• linule@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    92
    ·
    edit-2
    16 hours ago

    Time to popularize Linux phones. I read that the security model is lacking, but especially given that Android is Linux too, it shouldn’t be too difficult to catch up. The EU is also interested in tech independence, so that could be one of the sources of funding. And there are a few viable early projects, like Ubuntu Touch and Sailfish.

    • jabjoe@feddit.uk
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      37
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      13 hours ago

      There need to be enforced of competition law here. Companies aren’t going to voluntarily support a platform with few users. Users aren’t going to move to a platform without critical apps.

      We live in a dystopia were you have to have the banks app to do online banking even on your desktop. You can’t charge your car without an app. You can’t navigate your car without a map app that has traffic information. Etc etc. I want FOSS alternatives to all these, but there isn’t and Google could take even having a FOSS platform at all.

      This something we need regulators to fix. It is a politically problem, not a technical one.

      America screwing up trust should wake up Europe to dealing with American tech monopolies. Now it’s not something just nerds and economists complain about, it is a geopolitical problem.

      • linule@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        5
        ·
        edit-2
        13 hours ago

        Fully agree, there should be regulations, temporary at least, that require/incentivize critical companies to make a mobile Linux version of their apps, as well as strategic funding and incentives to make the platforms viable. We as citizens should contribute too, increasing pressure for this to happen, spreading the message, becoming early adopters where possible, submitting feedback, contributing to development, etc.

        • jabjoe@feddit.uk
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          ·
          12 hours ago

          We need to support political groups fighting for us, not just think in terms of technology. In the UK it is OpenRightsGroup, maybe the Greens party, in Europe there is the Pirate Party, Greens, Free Software Foundation Europe, and more. We should be trying to get politicians into this.

    • Meshuggah333@piefed.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      9
      ·
      11 hours ago

      Android is not Linux (the OS), it just uses the Linux kernel. That means almost nothing is transferable from one OS to the other unfortunately.

    • vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      15 hours ago

      Sailfish is not very alive. Ubuntu Touch too.

      But honestly yes. I think the problems are mostly in hardware support.

      • linule@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        ·
        edit-2
        13 hours ago

        The political problems driving the push for independence are fairly recent, so the current state is unlikely to be extrapolable.

        There are devices using these operating systems that are also gaining popularity, like Jolla, Volla and Fair phone.