After years of living on the bleeding edge of free code OS and apps, I'm really feeling the need for a stable, reliable #UX for day-to-day communications etc. But I honestly don't know how to achieve that right now without compromising my software freedom.
The world is awash in perfectly functional used hardware that only works with at least some proprietary software, which is often unsupported by the vendor. That means unless we're constantly transferring all our apps and data to newer devices, we're playing russian roulette with the security of things like internet banking and E2EE chat apps.
@iLikeAltitude This is precisely my problem though; I need reliable devices for everyday tasks *yesterday*. I bought a PinePhone but from what I've seen so far Mobile GNU isn't ready for primitive yet. The freedom-respecting UX I need is always just a few dev cycles away. It's like the fusion energy of digital tech.
@strypey .. agreed. Who doesn't want open source hardware yesterday.
I guess the problem is that not long ago, hardly enough people were aware of the fundamental problem of proprietary hardware and the need for open source hardware and public policy has been of little help either.
So crowd funding has only recently become an actually realistic solution. Contemporary complex hardware simply needs significant resources so there's a certain threshold of minimum number of potential buyers, below which hardware that's capable of handling today's ordinary computing tasks cannot be developed.
But my original grizzle, I guess, was that software freedom on mobile devices and other newer form factors is lagging behind. The vast majority of laptops and desktops can now run some form of GNU/Linux and projects like LineageOS and @postmarketOS are doing good work to extend the useful life of some mobile devices. But I'd like to see the software freedom movement working on more sustainable strategies for the liberation of abandoned hardware.
How can activists like me, who lack the technical skills to port OS ourselves, support the work of bringing free code OS to more devices, and make them more easily accessible? Could there be some value in a 'Right to Repair' fund that gives grants to projects doing reverse engineering of hardware components and porting of OS?
@postmarketOS @iLikeAltitude @mntmn @PINE64 @purism @Fairphone
#RightToRepair #FreeCode #SoftwareFreedom #ReverseEngineering
@iLikeAltitude These are all fair points. With all the work being done by newer companies like @mntmn OpenRISC, @PINE64 @purism E Foundation, @Fairphone, FrameWork, and many others, and also by orgs like FSF (eg Respects Your Freedom certification) and OSHWA, I'm cautiously optimistic about the medium-to-long term prospects for freedom-respecting hardware.
#MNTMN #OpenRISC #Pine64 #Purism #EFoundation #FairPhone #FrameWork #FSF #RYF #SoftwareFreedom #OSHWA #OpenHardware