly, and we are using it daily.
As fall begins, we are putting together a list of posts we hope you will enjoy. Expect product notes, book recommendations, and other resources for your own privacy setup.
Remember: We may not have anything to hide, but everything to protect.
