[thurask]

So they're hoping the draw of the phone itself is enough to outweigh Osborne-ing every batch before Librem 5 Yew or whenever they iron out the kinks?

[bb10adopter111]

So they're hoping the draw of the phone itself is enough to outweigh Osborne-ing every batch before Librem 5 Yew or whenever they iron out the kinks?

Yes. This is an early adopter round of manufacturing, and they are letting backers choose which variant they want, warts and all, and being transparent about it. I think you underestimate the significance of this device for the niche market of privacy "purists."

None of Purism's products are designed for the mass market, and this phone is no exception. But they have a pretty good reputation in the privacy community for their PureOS Linux variant, especially since Ubuntu has started preloading Amazon and other telemetry tools by default.

The reason to buy this device is simple: to have a genuine smartphone (with very limited app availability) that can access the modern Internet without surrendering any privacy to anyone except what is required to deliver specifically desired services from cell towers (and then, only if the mobile antenna is turned on).

The compromises are obvious and will make this phone a non-starter for the mass market. But that doesn't matter to the people who want this phone.

If you look at me, for example. My personal laptop runs Linux with encrypted DNS and a VPN. My cell carrier and ISPs cannot see the sites I visit or inspect my traffic. I only use aliases with 99% of the services I use both for work and personal use, with email forwarding from the aliases to my "real" email addresses, which I provide to no one, not even friends and family. I use VOIP for phones. (I honestly do not even know my carrier-assigned phone number!). I auto generate unique forwarding email addresses (and often phone numbers, if I have to use one) for every commercial service I use.

It sounds like a lot of work and hassle, I know, but it really isn't. I have phone numbers, email addresses and other personal information that I can give out just like everyone else for work and personal use. They just aren't easily resolved to my real world ID, and they can't automatically be linked to one another. I am, effortlessly, several hundred different people on the Internet, none of whom is my true ID.

I am not 100% compliant with all this yet, as I have to transition 30 years of Internet use! I am using this system for all new accounts, and I'm transitioning my legacy accounts over time as I revisit them, often deleting them and opening new accounts.

This shouldn't seem all that radical, though it's not what Google and Facebook want. Gamers do this all the time, and I simply treat all of my online identities like "gamer" handles, or like the handles we use for discussion boards like this. My real world ID also exists on the Internet, of course, but I don't use any unique identifiers other than a few variations of my real name except when legally required to do so, so it's difficult to correlate these IDs

It's possible to do 80% of this on an Android phone, which is what I do on my KEYONE, but the Google app store can correlate apps to my device, and it's just too easy for carriers and Google to obtain personal information that I can't easily control or obfuscate.

I could de-Google Android or use a forked version, but the same hooks are all there in the ecosystem.

For me, a Linux-based phone running a desktop OS on a handheld mini computer is a better solution, if Purism's or anyone else can get it working properly.

From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.

[thurask]

The compromises are obvious and will make this phone a non-starter for the mass market. But that doesn't matter to the people who want this phone.

It's barely a starter even for target users, after that Phoronix interview (and backing it up) I doubt this will be anything more than a well intentioned failure. There's nothing stopping one from spending their cash on pre-alpha hardware and questionable software, but the best case scenario for this is being the ashes out of which some phoenix project rises.

[bb10adopter111]

It's barely a starter even for target users, after that Phoronix interview (and backing it up) I doubt this will be anything more than a well intentioned failure. There's nothing stopping one from spending their cash on pre-alpha hardware and questionable software, but the best case scenario for this is being the ashes out of which some phoenix project rises.

The Phoenix blog is just a restatement of the actual announcement from the CEO's blog article. It's hardly a scandal. I know five people who pre-ordered this phone, and none of them seem concerned at the early batch engineering issues. Two are Linux devs who are happy to get an early version of the phone (currently the Birch batch). The others are end users who would rather wait for the Evergreen revision next year.

I have no idea whether Purism's Librem 5 will be the successful FOSS mobile phone. I think the company has a very good reputation within its target demographic, and the transparency they are demonstrating with regards to the development of the phone isn't going to hurt them as much as you think.

It helps that they have a strong track record delivering actual products that sell. Their existing satisfied customers are their primary backers for the Librem 5.

From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.

[anon(10512033)]

I prefer Pine64's approach. They're building open hardware (except the cell modem, because that can't be) and letting communities develop the software. This seems more consistent with the development of free software on other platforms.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Forums v1.3.3.

[bb10adopter111]

I prefer Pine64's approach. They're building open hardware (except the cell modem, because that can't be) and letting communities develop the software. This seems more consistent with the development of free software on other platforms.

Sent from my Mi A1 using Forums v1.3.3.

I think both companies are very much in the spirit of the FOSS community. Purism's PureOS Linux variant is completely free and open, and In like the way they have selected and sources their hardware components to ensure audit ability and privacy.

I'll be happy if either or both companies succeed in promoting free and private Linux-based mobile devices!

From the screen of my trusty Z10 using the exceptional BlackBerry VKB.