SailfishOS should need no introduction, but just in case someone doesn’t know about it, it’s the successor of MeeGo developed by Nokia and Intel so to speak, i.e. it’s a proper GNU/Linux system, with a cool and efficient swipe based interface built on Qt, it uses a few SUSE technologies such as libzypp and Open Build Service and it sports an Android runtime, that lets you run most Android apps. In short: SailfishOS is made of awesome.

Until now SailfishOS has only been available on sub-par hardware, and sometimes devices haven’t really been available for purchase at all. But since yesterday you can buy a SailfishOS image for the Sony Xperia X (single SIM model, F5121).

I installed it yesterday and so far it’s an amazing experience to run SailfishOS on pretty decent hardware, and the standby battery time appears to be through the roof.

The instructions for unlocking the bootloader and installing SailfishOS are a bit lengthy and technical and for the time being it requires access to a Microsoft Windows PC, but I managed without much hassle, and so can you!

UPDATE: Official installation instructions for Linux were published now.

In other news the Librem 5 crowdfunding reached it’s minimum goal, so overall it’s been a great couple of days for GNU/Linux on mobile devices.

In the past days, the campaign to crowd-fund a privacy-focused smartphone built on top of Free software and in collaboration with its community reached its funding goal of 1.5 million US dollars. While many people doubted that the crowdfunding campaign would succeed, it is actually hardly surprising if we look what the librem 5 promises to bring to the table.

1. Unique Privacy Features: Kill-switches and auditable code

Neither Apple nor Android have convincing stories when it comes to privacy. Ultimately, they’re both under the thumbs of a restrictive government, which, to put it mildly doesn’t give a shit about privacy and has created the most intrusive global spying system in the history of mankind. Thanks to the U.S., we now live in the dystopian future of Orwell’s 1984. It’s time to put an end to this with hardware kill switches that cut off power to the radio, microphone and camera, so phones can’t be hacked into anymore to listen in on your conversations, take photos you never know were taken and send them to people you definitely would never voluntarily share them with. All that comes with auditable code, which is something that we as citizens should demand from our government. With a product on the market supplying these features, it becomes very hard for your government to argue that they really need their staff to use iphones or Android devices. We can and we should demand this level of privacy from those who govern us and handle with our data. It’s a matter of trust.
Companies will find this out first, since they’re driven by the same challenges but usually much quicker to adopt technology.

2. Hackable software means choice

The librem 5 will run a mostly standard Debian system with a kernel that you can actually upgrade. The system will be fully hackable, so it will be easy for others to create modified phone systems based on the librem. This is so far unparalleled and brings the freedom the Free software world has long waited for, it will enable friendly competition and collaboration. All this leads to choice for the users.

3. Support promise

Can a small company such as Purism actually guarantee support for a whole mobile software stack for years into the future? Perhaps. The point is, even in case they fail (and I don’t see why they would!), the device isn’t unsupported. With the librem, you’re not locked into a single vendor’s eco system, but you buy into the support from the whole Free software community. This means that there is a very credible support story, as device doesn’t have to come from a single vendor, and the workload is relatively limited in the first place. Debian (which is the base for PureOS) will be maintained anyway, and so will Plasma as tens of millions of users already rely on it. The relatively small part of the code that is unique to Plasma Mobile (and thus isn’t used on the desktop) is not that hard to maintain, so support is manageable, even for a small team of developers. (And if you’re not happy with it, and think it can be done better, you can even take part.)

4. It builds and enables a new ecosystem

The Free software community has long waited for this hackable device. Many developers just love to see a platform they can build software for that follows their goals, that allows development with a proven stack. Moreover, convergence allows users to blur the lines between their devices, and advancing that goal hasn’t been on the agenda with the current duopoly.
The librem 5 will put Matrix on the map as a serious contender for communication. Matrix has rallied quite a bit of momentum to bring more modern mobile-friendly communication, chat and voice to the Free software eco-system.
Overall, I expect the librem 5 to make Free software (not just open-source-licensed, but openly developed Free software) a serious player also on mobile devices. The Free software world needs such a device, and now is the time to create it. With this huge success comes the next big challenge, actually creating the device and software.

The unique selling points of the librem 5 definitely strike a chord with a number of target groups. If you’re doubtful that its first version can fully replace your current smart phone, that may be justified, but don’t forget that there’s a large number of people and organisations that can live with a more limited feature set just fine, given the huge advantages that private communication and knowing-what’s-going-on in your device brings with it.
The librem 5 really brings something very compelling to the table and those are the reasons why it got funded. It is going to be a viable alternative to Android and iOS devices that allows users to enjoy their digital life privately. To switch off tracking, and to sleep comfortably.
Are you convinced this is a good idea? Don’t hesitate to support the campaign and help us reach its stretch goals!

Solch ein Problem sollte bei einem wirklichen Könner der Computer Technologie nicht passieren, but unglücklicherweise sind wir alle nur Menschen. Das ist der Grund, warum ich versehentlich die EFI Boot Partition reformatierte, als ich Fedora 26 letztens installierte. Und deshalb hier also nun, wie man die Windows Daten auf der EFI Boot Partition wiederherstellt.

Voraussetzungen

Du brauchst

• einen Windows (10) USB-Stick oder eine Installations-DVD,
• und Deine EFI Boot Partition sollte in...

Such a problem should not happen to a real pro in computer technology, but unfortunately we are only human beings. That's what made me exidentially reformate the EFI Boot Partition while installing Fedora 26 lately. And here is how to recover your Windows data on the EFI Boot Partition!

Requirements

You will need

• a Windows (10) bootable USB stick or installation DVD,
• and your EFI Boot Partition should be ok
• as well as the partition table.

If all these things apply to your case, fixi...

Restic had been on my watch list for a while, but i never really got around to play with it.

After Jan-Piet Mens blogged about it [1, 2], I thought it was finally time to give it a go. Of course this means, first we need to package it.

This is done now. You can find the packages in home:darix:restic. After reading the first blog post I did restic and rest-server. Happy camper I was until i noticed to next post. Minio was another item on my “Lets play with that” list. So one stone, two birds. Added 2 packages to my collection, because you know just packaging the server without the client is a no go.

Course of work in Linux command line not only for MetaCentrum 2018 vojta Wed, 10/04/2017 - 12:46

Překládání openSUSE na LinuxDays 2017 vojta Po, 10/02/2017 - 22:31

Die Beta für PC läuft noch bis zum 2. Oktober 2017, wer also noch einen Blick auf das neue Call of Duty werfen möchte, genauer gesagt den Multiplayer-Part, der muss sich nun beeilen. Für alle die es noch nicht haben und lieber ein paar Zeilen darüber lesen möchten, anstatt sich direkt selbst in die Multiplayer-Schlacht zu werfen, hier also meine erste Einschätzung.

Open Beta

Über Steam läuft seit dem 29. Oktober 2017 die Open Beta zu Call of Duty: WWII. Das Spiel wurde heiß ersehnt und scho...

The Open Beta for PC ends Oktober 2nd, 2017. Who wants to take a peek at the brandnew Call of Duty, or at least the multiplayer part, has to hurry up now. For all who still don't had a look at it and prefer to read a few lines about it instead of being part of the battle oneself, here are my first impressions.

Open Beta

Since Oktober 29, 2017 everyone is free to participate in the Open Beta for Call of Duty:WWII via Steam. There was an earer longing for the new Game of the series but only a...