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Linux phones are more important now than ever

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Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#311

Post by interloxia »

microtonal wrote: post #185
looofooo0 wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a special place in hell for people providing non copyable text information in the form of screenshots.

Perhaps true, but some modern OSes (like macOS and iOS) allow you to copy text from screenshots. And since the text quality of screenshots is typically good, it works well.

Windows with power toys and android have it too.

The Penny supermarkt app on android disables both screenshots and text selection with the error that it is disabled by admin.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#312

Post by 3036e4 »

jeroenhd wrote: post #284
sharperguy wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a big part of why Android was developed in the first place. The operating system and application architecture that makes sense on desktop just doesn't make sense on mobile. Despite the many problems Google's restrictive APIs which you are forced to use can cause for developers, they are also highly optimized for power usage.

The architecture can work if enough smart people are put to work on it. That's how Apple managed to turn macOS into a mobile operating system. I think UBPorts and Sailfish prove that Linux for phones is practical if you're willing to rely on Linux applications that stick to mobile friendly APIs. You need to configure and compile your Linux kernel for aggressive power saving, of course. Seeing how Linux currently stru…

SailfishOS also came (at least back in the day of the first Jolla Phone and Tablet) with an excellent terminal app and built-in sshd that made it work great with pretty much every Linux command-line and TUI application (only exception was of course those with hardcoded minimum screen size support). Termux for Android is maybe half that good, not as well integrated, but still good enough that I use it every day, much more than I use other apps other than the browser.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#313

Post by food4thought1 »

ulrikrasmussen wrote: post #150
jeffparsons wrote: post #17

My Android phone prevents me from taking screenshots if an app author doesn't want me to. My Android phone prevents me from recording phone calls at the request of my carrier, even though it's totally legal for me to do so in my jurisdiction. I'm not loving where this is all going.

My government (Denmark) refusing to let me use their digital identity app because I don't want to accept Google's or Apple's TOS, and Google helping them enforce that via remote attestation services. Luckily there are alternatives in the form of code displays and NFC chips. However, next year I won't be able to watch porn unless I verify my age using a smartphone, no alternatives are planned. Or rather, I have the "f…

> or uploading my face to a porn site.

I assume that in the pornography you've decided to consume, the participants are not clad in balaclavas.

They're showing their faces to everyone, in perpetuity, which many may no longer want to, and - considering the exploitative nature of the pornography industry, where rape is endemic - some didn't consent to in the first place.

So maybe consider that when you're complaining that your own face may be linked with pornography. Is what you're doing ethical? Do you reasonably have any right to complain?

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#314

Post by rolandog »

jeroenhd wrote: post #289
blueflow wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Android is also Linux, so Linux isn't the problem - its the userspace. In terms of wakeups, the systemd/dbus desktop architecture is the worst.

UBports (the maintained fork of the dead Ubuntu Touch project) runs fine with systemd/upstart/wayland. Hell, my watch runs Tizen and that's running a bog standard Wayland + PulseAudio + systemd setup: https://docs.tizen.org/platform/porting/system/#systemd With the right kernel drivers, configuration, and tweaks, with a well-configured userland on top of that, you can run the "normal" Linux stack in a mobile device.…

That's quite interesting. How would one go about making one's app or services suspend/resume friendly?

Are there well-known good practices?... Or, do they need to be rediscovered as they are perhaps proprietary know-how?

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#315

Post by codethief »

While I share the concerns about Android, it feels silly to me to go back to Linux's (nonexistent) security model and bad mobile UI/UX. Why not try to fork AOSP or GOS (for broader device compatibility, even if it means giving up some its sexy security properties)?

Note that this could include packaging Linux GUI applications as Android APKs (with some additional glue code and Wayland/DBus integration of course), so it's not even an either or.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#316

Post by NekkoDroid »

heikkilevanto wrote: post #266
verisimi wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not sudden, and it's about control. You probably don't remember a time when you could switch/remove batteries from your phone. All manufacturers removed this ability.

That was one very good reason for me to choose a FairPhone. (Almost?) everything is user replaceable. It has been in my pocket for a could of years and I have not needed to replace anything yet. But I do like having the option.

Samsungs Galaxy S21 is also really simple to fix stuff. The back is made of relatively flexible plastic connected via glue, which you can easily get under by blowing into the charging/speaker port. Once your inside its all just a lot of screws.

Had to reattach the battery ribbon cable after my phone fell one too many times (I could have also just fixed it by pressing on the back in the right place, but I only really figured that out after I disassembled the phone).

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#317

Post by ttoinou »

JoaoCostaIFG wrote: post #12
dmbche wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's an example of a government app

Portuguese government app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=id.gov.pt Allows you to have a digital copy of your ID and sign in to government sites/services (there are alternative methods).

I believe you can still connect to Chave Móvel Digital with only your PT phone number, no ?

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#318

Post by cwillu »

franga2000 wrote: post #296
mr_mitm wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the threat model here is that a different, malicious app (compromised, installed accidentally or by the means of social engineering) might take screenshots of your screen and forward them to take advantage of you. You can file this under one's "own stupidity" as well, sure, but in the end they're not protecting you, they're protecting themselves, because banks might be liable for these kind of things, and by…

I see this argument everywhere and I've never heard of a case where a bank was liable because a customer was phished. I've even asked for examples and nobody ever provided them. It's one thing to argue in court that they should be liable because they didn't provide you with the necessary security tools (like MFA), but they all provide at least SMS 2FA these days and their apps run on iOS and Android, both of which ha…

If a bank is required to reverse fraudulent charges (and they are), that means they're liable for those charges.

Re: Linux phones are more important now than ever

#319

Post by izacus »

franga2000 wrote: post #296
mr_mitm wrote: post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the threat model here is that a different, malicious app (compromised, installed accidentally or by the means of social engineering) might take screenshots of your screen and forward them to take advantage of you. You can file this under one's "own stupidity" as well, sure, but in the end they're not protecting you, they're protecting themselves, because banks might be liable for these kind of things, and by…

I see this argument everywhere and I've never heard of a case where a bank was liable because a customer was phished. I've even asked for examples and nobody ever provided them. It's one thing to argue in court that they should be liable because they didn't provide you with the necessary security tools (like MFA), but they all provide at least SMS 2FA these days and their apps run on iOS and Android, both of which ha…

In reality what happened is that some security auditor put it into a checklist for the mobile app "Security ISO certificate++" and now everyone implements it for compliance.

Fighting against that is insane paperwork and professional exposure for software engineers that do it (since if people get phished, the C-suite will point a finger at a tech lead which went against the "professional security audit").

Most of other posts here are just post-rationalization and victim blaming.

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