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This happened to me today! I was using my phone and then it went all weird with no haptic feedback when typing. I finally figured out that battery saver was on

This happened to me today! I was using my phone and then it went all weird with no haptic feedback when typing. I finally figured out that battery saver was on and disabled it... This really bothers me... I am starting to think we need a truly open source phone. That is hardware and software. like GNU/phone or something. We must have full control over our hardware and software! Viva La Gnu! (no clue what this actually means, but it seemed like the thing to say at this time).

alexkavon 8y ago
I’ll just leave this here: https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/
- gcb0 8y ago
  the irony that a product which top feature is literally "Does not run Google Android" serves their javascript from google cdn :) ...also the fact that they have boot up sound means that they are not focusing on user experience and needs, but on copying any and all features from the current phones :(
  - craftyguy 8y ago
    > they have boot up sound Where did you learn that? I 1) didn't think they did and 2) even if they did the bootloader should be user replaceable. I could be wrong though..
    - cbluth 8y ago
      He just didn't like the tune
    - gcb0 8y ago
      it was a category in their ring tones contest. they have three boot up sounds, which has absolutely no real use. fun fact, it was originally included in older phones as a marketing gimmick, a way to generate more revenue. someone at nokia or siemens had the idea to sell it to operators the same way as an Ad spot is sold. telco operators paid manufacturers to have their jingle there instead. and in markets without buyers, they put in the manufacturer jingle as a placeholder.
partiallypro 8y ago
Mine did it too...kind of creepy they could do that to be honest.
mikejb 8y ago
The primary issue here though isn't open source vs not, it's how updates and changes are rolled out. What you're actually looking for is a phone where you manually initiate updates, and where it's guaranteed that change in behavior (e.g. theough experiments) can only be controlled through the device and not remotely. With OS it's more likely to get that, but not guaranteed.
- comboy 8y ago
  It won't happen, IMHO. That's because we have a whole pile of.. technologies, that are making good security nearly impossible. So if they want to avoid half of android users getting owned at the same time, they need to be able to push live updates. Bugs are part of it too (smaller I think), everything is moving fast enough that early reporting mostly took place of extensive testing.
Tharkun 8y ago
We've had several FOSS based phones. The problem is that no one buys them, their finances dry up and the whole thing goes down the drain.
- rapnie 8y ago
  Isn't that a bit of a marketing issue as well? I am tracking development of Fairphone, puri.sm Librem5 and e.foundation (just released beta version, based on LineageOS). Do you have pointers to the FOSS OS'es you refer to?
  - gear54rus 8y ago
    ubuntu phone might be the one
  - pjmlp 8y ago
    - Maemo (2005) - OpenMoko (2006) - Symbian (2009) - MeeGo (2010) - Mer (2011) - Jolla (2011) - Tizen (2012) - Ubuntu Touch (2013) - Firefox OS (2013) - Web OS (2013) So it is a bit more than just lack of marketing.
    - rhn_mk1 8y ago
      Most of those are not truly Free, or at least not much freer than Android. - Maemo: open middleware, closed many applications and some drivers - OpenMoko: closed drivers - Symbian: was it ever libre? - Meego: same as Maemo - Mer: this is actually open AFAIK, but no native devices I know of - Jolla: Android kernel (closed drivers), closed applications - Tizen: ? - Ubuntu Touch: Android kernel - Firefox OS: Android kernel - Web OS: ? Only a couple of the above really matter in this light.
- de_watcher 8y ago
  Phone developers need to have a lot of money in order to get the permission from major services to write an app to connect to those services. That was the story of the Ubuntu Phone.
ObsoleteNerd 8y ago
I'd love something like the Fairphone[0] running a proper Linux distro. That would basically be my dream phone right now. (I have no experience with that phone or whether it's good, just found it mentioned recently and very curious about it in general) [0] https://shop.fairphone.com/en/buy-fairphone2-2/ https://shop.fairphone.com/en/buy-fairphone2-2/
- scns 8y ago
  It is designed to be easily repaired by yourself and there is an official LineageOS build for it.
- snorremd 8y ago
  The Fairphone runs Ubuntu Touch, which is now managed under the UBPorts Foundation. https://ubports.com/ https://ubports.com/ https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/ https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/
  - ObsoleteNerd 8y ago
    Their site says it runs Android 6.0, and the UBPorts site says Fairphone 2 has random reboots and other issues running Ubuntu Touch? Have you had successful experience running Ubuntu Touch on the Fairphone 2? I'm ok with occasional bugs, but it needs to be still be reliable as a daily phone.
- hardwaresofton 8y ago
  This looks absolutely amazing -- reasonably ethically sourced and it runs LineageOS. Does anyone have one of these that would care to comment on what ownership is like?
  - ObsoleteNerd 8y ago
    I've been trying to find good reviews and feedback too, but all I can seem to find are people saying it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, or that it's a piece of crap that doesn't even work. I generally don't trust any review that goes to the extremes like that, as I find it incredibly hard to believe that a device can have such extreme difference of views unless there's bias or intent behind it. Super keen to hear from anyone who can give me a proper breakdown of pros/cons though. I'm very close to buying one, but I don't have the expendable income to take too big a risk on stuff like this (I know it's always a risk, but still).
da_murvel 8y ago
Ubuntu and Firefox tried. I actually bought a phone with Firefox OS when it was released, it was horrible. I don't know if it was the cheap Chinese built ZTE hardware or the OS itself, or a combination of both. But I could hardly get it to boot, and when it actually did, the screen was flickering to death making it completely unusable. Glad it was so cheap, think I have it lying around somewhere though. I agree with you however. We must be able to have more control over something that has become so personal. https://www.techradar.com/news/canonicals-dream-for-an-ubuntu-phone-is-dead https://www.techradar.com/news/canonicals-dream-for-an-ubunt... https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Archive/B2G_OS/Introduction https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Archive/B2G_OS/Intr...
amelius 8y ago
Totally agree. I'd even buy one if the hardware was 5x thicker and heavier. But I think what we really need is the smartphone-equivalent of the IBM PC. It would allow anybody to develop a nice OS. And with emulators you could still run Android/iOS apps.
- Kalium 8y ago
  In that case, I have amazing news for you! The thing you seek is such a good idea that someone's already gone and created it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_OS#Devices https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_OS#Devices I'm curious to hear your thoughts on how good it is or isn't.
  - amelius 8y ago
    From that wikipedia link: > Firefox OS is a discontinued open-source operating system (emphasis mine) It only confirms that what we really need is a common hardware platform, like the IBM PC was in the old days.
UncleMeat 8y ago
This has nothing to do with FOSS. If you are running an OS built by somebody why would you expect to not run new code from that person?

alexkavon 8y ago

I’ll just leave this here: https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/ https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/

gcb0 8y ago
the irony that a product which top feature is literally "Does not run Google Android" serves their javascript from google cdn :) ...also the fact that they have boot up sound means that they are not focusing on user experience and needs, but on copying any and all features from the current phones :(
- craftyguy 8y ago
  > they have boot up sound Where did you learn that? I 1) didn't think they did and 2) even if they did the bootloader should be user replaceable. I could be wrong though..
  - cbluth 8y ago
    He just didn't like the tune
  - gcb0 8y ago
    it was a category in their ring tones contest. they have three boot up sounds, which has absolutely no real use. fun fact, it was originally included in older phones as a marketing gimmick, a way to generate more revenue. someone at nokia or siemens had the idea to sell it to operators the same way as an Ad spot is sold. telco operators paid manufacturers to have their jingle there instead. and in markets without buyers, they put in the manufacturer jingle as a placeholder.

partiallypro 8y ago

Mine did it too...kind of creepy they could do that to be honest.

mikejb 8y ago

The primary issue here though isn't open source vs not, it's how updates and changes are rolled out. What you're actually looking for is a phone where you manually initiate updates, and where it's guaranteed that change in behavior (e.g. theough experiments) can only be controlled through the device and not remotely. With OS it's more likely to get that, but not guaranteed.

comboy 8y ago
It won't happen, IMHO. That's because we have a whole pile of.. technologies, that are making good security nearly impossible. So if they want to avoid half of android users getting owned at the same time, they need to be able to push live updates. Bugs are part of it too (smaller I think), everything is moving fast enough that early reporting mostly took place of extensive testing.

Tharkun 8y ago

We've had several FOSS based phones. The problem is that no one buys them, their finances dry up and the whole thing goes down the drain.

rapnie 8y ago
Isn't that a bit of a marketing issue as well? I am tracking development of Fairphone, puri.sm Librem5 and e.foundation (just released beta version, based on LineageOS). Do you have pointers to the FOSS OS'es you refer to?
- gear54rus 8y ago
  ubuntu phone might be the one
- pjmlp 8y ago
  - Maemo (2005) - OpenMoko (2006) - Symbian (2009) - MeeGo (2010) - Mer (2011) - Jolla (2011) - Tizen (2012) - Ubuntu Touch (2013) - Firefox OS (2013) - Web OS (2013) So it is a bit more than just lack of marketing.
  - rhn_mk1 8y ago
    Most of those are not truly Free, or at least not much freer than Android. - Maemo: open middleware, closed many applications and some drivers - OpenMoko: closed drivers - Symbian: was it ever libre? - Meego: same as Maemo - Mer: this is actually open AFAIK, but no native devices I know of - Jolla: Android kernel (closed drivers), closed applications - Tizen: ? - Ubuntu Touch: Android kernel - Firefox OS: Android kernel - Web OS: ? Only a couple of the above really matter in this light.
de_watcher 8y ago
Phone developers need to have a lot of money in order to get the permission from major services to write an app to connect to those services. That was the story of the Ubuntu Phone.

ObsoleteNerd 8y ago

I'd love something like the Fairphone[0] running a proper Linux distro. That would basically be my dream phone right now. (I have no experience with that phone or whether it's good, just found it mentioned recently and very curious about it in general) [0] https://shop.fairphone.com/en/buy-fairphone2-2/ https://shop.fairphone.com/en/buy-fairphone2-2/

scns 8y ago
It is designed to be easily repaired by yourself and there is an official LineageOS build for it.
snorremd 8y ago
The Fairphone runs Ubuntu Touch, which is now managed under the UBPorts Foundation. https://ubports.com/ https://ubports.com/ https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/ https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/
- ObsoleteNerd 8y ago
  Their site says it runs Android 6.0, and the UBPorts site says Fairphone 2 has random reboots and other issues running Ubuntu Touch? Have you had successful experience running Ubuntu Touch on the Fairphone 2? I'm ok with occasional bugs, but it needs to be still be reliable as a daily phone.
hardwaresofton 8y ago
This looks absolutely amazing -- reasonably ethically sourced and it runs LineageOS. Does anyone have one of these that would care to comment on what ownership is like?
- ObsoleteNerd 8y ago
  I've been trying to find good reviews and feedback too, but all I can seem to find are people saying it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, or that it's a piece of crap that doesn't even work. I generally don't trust any review that goes to the extremes like that, as I find it incredibly hard to believe that a device can have such extreme difference of views unless there's bias or intent behind it. Super keen to hear from anyone who can give me a proper breakdown of pros/cons though. I'm very close to buying one, but I don't have the expendable income to take too big a risk on stuff like this (I know it's always a risk, but still).

da_murvel 8y ago

Ubuntu and Firefox tried. I actually bought a phone with Firefox OS when it was released, it was horrible. I don't know if it was the cheap Chinese built ZTE hardware or the OS itself, or a combination of both. But I could hardly get it to boot, and when it actually did, the screen was flickering to death making it completely unusable. Glad it was so cheap, think I have it lying around somewhere though. I agree with you however. We must be able to have more control over something that has become so personal. https://www.techradar.com/news/canonicals-dream-for-an-ubuntu-phone-is-dead https://www.techradar.com/news/canonicals-dream-for-an-ubunt... https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Archive/B2G_OS/Introduction https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Archive/B2G_OS/Intr...

amelius 8y ago

Totally agree. I'd even buy one if the hardware was 5x thicker and heavier. But I think what we really need is the smartphone-equivalent of the IBM PC. It would allow anybody to develop a nice OS. And with emulators you could still run Android/iOS apps.

Kalium 8y ago
In that case, I have amazing news for you! The thing you seek is such a good idea that someone's already gone and created it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_OS#Devices https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_OS#Devices I'm curious to hear your thoughts on how good it is or isn't.
- amelius 8y ago
  From that wikipedia link: > Firefox OS is a discontinued open-source operating system (emphasis mine) It only confirms that what we really need is a common hardware platform, like the IBM PC was in the old days.

UncleMeat 8y ago

This has nothing to do with FOSS. If you are running an OS built by somebody why would you expect to not run new code from that person?