Mobile Devices Respecting Software Freedom
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I have recently found a number of situations in which it would be really useful to use mobile apps (on a mobile device/ handheld computer), for example offline digital maps (OSMAnd is usable if a bit buggy), and offline dictionary/ translation. I'm wondering if anyone here can help me find a way to use them without buying an off-the-shelf, freedom-denying, tracking device?
My questions are:
1) is there any kind of emulator available that would allow me to run Android apps on Trisquel (an Android equivalent of WINE)
2) When I bought my AspireOne mini-laptop, it had the usual Windows OEM, but it also had an Android dual-boot, pre-installed in its own partition, and could be configured to make Android the default OS, or switch between the two on-the-fly. Is there any way to do this with Trisquel and Replicant?
I also note there is also a big difference between a netbook and a modern handheld in terms of boot time, and battery usage, so these are also reasons to consider using a handheld, despite the downsides. This leads me to my final question.
3) Are there any mobile device options I'm unaware of? As I understand it, the current options for handheld computers are:
* iThings and Androids: use proprietary OS with some free software components. Software freedom issues with these OS are discussed here ...
https://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-apple.en.html
... and here ...
https://blogs.fsfe.org/tobias_platen/2014/01/05/gnulinux-on-mobile-devices-and-single-board-computers/
* Replicant: 100% free software, but only works on a handful of older Android handhelds, and only free code apps packaged by F-Droid can be installed (is this the case?). Handhelds running Replicant can be bought from Technoethical etc.
https://www.replicant.us
* SailfishOS: mostly free software, but with some proprietary components (https://sailfishos.org/wiki/Open_Source). Not sure if anyone sells devices running this at present, although there was some talk last year of Sony selling a SailFish device.
* Purism Librem 5, which is still on pre-order. Runs a touchscreen version of PureOS. There are a number of issues with this company and these devices, some of which are discussed here:
https://trisquel.info/en/forum/purism-working-libre-phone
* FSDG-compliant GNU-Linux touchscreen device: I presume this is closer to possible now, thanks to the work done on Ubuntu Touch and PureOS, but is a 100% libre equivalent of the Librem 5 possible? If so, does one exist, and is it commercially available? If not, are there any in the pipeline?
* Self-assembled phones like the ZeroPhone (based on Rasberry Pi). Not sure what OS ZeroPhone can use:
https://hackaday.io/project/19035-zerophone-a-raspberry-pi-smartphone
A bunch of other mobile OS projects based on the Linux kernel are discussed here, although there is very little information about how much any of them respect software freedom by default:
https://www.linux.com/blog/2017/9/librem-5-leads-new-wave-open-source-mobile-linux-contenders
Querying DuckDuckGo for "run android apps on linux" (a stupid query since Android runs on Linux; the query should be "run android apps on GNU/Linux"), relevant pages are listed. Most are either about running Android apps in Chrome or in Genymotion. Neither solution is freedom-respecting. However, there are as well tutorial to run Android in QEMU, https://fosspost.org/tutorials/install-android-6-0-marshmallow-linux-run-apps-games for instance. That *may* be better (but I have not thoroughly check) and *may* allow to run Replicant on GNU/Linux.
Sadly, my ancient Aspire One has never been able to handle QEMU, VirtualBox-OSE, or any other equivalent software. I will look into Genymotion, just out of interest.
It appears that the work on Ubuntu Touch is being continued by members of the Ubuntu community through ubports:
https://ubports.com/
I presume none of the supported devices will allow a blobless 100% libre OS?
"I presume none of the supported devices will allow a blobless 100% libre OS?"
That is probably a safe bet.
What a shame. I'm spending some time in China, and I'm really feeling the lack of a handy, handheld device for maps, translation, checking the weather, reading the news while I'm using public transport, listening to music/ talks while I go for walks etc. Everyone uses WeChat for everything here, it's their texting/ Messenger, their Skype, their Twitter, their FarceBook Groups/ GoogleGroupsm their MeetUp etc. It's bad enough being a total noob at the language, and suddenly being illiterate, without also lacking the main tool people use to connect with each other and make arrangements.
I'm tempted to go with a strategy I trialled back home with a 2nd hand Android device a friend gave me:
* have a dumbphone for texting and calling (still a tracking device via triangulation but I tried going without one when I first got here and ...).
* use an Android without a SIM card, using apps that work offline as much as possible, and seeking out wifi when I need a network connection. Turn it off whenever I'm not using it (same with wifi), and use a proper computer running GNU-Linux whenever possible.
If I go with that strategy, it becomes somewhat less important how purely freedom-respecting the device, but giving the sale to a social enterprise, rather than a synthetic psychopath (corporation) is still important to me. I'm thinking about something like the FairPhone, but it would have to be something I can buy in China or get delivered here:
https://shop.fairphone.com/en/buy-fairphone2-2/
Another OS option for mobile devices is Eelo, a derivative of LineageOS (the successor of CyanogenMod). The project lead was one of the founders of Mandrake GNU/Linux. Not sure if or when devices will become available for sale running this:
https://hackernoon.com/eelo-is-more-than-tech-its-a-societal-project-for-freedom-and-democracy-951ea5c8f162
Is it possible to run non-free apps (where no free code equivalent exists) in a sandbox on Replicant? For example, Waygo (waygoapp.com) is a mobile app that translates Chinese characters seen by the device camera into English words, on-the-fly. AFAIK Waygo is proprietary and there is no free code app that does this.
If I had a device running Replicant, it would be great to be able to install and run apps like Waygo inside a sandbox, that fools them into thinking they are on a vanilla Android device, while allowing me to see and control any dodgy behaviour like phoning home and sending data about me to datafarms run by Waygo.
I think Replicant is your best bet, unless you require WiFi or bluetooth and are unwilling to use a USB dongle, in which case LineageOS is probably the next most free option.
A while ago I bought a Replicant-compatible phone for $20. Installing Replicant took less than half an hour, and the phone works fine. It's old, but that doesn't bother me if it works. I've never tried to run any proprietary Android programs on Replicant, but Replicant does not impose any restrictions that would stop you from doing so.
If you want to crowdfund/preorder a phone that can run a completely free GNU/Linux distro, I recommend Neo900 over the Purism phone. It is just as free, and they do a better job of disclosing freedom issues and limitations. Particularly, they disclose that the modem must be turned off to prevent the device from being used to track you. It's unfortunate that Purism conceals this information from potential funders/customers, because after they buy the device they will leave the modem on all of the time so that they can receive phone calls, unaware that they are being tracked.
"I think Replicant is your best bet, unless you require WiFi or bluetooth"
I don't understand. What use is a handheld without WiFi (IMHO dongles are ok for laptops but impractical in a handheld)? Do you mean Replicant can only use the net through the cell modem? Isn't it the cell modem chips that create the major freedom issues in handhelds?
BTW Eelo is a fork of LineageOS. Have you heard of it? If so, do you think Eelo is more or less freedom-respecting than LineageOS?
> Do you mean Replicant can only use the net through the cell modem?
Unfortunately yes, unless you use a dongle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicant_(operating_system)#Supported_devices
> Isn't it the cell modem chips that create the major freedom issues in handhelds?
Yes, but WiFi can't solve that. The only reason to use a device with a modem is to use the modem. Libre phones like Purism's and the neo900 will have a hardware switch to disable the modem when not in use, but that doesn't solve the problem that without the modem enabled the device is useless as a phone. The only solution I'm aware of is JMP, but JMP works on any device capable of running a chat client and SIP client. I've found that my laptop is good enough for this, and I no longer carry a phone. If you want something handheld-size, the PocketCHIP or GPD Pocket are good options. https://trisquel.info/en/forum/family-buying-me-cellphone-without-my-consent#comment-123254
An exceptional case would be if you have no need to carry a device that can send/receive calls and text messages, and are only considering owning a device with modem because it happens to be capable of running Android-derivatives. If so, then I would first try Magic's QEMU suggestion, and if that doesn't work use a WiFi-only (no modem) tablet that can run a free-except-wifi-firmware Android-derivative. If WiFi is the only non-free firmware you need, you could just start with Replicant and install the firmware from a third-party source. Otherwise, you could go with something like LineageOS.
> If so, do you think Eelo is more or less freedom-respecting than LineageOS?
I think that the only proprietary software in LineageOS is firmware needed for hardware functionality, in which case the only way Eelo could be more freedom-respecting is if (a) some hardware functionality is missing or (b) they've achieved compatibility with devices for which some of these hardware components have free firmware.
Mason:
"only considering owning a device with modem because it happens to be capable of running Android-derivatives."
Hi Mason, I'm guessing you're replying to an email without the context provided by the full thread? More info about my use case in the original post:
https://trisquel.info/en/forum/mobile-devices-respecting-software-freedom
"If so, then I would first try Magic's QEMU suggestion"
I will try again, and Flidas may allow things that Belenos does not, but AFAIK the AA1 doesn't have the CPU flags required for virtualization. I've pretty sure I tried both QEMU and Virtual Box (OSE) and had no joy. Also, it's only 32-bit with 2GB RAM, so ...
"if that doesn't work use a WiFi-only (no modem) tablet that can run a free-except-wifi-firmware Android-derivative."
I have considered an e-reader with WiFi, like those made by InkBook. Partly because I want an e-ink device anyway for reading books, and partly because the things I want to run Android apps for don't really need flashy, coloured graphics to be useful. InkBook devices run vanilla Android (or at least their OEM version of it), and I've been meaning to contact them to find out more about the software freedom status of their stack, what hardware is in their devices, and whether I could run Replicant or LineageOS on them.
> I'm guessing you're replying to an email without the context provided by the full thread?
No, I had the context. I just didn't read carefully enough. Sorry.
> InkBook devices run vanilla Android... and I've been meaning to contact them to find out ... whether I could run Replicant or LineageOS on them.
I don't see it among LineageOS's supported devices, but such a devices sounds like a neat idea if you can liberate it.
http://www.lineageosdownloads.com/lineage-os-supported-devices/
I can understand why a USB WiFi dongle might seem impractical for a phone, which you would probably want to carry in your pocket. It might not be such a problem in the case of a tablet, though. The Galaxy Tab 2 can run Replicant. There is a 7" and a 10" version. The WiFi-only version has no modem, so it won't track you. The only freedom issue I'm aware of is the bootloader.
If a USB dongle is indeed a dealbreaker, even for a tablet, and the Android programs you want to use do not work offline, then AFAIK the choice is between using a modem and using proprietary WiFi firmware. I'm unaware of any devices that (1) run Android derivatives, (2) require no proprietary firmware for WiFi, and (3) have no modem.
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