I know this topic might be redundant and callous, but I need as much feedback as possible even though I am gathering information as a survey or some other research method of that nature.
I have tested Xfce desktop environment of PureOS, and I have to say that it works out fine enough for a desktop computer. However, I am under the process in ordering a Librem phone. Considering that interface navigation is primarily touchscreen (although one can use the usb ported keyboard option just like Raspberry Pi 400 Personal Computer Kit hardware [as an example, it’s not the best machine; no, this machine is not freedom software/hardware so you probably couldn’t replace the default OS despite usb OS installation possibilities]), I assume that the resolution will be too large for the phone’s screen to encompass its perimeter.
If I did install Xfce DE on Librem 5 (USA) phone (with PureOS OS), will it be still manageable with touchscreen dragging around the interface just to activate some programs? I know that there is a modified GNOME DE for PureOS of Librem 5 (USA). It seems to handle very differently from its desktop counterpart in interface navigation. Now, the default DE is Phosh, which is probably like GNOME, but more mobile device friendly/compatible. Still, I like the Xfce DE because it is said to be lightweight and customized according to the user’s (personal or professional) preference. Yeah, I don’t personally agree with the DE of phone devices in general, but I understand of the size limitation for many case scenarios. Phone devices with Linux as OS may be different and a change in pace to the right direction. I might consider using some data cable for temporary remote control of the phone’s OS (given that the Xfce DE stretches beyond the phone’s screen and I might have gotten tired of the drags and zooms of the touchscreen).
I probably got more questions later on while thinking or people here got questions to post in this topic.
I am not sure if it is me, but the Librem 5 repository does not support the XFCE desktop environment interface. I really hope it does.
Otherwise, I may attempt a OS reinstallation with a USB device. The screen display may not work out in the end, but I suppose with the proper monitor cables, I can view the phone’s GUI.
Say it isn’t so, but it is! The latest kernel version for Librem 5 has officially dismantle all DE sessions when it comes to the xfce4 DE. Quite the letdown, but I do realize that this is a smartphone we are talking about. Of course, I could try other OS with for better results?
By the way, I flagged my topic for correct category labels.
I wish that other smartphone type OS have their own flash image script, but no, it have to be writing a bootload OS installation media on those tiny SD cards. I know it’s a mobile device specialty, but the PureOS flash image script beats writing down OS installation devices. Maybe it’s just me, but maybe all those hardware vendors had already planned this business model. I think I will try Replicant despite the lack of test. I have a high confidence level that the PureOS flash image script will recover my Librem 5 in case of failure.
As long as it isn’t “too Android”. One customer flashed Android and, after that, normal recovery, including after reflashing, didn’t work at all - because Android had changed some weird setting on the eMMC drive. Fortunately some @‌dos wizardry was able to get the device going again. You have been warned.
If you want to try random Linux distros, you may be safer writing them to the µSD card and then booting the phone from µSD card.
I was opting for Replicant because it seems to be the closest thing as a alternative libre OS. I know it is based off of Android so no doubt that there could be problems. Replicant didn’t really have much support, probably because it is not exactly part of the main Linux establishment. What really stopped me from Replicant installation was the instructions involving multiple software setups such as its own SD bootloader, partitioning knowledge, and supporting smartphone/cell_phone/mobile_device firmware. I assume that the Librem 5 uses coreboot, but is the configuration amendable enough to read SD cards upon boot? The mere complexity is a set course for failure, especially if software updates drastically changes any existing stable methods.
I would like to try other Linux distros, but it is mostly due to my stubbornness to stay with the xfce DE. I’m sure that there are other similar DEs, but I have yet seen better in my perspective. I was pining for Mobian due to its Debian-based stability. After all, PureOS was based off of Debian.
After an attempt to write Mobian into a SD card, a reboot did not read the SD card. I can only assume that smartphone firmware must be able to read SD cards, which it cannot. From my experiences, flash image script installation methods are the way to go for installing OS into smartphones, cell phones, and mobile devices. It might be safer to install OS with a standalone storage media device than net scripts. Unfortunately, OS setup on SD cards are not as easy as one thinks. One reason is its different design. As mentioned again, there seems to be no firmware to select/read the SD card for operation, plus the matter of complexity compared to just writing an OS image into CD/DVD/USB. Another reason is the sheer size of SD cards. True, I like how there could be an 1 terabyte estimate of data with a smart phone. The unfortunate side effect of large disk space is the conversion rate of the write zero process. Be it in /dev/zero or /dev/urandom (and then maybe /dev/zero after), one must wait for under a day to completely wipe off or garble disk contents. Given these daunting circumstances, it is best to wait for long enough for the write to clear disk partition/contents before setting the partitioning table to either data/OS format. Potential need to reuse the 1 TB SD card is the driving factor of my preference for flash image scripts, regardless of possible server downtime or installation conflict between shared machines.
You may need a more current uboot version but the Librem 5 is supposed to be able to boot from µSD card, by pressing the correct button during the boot process.
I guess you could build confidence that this actually works for you by imaging the eMMC drive to the µSD card, then making some “obvious” change to what’s on the µSD card so that you can tell which disk the phone booted from, then attempt to boot from µSD card. If that works then that would demonstrate that PureOS can boot from the µSD card on the Librem 5. That is then fault isolation if any other operating system fails to boot from µSD card.
Well, sure, but if you just want to test then use a 32GB / 128GB (whichever applies) µSD card i.e. same size as the eMMC drive.
Managing the SD card would be on me. As for OS installation, I see that this topic conveniently pops up after my post(s). The buttons must be the key to activate the bootload OS installation SD card on smartphones.
Frankly mentions that the process may include 20 - 30 minutes, plus 32 GBs of disk space. I don’t think the Librem 5 could handle any more material given its said 32 GB disk space in its internal storage compartment. The external storage can help contain and manage files to a degree.