Post AzGasMECG7SPGA1ReC by bart@mastodon.fam-ribbers.com
(DIR) More posts by bart@mastodon.fam-ribbers.com
(DIR) Post #AzFbXS3tHOra4Fpx7A by bart@mastodon.fam-ribbers.com
2025-10-15T10:00:06Z
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https://www.fsf.org/news/librephone-project#FSF announces the #LibrePhone project, and, shockingly, it's a joke. While the intention to reverse engineer proprietary firmware is applaudable, going with Android for this and thus interfacing with the downstream kernel is a waste of time.What good is software freedom when you're still relying on the goodwill and development of a big tech company.#Android is dead in the water and it's time people caring about software freedom and privacy realize this.
(DIR) Post #AzFbXTIofOOduppO1A by fun@berkeley.edu.pl
2025-10-15T18:40:44.270276Z
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@bart They already realised this. The FSF is no longer the one pushing FOSS forward anymore. Except for FSF hardcore fans, mostly everyone I saw talking about the LibrePhone think it will never materialize..And that is true, really... They're planning to take a *recent* phone (likely MT/qcom) and reverse-engineer firmware .. something which is quite impossible because of things like secure boot.. hey, in postmarketOS it's also just impossible to use newer versions of that same proprietary firmware as long as they've not been approved by the manufacturer! Unless they manage to break secureboot (which is unlikely), of course.All in all, this has too much red flags to be considered really serious. It seems they don't really have much experience in that area, and I'm not sure they want to collab with anyone that does.Also, android.. Why android? I mean, assuming they're as purist as they claim to be, android is going to be a nightmare to compile on the FSF-approved ThinkPad X200 and such.. they'd be also relying on Google to publish Android source code, which they have recently been not doing all that frequently, and delaying security fixes to AOSP unless deemed "critical".
(DIR) Post #AzGasKvN6cnxDUCtfM by tasket@infosec.exchange
2025-10-16T01:01:54Z
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@fun @bart Something tells me Librephone are not working within the same parameters as PostmarketOS. I'm sure the former knows what SPI flash is and how to use it.I mean, seriously... you expect an org like FSF to not break secureboot for the sake of research? lolWhat I'm reading from Librephone is they are defining a breakaway platform that they hope will have a following with the ethical hardware brands that have been popping up. They don't need the sanction of secureboot, they can create their own system.Edit: After listening to their announcement conf call, they are not producing a whole OS. They are only using AOSP as their reference for reverse engineering closed drivers (blobs). And they expect that whole-OS projects can make use of the resulting open RE firmwares.
(DIR) Post #AzGasMECG7SPGA1ReC by bart@mastodon.fam-ribbers.com
2025-10-16T05:22:00Z
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@tasket @fun They're not reverse engineering drivers, it's firmware. Drivers would actually be useful as they could be ported to mainline Linux then. Now they're trying to replace firmware which you can't load due to secure boot anyway, and using Android of all platforms as a reference so it won't actually interface with Linux mobile.I mean, good luck to them but it's a waste of effort. Android is not a "free" platform, even though the licence says it is.
(DIR) Post #AzGasNH4MvLiVMNFlQ by awai@fosstodon.org
2025-10-16T07:47:41Z
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@bart @tasket @fun The drivers vs. firmware distinction isn't clear from their announcement, as they mention "firmware and binary blobs" and "proprietary binary modules". Some drivers (and corresponding userspace HAL and libraries) being binary blobs, those could technically be reverse-engineered and ported to mainline. If that happened, that could be of interest to the #LinuxMobile community.
(DIR) Post #AzGb1aNB2QVrjech3g by Suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com
2025-10-16T12:31:10.445613Z
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@fun @bart The FSF existed before "FOSS" degeneracy and is rather dedicated to software freedom.I doubt such developers would select a handcuffed device.
(DIR) Post #AzGbASyltfNxPWRU12 by Suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com
2025-10-16T12:32:46.817068Z
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@bart @tasket @fun Fully free drivers already exist for some Android devices; https://replicant.usNot all devices have restricted boot.
(DIR) Post #AzGbLN2MKVvGAPJtSa by sandro@c3d2.social
2025-10-15T20:24:13Z
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@bart but if we are honest to ourselves, what other options exist that have a realistic chance to be a daily driver and have a somewhat sized userbase?
(DIR) Post #AzGbLOWsmVvsnMbmfw by bart@mastodon.fam-ribbers.com
2025-10-15T20:28:03Z
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@sandro I mean, #postmarketOS and #mobian already _are_ daily drivers for a bunch of people.Does it need any size userbase at all to be viable? Not really.Yes Linux mobile has a long way to go before it can "beat" Android and iOS, if ever, but for the enthusiastic among us you _can_ already use it as a daily driver and it will only get better.
(DIR) Post #AzGbLPfQYEMUK9c7dI by pi_crew@social.project-insanity.org
2025-10-15T21:10:50Z
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@bart @sandro daily driving oneplus6 with pmOS already ☺️
(DIR) Post #AzGbLQLG2hp2PtBWpk by sandro@c3d2.social
2025-10-15T22:30:41Z
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@pi_crew @bart That is a 7 year old phone... For not even double the price you get a Pixel 8a which has amazing battery life and for the price also an amazing camera with great night pictures.
(DIR) Post #AzGbLR15XBHaVckw2C by bart@mastodon.fam-ribbers.com
2025-10-16T05:18:37Z
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@sandro @pi_crew Thing is, people daily driving pmOS right now don't care about that. They want a privacy-focused OS not controlled by big tech, and while the Pixel 8a you mentioned isn't delivering that, the OnePlus 6/6T is.But hey, feel free to get a Pixel, we're not forcing you to do anything. But let us do our thing and develop an OS that _does_ respect our freedoms. Perhaps check back in a few years from now and see where we are then.
(DIR) Post #AzGkkuusP5Sa4K4mq8 by bart@mastodon.fam-ribbers.com
2025-10-16T14:16:10Z
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@Suiseiseki @fun @tasket Except that Replicant hasn't updated to a recent version of Android for ages, does not run on _any_ currently relevant device, and is severely understaffed.Don't get me wrong, if it was at any way feasible to use currently I'd use it over my LineageOS install, but the sad reality is that it's not. They have the same problem as any other Android ROM: fully dependent on this huge monolithic OS developed by a big tech company.
(DIR) Post #AzGkkwF7TJFMBOYT20 by Suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com
2025-10-16T14:20:10.524867Z
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@bart @fun @tasket If you're in an area with a GSM network it works fine.Absolutely proprietary devices are not relevant.