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I've got a Jolla phone running Sailfish, which is reasonably open. I'm happy with it because as an advanced user I can enable developer mode and modify or fix t

by wvh 11y ago

I've got a Jolla phone running Sailfish, which is reasonably open. I'm happy with it because as an advanced user I can enable developer mode and modify or fix things. It's a stable and usable system. But Jolla doesn't seem to be doing so well right now. Before that I had a Nokia N9, the only Maemo phone, precurser to Sailfish. Another capable although minimal system. That didn't go anywhere either, because Nokia sold out to Microsoft – who by the way don't seem to be doing so well either in the mobile space. Also Firefox seems to have thrown the towel in the ring already. I'm waiting to see what Ubuntu comes up with in the phone/tablet space. It's certainly taking a long time. I don't understand that with all the people concerned about rights and privacy, and all the open-source affectionados, there just doesn't seem to be that much of a market for alternatives to the big two of Android and Apple iOS. Is it because of locked-down hardware? Or that Linux on desktop and mobile is not a (funding) priority? Or are people that addicted to downloading low-quality apps (i.e. the "eco-system")? Or is there simply not enough demand?

morganvachon 11y ago
> Before that I had a Nokia N9, the only Maemo phone The N900 begs to differ with that statement. It ran Maemo 5, and (in my personal opinion) was the best phone of its era hands down.
- vinay427 11y ago
  Not to mention the N9 was marketed as a MeeGo device, not a Maemo device.
- tunap 11y ago
  Allow me to FTFY... "of it's era" = "so far" A hardware keyboard IS highly deairable, backspace/tab/ctrl/arrow keys ARE extremelt useful, a file manager(stock) removes necessity of numerous utility(sic) apps. A removable battery/ext storage port do NOT ruin design so much as it fosters future dependence. A cell radio that does voice & data on request IS preferred by those who do not choose to share evwry nuance of their digital existence. To name just a few points. edit: almost forgot, a working iteration of a resistive touchscreen is a far superior experience... when implemented correctly. Still marvel how great my n800 still feels when cuing up tunes in the truck.
jhasse 11y ago
I think because Android already IS open-source. Why would I need an alternative to reinvent the wheel? When using F-Droid [1] with a custom ROM and no Google Apps, Android is as open-source as Ubuntu, Sailfish or Firefox OS. The one big problem left is proprietary drivers, and this hasn't been fixed be these three alternatives yet. IIRC Sailfish and Ubuntu use the same proprietary Android drivers. [1] https://f-droid.org/ https://f-droid.org/
- swiley 11y ago
  Have you ever tried to compile it? With the current residential bandwidth caps in the US it's not even practical to download the (100GB) source.
  - jhasse 11y ago
    I'm living in Germany, downloading 100 GB wouldn't be a problem for me. But no, haven't tried to compile it yet. I'm trusting CyanogenMod. Also I guess very few people are compiling Sailfish, Ubuntu or Firefox OS from source either ;)
sweden 11y ago
The openness of Jolla is an illusion. Sailfish OS is barely open source: sure the core components are but when we move to the UI, you can hardly find any open code there. Android on the other hand is fully open source.

by wvh 11y ago

morganvachon 11y ago

> Before that I had a Nokia N9, the only Maemo phone The N900 begs to differ with that statement. It ran Maemo 5, and (in my personal opinion) was the best phone of its era hands down.

vinay427 11y ago
Not to mention the N9 was marketed as a MeeGo device, not a Maemo device.
tunap 11y ago
Allow me to FTFY... "of it's era" = "so far" A hardware keyboard IS highly deairable, backspace/tab/ctrl/arrow keys ARE extremelt useful, a file manager(stock) removes necessity of numerous utility(sic) apps. A removable battery/ext storage port do NOT ruin design so much as it fosters future dependence. A cell radio that does voice & data on request IS preferred by those who do not choose to share evwry nuance of their digital existence. To name just a few points. edit: almost forgot, a working iteration of a resistive touchscreen is a far superior experience... when implemented correctly. Still marvel how great my n800 still feels when cuing up tunes in the truck.

jhasse 11y ago

I think because Android already IS open-source. Why would I need an alternative to reinvent the wheel? When using F-Droid [1] with a custom ROM and no Google Apps, Android is as open-source as Ubuntu, Sailfish or Firefox OS. The one big problem left is proprietary drivers, and this hasn't been fixed be these three alternatives yet. IIRC Sailfish and Ubuntu use the same proprietary Android drivers. [1] https://f-droid.org/ https://f-droid.org/

swiley 11y ago
Have you ever tried to compile it? With the current residential bandwidth caps in the US it's not even practical to download the (100GB) source.
- jhasse 11y ago
  I'm living in Germany, downloading 100 GB wouldn't be a problem for me. But no, haven't tried to compile it yet. I'm trusting CyanogenMod. Also I guess very few people are compiling Sailfish, Ubuntu or Firefox OS from source either ;)

sweden 11y ago

The openness of Jolla is an illusion. Sailfish OS is barely open source: sure the core components are but when we move to the UI, you can hardly find any open code there. Android on the other hand is fully open source.