I assume device drivers, but probably it is much more complicated than that

Yes, device drivers are an issue. Reverse engineering them is a bitch and slows you down, particularly if you want to support a wide range of models and those models keep getting hardware updates.

But that’s not all, software ecosystem is another big one. Android and iOS have seen two decades of people developing software for them. In order for them to want to port their software over to your cleanSlateOS, it would have to have a significant user base. And in order for cleanSlateOS to draw that significant user base, it would have to have an attractive suite of apps to run on it. It’s a catch-22.

You could, in theory, try to develop emulators or compatibility layers so that Android apps will also run on cleanSlateOS. But that, again, is time-consuming, will never be free of friction, and require you to make compromises with regard to security and privacy (many apps simply don’t run properly without Google’s main piece of spyware, the Play Services). It will also kind of tie you to Google again - and that was the thing you were trying to get away from in the first place…

The problem is: at least where I live, banks use mobile apps to generate second factor authentication. (No TOTP, all proprietary / homegrown mechanics.) No second factor - no login.

Yup. We’re big on pre-fascist nostalgia.

I’m anti trusting any U.S. law these days.

I’ve always been quite techie (maybe not by trade, but by passion), and been decoupling from big tech solutions ever since the Snowden revelations dropped. Ditched a lot of non-free software and services first (MS Office -> LibreOffice being one of the biggest), then switched to Desktop Linux and degoogled Android. I suppose self-hosting my own services and taking control of my network was the next logical step on this journey. That, and immich. It’s so ridiculously good, it single-handedly made me want to run my first real server.

True that! I’m running plenty of those apps myself (though on a dumb display powered by a Linux machine), so I can appreciate the setup! Since you’re running Google TV: have you tried running Newpipe? Imho, it’s a no-brainer replacement for the YouTube app and blows it out of the water both with regard to the features it packs and the privacy advantages it brings.

Seeing that cable management, I know why you’d want to “cut the cord”. (Scnr! 😁)

TYSM for the link! I’ll probably switch to this.

Well, 🤬!

The handoff (if you can call it that) was extremely sketchy, including the “explanation” on the Syncthing forums. Made me switch to Nel0x’s fork of the app.

This is the correct approach, OP. Bazzite is good, but its immutability is an aspect one needs to get used to and learn to work with. Since you’re not (and I’m not saying I am ;), rather stick to something you feel comfortable supporting, because you’ll be the one they’ll come running to if they have a problem.