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I give up on free software phones (2019)

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Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#121

Post by xethos »

horeszko wrote: post #65
jancsika wrote: post #33

Someone should do a Linux phone that scales way back: 1. you can dial phone numbers somehow 2. you can talk on the phone 3. you can hear the person on the other line 4. the cell reception on the phone is decent quality 5. antenna is properly placed for very good reception 6. basic SMS works, all the time 7. has been extensively tested to work with a single carrier, any other carrier is no warranty 8. boot time and sh…

I've been daily driving a PinePhone running postmarketOS + phosh for the last month and here is what I've found: 1. Yes, has a dialpad. Works as you would expect 2, 3, 4. Yes, works well on my carrier 5. The antenna is along the side of the phone I believe and the reception seems good, I haven't had issues with this 6. I would say SMS only works about 95% percent of the time. The phone does randomly disconnect from t…

You only mention installing, but did you have to configure tlp & irqbalance? Battery life is all that's keeping me from using my pro as a daily phone :)

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#122

Post by slondr »

jancsika wrote: post #33

Someone should do a Linux phone that scales way back: 1. you can dial phone numbers somehow 2. you can talk on the phone 3. you can hear the person on the other line 4. the cell reception on the phone is decent quality 5. antenna is properly placed for very good reception 6. basic SMS works, all the time 7. has been extensively tested to work with a single carrier, any other carrier is no warranty 8. boot time and sh…

shutting down means you cannot receive phone calls.

This is actually one of the major problems linux phone operating system hackers have been trying to solve — idle power consumption is really really important for a cell phone, but most hardware open enough to run custom operating systems on don’t have easy ways to suspend to a reliable low-power state.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#123

Post by __d »

Arnavion wrote: post #112
BSEdlMMldESB wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it is really incredible, how could lack of demand be made to happen? but I'm not trying to imply anything. I merely wonder if such a thing (to create or destroy demand of something) is possible; and if it were, how would you do it? surely it involves marketing? but I also want to reflect on the market cap of convenience...

Linux phones are a niche within a niche. Marketing won't do anything to change that. Most people are satisfied with iPhones and Androids, and the few that aren't are mostly satisfied with degoogled Androids.

That's the problem with the vision of a Linux phone as being "iOS/Android-like, but without the corporate control".

For an open phone to be truly successful, it has to be better for its users, and in a way that's worth shifting ecosystems for.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#125

Post by j45 »

xethos wrote: post #118
TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also received my librem 5 recently, and it's incredibly disappointing. The software in particular is incredibly buggy and janky. When I open the app store it just fails to load things sometimes. Even the FirefoxOS device I tried a few years ago was better.

> When I open the app store it just fails to load things sometimes. Considering how many desktop linux distros fall down with this, you may be expecting too much of your beta-level phones. It's been years, yes, but power management isn't exactly easy. Just look at how bad Linux laptops were even just a few years ago - hell, look at how long it took the multinational mega-corporation to get Android's background power…

The first app stores for iOS/android worked. Even webos.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#126

Post by neilv »

rationalist wrote: post #16
gigatexal wrote: post #2

GrapheneOS seems to be the winner these days.

Does anyone run CalyxOS, which is put together by the Calyx Institute?

I tried CalyxOS before GrapheneOS, a few years ago... I can't speak to CalyxOS now, but at the time, it seemed to be mostly just a hodgepodge of "this is a 'privacy' app; throw it in" without much coherence or polish beyond that.

Then I tried GrapheneOS, which was driven by Daniel Micay, who seems a hardcore security-minded person. GrapheneOS seemed to be working beating AOSP internals into better security shape, and very slowly tackling the apps. So, with GrapheneOS, it seemed I was starting with as clean and trustworthy an Android as one can get (to the extend Android can ever be clean or trustworthy), and in the interim I could add missing open source apps to my install. (Email, maps, SSH, chat, etc.)

GrapheneOS isn't the ideal I could imagine, but it exists, and I feel less violated by GrapheneOS than by other phone in the last ~15 years or so.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#127

Post by superkuh »

rationalist wrote: post #15
superkuh wrote: post #10

Giving up on free software phones is the first step. Now give up on software phones and just use a tiny non-computer cell phone that does text and voice. The removable battery will last a week and you won't even notice it in your pocket. The firmware will last the entire life of the phone, never needing to be updated. Replace the car GPS navigation functionality with a dedicated car GPS and you have most of the same…

And miss out on, or pay for, GPS updates and lose out on real-time traffic reports.

Most dedicated car GPS have radio receivers to get the congestion alerts put out locally. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_announcement_%28radio_...

It's not quite the same orwellian level of detail but it helps with the big ones.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#128

Post by friend_and_foe »

I have been on a AOSP+MicroG setup with no google apps, services or accounts for almost a decade and can safely and confidently say the author has no idea what they're talking about. I don't know what sorts of applications they need their phone for but I have had almost no problems. I use my phone for everything and I can't think of a problem off the top of my head that I have that Google locked in users dont. In fact, when I first took the dive, I thought it was going to be rougher than it was but worth it, and it has been easier. Ive probably stumbled into 1 or 2 apps over the years that I couldn't use, and I can't remember what they were off the top of my head.

It is not only possible to live google free, it is fucking easy.

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#129

Post by NovaDudely »

reddisbad wrote: post #74
pacifika wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for mentioning a device

I'm lucky (?) to live somewhere where 2G isn't going to be turned off any time soon, due to legacy support requirements. Otherwise, I'd have to get one of Nokia's newer "dumb smartphone" devices.

I would have kept my previous phones for a lot longer if it wasn't for them switching of the 2G network, and next year they switch of the 3G network! (Australia for reference)

These 4G dumb phones are cool but the power requirements of 4G can be a burden once you actually start making calls. So you get weird things like 30 days stand by but 3 hours talk time

Re: I give up on free software phones (2019)

#130

Post by friend_and_foe »

timthelion wrote: post #17

I use lineage on oneplus phones and have no problems. I can't do internet banking and a bunch of other non-free things, but really, who needs that? I have a web browser. The only thing that doesn't work is google meet and google docs and google drive because they intentionally break the mobile experience in the web. But there is a simple solution. Simply don't use google services. If/when my employer demands that of…

I have a similar setup and have no problems with online banking. I hear this from people, what exactly is the problem?
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