No thanks, I'd rather use a Google Pixel with GrapheneOS

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buy privacy-first community driven phone look inside closed source OS with no recovery image and outdated dependencies

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[–] 51 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

The most fascinating thing is how some in the open source community go wild against a tiny player delivering one of the most daily driveable phones with an OS other than from the big-tech duopoly (besides Huawei but that's another topic). It doesn't help that a system that is partially closed source (with the closed parts basically being only the home screen UI and the qt implementation) is misleadingly called "closed source OS".

Especially the frenzy within the GrapheneOS community in this regard is curious.

Why can't everyone just choose what they prefer without firing against other small alternative OS projects as if they were made by the devil?

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  • [–] 13 points 4 days ago (1 child)

    I really like the idea of the Jolla and am seriously considering getting one. I'm also the exact target audience (Linux nerd, privacy conscious, FOSS advocate, want to own MY device fully, hate having to use a US-based duopoly in my current daily life).

    That's exactly why I don't understand their decision to keep parts of their system closed. The overlap between people who want a Linux phone and who are OK with that Linux phone not being fully open seems to be tiny.

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  • [–] 9 points 4 days ago (1 child)

    I can't talk for Jolla. What I do know is that they have opened up meaningful parts in recent times. Even the one major remaining closed part, the UI, had important parts open sourced recently, with open sourcing of Lipstick.

    I don't think they will open source everything in the near future but possibly the qt environment might be on the list to come. If that were to happen the only essential part remaining would really be the home screen I think. So it is really that, are you purist and consider that a knock-out criterion or do you also have no problem with using closed source components with desktop Linux distributions?

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  • I'm not really that purist - I'll use closed-sourced software when necessary. For example, I have Davinci Resolve and Bitwig Studio installed. Sure I would prefer if those were open, but the target audience here are creatives, who largely won't care.

    On the other hand, Jolla is trying to sell exactly to those people that DO care, which makes the choice so hard to understand and support.

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    [–] 149 points 6 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (9 children)

    Uh even this short stab is quite wrong. Here notes from Jolla itself for Sailfish OS 5.2

    • As promised, users can unlock the Jolla Phone bootloader. A corresponding menu item can now be found at the System Settings / Developer tools
    • Users can do factory reset from the System Settings
    • Users can enter the recovery mode with the volume up key + power key combination
    • Flashable images and fastboot will be provided (coming soon)
    • The initial version of the Privacy Switch was implemented. The function is end user configurable and to start with, the users can control e.g. Bluetooth, WLAN, Location and AppSupport status with the switch. Further implementations are coming and the framework is available for community contributions.

    The base of Sailfish OS is a full blown Linux, way more open than Android (more options for the user, less secure than Graphene, which has that as main goal) you can easily install/compile Linux software on it.

    Close source components are used. Parts of the UI (Jolla is open sourcing more and more), libhybris to run closed source Android drivers, Android App Support.

    So yes its not as open source as debian, but offers more freedom to modify the OS than Graphene and gives you near full control.

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  • [–] [S] 18 points 5 days ago (3 children)

    It may be a private phone, but you don't really know whats going on under those proprietary blobs.

    Sailfish OS is the definition of proprietary software. You need to buy a subscription if you even want to install it on third party devices.

    It's like Windows but it claims to be private and commnunity driven while not providing the source code to the entire OS. It's a little misleading to me

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  • [–] 35 points 5 days ago*

    It may be a private phone, but you don’t really know whats going on under those proprietary blobs.

    Yes thats not good, but also a problem of many common Linux distributions. If you have any linux-firmware-* packages installed on your system, they also contain similar binary blobs for the firmware. E.g. Intel or Qualcom wireless cards. But you can utilize all tools up to strace under Sailfish OS, to see what those drivers are accessing and check that they don't do anything bad. Under Graphene OS, you can not do this. (But its resonable to trust the very privacy focused developer that they have checked and tested this and isolated them as far as possible on the OS level)

    Sailfish OS is the definition of proprietary software. You need to buy a subscription if you even want to install it on third party devices.

    Again this is not correct. If what you claim is true, how comes that the OS is available on all these devices?. Sailfish OS is open Source at its core and easily ported to new devices. What you can do is pay for the licensed content on official devices. That enables automatic updates and proprietary software as the MS Exchange support and the Android App Support. Though for the later you can also install Waydroid because, you know, its Linux! Paying Jolla however gives access to a more comfortable solution and support development of the platform.

    It’s like Windows

    Um... no. Can you port Windows to a new device? No, its source is closed. Does Microsoft support people hacking their OS? No, Jolla has community meetings for that. Do you have full Access udner Windows? No. Does Sailfish send your data to a third party? No. Does Sailfish show you adds? No, Does it force you to use AI? No and so on and so forth.

    Please don't hate on the one European company trying to do things right. Support them in making things better.

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  • [–] 4 points 4 days ago

    You are so wrong about many things that it seems like you have some personal anger towards it and just don't care about having a fact based based opinion. It all reads like a fanboy of something else just blurting out shit they've heard without even trying to find out if it's correct.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    I do prefer a Fairphone, a Librem Phone or a PinePhone with postmarketOS though. Install Niri or MauiShell and Waydroid to it and you have pretty much it.

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  • [–] 8 points 5 days ago* (1 child)

    Yes thats pretty much the closest you can get to fully open source today. I have a number of devices I use:

    • A Pixel 5 with Graphene because the modern world relies to much on Android Apps, also used as hotspot,
    • A Nokia N9 for reading and light browsing, occasional navigation
    • A Nokia N900 with Maemo Leste for secure administrative work.

    We also have Sailfish devices in the house

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    [–] 36 points 5 days ago

    Better to support the smaller company than continue with the bigger ones until perfection is reached.

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  • [–] 42 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    Still can't get over the closed-source OS part. How do you know its privacy-first if you can't verify it?

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  • [–] 24 points 5 days ago (2 children)

    But you can. Its Linux+GNU with a partially open, partially closed source UI. So you can run tracing utilities and other tools even wireshark!) to check that it values your privacy. That statement that it is a fully closed OS from the OP is wrong.

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  • [–] 9 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    If there's even one proprietary BLOB inserted into your open-source OS, you no longer have an open-source OS. Pity, I really really liked the SailfishOS look&feel when I tried it briefly in 2015ish.

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  • [–] 10 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    In that case hardware wise you are out of options. With the Librem 5 you get the closest. There you only have the CPU Microcode, Wifi and Bluetooth firmware, and the cellular modem & GNSS firmware.

    Software wise you have quite a few options, albeit few are usable as daily drivers.

    • Android drops out because it requires hardware with proprietary HAL. You would have to rewrite huge parts of the OS so that it runs without them.
    • Postmarket OS is your best bet for a somewhat usable experience
    • Many open source systems run, but calls are difficult to setup and partly unreliable.
    • Pure OS should fit your goal best, Mobian second.

    With a Droid 4 and Maemo Leste you can also get quite close but have no camera.

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  • [–] 81 points 6 days ago (13 children)

    I wish there was an up to date linux phone/tablet alternative. We are kind of lucky that there is still a google alternative. The closer google gets, the worse our choices get. And with the dev speed of google and apple, it is really hard to keep up with them. Even many basics are still missing on linux or a free android.

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  • [–] 19 points 6 days ago (5 children)

    The Fairphone can run Linux, can't it?

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  • [–] 60 points 6 days ago (3 children)

    But not everything works. One user is regularly posting updates (I think in !linuxphones@lemmy.ca) about getting all devices of their FP to work. They are making progress but it's still tedious work and if they ever lose interest or something happens to them it can be years until someone capable can pick up the torch.

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  • [–] 14 points 6 days ago* (4 children)

    i really hope fairphone themselves picks it up. it would be incredible if fp7 (or 8, give them time) could be 100% (or close) compatible with linux out of the box. even if it required closed source blobs for like the radios or whatever. they can still ship with the option of regular android to not scare off the normies

    i put postmarket on my fp5 and it runs pretty damn well. with a little more polish it absolutly could be my daily driver. it is very close.

    i know its a lot to hope for, but i think faiphone is in a unique position to do this if they ever decided to.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 days ago

    Its pretty abysmal in the way of hardware security, and software. The gOS team did a deep dive on alternative devices to the pixel. Only device even close to the pixel was Samsung, but well... Samsung hates their consumers it seems and refuses to open their devices.

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  • [–] 10 points 5 days ago

    I keep hoping if I say it enough I can will it into existence but I really think that thr steam frame is going to usher in a community made phone/tablet that runs on arch and uses fex just like the steam frame does.

    So many community projects poped up on github when the steam deck was released, and people been using proton in third party apps. Hell other distros have their own "steam deck" mode that just boots into big picture mode. I truely think that fex, and the work valve is putting into(or funding) arm64, is going to be more valuable than the steam frame itself. Gamehub app is already using the work valve put in with fex, and arm translation layers you can play red dead on a modern mid range pocco phone at 720p fps. And that's the exe PC version not the Netflix apk.

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    [–] -1 points 2 days ago (1 child)

    GrapheneOS fanboy btw 🀑

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  • [–] 20 points 5 days ago (1 child)

    I don't trust Google hardware. No graphene

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  • [–] 31 points 6 days ago (1 child)
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    [–] 13 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 child)

    Plus ~700€, you can get a used foldable Pixel for that price or brand new Pixel with the option of flashing a more secure and trusted OS then Sailfish.

    Why don't they at least try to strike deals with the EU telco companies. This is how many of phones started here.

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  • [–] 13 points 5 days ago

    I'm more annoyed that they haven't responded to any of my attempts to contact them since March

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  • [–] 18 points 6 days ago* (2 children)

    isn't sailfish open source since 2016?

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