@Randys has written a new blog article for Purism:
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I don’t see anything meaningfully different between this and past advertisements for the Purism phones.
Also, I still haven’t seen anything to indicate what Purism has done with regard to ML-KEM beyond saying they’ve adopted the standard that was adopted by the standards bodies.
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You can try contacting sales@puri.sm and see if @todd-weaver gives you a different response than mine.
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You mean the response of asking how many devices you’re looking to order rather than answering the question or pointing you to where to get the information? Not a very appealing option, and I also see Todd as more of a hype man than a technical person.
I’d rather hear from someone whom has been able to find something contributed in the source code OR Purism to say something substantial openly rather than hiding behind a large purchase potentially with an NDA attached.
In theory this should be an open and straightforward thing, however it appears at this time to be more fluff and/or obfuscation.
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Right, everything about how this particular subject has been handled seems to be contrary to Purism and their Articles of Incorporation.
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Smartphones Leaking Data … Purism devices, such as the Liberty Phone and the Librem 5 smartphones, […]
So, Librem 5 is leaking data.
I really dislike that Purism still speaks about “smartphones”. It’s still more like a common PC than a company controlled smart device. And another reason is what I wrote above. It makes communication more complicated. When I call Librem 5 a smartphone and I want to speak about the negative aspects of smart devices, should I always add “except Linux devices”? (Edit: Android is also kind of Linux - you see, things get complicated.)
Or do you know the question “do you have a smartphone?” to test if I have compromised my own privacy? If I call Librem 5 a smartphone, I could not say more than “yes, but …”, because I will be interrupted with “so your privacy is gone anyway”. It makes it hard to explain that this device is different than any other smart device. So why calling it smartphone when it has other characteristics and mislead what people think about?
(PS: There are more differences than just privacy.)
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Because this is what the average person is looking for and comparing against. Purism is, and always has been, set on marketing the Librem 5 as a smartphone/smartphone alternative for the average person.
While I agree that purism is being irresponsible by marketing the Librem 5 as something it isn’t (ready for the average customer), i don’t inherently see a problem with using the term smartphone instead of trying to come up with a new term and “make fetch happen”.
I do see the irony in saying “smartphones are bad, you should buy our smartphone”, however it is common and generally accepted that marketing arms of companies mean “everyone elses thing is bad, buy our thing” when they say “this thing is bad buy our thing”.
I really wish @Randys would stop making posts like this, condense it into a poster/billboard and be done with it. There have been several posts that are basically the same thing, make the marketing material and give it out, don’t keep presenting the same or mostly same information as if it’s news, this devalues both the actual news posts AND the marketing.
It would also be nice if the feedback @JCS passed on internally was reflected in the posts and actions of Purism. I don’t have any reason to doubt that JCS is puting forth the effort and communicating in good faith, which leaves me with the impression that there is minimal/moderate support for JCS which is unfortunate.
I see this as not dissimilar to how @Kyle_Rankin tried to manage the forums and the issues raised. Some things were addressed promptly, some things were passed along with no sign of change.
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The Librem 5 product page does not say “smartphone” one single time. It’s just called “phone”. And same with lots of news articles.
Why do we call laptop not desktop? We can put a laptop on the desk. Or why we do not call tablets laptop? Both can be used with touch input and are can be put into the backpack. Why a smartphone and a tablet are not the same things? It’s mostly the same device, just that tablets are less handy for one hand use. Why a dumbphone is no smartphone?
They have many similar characteristics, but in detail some differences. And the only 2 characteristics of “smart” that Librem 5 shares is “it’s an electric device” and “it can have access to the internet”. A desktop PC has also both characteristics. But it’s completely contrary to the design philosophy of a pocket computer or any other non smart device. Smart devices are designed to collect data, showing the candy beet on a fishing pole in front of your head and turn back the wheel of enlightenment. The industry wants an “AI phone” next, which does not even allow to install apps. Just ask the AI and it books your travel automatically. This is even the next level of smartphone and will get another name. And now tell me, what of these things are also true for Librem 5 or similar devices?
The marketing term “smart” has characteristics most people here on forums do not want. So it would be better to not fade it and make a clear cut as it should be.
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You know you can just ignore the topics where someone bothers to link to a new blog post of his?
(and you can “mute” a topic, in case discussion of the blog post ensues)
Clearly you are not the target audience of these blog posts.
Perhaps a smartphone is like fire, a cruel master, but a faithful servant. A smartphone running blackbox code is a cruel master - you barely own your own device, and it will shaft you sooner or later. That doesn’t make the idea of a smartphone intrinsically bad. An open, verifiable smartphone is a faithful servant.
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If smart or not has nothing to do with open source or proprietary. A pocket computer can also be proprietary, but with enough freedom to own that device enough to switch OS, disable sensors on hardware level or replace modular components etc.
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Perfectly valid however I think it speaks to a deeper feeling of changing priorities at Purism. Kindof like us patient people who backed them from the start are feeling cast aside while they chase big govt contracts.
It may be for the best in the long run but for now our L5s are languishing and I believe there’s a lo lot of frustration out there.
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But that is Randy’s job.
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Yes it is and I’m not disputing or begrudging him that, just sharing an impression that comes from that emphasis.
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I could. I could also express disappointment and a desire for someone to improve.
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