Here’s an article with a bit more detail… but I’m still unclear whether these backdoor commands are hardware circuits or firmware logic.

Bleeping Computer: Undocumented “backdoor” found in Bluetooth chip used by a billion devices

Debian is one of the largest GNU/Linux variants out there. Who and what you trust are personal decisions but they’ve got a good reputation.

I’ve run across a couple sites.

https://www.opensourcealternative.to/

https://github.com/sereneblue/awesome-oss

https://opensourcesoftwaredirectory.com/

https://opensource.com/resources

https://www.techradar.com/best/best-open-source-software

Tangentially related: https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted

https://noted.lol/

Pretty much the opposite of what you asked for but good to know: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_formerly_open-source_or_free_software

@[email protected] beat me to the punch with alternative.to

There are actually new RAM interfaces being developed. One I have heard of is CAMM2. This new interface improves on the performance that can be achieved with current DIMM interfaces by about 50%. Here’s an article from Corsair with more info: https://www.corsair.com/us/en/explorer/diy-builder/memory/what-are-camm2-and-lpcamm2/

It would have been nice to see this added to the new Framework desktop. The main argument against this would be cost/availability. New standards bring improved performance but may raise the price point of the computer to an unmarketable level. Also, Framework would have to source these modules, which are new and still niche. They would also have to adjust their motherboard design to accommodate the new interface which could introduce additional design considerations or cost.

$4.39-$10.00 (USD) in Phoenix, AZ

You may not be able to do RAID or other redundant/performant arrays with USB. You can definitely achieve a big JBOD array but it will be less resilient and slower than a RAID array. Enclosures often don’t cool as well so heat may degrade your disks faster as well. I did this for a while with some old disks and some $30 HDD toasters. I only put data on there I could afford to lose. I wish there was a standalone hardware RAID solution… like a NAS without the network. That would have a huge draw for hobbyists that don’t want to buy an expensive NAS. I’ve searched for this but haven’t found anything. Message me if you know of such a product! Maybe consider building your own NAS with an old PC. Way cheaper than a prebuilt and fun to build! I had an old Dell Optiplex 990 that is now a 32 TB NAS. Had to get a new case but it’s a decent backup to my Synology.