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Linux-Based postmarketOS Project Aims to Give Smartphones a 10-Year Lifecycle

posted by Fnord666 on Friday August 18 2017, @01:02AM   Printer-friendly
from the defeating-planned-obsolescence dept.

MrPlow writes:

Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard

Buy an iPhone and you might get 4-5 years of official software updates. Android phones typically get 1-3 years of updates… if they get any updates at all. But there are ways to breathe new life into some older Android phones. If you can unlock the bootloader, you may be able to install a custom ROM like LineageOS and get unofficial software updates for a few more years.

The folks behind postmarketOS want to go even further: they're developing a Linux-based alternative to Android with the goal of providing up to 10 years of support for old smartphones.

That's the goal anyway. Right now the developers have only taken the first steps.

[...] At this point the developers behind postmarketOS are a long way from creating a fully functional OS that works on a single phone, let alone an operating system that will provide a decade of software updates for dozens of different devices. But it's a laudable goal that could help keep your aging phones useful (and secure) long after your phone maker stops pushing official updates.

Source: https://liliputing.com/2017/08/linux-based-postmarketos-project-aims-give-smartphones-10-year-lifecycle.html

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Ayn Anonymous on Friday August 18 2017, @03:01AM (6 children)

    by Ayn Anonymous (5012) on Friday August 18 2017, @03:01AM (#555685)

    This approach make you still depend on a transport provider.
    And no chance to get around this problem with old hardware.
    Do you not get this ?
    You want as much free and un-censor-able HF/VHF/UHF/... communication as possible.
    Everything that can be done P2P, like TXTs over spontaneous instant Mesh LoRa networks.
    Proper authenticated and encrypted of course.

    Software-Defined-Radio (SDR) devises such as the LTE base station able https://myriadrf.org/projects/limesdr/ [myriadrf.org] LimeSDR
    need be the starting point of your COMMUNICATOR devise.
    No hardware update ever needed.
    Just add software features all the time.

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  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 18 2017, @05:15AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 18 2017, @05:15AM (#555723)

    On my planet*, all radio frequencies are free for everyone to use. We all communicate over the planetary mesh network. There is no jamming or censorship.

    * fictional

    • (Score: 2) by Ayn Anonymous on Friday August 18 2017, @06:57AM (4 children)

      by Ayn Anonymous (5012) on Friday August 18 2017, @06:57AM (#555745)

      > On my planet*

      Have space suit, willing to travel.

      • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Friday August 18 2017, @09:24AM

        by kaszz (4211) on Friday August 18 2017, @09:24AM (#555786) Journal

        Knows some company CEO in the states that have some hobby project called "Falcon" and "inter..transporter" ;-)

      • (Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Friday August 18 2017, @01:21PM (2 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday August 18 2017, @01:21PM (#555864) Journal

        Have space suit** a towel, willing to travel.

        There, FTFY

        ---
        ** That's so terribly wrong on so many levels, I can't even tell you how wrong it is. Clearly, you are a hitchhiker illiterate.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford

        • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Friday August 18 2017, @03:19PM (1 child)

          by NotSanguine (285) <{NotSanguine} {at} {SoylentNews.Org}> on Friday August 18 2017, @03:19PM (#555920) Homepage Journal

          Have space suit** a towel, willing to travel.

          There, FTFY

          ---
          ** That's so terribly wrong on so many levels, I can't even tell you how wrong it is. Clearly, you are a hitchhiker illiterate.

          Clearly, you're Heinlein illiterate. [wikipedia.org]

          --
          No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr

          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Saturday August 19 2017, @12:17AM

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Saturday August 19 2017, @12:17AM (#556204) Journal

            Clearly so. Thanks for pointing out.

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford