Check out Pipewire, which is the modern standard of linux audio
I do not have the same requirements than you, but in audio production I can route anything in any which way I need (useful for switching monitoring or sources), and I did once plug an eq to my movie player because some ripped movie was really sounding bad
There are tons of VSTs available, too
There'll be research to do, and a learning curve, but today is not the days of Jack anymore, it has become really easy if you go for a modern distro (arch, tumbleweed, fedora,...)
We just got 3 LG tv's at work for an art exhibition. There's no network available here (it's a Napoleonic Fortress lol), and while they ask for it, dismissing all accounts/updates/online services is straightforward. You can delete all pre-installed apps (disney, netflix whatever) but LGtv and amazon. I can dig the model number tomorrow if you want.
I learned something from my (quite activists) daughters recently: they delete the Signal app each time they cross a border.
It's the main coordination and information tool in their circles, and the recommended behavior is just to not have the app when at risk.
Good luck finding incriminating evidence stifling through zillions of Pouting Selfies and Gossip-Sharing Screenshots of Idiot Boyfriend' text messages.
Funny story the other way around: the year is 2002 and I live in Laos. Bootlegs Everything Galore, all movies games music cost $1 or about. I discover a game, and then begins a quest to buy The Real Version because it's a small studio and I really like it all, the storytelling, the modding tools, the community... A quest that would end up in Bangkok looking like the proverbial insane foreigner looking for the most stupid way to spend his money.
I found it eventually, in a shop that didn't look any different among all its brothers in Pantip Plaza. Took me a while lol.
You can also ask it when is the cutoff date of their database - there is a gentleman's agreement between providers not to have ai involved in news / current politics in it's public chats.
I tried them on a topic I'm pretty proficient on, (a spaghetti recipe lol) and the answer was the most bland imaginable.
The way it is setup by DDG, the restrictions and blandness, shallowness of the replies give me peace of.mind when a 'natural language' query is the easiest one. And Claude wouldn't give me the DOB of that queen because it is Personal Info!
I know everybody always grandly takes on the High Seas, sailing them with lots of "arrrr“ and stuff, but I've found that small, quick flowing rivers oftentimes do yield a good catch.
Check out Switzerland. Huge private healthcare network, expensive country but the salary is high too. Excellent public transport, good social protection... And magnificent landscapes, smack in the middle of Europe you have access to everywhere. You'll have to learn French or German tho. It can be a bit quiet, but very very safe. Traditional food is meh, especially if you're not a fan of melted cheese by the bucket.
