Gadgets
My First Week of Librem 5 Convergence
Submitted by Rianne Schestowitz on Tuesday 2nd of March 2021 05:47:44 PM Filed under

Using a phone that has real convergence like the Librem 5 is a complete game changer. It feels like I’m getting a sneak preview into the future of personal computing. In many ways it’s hard to explain what it’s like, you kind of have to see it yourself to understand why this is so groundbreaking. Having all of the same desktop applications and all of my files with me in my pocket, and having those same running applications morph to a larger screen automatically, changes how you think about phones and their potential.
Calling the Librem 5 a phone doesn’t do it service. It’s really a mobile computer, a desktop in your pocket. Using it like a laptop or desktop computer really opens your eyes to all of the possibilities, and underscores to me all of the things I’ve been missing with other phones.
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version
- Read more
- 765 reads
PDF version
Open Source phone news roundup: FreeBSD, Google-free Android, and Ubuntu Touch
Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Saturday 27th of February 2021 08:15:14 PM Filed under
The next version of Ubuntu Touch is scheduled to launch on March 10, and the folks at UBPorts are looing for testers willing to check out the latest features, bug fixes, and more. The developers of the ExpidusOS smartphone Linux distribution that uses the Xfce desktop environment have outlined a roadmap for the next six months. And not all of the free and open source operating systems designed for smartphones are based on Linux.
One developer has announced plans to build a FreeBSD-based operating system for the PinePhone. And the folks at the /e/ Foundation have been de-Googling Android software for years. Now you can buy a phone with /e/ OS pre-installed and have it shipped to the US or Canada. Previously their phones were only available in Europe.
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version
- Read more
- 1186 reads
PDF version
Good News! De-Googled /e/OS Smartphones is Now Shipping to the US and Canada
Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Friday 26th of February 2021 11:21:53 PM Filed under

The de-googled Android fork /e/OS is a passionate step towards removing Google from your daily driver (i.e. your smartphone).
Considering they’re also working on a privacy-friendly Siri alternative, /e/OS is particularly an exciting pitch for the future smartphones without relying on Google.
While /e/ smartphones have been around for a while, it still is not tailored for everyone depending on various requirements for daily activities that you do on a smartphone. I’d suggest doing your research before making a purchase.
However, there’s good news that /e/ smartphones will now also be shipping to the USA and Canada.
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version
- Read more
- 1762 reads
PDF version
Framework Laptop Brings Hardware Upgrade to a New Level
Submitted by arindam1989 on Friday 26th of February 2021 06:14:34 AM Filed under

Think about this. What if, you buy a laptop today and can simply swap and upgrade hardware components when needed and use that device for decades. Sounds interesting, isn't it? Introducing Framework Laptop.
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version
- Read more
- 1093 reads
PDF version
Linux smartphone news roundup: Xfce for phones, browser and camera updates, and more
Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Tuesday 23rd of February 2021 02:38:52 AM Filed under

There’s a new Linux distribution for smartphones that’s the first I’m aware of to be based on the Xfce desktop environment, but while the first pre-release builds of ExpidusOS for the PinePhone are now available for download, there’s still a lot of work to be done to make it into a usable operating system.
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version
- Read more
- 927 reads
PDF version
F(x)tec Pro1-X will ship in August with a Snapdragon 662 processor rather than March with an SD835 chip
Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Wednesday 17th of February 2021 12:50:32 AM Filed under
ine64 has posted specs for a Quartz64 SBC that runs Linux on Rockchip’s new NPU-equipped, quad -A55 RK3566 with up to 8GB RAM. There are also plans for an under $15 SBC showcasing the RISC-V based Allwinner XuanTie C906.
As we noted in our recent report on Geniatech’s RK3568 and RK3566 Development Boards, Pine64 has been working on a community backed, Rockchip RK3566 driven Quartz64 SBC. In a February blog update on various Pine64 products, the company has posted images and full specs on the 133 x 80mm Quartz64 model-A SBC, as well as specs for an upcoming, Raspberry Pi-like model-B (see farther below).
- 3 comments
Printer-friendly version
- Read more
- 2037 reads
PDF version
Sailfish OS Koli
Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Tuesday 16th of February 2021 02:55:53 PM Filed under

-
Fourth generation of Sailfish OS is here!
We’ve come a long way, since Sailfish OS was first introduced in 2013. Now as we enter the 4th generation with Sailfish OS, the secure platform for trusted mobile solutions, we can proudly say that our product is in great shape and ready to expand to new frontiers! After Sailfish 3 was launched many big developments have happened that have have impacted Jolla, Sailfish OS, our partners with us, and all the daily Sailfish users.
[...]
The first Sailfish 4 software release, Koli, is today made available to all Sailfish users. You’re welcome to read more details from the Koli blog post, which our software engineer David Llewellyn-Jones has crafted.
To celebrate this milestone Sailfish 4 release, we’ve also just published a major update to the Sailfish OS website to show better and more visually what this great alternative OS is all about – be sure to check out that as well!
-
Sailfish OS Koli is now available
No doubt you’ll already have read about the transition of Sailfish OS into its fourth generation. And that, of course, also means a new Sailfish OS release. We’re very pleased to announce Sailfish OS 4.0.1 Koli, one of our biggest Sailfish releases for a long time. There are far too many improvements to cover all of them in detail here – you can check details from the release notes. In line with our version 4 naming, we’ve chosen to look at four significant improvements below.
But before getting in to that, you’ll of course want to know about Koli. The Koli National Park is in the North Karelia region of Finland in the east, hugging the western shore of Lake Pielinen, which you can see in the update photo. It’s not hard to see why the beautiful vistas provided inspiration for Jean Sibelius, composer of the Finnish national anthem. The photograph also shows the characteristic white quartzite on the Koli “vaara” (amongst the many words for “hill” in Finnish, “vaara” is the second smallest).
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version
- Read more
- 1122 reads
PDF version
The 8 Best Linux Secure Phones for Privacy and Security in 2021
Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Wednesday 10th of February 2021 05:43:43 AM Filed under
The definition of online privacy has been expanded to include many more elements beyond the basic definition. With today’s advanced Internet technology, having “privacy” is no longer simple. In fact, it is about being able to have much more control over the information that others can access about you and your activities. Many people are concerned about the security of their phones. While it may seem like common sense, many individuals do not realize how easy it can be for a person to take advantage of technology when they have the ability to secure their online privacy by using Linux secure phones.
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version
- Read more
- 1892 reads
PDF version
Hackers develop open source firmware for the PinePhone modem, use it to make phone calls
Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Friday 5th of February 2021 01:11:47 AM Filed under
The PinePhone is an inexpensive smartphone designed to run free and open source operating systems like Manjaro, postmarketOS, Mobian, or Ubuntu Touch. But the phone isn’t 100-percent open hardware: its modem ships relies on proprietary, closed-source firmware.
A team of independent developers are working to provide an alternative – and it looks like they’re getting closer all the time.
Developer @biktorgj has posted a short video showing a PinePhone making a phone call using Voice over LTE without using proprietary “blobs.”
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version
- Read more
- 1456 reads
PDF version
MutantC v3 open hardware DIY UMPC works with Raspberry Pi and compatible SBC’s
Submitted by Roy Schestowitz on Wednesday 3rd of February 2021 02:40:11 AM Filed under
FOSDEM 2021 open-source developer event will take place online later this week, and yesterday we compiled a list of talks, with one entitled “MutantC PDA introduction – open source and hardware PDA shell” piquing my interest.
The talk will be about the third revision of the hardware which allows you to create your own UMPC or handheld computer powered by a Raspberry Pi SBC or other compatible single board computers including Asus Tinker Board S, PINE H64 Model B, Banana Pi BPI-M4B, among others.
- Login or register to post comments
Printer-friendly version
- Read more
- 1113 reads
PDF version

More in Tux Machines
- Highlights
- Front Page
- Latest Headlines
- Archive
- Recent comments
- All-Time Popular Stories
- Hot Topics
- New Members
Free Software Leftovers
| Asymmetric Multi Processing with Linux & Zephyr on the STM32MP1
In the embedded world, more and more vendors offer Arm-based System-on-Chips (SoC) including both powerful Cortex-A CPU cores, designed to run a full-featured OS such as Linux, and one or more low-power Cortex-M cores, usually found in microcontrollers, designed to execute bare-metal or RTOS-based applications.
[...]
While the Linux kernel can run on a wide range of devices, it requires a decent amount of memory (> 4MB), and therefore cannot be used on memory-constrained microcontrollers.
Enters Zephyr, a project initiated by Wind River, now developed as a Linux Foundation project.
|
Geniatech XPI-3288 Raspberry Pi lookalike features Rockchip RK3288 SoC
Geniatech XPI is a family of single board computers following Raspberry Pi 3 form factor. We first covered XPI-S905X SBC in 2018, which was followed by XPI 3128 board last year.
The company has now launched another model with Geniatech XPI-3288 SBC powered by Rockchip RK3288 32-bit quad-core Cortex-A17 processor coupled with 2G RAM and 16GB eMMC flash.
| Videos/Audiocasts/Shows
|
Recent comments
1 min ago
5 min 48 sec ago
1 hour 2 min ago
1 hour 6 min ago
1 hour 46 min ago
1 hour 53 min ago
2 hours 7 min ago
2 hours 39 min ago
2 hours 42 min ago
2 hours 45 min ago