cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/51000209
Librephone aims to close the last gaps between existing distributions of the Android operating system and software freedom. The FSF has hired experienced developer Rob Savoye (DejaGNU, Gnash, OpenStreetMap, and more) to lead the technical project. He is currently investigating the state of device firmware and binary blobs in other mobile phone freedom projects, prioritizing the free software work done by the not entirely free software mobile phone operating system LineageOS.
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Damn. They’re basing it all on LineageOS. I was hoping they’d make it a GNU/Linux phone.
Replicant 2.0
In case anyone is misunderstanding, they explicitly say this is not a new phone or piece of hardware at all, it is simply a project (and for now, more of an investigation than a project creating actual deliverables) into the scale and scope of closed source binary blobs being used on phones, so they can start work to address them.
It’s an important and necessary project, and I support the FSF in most of the things they do, but if you’re picturing them riding heroically to the rescue by Christmas with a new phone-of-freedom they’re going to sell to you, it’s a very very VERY long way from that.
But on the positive side, someone is finally attacking the last obstacle to using our expensive hardware however we want to: device drivers. I’m hopeful.
This is way better than that promise, thanks for explaining
Yeah unfortunately I wouldn’t be expecting any real progress towards a “freedom” OS that can just be installed on any phone in the way that people are wanting for a decade plus, if ever. OEMs don’t want people using someone else’s OS on their devices, so they’ll take steps to prevent anything these guys do from working. The only thing that would change this is laws mandating it, and that’s not really something that should even be considered - at least for a currently supported by the manufacturer phone.
Spot on. There are substantial incentive of each company wanting to keep user on platform they have control over, if not massive for revenues from appstore tax, advertising, etc.
I think it suffices to say that it is becoming a primary goal selling you their phone (I don’t have data or evidence for this, just a feeling) – to get you to use their system and stuck with their advertisement slot or whatever every time you unlock your phone.
