Wow, that’s nice. I may have to start using that for my secure notes on iOS, though I see there’s no mobile Linux version, but perhaps the web version will be mobile friendly?
Oh gee. No, the web version is not mobile friendly, at least not in iOS.
I can’t afford Google’s “free” VOIP service.
Purism is creating Phosh to use instead of GNOME Shell, and Phosh does support touch interfaces and a small screen. However, Purism is taking GNOME applications and adapting them to use the libhandy classes and changing the interfaces to work in a phone.
I like this feature mapping table - eventually it will show if there are any needs that need to be addressed (by whom ever).
But, looking at this in mind that the table (and tracking how the features in it get covered) could be developed further, I think the columns could be reconsidered. As the program ecosystem is a bit different on this side (from IOS and Andro), I find it a bit problematic (something that was already implied by others) to label Purism (“supported/3rd party”) to be responsible for most of the things on the list. Some come via GNOME and almost all come from community. Also, the list does not present how well something is supported. There is also the point (made previously as well), that some of these are not features that are desirable to many - they even might go against the idea of L5 [remembering of course that everyone has their own idea and way of use].
What if the columns would contain info on “implemented/supported via….” [possible Linux program name (+link)] and “level of usability” [“perfectly on L5 screen and usable controls” / “mostly usable/viewable” / “partly usable” / “planned or worse”]? Then this list could be used to track better how mature the “ecosystem of features” is.
Or does this make any sense? Further development of classifications or just discarding the idea are also valid options…
Other, separate TL thoughts that are only weakly connected to topic:
(click to see ramblings)
Going to the territory of “what is the essence/core phone (these days)”. We have had threads about what features and apps are wanted but I can’t remember a discussion of the bare minimum (which I consider different from the “minimum features” L5 was promised to have) that is acceptable as a platform (a phone - or rather a hand held computer, something different from “smart” phones). And as this could go to very atomic/code/blob level fast, I’ll add that the intended level of discussion here is “install packets/apps via GUI”.
On the other hand, feature list makes sense (to me) only if there is some limit to them. With “smart” phones there is - if nothing else, they are controlled by their ecosystem overlords. L5 is - kinda, somewhat - limitless in comparison. Although, at the moment, it is limited by resources (including know-how) to have “everything” right now. Those in need or want are limited by those few who might know how to make (who may have other things to do). But over time this should rectify itself.
And about some of the unwanted features and apps: some of them are - simplified - about “not knowing for sure” and “not being in control” and this obstacle could be circumvented by being able to have services/apps “in phone” or “in own server”, instead of in the cloud and in in the dark. Even a closed code app could be managed reasonably (info stays contained) in comparison. Challenge is, of course, that L5 (or any other user device) might not have the computing power and memory to run some of these (at least at expected speeds). I say, this is mostly just how systems are designed and they could be done differently as well. Also, most exotic features are used so seldom and impact our life so little, that they could be dropped - if Shazam [just a quick example] is like oxygen to you, I’d like to hear how you got that way. So… some of these - I hate to use “smart” in this context but what ever - features could meybe be had safely but require major re-thinking, going back to old ways of software.
Lastly, a “smart phone” seems almost silly. L5 is a handheld mini computer. Smart phones broadly speaking are too, but they have the previously mentioned limits. A genuine computer, as I see it, is digital device that can be and do anything it is programmed to do (it can change freely) - as opposed to analog, that can only be what it was made to be. The “smart” phones of today seem to be going back to analog direction in that sense, because commercially it makes sense to lock people in to ecosystems. And “smart” was meant to imply, that a device could do things more than what was directly commanded from it. So, since these could not be done in the phone, “smart” then became to mean that these services were implemented at server farms. And isn’t that where users lost safety, control, of devices. In this context, “smart” is almost synonym to limited. And such devices more often upload data uncontrollably. Which all has been a long winded way to get to something else: L5 is a “safe” phone and computer. Not just a phone or a computer. And not “smart” as it is now defined. The term “secure” (phone) in this context is something different: it’s a process and needs user to keep the phone secure and use it in a secure manner.
These thoughts almost manage to point - regarding thread topic - out that defining a set feature requirements list that all might agree on, or one that might fit L5, might be a bit much. But an updated list that just has different popular features tracked might have longevity and be useful. Some features may take a long time but they are not absolutely impossible to have, even safely.
And (one more thing), wouldn’t it be nice, if this list could be linked to the apps in development list (in wiki) somehow…?
Sorry about the long post.
Absolutely. I did realize that it was qualitatively deficient for individual items, but being completely out of the loop, I was coming from it from a standpoint of: as a user/consumer, can it be done, period, at any level of feature support? From a development standpoint, I would definitely granularize each item.
As far as I’m concerned, I feel like I have enough information for my purposes, i.e. at this point, I’m not prepared to dive into a pure Linux phone and I’m beginning to wonder about how I would do these things in Android, and whether I would have the same overall issues with Android that I do with Apple, I.e. dropping features, planned obsolescence, and battery killing updates?
Switching to Android will benefit you none if you’re trying to get away from planned obsolescence
One thing that you can do is buy an Android phone and install LineageOS and the F-Droid repo. Then, only install the programs that you really need from the Google Play Store. I have been doing that since 2015, and I’m fairly happy, but you need to read the comments on the XDA-Developers forum about the LineageOS port for the particular model of phone that you buy to make sure that it is fully compatible with LineageOS. For example, I had a Moto Pure Edition that never worked well, because the LineageOS port for that model didn’t support the second microphone for background noise cancelation. From that experience, I learned to read the comments on the forum before buying a phone.
There is no guarantee that the community will keep creating ports for your model of phone with each new version of LineageOS. In my experience, someone will always try to create a port for the latest version of LineageOS, but it might have bugs. The ports seem to always be good with Nexus, Pixel and OnePlus, but you need to investigate the particular model if buying any other brand. A number of Xiaomi models have good LineageOS ports, but Xiaomi has a very annoying policy for unlocking the bootloader.
I think what you’re asking is what can be made/ported to a flatpak and effectively work with the librem 5s hardware? That question has yet to be answered because there is not yet a robust community of people making/porting what they want yet. The list is incredibly helpful because it tells what one person, and likely more people, want
I don’t believe many of the Librem 5s proggys are going to come from purism. It’s not like a regular phone where you get what you get until the next update/model, rather any user can make/port whatever they want and distribute the flatpak. Party like it’s 1999