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As other are saying, it's not open source. Ultimately, this means you're not in control. I can tolerate having some binary blobs, since it seems unavoidable in
by TheAceOfHearts 9y ago
As other are saying, it's not open source. Ultimately, this means you're not in control. I can tolerate having some binary blobs, since it seems unavoidable in the current mobile landscape. But why would I go with Sailfish OS instead of Android? Why are "partners" the ones that get the "freedom to customize"? That's a big fuck you to users.
Furthermore, the parent company Jolla, did a horrible job with their tablet fundraiser and subsequent crash. This bred a lot of badwill in many like me. For me the biggest issue wasn't even the loss of money, since I understood the risks involved with a hardware fundraiser. It's that they were not transparent or open with the community; infrequent and opaque updates were the norm. Then all of a sudden they ran out of money and we're told maybe if we're lucky we'll get a refund eventually? They'll have to do a lot better to gain my trust.
For comparison, I also funded the Pyra [0], an ultra portable mini computer which runs Debian. Despite having paid more, and having already waited much longer, I have no big complaints. The team posts very detailed updates every 1 or 2 weeks. When anything goes wrong or things get delayed, they include it in the update.
[0] https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/pages/pyra/ https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/pages/pyra/
- Brakenshire 9y agoI'm not really that sure of Sailfish's open source status. It seems the launcher, lock-screen, and system apps are closed source, personally I don't mind about those too much, but I do mind if the UI library is closed. Does anyone know the status of that? Edit: It seems the UI library, Silica, is sort of half open, half closed: https://github.com/dm8tbr/sailfishsilica-qt5 https://github.com/dm8tbr/sailfishsilica-qt5. Really think Jolla should look at that.
- boyce 9y agoThat Pyra device looks fantastic. A netbook in the format of that old Motorola V Box or something
- kutkloon7 9y agoLooks nice, but also horrible to type on.
- James_Owens_69 9y agoThe device is obsolete at this point. They will never realease it just like new OpenMoko and Neo900 in my opinion.
- CrystalGamma 9y agoI've not been at GamesCom, but EvilDragon said he would have a stall there showing the last prototype devices before production ( https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/open-and-close-and-open.81191/ https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/threads/open-and-close-and-... ). The CPU board is designed to be cheaply replaceable, so you'll probably be able to buy one with a new SoC / RAM / internal storage in one or two years …
- mixedbit 9y agoAnother truly open alternative in crowdfunding stage (I really wish it will reach its funding goal): https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/
- nerdponx 9y agohttps://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15090156 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15090156
- tom_mellior 9y agoWow. On the one hand, this is really cool. On the other hand, it's 600 USD for a phone that might be delivered in a year and a half and will not be able to run Signal.
- flashdance 9y agoIt will run debian though, which is way cooler! Plus, you might just be able to use anbox to run signal anyways. https://anbox.io/ https://anbox.io/
- subway 9y agoNot running Signal seems like a security feature to me. The official Signal servers, and their stance on requiring a phone number and forbidding 3rd party clients is absurd.
- aidenn0 9y agoWhat's the alternative? iOS has a poor story for jabber support, and the network effects for jabber are poor; the gradual network onboarding of signal made it easy to capture new users, but made it federation hostile.
- subway 9y agoAt the moment, I think Matrix is a solid contender. It's easy enough to use a public servers like matrix.org, or riot.im, or run your own. It's far from a perfect solution, but I feel like it comes closer to the mark than Signal.
- nathcd 9y ago> The [Pyra] team posts very detailed updates every 1 or 2 weeks. When anything goes wrong or things get delayed, they include it in the update. Are these updates available to the public or only pre-orderers? I'd be interested in following if the content is available. Is it the "Pyra News" section of the forum?
- CrystalGamma 9y agoYes it is. (Link for the lazy: https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/forums/pyra-news.250/ https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/forums/pyra-news.250/ )