That "obscure alternative" is one of the only ones consisting of entirely free software. Instead of whining that something doesn't work you should rather help implementing what's missing, either by direct contributions, money donations or even just a good word to the developers. Otherwise the rarity of free mobile systems like SHR, QtMoko or Replicant will become even more rare and none of them will be ever usable for anyone else than hardcore geeks.
Most of the popular ROMs are made using the very same closed drivers the article is talking about to provide hardware compatibility - otherwise they would be exactly where Replicant is now. Any third-party ROM for Galaxy devices that uses Samsung's library to communicate with the modem is vulnerable - so almost all of them are, including CyanogenMod.
Modem can ask the APU app to write/read selected files and do some other file system operations. Why would modem want to read/write arbitrary files on user's file system and what and how could invoke such behavior of the modem? The answer is up to your imagination.
Well, in fact many other phones don't need any backdoor to do the same as lots of them have modems directly connected to main RAM, exposing it to monitoring or even manipulation by the closed and strictly secured modem firmware.
That's why projects like Neo900 opt for clear APU<->modem separation as host<->peripheral, together with power and antenna usage monitoring and fully free software stack on APU side.
This is part of their undocumented protocol for communication with the modem. Modem can ask to read or write some file on disk using IPC_RFS_READ_FILE, IPC_RFS_WRITE_FILE, IPC_RFS_LSEEK_FILE, IPC_RFS_CLOSE_FILE, etc. messages and the library will happily do that for the modem. It's hardly unintended.
Well, in fact, systemd can only be used with the Linux kernel (unless some other kernel mimic all custom Linux interfaces systemd relies on) - that's why it's becoming default for Jessie only on Linux architectures, while others, such as kFreeBSD or Hurd, will still use sysvinit.
Aside of the comment you're answering to being wrong, the full Debian OS on one of supported Linux architectures is officially called "Debian GNU/Linux" by Debian project itself.
Linux architectures, not GNU/Linux. In this context it's not about the whole operating system, it's about the kernel itself. Aside of Linux architectures there are also kFreeBSD architectures in Debian - with "k" added to make it clear that it's about FreeBSD kernel, not OS.
Don't try to fix other people when you don't know what them (and in turn you as well) are talking about.
Sure, those are the components and those are manufactured wherever Texas Instruments, Panasonic and other vendors manufacture them. The Neo900 itself will however be assembled in Germany, as that's the best the project can do with its resources (similarly to what Raspberry Pi did with assembling in UK).
It's for sure mentioned many times on Maemo Talk thread. You might also want to place your cursor near "Micro-AB 2.0 (OTG)" in Neo900 specification page to see a little tooltip...;)
GSM - free GSM module doesn't exists, replacing sw means revoke of certification and using non-certified device on public network is illegal GPU - only 3D acceleration is non-free. OSes like SHR or QtMoko don't need 3D acceleration and work great without it, with 100% FLOSS stack WiFi - it *might* be non-free (as in firmware, drivers will be free no matter what), but only if no acceptable free module can be found
Really? IMO it doesn't seem like that. Maemo compatibility is key aspect of this project, but only because of lack of manpower to properly support new OS entirely by community (and besides of OS alone think also of kernel - power management being the primary key). Stock Maemo 5 won't support Neo900 by default, it will need some adaptations, so any upgrades are being considered as long as it's reasonable to expect proper, stable support to came from community in some reasonable time frame.
I think that's a great way to ensure that mistakes from Openmoko project won't be repeated here.
I'm using my Neo Freerunner as my daily phone. Sure, it had those problems you mentioned, but those are fixable. My GTA02 lasts few days on battery now (which is quite weared off after those 5 years) and works pretty stable. The only thing that annoys me is really poor GPRS speed and graphics performance, which is better than it was at the launch, but is still quite unacceptable. Luckily, those issues aren't really important in light of freedom gains one gets from such device. I can live with them and I wouldn't replace this lovely device with anything less open.
Thank god for Openmoko and still living community it has spawned. I can think of OpenPhoenux platforms as proper alternative when dumping Android for some security reasons like that.
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That "obscure alternative" is one of the only ones consisting of entirely free software. Instead of whining that something doesn't work you should rather help implementing what's missing, either by direct contributions, money donations or even just a good word to the developers. Otherwise the rarity of free mobile systems like SHR, QtMoko or Replicant will become even more rare and none of them will be ever usable for anyone else than hardcore geeks.
It's not.
Why not use and/or enhance already existing free software replacement, used by projects like freesmartphone.org or... Replicant?
Most of the popular ROMs are made using the very same closed drivers the article is talking about to provide hardware compatibility - otherwise they would be exactly where Replicant is now.
Any third-party ROM for Galaxy devices that uses Samsung's library to communicate with the modem is vulnerable - so almost all of them are, including CyanogenMod.
Modem can ask the APU app to write/read selected files and do some other file system operations. Why would modem want to read/write arbitrary files on user's file system and what and how could invoke such behavior of the modem? The answer is up to your imagination.
Well, in fact many other phones don't need any backdoor to do the same as lots of them have modems directly connected to main RAM, exposing it to monitoring or even manipulation by the closed and strictly secured modem firmware.
That's why projects like Neo900 opt for clear APU<->modem separation as host<->peripheral, together with power and antenna usage monitoring and fully free software stack on APU side.
This is part of their undocumented protocol for communication with the modem. Modem can ask to read or write some file on disk using IPC_RFS_READ_FILE, IPC_RFS_WRITE_FILE, IPC_RFS_LSEEK_FILE, IPC_RFS_CLOSE_FILE, etc. messages and the library will happily do that for the modem. It's hardly unintended.
Well, in fact, systemd can only be used with the Linux kernel (unless some other kernel mimic all custom Linux interfaces systemd relies on) - that's why it's becoming default for Jessie only on Linux architectures, while others, such as kFreeBSD or Hurd, will still use sysvinit.
Aside of the comment you're answering to being wrong, the full Debian OS on one of supported Linux architectures is officially called "Debian GNU/Linux" by Debian project itself.
Linux architectures, not GNU/Linux. In this context it's not about the whole operating system, it's about the kernel itself. Aside of Linux architectures there are also kFreeBSD architectures in Debian - with "k" added to make it clear that it's about FreeBSD kernel, not OS.
Don't try to fix other people when you don't know what them (and in turn you as well) are talking about.
Then how is it on topic if the answer was about pages requiring you to use JS to work at all?
openBmap, anyone?
Beat that, suckers.
I knew that my preparations for a zombie apocalypse will someday finally pay off!
It's directed at niche target. I'm actually positively surprised that it reached 200 this fast.
Have you actually used the N900 touchscreen? I wouldn't replace it with any capacitive crap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66RBfrBgL2E
Sure, those are the components and those are manufactured wherever Texas Instruments, Panasonic and other vendors manufacture them. The Neo900 itself will however be assembled in Germany, as that's the best the project can do with its resources (similarly to what Raspberry Pi did with assembling in UK).
It might be true to some components sourced externally, but Neo900 itself is going to be manufactured in Bavaria (Germany), just like GTA04 was.
It's not "stored in firmware". The described OS *is* a firmware.
I wouldn't buy Neo900 if it had a capacitive screen.
It's for sure mentioned many times on Maemo Talk thread. You might also want to place your cursor near "Micro-AB 2.0 (OTG)" in Neo900 specification page to see a little tooltip... ;)
GSM - free GSM module doesn't exists, replacing sw means revoke of certification and using non-certified device on public network is illegal
GPU - only 3D acceleration is non-free. OSes like SHR or QtMoko don't need 3D acceleration and work great without it, with 100% FLOSS stack
WiFi - it *might* be non-free (as in firmware, drivers will be free no matter what), but only if no acceptable free module can be found
Because the creation of new case would be the most expensive part of the project at such low production runs.
Really? IMO it doesn't seem like that. Maemo compatibility is key aspect of this project, but only because of lack of manpower to properly support new OS entirely by community (and besides of OS alone think also of kernel - power management being the primary key). Stock Maemo 5 won't support Neo900 by default, it will need some adaptations, so any upgrades are being considered as long as it's reasonable to expect proper, stable support to came from community in some reasonable time frame.
I think that's a great way to ensure that mistakes from Openmoko project won't be repeated here.
I'm using my Neo Freerunner as my daily phone. Sure, it had those problems you mentioned, but those are fixable. My GTA02 lasts few days on battery now (which is quite weared off after those 5 years) and works pretty stable. The only thing that annoys me is really poor GPRS speed and graphics performance, which is better than it was at the launch, but is still quite unacceptable. Luckily, those issues aren't really important in light of freedom gains one gets from such device. I can live with them and I wouldn't replace this lovely device with anything less open.
Thank god for Openmoko and still living community it has spawned. I can think of OpenPhoenux platforms as proper alternative when dumping Android for some security reasons like that.