[PLUG] Revised description - was [FOSS friendly PDA?]

[Ben Koenig]

On Thu, Feb 13, 2020 at 4:27 AM Richard Owlett <rowlett at cloud85.net> wrote:

> On 02/12/2020 05:55 AM, Richard Owlett wrote:
> >
> > I wish to enter/store data while away from home. The data will then be
> > transferred to my laptop via a USB cable. [think a Palm Pilot in a
> > smartphone physical form factor]
> >
>
> "Palm Pilot" was the not best visualization.
> A better image would be the pocket protector full of 3x5 cards a fellow
> engineering student used in the early 60's. He had it organized for
> quick retrieval of notes on a specific topic.
>
> Everything I wish to do accomplish has a direct analog to how he did
> things.
>
> An inverse is frequently also true.
> E.G. A frequent "must have" feature of a smartphone is a cell modem. The
> analog would be my friend viewing someone-else's set of cards.
>
> Many smartphone features are of no value or are detrimental to my
> intended use. Prime examples include Android OS and any graphical browser.
>
> What I could envision using would be Debian with a minimal MATE Desktop
> and a single custom Tcl/Tk app. The bottom of the screen would have a
> 4x15 character array emulating a QWERTY keyboard for input of arbitrary
> alphanumeric data. Display of "retrieved data" or "data being entered"
> would be handled by the Tcl/Tk app.
>
>
>
Ok, what you want does not currently exist. As of this moment, all
production quality devices are locked in through a combination of chinese
bootloaders and anti-competitive business practices in the US. This is just
a fact, the hardware you want is available, but Android software is
enforced. Look at the UEFI legal battle back in 2011 and the more recent
Right to Repair legislation in Washington state. Microsoft and Google have
enjoyed great success in making sure that you cannot boot debian on a
mainstream device without breaking the hardware warranty. Simple facts, and
I do not have any interest in debating what is clearly happening right in
front of us.

But there is good news for you. The Librem 5 and Pine Phone that were both
mentioned in the earlier version of this thread are exactly what you want.
Both devices advertise open firmware (meaning unlocked bootloaders) and the
ability to run mainline linux kernels. This means that while the hardware
contains phone and web functionality, you are more than welcome to install
a basic ARM build of debian that does not include those drivers. You get
your little handheld PDA and the cell/wifi components are simply inactive.

Both devices are ungoing heavy development. I recommend reading up on
Purism's roadmap for the Librem 5, and the same for Pine64. If things go
according to plan, 2-3 years from now we will start to see
production-quality mobile devices running mainline Linux hitting the
mainstream consumer market. Once Pine64 and Purism stablize their products,
the goal is to encourage the kind of explosive growth and creativity that
the Linux platform allows for but right NOW, these devices are merely proof
of concept and based on your requirements they will not fit your needs.

I'm sure someone will try and argue my points about "production quality" or
chinese bootloaders, but facts are facts.



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