The Purism Website failed to convince me that this project has even a chance of becoming an enjoyable alternative.
Not only doesn't it show many features or screenshots of apps, the things it does show are better at demonstrating its weaknesses than strengths.
For example, theres a link to a Video about running Firefox [1] that reads like a parody. At one point, the narrator says enthusiastically: "With the settings unusable in portrait, it's time to switch to landscape mode"
Thankfully, they also offer an optimised browser, but the fact that they mention Firefox at all, demonstrates a lack of understanding about what users want from a phone.
This phone is still work in progress, but it progresses at a fast pace. The very fact that you can smoothly run desktop Firefox with all plugins on a phone is a huge thing. There is no need to write new applications, just adapt the existing ones. If you want more pictures and videos, look here: https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem-5-media-photos-and-videos.
> The Purism Website failed to convince me that this project has even a chance of becoming an enjoyable alternative.
I carefully chose the word "enjoyable". I absolutely see the appeal, and I do want this project to succeed.
I also understand, that it's a work in progress.
However, from my experience, I believe that Linux is simply not enjoyable to use. Other operating systems provide advanced features out of the box, such as clipboard-history, clipboard-sync, PiP, powerful search and more. In Linux, you may need to use the command line to arrange your screens [1].
The Website should have convinced me, that this project is built by a company that cares about usability just as much as they care about privacy and openness. Instead, I get the impression that it's only for the most determined of linux users - you know... the kind that would wan't desktop firefox on their phone even if it's almost unusable.
> There is no need to write new applications, just adapt the existing ones
Yes, in theory this is great. But in practice, on my Surface, it never worked. The Interface was laggy, buttons were hard to hit, the touch keyboard didn't appear when it was supposed to, smooth zooming in Firefox didn't work. The difference to an iPad was like night and day.
[1]: Source: Watching a coworker use Linux for the first time. I don't remember the distro.
It's not a lack of understanding. I would like the option to run desktop applications on my phone and I also appreciate that they are honest with what works and what doesn't.
Open source projects works by targeting people who understand technology. When I first installed a linux distribution, maybe it wasn't what a user wants from a distro. A decade or so after that everyone and their aunt has a linux computer in their pocket.
Some have a Java based computer that happens to use Linux kernel, but could pretty much use anything else POSIX based.
Others have an Objective-C/Swift based computer that happens to use a mix of FreeBSD and mach hybrid kernel, but could pretty much use anything else POSIX based.
Not only doesn't it show many features or screenshots of apps, the things it does show are better at demonstrating its weaknesses than strengths.
For example, theres a link to a Video about running Firefox [1] that reads like a parody. At one point, the narrator says enthusiastically: "With the settings unusable in portrait, it's time to switch to landscape mode"
Thankfully, they also offer an optimised browser, but the fact that they mention Firefox at all, demonstrates a lack of understanding about what users want from a phone.
[1]: https://puri.sm/posts/desktop-firefox-in-your-pocket-with-th...