Byzantium. The updating procedure is absolutely horrible.
Pretty much this. There is only so much even the Linux people will put up with. I’m not sure how to explain this but I don’t want my phone to be a project. However it is important that L5 succeeds and becomes 3rd option. Buying generic Android phones and reverse engineering them is counter productive.
I wouldn’t bother with Epiphany. Install Firefox and call it a day. But expect scaling problems when you go into its settings page.
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Economics. It won’t happen on its own without adoption and funding. If you want something more mature, there’s the option of waiting for time to pass or getting the word out there so others can try it out who are willing to tolerate some quirks.
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Purism devs have been directing most of their attention toward software development on the Librem 5 lately. Some fixes came out relatively recently that may address some of your concerns.
Oh sorry: hardware killswitch
Yeah, sounds like something to bring up to support@puri.sm.
That would drive me mad. I understand that you don’t want to touch the terminal if at all possible; have you checked out apps/services like Syncthing or Nextcloud? If there is not a native arm64 Linux app for something, you may want to test-drive a web app and see how it performs.
I understand the circular dependency here. My personal experience with major telecom companies would suggest that Purism doesn’t drive enough sales to warrant their attention, but maybe. I suspect that Purism leadership has looked into this and that it would be done already if it were a simple affair.
The device supports a variety of input methods that can ease this burden.
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I agree. Future looks dim.
You made 6 common points.
You got 6 excuses.
Sounds like you got the same model I have. BUT…
It is said the the 5 is “a work in progress”. Now, knowing that, I don’t expect it to do much of anything. I read the ads, but have, since purchase, lowered my expectations 75% and now, due to health issues, I had to buy a digital phone I can rely on.
Meanwhile, I look forward to L5 working better one day, but do try the huge amount of help I received to get it readable and online. Learning new OS commands was not in the ads.
They’ve made it this far. Let’s hope they can augment the ‘team’ with more techs who can help move this along before people opt to use Google implants instead of desktops and digital phones.
~f
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Here’s one that you can use over WiFi: List of Apps that fit and function well [Post them here.]
There are others I’ve seen or heard about, I believe.
If you set up ssh (secure shell), you could use sftp (secure file transfer protocol) to simply select the L5 in the file browser on your computer(s) to expose files and move them across by WiFi. Simple tutorials here: https://source.puri.sm/Librem5/community-wiki/-/wikis/Tips-&-Tricks#tutorials
With ssh, you can also log in to the L5 over WiFi via the Terminal on your computer, to run commands on a larger screen. (With your computer’s larger, physical keyboard.)
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This is a bold claim and feels like a shallow attack toward the contributors of this thread, particularly of which, I feel, are making an honest effort to be helpful.
It is my understanding that:
“A reason is based on logic, evidence, or objective facts, while an excuse is often based on subjective beliefs, emotions, or personal biases.” [Source]
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In addition to that, you could also use Valent (alpha status atm but it works flawless for me). A nice alternative if you use GNOME on the desktop and would install the GSConnect Shell extension over there; it integrates the Librem 5 quite well into your desktop so you can see the battery percentage, send files, use copy-paste, …
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I don’t have others write my material, but thanks for offering.
~f
Other points seem to have been commented except
Simplest for that (for most random file transfer needs) I’ve used is Warp. Warpinator is ok but needs a tad more to set up.
So, using the command line is a 1990’s practise, but storing your contacts on a SIM isn’t?!
Using the command line line is very much part and parcel of working on linux. But there are lots of gui solutions for most tasks.
That explains a lot.
You can’t go buy a nerdy, experimental machine like the L5, and then go complain about how nerdy and experimental it is.
Maybe it would be best if you go and buy a consumer phone.
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Syncthing (apt install syncthing-gtk). There are “official” builds for “every” arch, and being a golang app, you don’t have to worry about runtime dependencies. I have syncthing installed on all my servers, desktops, laptops, android phones/tables and ebooks (three from different “generations”). I choose what one device shares with other devices.
On L5, you’ll have to use the docked mode or the menu key from the terminal keyboard to change/edit folders. But, once configured, I just start syncthing-gtk when I want to sync, and “stop the daemon” & quit when I’m done. I could copy that .desktop file to autostart/ , but I want to save the battery. The android version GUI has an option to start the daemon on different conditions (charging, wi-fi, etc…). Unfortunately , I didn’t find these controls in syncthing-gtk .
I though that the telco provider has access to anything on the SIM card.
Try Convergence. You might love it. A simple USB-C hub with HDMI and USB ports for keyboard and mouse (+ PowerDelivery) is enough to get a taste of it.
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Can we please stop with this victim blaming? The Librem 5 was never marketed as an experimental machine for nerds. Purism explicitly marketed it as a device for everyone. They even said it’s the perfect device for kids and parents as a normal smartphone which protects your data.
So you should instead blame Purism for their misleading marketing.
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They most certainly did not!
Here’s the product info page.
They never said it was going to be easy.
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Here’s the product page from Nov 2019: https://web.archive.org/web/20191111205618/https://puri.sm/products/librem-5/
I quote:
This device is for anybody and everybody interested in protecting his/her data, communicating privately to your loved ones, or supporting a future of protecting your digital rights.
Parents: You will love the Librem 5 because it will allow you to communicate with your child, while having peace of mind that they are not being compromised or tracked without your permission.
Enterprises, Businesses and organizations of all sizes: You will love the Librem 5 because it will allow you to have a security focused phone that is immune to common threats and protects your intellectual property and sensitive data by default.
Upon initial shipment of the Librem 5 in 2019, it will offer the essentials: phone functionality, email, messaging, voice, camera, browsing.
So please quote the sections where Purism said (and warned), that this is an experimental device for nerds and likely not suited as a normal device for kids or to be used in productive enterprise environments etc. You know like the Pine Phone developers actually did.
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Thanks for mentioning this. I did not know of the existence of Valent until I read this. Very nice!
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Ceterum censeo, purism needs a different management!
Just a side note: before delving into some of the questions, please look at some of the old threads that have been written (and at time re-written) about the more flammable stuff already. Come up with some original material or this ends up going to “Round Table” category (or gets closed) at some point, once again. Search is your friend. As a guidance, the thread topic looks to the future, not the past…
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If you watch your link you will also find a list where “what phone has xyz” with “Purism yes” and “Android/iOS no” all the table. Isn’t it wired that there is no single downside listed where Purism is “no” and the other devices “yes”? It’s 100% clear that they wrote only positive things to get as many customers as possible. On the other hand they also never spoke about that it can replace a typical smartphone for every use case. They said “This device is for anybody and everybody interested in protecting his/her data, communicating privately to your loved ones, or supporting a future of protecting your digital rights”, but not that it also works as an Android etc.
I don’t say that such marketing is something good, but how do you survive in a capitalism world where every company lies on you, if you trust every marketing speech on the main page? If you dig little bit further you could find further information (even 2019 you could find everything you needed to know). That’s a basic skill all people should have nowadays, at least to protect yourself.
At the end there is also a difference between Purism and Pine64: Pine64 didn’t want to improve software, Purism tries to make it usable for everyone. So Pine64 would even make a real lie if they would say “it’s for everyone” since they never could achieve this … not even in 20 years without community that will improve software on all its ends. Maybe even Purism thought 2019 it’s easier than it is actually.
It’s not that black and white as you try to say.
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Doesn’t say it would be simple.
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