Purism Finally Announces The Firmed Up Specifications For The Librem 5 Smartphone

[starshipeleven]

There were alternatives like BorlandC, TurboC, DJgpp which were as good as the mentioned software.

Browsers were without Javascript. You could download videos and play them offline. LibreOffice = Word 4.0 .

Yes I'm aware that back then there was software that ran on it, I'm saying that the software mentioned by him will NOT run with any semblance of usefullness, if at all.

[starshipeleven]

Not bad?! It is even worse than Freedreno! It is mainly about OpenGL 2.

I'm not sure about what you mean.

[starshipeleven]

Why not?.

We are not talking of the architecture, but of the actual historical hardware called 486. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_80486

It's not going to run anything remotely modern.

[the_scx]

You can't run this software on a 486

Why not? I mean, support for 486-class processors was dropped, somewhat accidentally, in Debian 6.0 (Squeeze), so Debian 5.0 (Lenny), which was released 10 years ago, still supported it.
Of course, the performance would be just terrible even on Pentium Pro (the first 686), and barely usable on Pentium III, but I think it should be possible to run this software on 486.

[the_scx]

It's using etnaviv, it's not bad.

Not bad?! It is even worse than Freedreno! It is mainly about OpenGL 2.

[the_scx]

That was absolutely not what I was talking about. I was referring to the STANDARDS people apply when they talk about phones. For some reasons some people are absolutely into free software and open source but when it comes to their phones they drop those values because they don't see it as a computer they can control but just a device with software from the manufacturer and proprietary apps are no concern somehow.

I have a slightly different approach and I don't mind to use proprietary software. For example, I have no problem with using NVIDIA drivers.
Anyway, I have noticed that people talk a lot about open source, but in the end they use proprietary software anyway. Of course, there are exceptions.

No one is trying to adapt the UI of desktop applications. They write new frontends and new software just with available linux toolkits

And it's just a coincidence that the interface looks like a mobile version of GNOME?

Yeah I don't like the Purism UI, but I don't have to I can install something else.

To me, it is like buying MacBook just to install Windows or Linux on it - totally pointless.

And you probably have never used an Ubuntu Touch phone, they have absolutely the cleanest and best UI I have ever used on a mobile device.

All I need is my friend's opinion and reviews.
- Bad UI design, rather for tablets than smartphones
- Slow performance (UI and apps)
- Fairly buggy software
- Lack of decent apps

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/meizu-pro-5-ubuntu-edition-1315194/review

It is an experiment and a risk, maybe they can sell enough hardware to make it profitable, maybe they don't. If they do we will probably see a second generation if they don't, well there are other options popping up like the pine phone. At least it is one more option we have for a phone that goes really far when it comes to user freedom. I only need the device, there are multiple options for software on it, I don't have to use their Pure OS

If this is just an experiment, I don't want to participate in it with my money.

Oh and people who care about free software and controlling their device are fanatics? I would say people who don't care about those things are mindless idiots who don't know what they are talking about, value convenience over security but will probably still blame everyone else and cry really hard if it comes back and bites them in the ass.

Do you prefer "conspiracy theorists", "paranoid people" or "masochists"? :P

[starshipeleven]

I am a programmer. I started progreamming on 486. So anything better than a 486 is great.

It needs to run Geany, NetBeans, CodeLite, CodeBlocks, a few more simple IDEs, desktop Firefox (including YouTube), LibreOffice. Well, that's it, more or less.

You can't run this software on a 486

[starshipeleven]

The hardware is sufficient for a basic desktop. The only thing missing are good GPU drivers.

It's using etnaviv, it's not bad.

Perhaps carry an adapter: USB-C to HDMI & DisplayPort & USB-A.

And a power-in jack to connect a power supply too.

Another thing that would make a lot of sense on this hardware if you want to use it with another screen is wireless screen with Miracast (Android wireless screen protocol) support. There is an application for Linux to do that https://github.com/albfan/miraclecast

so you can screencast to a TV supporting Miracast, or to a wireless dongle connected to the monitor.

Then you use bluetooth for keyboard/mouse.

But then what if USB-C port breaks?

USB-C is more durable than Micro-USB.
But yeah, having it on a daughterboard would be a good idea.

[the_scx]

I don't quite get what you are trying to suggest. I view installing applications wia Flatpack optional. So, that problem is solved by me just not using Flatpack.

Their store is going to be based around flatpaks, so you have not much choice, unless you don't want to install apps at all.

https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=Purism-PureOS-Store-Flatpaks

But what is the point of using smartphone without apps? I mean, this is an essential idea about smartphones - to install apps. If you don't need them, why don't you pick up a feature phone? What is wrong with cheap phones with KaiOS or existing Linux-based smartphones?

Do you have any suggestion for a better hardened-security smartphone? Of course, while keeping to the slogan "the phone you can truly own", with no blobs, hardware backdoors, idiotic vulnerabilities etc...

I have some ideas for improving Flatpak security, but it's a topic for a longer discussion. Much longer.

[starshipeleven]

As a "phone you can truly own", this phone actually wanders substantially into the desktop-level functionality. If it is truly secure and high-privacy and I can install on it whatever I like, then it sports a very desktop-like functionality.

Can't you "truly own a phone" that is just a phone? The hardware here is not really desktop-like.