Fairphone - a free Android device?

[Paul Hänsch]

Tobias Platen <tobias at platen-software.de>, Thu, 31 Jul 2014 12:36:26
+0200:
> There are no non-free apps installed by default, but it does include
> non-free drivers and firmwares.

Yes, the project let their chip supplier rip them off. Probably despite
better knowledge. The non-free drivers reduce the hackability of the
device drastically.
They prevent the user from updating the system kernel, leave questions
about possible anti features in this kernel, and prevent the
implementation of kernel based techniques that are not shipped with the
default installation.
They represent also a grave obstacle to security patches.
Since the drivers are necessary for operating the device and are
tailored to the specific kernel version, this even affects features
which are unrelated to these drivers.

I think the project hasn't kept its promise on openness.

> It is also missing F-Droid which should be included on a free Android
> device.

My toaster is also missing F-Droid... oh how those chains weigh on me.
"Non-free" means to restrict the user, not to neglect promoting
applications, which from the viewpoint of the hardware supplier might be
arbitrary.

Don't get me wrong, I love F-Droid, but we are not even close to a
point where we can outright *expect* device vendors to include it in
their default distribution. There is a lot of more important things
obstructing the way there.

I cannot recommend any current smart phone. Non-free drivers cripple
the Firefox, Ubuntu and Jolla phone just as much. The problem is much
graver than what we are used to from driver situations on the PC
market.
However the Notebook market is becoming affected by the same problems.
Our old computers are getting replaced with a class of devices on which
the hardware isn't interchangeable anymore, and which are limited to
vendor supplied kernels to be operational at all.

-- 
Paul Hänsch                     █▉            Webmaster, System-Hacker
                              █▉█▉█▉
Jabber: paul at jabber.fsfe.org    ▉▉     Free Software Foundation Europe
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