I definitely feel the same way most of the time, but some people just can't visualize things, simply because how the brain is wired, and not by any fault of their own. It's like how some people taste soap when they eat cilantro, they can't control their genetics. I find it quite interesting myself to stop and compare the images my mind has generated while reading to related artwork and visuals, specifically if they're drawn or approved by the author.

Oh yes, I'm well aware but couldn't remember what names connected to the proper OS. I've always had the joking idea in my head that the names came from a project manager who didn't actually do anything except daydream about where their next paid vacation was booked lol

The name came from the bar in Whistler, BC... might give a little more insight into the development team...

Sadly yes, I've been exploring a few alternatives in case it starts looking like a data mining nightmare but nothing so far, maybe I'll give total a shot

I haven't used anything other than Nova on my Pixel 7 Pro since I almost immediately realized I couldn't find a way to turn it off in Pixel Launcher. The whole ad campaign that they ran around personalization was a complete joke, feels like an iClone and I hate it.

Also on Mint, only real issue I've encountered was trying to get my old gaming mouse working... What a cold med fueled rabbit hole that was while home from work for a few days. I think I understand the issue now, which is there is nothing written into the distro itself to support more than a 3 button mouse, so I would need to write in custom USB inputs after mapping them from the device. Wanted it bad enough at the time to actually go and see if input detection was able to see the extra mouse buttons, and it could, so I finally launched a game and tried rebinding to buttons to test it, and it just worked... I think I rebuilt from a snapshot about 4-5 times in the whole process trying to make sure I hadn't messed up something else up while trying suggested fix after suggested fix, and remembering I had issues with the initial setup of the mouse software on windows thanks to .NET Framework 3.5. I don't need extra mouse buttons for my DE badly enough to go through the whole process of custom inputs if it works the way I need it to in game, but it's nice to know I have a "rainy day" project if I need one.

For the S24 Ultra -Can you hide the punch hole camera on the home screen? -Can you vertically scroll in the app switcher? -Are the quick tiles as bloated and useless as the Pixel phones? -Does multitasking work with animation scale disabled? -How curved are the screen edges and image/colour distortion compared to the S23 Ultra?

You're on the phone that died on me and I felt the exact same way, if you find something you're happy with let me know, so far I've HATED my Pixel 7 Pro experience but 50% of that is probably a combination of more recent updates to Android than I had been running on my LG and the specific PixelOS features or lack there of in comparison.

I did that but lost my headphones jack with connected built in quad DAC, a reliable fingerprint reader mounted on the back of the phone, and front facing camera that wasn't crammed under my screen causing an annoying dead spot...

Or, you forget the underwear, and they'll wish they forgot to knock on your door!