I personally don't dock mine as often. But what I did recently was writing a small GTK application in Python on my laptop, pushed it to Gitlab, pulled it on the Librem 5 and run it, simple as that. I can develop and fully test my graphical apps on any Linux desktop and just throw them on my phone now to use them. I don't need to port anything. It's so awesome that I don't understand how I could even settle with Android before. The process of development is tedious in comparison. I mean if I need anything on the Librem 5, I simply download the source code and compile it if there's no package in the main repository.
@@deadgoldenheart9560 I use the Signal-Desktop flatpak from elagost because I had some issues with Flare. I use Railway from Flathub for looking up public transport in Germany. I use Amberol for playing music. For mails I use Geary. To sync contacts and calendars I use built-in Nextcloud support from GNOME (was surprisingly no big difference to Google services in those cases). I use Warp for syncing files between devices. I use Tuba as mastodon client. Otherwise I also use some of the preinstalled apps like Files, Web, Chatty, Firefox and such. I also have tested things like Waydroid via Purism's guide. Was easy to get working. But since things like camera support do not work in there, you can't do as much with it. I have installed Godot 3 via Flathub to test out a game developed by me. Works when using OpenGL ES 2.0 for rendering. Also I have tested installing own applications from Flathub like the GNUnet Messenger which works (unfortunately Purism did not accept/integrate it yet into their flatpak repository). So pretty much I use quite a bit from Flathub which I would recommend for ease of use actually. Purism offers an own flatpak repository (so they can control the security of those packages). But they don't maintain that repository very much (I think it's one person being responsible for the whole thing which is far from ideal).
This game looks amazing! Great job on the coding. I want to switch over to this phone, but my current phone is still going strong. I don't want to create any e-waste too soon, but I agree with you. Being able to have a single device do it all is such a good idea.
Dear Retera, Thank you for this honest review. I didn't understand all that you were saying but I can hear your integrity about Librem's value. The ability to replace the battery and receive security updates are not to be under estimated. I like the price too.
I am wondering the same. Seems like a very interesting device that I may get into, but I am a casual phone user. All I really need is to be able to surf the web and makes calls and texts. Many apps that are around nowadays I do not use. But still, I ask the same question.
The one Issue I have with this device is the hardware not being enough it should have 16gb Ram and 1tb of storage and a Processor that competes with the Snapdragon processors
Maybe someone will build that. I think PureOS was trying to make a phone that is not only linux, but also GNU FSF-endorsed Linux, and that means carefully choosing hardware that does not use unknown "black box" binaries that cannot be reconstructed from source code. That seems to end up being a fairly stringet requirement, and depending on how you look at it the "firmware jail" idea is cheating on the requirement anyway, but I think that if a company didn't care about those limitations and constructed a device such as you describe with the express purpose of having the device capable of running Phosh, it would probably be a very fun experience for those indifferent to the problem, despite being a compromise on the concept of free software.
I’ve heard a regular cell phone bings cell towers even if turned off or in airplane mode. The battery has to be removed for privacy walking/traveling. So onthe librem, if the same, the cellular modem switch in the off position doesn’t give any more privacy. correct? I’m also wondering if there is an elementary course/ youtube station that teaches the beginners how to operate linux? If you know of any. How do people learn if not in a computer class? THX
I learned in a computer class, and before that by googling random stuff and it was a struggle, so my advice on how people should learn Linux is most likely not accurate. My understanding is that the Librem 5 phone cuts power to the cellular modem while the hardware switch is off, so it should be impossible for it to still ping the towers when the hardware switch is off. However, if you do not trust the hardware switch, the modem and wifi chip on the Librem 5 are replaceable without disassembling the device. There's a little back plate on the back that opens up to show two M.2 chips that you can unplug. So this means, if you are worried about the towers being pinged: - you can literally remove the modem from the Librem 5 - you can remove the battery from the Librem 5, and when you do the clock stops inside because it doesn't even have a watch battery Because of this, I think there are many layers where the Librem 5 allows the user to have peace of mind in a way that you probably don't have peace of mind without a Librem 5 based on what you're saying. Of course, if you bought a Librem 5, you would have to actually choose to use it. And there is a whole industry of thought control in place to make us feel like Librem 5 doesn't work, because it is outside the power of Purism to make other companies provide a Librem 5 version of their "apps."
I mean I would be hesitant to consider this viable. The amount of people that pre-ordered this device that still haven't not received it... And are being refused refunds. I love the idea of an alternative to Android and iPhone but this particular project is incredibly shady in it's business practices. That's without even getting into the value proposition or goal post moving in terms of specs
It's possible, I just don't feel like doing that because it seems like missing the point of the device. But, yes, in some cases Waydroid's UI seems to run even faster than the devices native UI, maybe because Google has so much money and power.
Something called oathtool. It was an open source utility available in the PureOS repo right out of the box that can generate 2-factor unlock codes. Microsoft's documentation on the "use another app" option for their authentication system was not great and was in the fine print in a small hyperlink when setting it up, but I guessed the different possible algorithms that "oathtool" offered until one of them worked and then it let me unlock my Microsoft Authenticator things with the oathtool command line whenever I want. Seems like I am using "oathtool -b --totp @mykey.txt" in a folder where I have the secret from Microsoft in a file named "mykey.txt" although I forget much more than that and at this point just run a shell script that I wrapped it inside of, and then it just works.
I have one complaint tho: any newbie seeing this video, even more so if english is not their first language, might see the terminal and go "nuh-uh, I'll go back to the proprietary stuff that spies on me, this seems hard 😭😭😭". You pointed you could've made a .desktop entry that would launch it automatically from the app grid, and if you did that for the video, noobs would see this and be like "this is really smooth and easy, I'll get one of those GNU/Linuxy things for me 🥰🥰🥰".
I have 4 batteries and can change them without powering off the device by connecting it to a wall socket momentarily while switching out the batteries, so the battery life is nearly irrelevant to me. It last for some hours, but slightly less than what an Android phone would probably last for -- of course mitigated by the fact that I can't battery swap on most Androids to instantly jump back to 100%, so the Androids are almost guaranteed to be inferior.
@@TheShorka I was looking at there website and I thought the phone should be a carrier board and the brains and storage should be be swappable through a single board like the CM4 Raspberry Pi or somthing like it. They have some on their sit including a RISC 5 option.
Wait till you hear about the games on Android. Seriously though, why are you impressed you can run a game with graphics circa 1988 on a tiny underpowered Linux laptop from 2017? Why is that notable even in the slightest? Why would someone with a CS background be the slightest bit surprised that it can do that? My graphing calculator in the 90s could do that, and it only cost $100?
I doubt your graphing calculator can play my spaghetti code. It sounds like you're looking at this problem as a question of hardware capability and not as an issue of dumb software constraints. I can't run my unmodified desktop java game on Android because Android uses a different set of Java APIs. Supporting my desktop crap on a phone is not indicative of a hardware functionality advancement, but rather of an unlock where the device permits me to run whatever I want.
i love my librem5 too. only phone that respects my privacy. since its never arrived and the company doesnt honor its refund promise they made back in 2018 when i ordered, no one can spy on me trough this phone. disgusting video btw.
@@TheShorka you come out with this video to defend purism. i sent them a lot of money in 2018 and got totally screwed over. i dont need someone like louis rossman to 'manipulate my mind' (12:03) because i feel the hole in my pocket by myself. the way how they blinded people to stay in line for years is messed up. like your video. you really should be ashamed for doing this video.
@@RFGSwiss Why should I be ashamed of sharing my experience if it is different from your experience? Does the difference between our experiences make the other's experience any less true?
@@TheShorka it's not about the experience, because that's just luck. You are standing on the top side of the pyramid scheme. it is the mockery of the victims and the people who call this scam what it is. green men huh...
Lol. The ultimate privacy is just giving someone hundreds of dollars and getting nothing in return. So sad though because we are so desperate for an alternative to Android or iOS and this has become such a stain on the concept.
I did not remove your comment. My channel is not monetized by UA-cam because they do not allow that for small channels. Typically UA-cam removes comments to help push its narrative as far as I can tell. It is a system of corporate abuse. Perhaps if we all had FOSS phones and FOSS devices, it would not be so.
@@TheShorkaI don't think FOSS devices and phones would change this. UA-cam still runs on Google servers and do their weird Google thing. We would need an open source video provider for that.
I have an old mac desk top that doesn’t work the os system,but does the itunes. you mentioned a dongle? I wish to be able to view the phone on the desktop and use the mouse and keyboard also. Can you suggest a set up please? Thank you. appreciate
I have four docks now. The first dock came free with a PinePhone. Compared to Librem 5, the PinePhone seemed like junk to me and I just could not convince myself to use it. For me the Librem 5 was much better, because it was more capable hardware and did not crash. But the free dock from the Pinephone is a USB-C stick that plugs into the phone, and has an HDMI slot, two USB A slots, an ethernet port, and then a USB-C port for charging pass through. Later I bought another similar but bigger and better dock at a local store. Then, I also ordered one from Purism, but the Purism dock was slow to deliver. It's faster to get one if you just buy it at the local store. My local store stopped carrying the one that I bought after I bought it. Maybe it was too good. But it has all the kinds of ports I could ever want like USB 3.0, HDMI, DisplayPort for 60fps 4K, USB-C, etc. For me, if I have a desktop PC where the mouse and keyboard and monitor plug into the PC, it's possible to plug them into one of these docks instead, and then plug the Librem 5 into the dock. I can also hook any laptop into the dock. So, this has been working quite well for me across multiple machines, where I can use a common mouse/keyboard/monitor with my laptops or phones or desktop or whatever I want. I'm being a little bit intentionally vague about which brand of dock I am using because I doubt that it matters, and I don't want to expose myself to any hardware based attacks by bad people who might read this message. But the idea for me is that I have a dock with all these ports, and then I plug it into anything I want -- be it the work laptop, the phone, the personal laptop, etc. And it's been working really nicely! I also tried the NexDock from the Nex website, which is basically a fake laptop that has a touchpad, keyboard, and touch screen that can USB-C connect to a phone to make it act as a laptop. This works OK with the Librem 5, but the NexDocks they're selling now have builtin wifi that cannot turn off, so it is much less privacy oriented than the Librem 5 and so I am ultimately kind of unimpressed with that part of it all. That thing is really targeting Android people who don't care, and using it with a Librem 5 feels like a hack. It sounds like it wouldn't help in your case if your goal is to reuse existing hardware.
As an devils advocate and a non-professional schmuck: Linux-based smartphones that are not running Android or IOS are a niche, and general public will never get into those. Not all people are invested and\or interested in doing something by themselves, but they do like services provided. Open-source community is too secluded and unstable to provide a well-polished experience on day-to-day basis. If you ever manage to say 'Linux-shell' to any human that is not 'in the know' - they will not get it, nor will they be interested enough to pursue knowledge. As a postskriptum: I do share the sentiment for open-source.
I'm not going to defend this company which I think is a borderline scam but the idea that there could never be a valid open source alternative... I don't think anyone suggesting it would meaningfully dent the market share but it would just be an option for people that want it. Custom ROMs don't penetrate the market share and yet it's a completely viable option.
Maybe a silly question but could you do a review on how well the phone works?
I personally don't dock mine as often. But what I did recently was writing a small GTK application in Python on my laptop, pushed it to Gitlab, pulled it on the Librem 5 and run it, simple as that. I can develop and fully test my graphical apps on any Linux desktop and just throw them on my phone now to use them. I don't need to port anything. It's so awesome that I don't understand how I could even settle with Android before. The process of development is tedious in comparison.
I mean if I need anything on the Librem 5, I simply download the source code and compile it if there's no package in the main repository.
You really look like Tobias. Glad you're enjoying your mobile GNU/Linux experience!
What kind of apps do you use on your librem if I may ask?
@@deadgoldenheart9560 I use the Signal-Desktop flatpak from elagost because I had some issues with Flare. I use Railway from Flathub for looking up public transport in Germany. I use Amberol for playing music. For mails I use Geary. To sync contacts and calendars I use built-in Nextcloud support from GNOME (was surprisingly no big difference to Google services in those cases). I use Warp for syncing files between devices. I use Tuba as mastodon client. Otherwise I also use some of the preinstalled apps like Files, Web, Chatty, Firefox and such.
I also have tested things like Waydroid via Purism's guide. Was easy to get working. But since things like camera support do not work in there, you can't do as much with it. I have installed Godot 3 via Flathub to test out a game developed by me. Works when using OpenGL ES 2.0 for rendering. Also I have tested installing own applications from Flathub like the GNUnet Messenger which works (unfortunately Purism did not accept/integrate it yet into their flatpak repository).
So pretty much I use quite a bit from Flathub which I would recommend for ease of use actually. Purism offers an own flatpak repository (so they can control the security of those packages). But they don't maintain that repository very much (I think it's one person being responsible for the whole thing which is far from ideal).
Why you reading bruv are you being held hostage
This game looks amazing! Great job on the coding. I want to switch over to this phone, but my current phone is still going strong. I don't want to create any e-waste too soon, but I agree with you. Being able to have a single device do it all is such a good idea.
Dear Retera,
Thank you for this honest review. I didn't understand all that you were saying but I can hear your integrity about Librem's value. The ability to replace the battery and receive security updates are not to be under estimated. I like the price too.
Can casual person use Librem5 phone? You are Computer Science professional.
I am wondering the same. Seems like a very interesting device that I may get into, but I am a casual phone user. All I really need is to be able to surf the web and makes calls and texts. Many apps that are around nowadays I do not use. But still, I ask the same question.
@@gabrielsthoughts369 how unlucky that Windows and Android is not well together. 😭
The one Issue I have with this device is the hardware not being enough it should have 16gb Ram and 1tb of storage and a Processor that competes with the Snapdragon processors
Maybe someone will build that. I think PureOS was trying to make a phone that is not only linux, but also GNU FSF-endorsed Linux, and that means carefully choosing hardware that does not use unknown "black box" binaries that cannot be reconstructed from source code. That seems to end up being a fairly stringet requirement, and depending on how you look at it the "firmware jail" idea is cheating on the requirement anyway, but I think that if a company didn't care about those limitations and constructed a device such as you describe with the express purpose of having the device capable of running Phosh, it would probably be a very fun experience for those indifferent to the problem, despite being a compromise on the concept of free software.
I’ve heard a regular cell phone bings cell towers even if turned off or in airplane mode. The battery has to be removed for privacy walking/traveling. So onthe librem, if the same, the cellular modem switch in the off position doesn’t give any more privacy. correct? I’m also wondering if there is an elementary course/ youtube station that teaches the beginners how to operate linux? If you know of any. How do people learn if not in a computer class? THX
I learned in a computer class, and before that by googling random stuff and it was a struggle, so my advice on how people should learn Linux is most likely not accurate. My understanding is that the Librem 5 phone cuts power to the cellular modem while the hardware switch is off, so it should be impossible for it to still ping the towers when the hardware switch is off. However, if you do not trust the hardware switch, the modem and wifi chip on the Librem 5 are replaceable without disassembling the device. There's a little back plate on the back that opens up to show two M.2 chips that you can unplug. So this means, if you are worried about the towers being pinged:
- you can literally remove the modem from the Librem 5
- you can remove the battery from the Librem 5, and when you do the clock stops inside because it doesn't even have a watch battery
Because of this, I think there are many layers where the Librem 5 allows the user to have peace of mind in a way that you probably don't have peace of mind without a Librem 5 based on what you're saying. Of course, if you bought a Librem 5, you would have to actually choose to use it. And there is a whole industry of thought control in place to make us feel like Librem 5 doesn't work, because it is outside the power of Purism to make other companies provide a Librem 5 version of their "apps."
@@TheShorka Thank you for your long full explanations.
Can you give an averge polycount of warcraft 3 unit models? For example how many polygones used in footmen?
300-400
This is wild, I didn't know there's a third operating system for mobile devices, I thought there's only Android or Apple
I mean I would be hesitant to consider this viable. The amount of people that pre-ordered this device that still haven't not received it... And are being refused refunds. I love the idea of an alternative to Android and iPhone but this particular project is incredibly shady in it's business practices. That's without even getting into the value proposition or goal post moving in terms of specs
I got mine in under two weeks. Everyone else sounds like a nightmare getting it. Not me
Can you use waydroid to run the occasional android app within the Linux environment?
It's possible, I just don't feel like doing that because it seems like missing the point of the device. But, yes, in some cases Waydroid's UI seems to run even faster than the devices native UI, maybe because Google has so much money and power.
Thank you for doing this. I echo most of your sentiments.
What was your solution for Microsoft Authenticator?
Something called oathtool. It was an open source utility available in the PureOS repo right out of the box that can generate 2-factor unlock codes. Microsoft's documentation on the "use another app" option for their authentication system was not great and was in the fine print in a small hyperlink when setting it up, but I guessed the different possible algorithms that "oathtool" offered until one of them worked and then it let me unlock my Microsoft Authenticator things with the oathtool command line whenever I want.
Seems like I am using "oathtool -b --totp @mykey.txt" in a folder where I have the secret from Microsoft in a file named "mykey.txt" although I forget much more than that and at this point just run a shell script that I wrapped it inside of, and then it just works.
I will try that. Thanks for the detail!
I have one complaint tho: any newbie seeing this video, even more so if english is not their first language, might see the terminal and go "nuh-uh, I'll go back to the proprietary stuff that spies on me, this seems hard 😭😭😭". You pointed you could've made a .desktop entry that would launch it automatically from the app grid, and if you did that for the video, noobs would see this and be like "this is really smooth and easy, I'll get one of those GNU/Linuxy things for me 🥰🥰🥰".
Least psychopath linux user
*Just don’t compromise your devices*
Oh, if only it were that easy.
are you even using a mic?
Whats the battery life and actual performance like?
I have 4 batteries and can change them without powering off the device by connecting it to a wall socket momentarily while switching out the batteries, so the battery life is nearly irrelevant to me. It last for some hours, but slightly less than what an Android phone would probably last for -- of course mitigated by the fact that I can't battery swap on most Androids to instantly jump back to 100%, so the Androids are almost guaranteed to be inferior.
@@TheShorka I was looking at there website and I thought the phone should be a carrier board and the brains and storage should be be swappable through a single board like the CM4 Raspberry Pi or somthing like it. They have some on their sit including a RISC 5 option.
Your sound i wayyyyyy too weak...
You are so wrong at so many levels that I don't have the energy to explain it to you without becoming a meme.
This should become a meme
Wait till you hear about the games on Android. Seriously though, why are you impressed you can run a game with graphics circa 1988 on a tiny underpowered Linux laptop from 2017? Why is that notable even in the slightest? Why would someone with a CS background be the slightest bit surprised that it can do that? My graphing calculator in the 90s could do that, and it only cost $100?
I doubt your graphing calculator can play my spaghetti code. It sounds like you're looking at this problem as a question of hardware capability and not as an issue of dumb software constraints. I can't run my unmodified desktop java game on Android because Android uses a different set of Java APIs. Supporting my desktop crap on a phone is not indicative of a hardware functionality advancement, but rather of an unlock where the device permits me to run whatever I want.
i love my librem5 too. only phone that respects my privacy. since its never arrived and the company doesnt honor its refund promise they made back in 2018 when i ordered, no one can spy on me trough this phone. disgusting video btw.
Why is it disgusting?
@@TheShorka you come out with this video to defend purism. i sent them a lot of money in 2018 and got totally screwed over. i dont need someone like louis rossman to 'manipulate my mind' (12:03) because i feel the hole in my pocket by myself. the way how they blinded people to stay in line for years is messed up. like your video. you really should be ashamed for doing this video.
@@RFGSwiss Why should I be ashamed of sharing my experience if it is different from your experience? Does the difference between our experiences make the other's experience any less true?
@@TheShorka it's not about the experience, because that's just luck. You are standing on the top side of the pyramid scheme.
it is the mockery of the victims and the people who call this scam what it is. green men huh...
Lol. The ultimate privacy is just giving someone hundreds of dollars and getting nothing in return. So sad though because we are so desperate for an alternative to Android or iOS and this has become such a stain on the concept.
Funny how you removed my comment that was skeptical but also recommended an alternative GrapheneOS.
I did not remove your comment. My channel is not monetized by UA-cam because they do not allow that for small channels. Typically UA-cam removes comments to help push its narrative as far as I can tell. It is a system of corporate abuse. Perhaps if we all had FOSS phones and FOSS devices, it would not be so.
@@TheShorkaI don't think FOSS devices and phones would change this. UA-cam still runs on Google servers and do their weird Google thing. We would need an open source video provider for that.
i dont believe in other races
Scam company
bruh wipe your keyboard please
I have an old mac desk top that doesn’t work the os system,but does the itunes. you mentioned a dongle? I wish to be able to view the phone on the desktop and use the mouse and keyboard also. Can you suggest a set up please? Thank you. appreciate
I have four docks now. The first dock came free with a PinePhone. Compared to Librem 5, the PinePhone seemed like junk to me and I just could not convince myself to use it. For me the Librem 5 was much better, because it was more capable hardware and did not crash.
But the free dock from the Pinephone is a USB-C stick that plugs into the phone, and has an HDMI slot, two USB A slots, an ethernet port, and then a USB-C port for charging pass through. Later I bought another similar but bigger and better dock at a local store. Then, I also ordered one from Purism, but the Purism dock was slow to deliver. It's faster to get one if you just buy it at the local store.
My local store stopped carrying the one that I bought after I bought it. Maybe it was too good. But it has all the kinds of ports I could ever want like USB 3.0, HDMI, DisplayPort for 60fps 4K, USB-C, etc. For me, if I have a desktop PC where the mouse and keyboard and monitor plug into the PC, it's possible to plug them into one of these docks instead, and then plug the Librem 5 into the dock. I can also hook any laptop into the dock. So, this has been working quite well for me across multiple machines, where I can use a common mouse/keyboard/monitor with my laptops or phones or desktop or whatever I want.
I'm being a little bit intentionally vague about which brand of dock I am using because I doubt that it matters, and I don't want to expose myself to any hardware based attacks by bad people who might read this message. But the idea for me is that I have a dock with all these ports, and then I plug it into anything I want -- be it the work laptop, the phone, the personal laptop, etc. And it's been working really nicely!
I also tried the NexDock from the Nex website, which is basically a fake laptop that has a touchpad, keyboard, and touch screen that can USB-C connect to a phone to make it act as a laptop. This works OK with the Librem 5, but the NexDocks they're selling now have builtin wifi that cannot turn off, so it is much less privacy oriented than the Librem 5 and so I am ultimately kind of unimpressed with that part of it all. That thing is really targeting Android people who don't care, and using it with a Librem 5 feels like a hack. It sounds like it wouldn't help in your case if your goal is to reuse existing hardware.
@@TheShorka Thank you for your help
Only one system can insure your safety - TempleOS.
It also features realistic elephants
Man I miss Terry Davis
After 3 months of using my Librem 5, I would not want to switch back to Android. It's only getting better.
Good to know. I just activated mine (last night) and am having significant text issues (only receiving some texts).
Is this a troll comment? If yes, haha.
If not, please get help.
As an devils advocate and a non-professional schmuck:
Linux-based smartphones that are not running Android or IOS are a niche, and general public will never get into those. Not all people are invested and\or interested in doing something by themselves, but they do like services provided. Open-source community is too secluded and unstable to provide a well-polished experience on day-to-day basis. If you ever manage to say 'Linux-shell' to any human that is not 'in the know' - they will not get it, nor will they be interested enough to pursue knowledge.
As a postskriptum: I do share the sentiment for open-source.
I'm not going to defend this company which I think is a borderline scam but the idea that there could never be a valid open source alternative... I don't think anyone suggesting it would meaningfully dent the market share but it would just be an option for people that want it. Custom ROMs don't penetrate the market share and yet it's a completely viable option.
BRICK 🧱