3 ms·
It's true that the mobile landscape is more a more challenging target (device tree is changing this). But I think the embarrassing truth is that the free softwa
by dTal 9y ago
It's true that the mobile landscape is more a more challenging target (device tree is changing this). But I think the embarrassing truth is that the free software community has failed to deliver a decent software offering. Even if I had a phone with all of the drivers (which isn't that uncommon, actually - proprietary firmware and protocols are a problem, as is 3d acceleration special sauce, but most actual drivers are in kernel tree and free) ... what would I run on it? FirefoxOS? Discontinued. Ubuntu Phone? Discontinued. SailfishOS? Closed-source!
Hell, even if I wanted to run straight Debian (let's be honest, I do) - where's the dialer program? It's actually pretty straightforward to plug a GSM dongle into a regular desktop machine and get a perfectly functioning modem TTY that does calls and SMS and all the rest of it. Where's the friendly interface? There isn't really one.
This is something I hope that the Pyra will help with. We'll have regular Debian "desktops" with GSM modems in peoples pockets being used as phones. That's bound to spur some development effort.