Ilandar

I suspect the high tax no longer has much of a harm reduction/uptake suppression utility, and that the Aus government secretly knows this, but they are hopelessly addicted to the revenue so will enact overbearing new laws to protect the income stream.

Well that depends...at what point is the revenue stream under threat because of the significant price disparity? My understanding is that it has dropped significantly, which one would imagine is a cause for concern if revenue is a key consideration.

I would love a politician to try explain why they were so committed to killing vaping

I imagine at least one of the arguments would be that vaping was marketed in a way that appealed to younger children and teenagers.

The support is fine. It doesn't have 5G because it is not a 5G device (and one model, the WiFi one which I have, does not have any cellular capability). It doesn't support VoLTE or bootloader locking because it is a Samsung device (you always lose these features with Samsung devices unless the ROM is based on OneUI). It doesn't support the automatic iodéOS installer because, again, it is a Samsung device - you have to use Heimdall. I'm not 100% sure about the firmware bit. I believe that is referencing whether the ROM includes the latest manufacturer firmware update as well, but I can't say for sure.

iodéOS has official support for the Galaxy Tab S5e, which is on the list you linked. I own one but I don't use it for art so I can't comment any further.

Here is a comparison of all the various privacy ROMs (and "stock" Android), last updated on June 9 this year.

The person in that other thread who said "iodéOS is a carbon copy of LineageOS" is incorrect. iodéOS comes with a suite of FOSS apps (picked by the community) as optional installs, which is designed to make the transition easier for someone who is brand new to deGoogled Android (similar philosophy to CalyxOS). iodéOS also removes more of the Google services left in LineageOS, such as those associated with the Trust feature, and replaces them with more private alternatives. Additionally, iodéOS has developed a GSI version alongside its officially supported custom device ROMs, which means you can theoretically install and run iodéOS on any currently unsupported device that supports Project Treble.

I have an XZ1 Compact myself and was using it as my primary phone with LineageOS (+microG) and later iodéOS until 3G was shutdown in Australia. Nowadays I use it as a portable music player, although I don't listen to music away from my desktop that often so it doesn't see much use. It sounds fine to me, certainly good enough for the overwhelming majority of people I would say.

I can't really tell you whether it's a good idea to buy one for this specific purpose, that's quite a subjective question. It is very easy to install custom ROMs on that phone, though, and those that exist are well maintained. Some of the answers here are overcomplicating or fearmongering; installing custom ROMs is just about reading carefully and following basic instructions. The overwhelming majority of issues people run into come from impatience/inability to read. Bricking the phone is not a realistic possibility unless you are braindead.

It's very fun. I have played football all my life and always wanted a game like this to play virtually with other people at home. A couple of years ago I had to give up the sport due to a bad knee injury, so to be able to play again albeit in an arcadey video game is so satisfying.

It's probably not as fun for people who aren't football fans or players, as I think a lot of the enjoyment comes from aspects that are unique to the sport rather than traditional video game elements. A good comparison is the Camelot Mario sports games on the N64. They weren't hardcore simulations or anything, but were still focused largely on the core principles of the sport, as opposed to newer Mario sports games or the Mario Strikers series which are very silly and not really designed for sports lovers.

I've started playing Rematch, a new small-sided PvP football game where you control one player on your 3v3/4v4/5v5 team (it's all players, no AI). It seems like something that could run on the Switch 2 in the future, but for now I am playing on PC.

I've only played Ever 17, but it was very good. I hope you enjoy it too!

Apple is probably right but it's not a valid excuse to lock down the entire system.

Is that a Pixel 9 Pro XL in a case with a magsafe wallet attached, or are you just happy to see me?

I wouldn't say nobody, they are familiar to people living in Japan or SEA. If you've visited one of the countries they are sold in, you might have come across them (I saw them in a Tokyo department store).