3 ms·

What can you do with the Librem that you can't with a Moto G?

ptx 7y ago
Run a modern mainline kernel (and future mainline kernels) without losing compatibility with the drivers for most of the hardware.
- ac29 7y ago
  At least at the moment Librem5 still requires non-upstreamed drivers: "The kernel will be the 5.3 mainline kernel with some additional drivers" [0] They do at least appear to be actively developing those drivers publicly for eventual submission upstream, though: https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/linux-next/activity https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/linux-next/activity [0] https://developer.puri.sm/Librem5/Software_Reference.html https://developer.puri.sm/Librem5/Software_Reference.html
- criddell 7y ago
  Ok, but what does that let you do that you couldn't otherwise? Nobody buys a phone for the operating system, it's for the hardware and the software that runs on top of the OS.
  - ptx 7y ago
    It lets you continue safely using your phone after a year or two, because it won't be stuck on outdated software full of unpatched security vulnerabilities.
    - sbuk 7y ago
      Apple offer that. I accept the preference and arguments for an open system etc and the distrust of a global corp., but the support lifespan of an iOS device has more recently been ~5 years.
  - azdle 7y ago
    > Nobody buys a phone for the operating system I did. Pretty much because all the drivers are mainline(able). Even if purism went belly up today, I could continue to run up to date Linux on my librem 5 basically forever.
    - criddell 7y ago
      The baseband OS is still a binary blob that you don't really have any visibility into though, right?
      - azdle 7y ago
        It's a black box for sure, but it's not a 'binary blob'. That's an important distinction. There's no kernel module that tied to a specific kernel version. And even better the WWAN module is in an M.2 (?) socket, so it'd replaceable in the future as new tech comes out.
        cartoonworld 7y ago
        This internal expansion is a really cool feature. I'm not sure how much use I would make of it, but I really like this feature and I was surprised they were able to cram it in there. Nice one. More info: https://liliputing.com/2019/08/librem-5-smartphone-will-have-two-m-2-slots-for-replaceable-wireless-cards.html https://liliputing.com/2019/08/librem-5-smartphone-will-have...
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - seba_dos1 7y ago
    Hi, I'm nobody. I have no interest in Android or iOS. I have no interest in phones that make it difficult to run non-android systems on them. I have no interest in devices I have to break into in order to make them do what I want them to do. Phones that I've been using for more than 10 years now make it easy to run Debian GNU/Linux on them, baremetal, straight out of Debian repositories. Those devices don't require me to run any proprietary binary blob on my system. Those devices are supported by community years after their manufacturers abandoned them, as mainlining makes that task actually manageable. That's the kind of phone I'm interested in and its OS plays a big part in it.
    - criddell 7y ago
      > I have no interest in devices I have to break into in order to make them do what I want them to do. And that is?
      - mastazi 7y ago
        Do you have time? The list is going to be really long. Just two examples: removing Google apps from Android devices, installing non-store apps on iOS. If you run a web search along the lines of "best apps for rooted Android" or "best apps for jailbroken iPhone" you will find many more examples of useful things that you can do with rooted/jailbroken devices.
        criddell 7y ago
        But the Librem 5 isn't a rootable Android or iOS device, it's a Linux phone. What's an example of some killer Linux-only app that's needed on a phone?
        mastazi 7y ago
        Bash, apt-get, chmod, vim, grep, cat, crontab, python3, pip3, httpd, sqlite3, ps, ls, top, df, lsblk, ifconfig, iptables, perl, apt-cache, chown, nano...
  - ekc 7y ago
    You're forgetting that developers exist.
    - criddell 7y ago
      Are you saying that it's a useful phone for developers or that there's a lot of opportunity because basically there's no mobile-first Linux software out there?
      - ekc 7y ago
        Both.
  - jdnenej 7y ago
    Clearly that statement is false because some people bought the phone because people bought it for the OS
    - criddell 7y ago
      They bought it for the OS because there's software they want to run on it. I'm just asking what that software is.
RandomBacon 7y ago
Get regular security updates.

ptx 7y ago

Run a modern mainline kernel (and future mainline kernels) without losing compatibility with the drivers for most of the hardware.

ac29 7y ago
At least at the moment Librem5 still requires non-upstreamed drivers: "The kernel will be the 5.3 mainline kernel with some additional drivers" [0] They do at least appear to be actively developing those drivers publicly for eventual submission upstream, though: https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/linux-next/activity https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/linux-next/activity [0] https://developer.puri.sm/Librem5/Software_Reference.html https://developer.puri.sm/Librem5/Software_Reference.html
criddell 7y ago
Ok, but what does that let you do that you couldn't otherwise? Nobody buys a phone for the operating system, it's for the hardware and the software that runs on top of the OS.
- ptx 7y ago
  It lets you continue safely using your phone after a year or two, because it won't be stuck on outdated software full of unpatched security vulnerabilities.
  - sbuk 7y ago
    Apple offer that. I accept the preference and arguments for an open system etc and the distrust of a global corp., but the support lifespan of an iOS device has more recently been ~5 years.
- azdle 7y ago
  > Nobody buys a phone for the operating system I did. Pretty much because all the drivers are mainline(able). Even if purism went belly up today, I could continue to run up to date Linux on my librem 5 basically forever.
  - criddell 7y ago
    The baseband OS is still a binary blob that you don't really have any visibility into though, right?
    - azdle 7y ago
      It's a black box for sure, but it's not a 'binary blob'. That's an important distinction. There's no kernel module that tied to a specific kernel version. And even better the WWAN module is in an M.2 (?) socket, so it'd replaceable in the future as new tech comes out.
      - cartoonworld 7y ago
        This internal expansion is a really cool feature. I'm not sure how much use I would make of it, but I really like this feature and I was surprised they were able to cram it in there. Nice one. More info: https://liliputing.com/2019/08/librem-5-smartphone-will-have-two-m-2-slots-for-replaceable-wireless-cards.html https://liliputing.com/2019/08/librem-5-smartphone-will-have...
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- seba_dos1 7y ago
  Hi, I'm nobody. I have no interest in Android or iOS. I have no interest in phones that make it difficult to run non-android systems on them. I have no interest in devices I have to break into in order to make them do what I want them to do. Phones that I've been using for more than 10 years now make it easy to run Debian GNU/Linux on them, baremetal, straight out of Debian repositories. Those devices don't require me to run any proprietary binary blob on my system. Those devices are supported by community years after their manufacturers abandoned them, as mainlining makes that task actually manageable. That's the kind of phone I'm interested in and its OS plays a big part in it.
  - criddell 7y ago
    > I have no interest in devices I have to break into in order to make them do what I want them to do. And that is?
    - mastazi 7y ago
      Do you have time? The list is going to be really long. Just two examples: removing Google apps from Android devices, installing non-store apps on iOS. If you run a web search along the lines of "best apps for rooted Android" or "best apps for jailbroken iPhone" you will find many more examples of useful things that you can do with rooted/jailbroken devices.
      - criddell 7y ago
        But the Librem 5 isn't a rootable Android or iOS device, it's a Linux phone. What's an example of some killer Linux-only app that's needed on a phone?
        mastazi 7y ago
        Bash, apt-get, chmod, vim, grep, cat, crontab, python3, pip3, httpd, sqlite3, ps, ls, top, df, lsblk, ifconfig, iptables, perl, apt-cache, chown, nano...
- ekc 7y ago
  You're forgetting that developers exist.
  - criddell 7y ago
    Are you saying that it's a useful phone for developers or that there's a lot of opportunity because basically there's no mobile-first Linux software out there?
    - ekc 7y ago
      Both.
- jdnenej 7y ago
  Clearly that statement is false because some people bought the phone because people bought it for the OS
  - criddell 7y ago
    They bought it for the OS because there's software they want to run on it. I'm just asking what that software is.

RandomBacon 7y ago

Get regular security updates.