Current state of Librem 5 usability?

[rinokeros]

@amosbatto

Google provides security updates for two years for each version of Android, so if the phone OEM (or the carrier) decides to not offer Android upgrades, the phone is effectively limited to a 2 year lifespan, and many phones, especially mid-range and lower-end models aren’t getting Android upgrades.

I doubt the general user cares or knows much about security patches or OS version and would throw away the phone because of that.

[junkyarddog]

Given a choice between a partially functioning OS and one that functions fine without updates…guess which one most are likely to choose. I am fine waiting with an outdated OS until linux is working well enough to use it. It is the modularity and repairability that I am after. When the time comes, the switch shouldn’t be that big of a deal, especially since data can be easily exported/important with a removable card.

[irvinewade]

@junkyarddog

guess which one most are likely to choose

… until the phone gets pwned.

I think the way it will work is that the majority of people who are running vulnerable phones will get away with it and a small minority will end up paying far more than the cost of junking the phone. So people are prepared to take the risk of being in the latter category.

A business may not be prepared to take that risk because there can be consequences for such negligence or even recklessness that go well beyond one phone.

[t0m]

Thanks, that worked! I can even make calls and receive video. The camera of the L5 is not recognized by signal, but thats not important in my case.

[pit]

Current state of Librem 5 usability?

I would say it is getting better all the time. But there are many things which have to get better. 4G, screen-off-time, camera, gps, only to name a few.

But I do not regret buying the Librem5.

[amarok]

I like this small update to phosh:

Guido Günther (@agx@librem.one)

Sometimes it’s the little things. Nice work, team!

[nimji]

There’s been a few threads that got close (I really appreciate this thread as being the closest I’ve found so far) but I’d be interested in a “daily use” review that wasnt based around leaving the device on a charger.

Example of what I’d like to see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__F1jAcCLFo (just picked one, but it’s from TheUnlockr and shows a day of using devices around town).

This would be really valuable IMO, most “reviews” are based from usage at home, near a charger and talk more about the Linux side of things rather than the “phone” capabilities - I don’t have a Librem5 but as a long-term potential buyer this content would help inform my decision (besides considering stock viabilty).

This probably wont happen due to the limited number of devices out in the wild (as well as taking into account the user base) but one can dream!

[Zod]

@irvinewade

(So, as an example, I would rather run an LDAP server, to share my contacts to my devices, than synch my contacts around between devices.)

@irvinewade Fascinating … (intoned in a Star Trek/ Mr. Spock-like sort of way with 1 eyebrow raised) Can you elaborate or point me in a direction where I can find out more on this approach?

[irvinewade]

@Zod

Can you elaborate or point me in a direction where I can find out more on this approach?

Sadly, not at the moment because, and someone correct me if I am wrong, the mail client on the Librem 5 does not (yet?) support LDAP.

But the above is the approach that I have tested with Thunderbird (working LDAP client support) and an iPhone (adequately working LDAP client support). So, longer term, it is what I would like to use with the Librem 5.

If your question is more general than the Librem 5 then slapd is the server package that you will need to install. (Package sponsored by Will Smith? ) NB: There is the assumption that you have a suitable server to install this on.

I’ve imported all contacts into the LDAP server from .ldif format and you may need some data preparation and cleansing before that will work (I definitely did, but it’s probably a good thing to do anyway, right?).

And just to round this one out … due to the absence of LDAP client support in the Librem 5, I texthacked the .ldif file into a .vcf file and loaded that into the Librem 5 using the supplied Goodies package. So no synch or consistency for now.

[OpojOJirYAlG]

Wait, there’s no ldap client in pureos?

[irvinewade]

@OpojOJirYAlG

there’s no ldap client in pureos?

Maybe. Maybe not.

I meant specifically: the mail client that I am using, Geary, does not contain support for being an LDAP client. Perhaps if you use a different mail client, that problem will go away (but you then might get a different problem i.e. whole mail client not sufficiently adaptive). So Geary works very nicely on the small screen but you live with its limitations e.g. no POP and, I am claiming without checking, no LDAP.

[OpojOJirYAlG]

Ok, that makes more sense.

[Photon]

Anyone try using GSConnect/KDEConnect to share contacts (and other stuff)?

[Pirate_Praveen]

For matrix, nheko works well with end to end encryption.

[primalmotion]

To sync contacts, calendars, notes, reminders, files etc, I use Nextcloud, which is natively supported by gnome (using carddav and caldav) and the desktop client to sync files. It beats every iCloud.

[Lib5]

“You can use sshfs 1, so your phone’s folder will appear on you PC as a local folder, and vice versa.”

Could someone walk me through setting this up - or directing me to said info. As if I’m a 3 yr old or the dumbest person on earth.

I’m all in - Librem 14 and a 5. I have a computer science degree from a zillion years ago and feel like a dinosaur who can’t seem to accomplish anything. But I really wanted to support this project.

Finally rescued my music from iTunes. Threw it in Dropbox, downloaded dropbox onto the 14. Can’t for the life of me figure out how to get the files onto the phone. After failing to figure out how to get the laptop and phone to see each other, I even tried to install dropbox on the phone (like I did on the laptop). I can’t get that to work. If I could just one shared file as you suggest, this would solve things for me. Any help appreciated. Sorry if i sound stupid. I feel stupid!!

[amarok]

Check out the tutorials in the community wiki: https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Tips-&-Tricks#tutorials

• ssh
• sftp

[Lib5]

TYSM. I’ll start there.

[amarok]

Note that sftp is slightly different from sshfs, but sftp is very useful as well.

When running the commands listed in the tutorials, pay attention to where the highlighting starts and ends. Run each command separately in the terminal, unless they’re joined by “&&” as in these:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade (then hit Enter)
sudo apt install openssh-client (then hit Enter)

Ask questions here if you need help.

P.S. Would Nextcloud meet your cloud needs? You can log into it directly from the L5’s settings. (And it’s open-source.)

[irvinewade]

@Lib5

my music

Here’s how I put a copy of my entire music library on the Librem 5.

• Buy a µSD card, whatever size you need for your music library.
• Put it in any regular computer that has access to your music library. (In your case that regular computer would seem to be the Librem 14.) Unfortunately it looks like Purism dropped the card reader from the Librem 14. So you will also need to:
• Buy a USB device for reading/writing a µSD card.
• Put the µSD card in the USB device and plug the USB device into your Librem 14.
• Format the µSD card as ext4. Be careful here because you want to make sure that you are formatting the correct disk.
• Drag and drop (copy) your music library from wherever it is currently to make a copy of it on the µSD card.
• Put the µSD card in the Librem 5.

I’ve taken this approach in part because my music library is too large to fit on the internal disk of the Librem 5.

No, these instructions are not suitable for a 3yo. They are to point you in the right direction for one approach and you can ask to drill down for any steps that you are stuck on.

Apart from the last step, I actually did this months before I ever received my Librem 5, so the µSD card was ready to go when the Librem 5 arrived.

This may be much faster to transfer than going via the local network. However sftp and sshfs are both valid approaches if you want to copy via the local network.