Wake up Call

[walter1950]

Hello,

https://medium.com/@mathias-steiner/mobi...9dd60aee42

Ciao
Walter

[Zebulon Walton]

Interesting article, but I for one actually have no problem with the limitations of Linux (in my case Mobian) running on the Pinephone. In fact I regard some of those limitations - like no support for the garbage "apps" that most Android and iPhone users seem to love - as desirable features. I actually get a perverse enjoyment telling people "Sorry, I can't run your app, I don't have an Android phone or iPhone. Does your app come in a Linux version?" Blank stares generally follow. Very satisfying.

Rather than having any interest in the features and mis-features offered by the major smartphone platforms it's much more important to me to have a phone under my own control that is not spying on me and is really off when I turn it off, which is most of the time.

Then again, I don't keep my life on my phone. I don't need it for internet access. I don't care about its cameras. I only use the phone to make and receive telephone calls.

[biketool]

Hello,

https://medium.com/@mathias-steiner/mobi...9dd60aee42

Ciao
Walter

The problem is we keep reinventing the wheel for mobile Linux.  We had a reasonably well designed qt UI for the Sharp Zaurus SL-5500 back in Y2K.  As mentioned in the article Jolla is using a 20-25 years of development from the Nokia Linux labs which started with the first Nokia N-series 'tablets' through t the N900 and N9 before Microsoft and Elop burned the platform down with only Jolla and the Sailfish devices surviving.  Much of the problem has been hybrid FOSS base with many proprietary UI add-ons.

[Kevin Kofler]

That article is just a pointless rant. Half of the issues are due to the chosen device, the FuriPhone FLX1 (both because of technical choices, e.g., no Plasma Mobile available because it is a Halium device (and Plasma Mobile would come closer to the author's UI expectations than Phosh in several places), and because of issues in custom FuriLabs applications, e.g., the FuriOS Gallery app), the other half due to the ineptitude of the user (e.g., I do not believe the author has tried to install the mobile Qt applications, except for Telegram Desktop, from the Debian repositories rather than from Flathub).

On a phone with a working Plasma Mobile setup, with Angelfish as the browser, Plasma Photos (Koko) as the gallery, etc., the author would have experienced none of the issues mentioned in the article.

[biketool]

I looked further, the FuriPhone is also another libhybris hack job. It does have the hardware power kill switches(modem, cameras, mic) but the kernel is android using blob drivers and I am sure the modem is tied into the chipset rather than modularized. This is a hacked android with a linux UI experience on top. When that was all we had it was fine but since Pinephone and Librem we are finally getting secured FOSS from-boot up OS and hardware. It is too bad though, the hardware looked nice.

[zetabeta]

Hello,

https://medium.com/@mathias-steiner/mobi...9dd60aee42

Ciao
Walter

quote from site:

The problems I described above are not abstract at all, but quite specific. Adapting desktop DEs such as GNOME and KDE for mobile devices is a dead end. No matter how hard developers try, desktop and mobile applications differ radically in both user interfaces and usage scenarios. Of course, the idea of creating applications that work on all types of devices is wonderful, but even Microsoft has not been able to implement it properly, despite betting on UWP and investing tens (or rather hundreds) of millions of dollars in the platform. What can the more modestly budgeted mobile Linux offer? As I see it, it’s just a launcher for desktop software, whose main purpose is to fit a desktop application window onto a smartphone screen by hook or by crook. How it will look and work is a secondary, or perhaps even tertiary issue.

i think the opposite mostly. i think if we want mobile linux to succeed, there needs to be unified programs for both desktop and mobile, user interface needs to be different. of course, mobile and tablets apps need to take user interface into account, like touchscreen, smaller screen, on-screen keyboard and so on. even if battery savings are planned, it is helpful for desktop programs as well.

it is weird that person references windows uwp, which refers to windows 8. microsoft literally created different platform for touchscreen interface and desktop interface, thus programs were not transferable. that's why windows mobile had apps poorly. 

article complains mostly user interface issues, which are valid in most cases. but writer seems to want different platform for mobile linux and desktop desktop, which leads developers to develop mobile apps from the scratch.

[biketool]

(snip)

article complains mostly user interface issues, which are valid in most cases. but writer seems to want different platform for mobile linux and desktop desktop, which leads developers to develop mobile apps from the scratch.

I like most made for mobile apps we are seeing, especially on flatpak, I don't love that they are not compiled natively, like the article says flatpak is not great for mobile(repetetive storage of libs assets deps etc) except that it is cross platform and we have a plethora of OS options.
The one issue I have with many mobile apps is there is very little option for customizing the experience.  Cozy the audiobook player wont for example help me build a playlist or designate (or not) a directory as a 'audiobook' vs all automatic  and there are often also not a .conf file to edit for those of us who are not afraid of the CLI and VI.  Another example, Camera; they took away the virtual button to switch from selfie camera to main camera; it makes taking normal pictures impossible after just getting that fully functional in Mobian Forky and there is not a keyboard command I can see to switch it.