commit: a8776c5a7d9157fe23e460c1056061b3c843ab5a parent ca70220e866c06d7b9cebd95177c3a45cefef05a Author: Drew DeVault <sir@cmpwn.com> Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2021 13:53:03 +0100 postmarketOSDiffstat:
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diff --git a/content/blog/postmarketos.md b/content/blog/postmarketos.md @@ -0,0 +1,74 @@ +--- +title: postmarketOS revolutionizes smartphone hacking +date: 2021-11-26 +--- + +I briefly mentioned [postmarketOS][0] in [my Pinephone review][1] two years ago, +but after getting my Dutch SIM card set up in my Pinephone and having another go +at using postmarketOS, I reckon they deserve special attention. + +[0]: http://postmarketos.org/ +[1]: https://drewdevault.com/2019/12/18/PinePhone-review.html + +Let's first consider the kind of ecosystem into which postmarketOS emerged: +smartphone hacking in the XDA Forums era. This era was dominated by amateur +hackers working independently for personal prestige, with little to no regard +for the values of free software or collaboration. It was common to see +hacked-together binary images shipped behind adfly links in XDA forum threads in +blatant disregard of the GPL, with pages and pages of users asking redundant +questions and receiving poor answers to the endless problems caused by this +arrangement. + +The XDA ecosystem is based on Android, which is a mess in and of itself. It's an +enormous, poorly documented ball of Google code, mixed with vendor drivers and +private kernel trees, full of crappy workarounds and locked-down hardware. Most +smart phones are essentially badly put-together black boxes and most smart phone +hackers are working with their legs cut off. Not to mention that the software +ecosystem which runs on the platform is full of scammers and ads and theft of +private user information. Android may be Linux in implementation, but it's about +as far from the spirit of free software as you can get. + +postmarketOS, on the other hand, is based on Alpine Linux, which happens to be +my favorite Linux distribution. Instead of haphazard forum threads collecting +inscrutable ports for dozens of devices, they have a single git repository where +all of their ports are maintained under version control, complete with issue +trackers and merge requests, plus a detailed centralized wiki providing a wealth +of open technical info on their supported platforms. And, by virtue of being a +proper Linux distribution, they essentially opt-out of the mess of predatory +mobile apps and instead promote a culture of trusted applications which respect +the user and are built by and for the community instead of by and for a +corporation. + +Where we once had to live with illegally closed-source forks of the Linux +kernel, we now have a git repository in which upstream Linux releases are +tracked with a series of auditable patches for supporting various devices, many +of which are making their way into upstream Linux. Where we once had a forum +thread with five wrong answers to the same question on page 112, we now have a +bug report on GitLab with a documented workaround and a merge request pending +review. Instead of begging my vendor to unlock my bootloader and using janky +software reminiscent of old keygen hacks to flash a dubious Android image, I can +build postmarketOS's installer, pop it onto a microSD card, and two minutes I'll +have Linux installed on my Pinephone. + +pmOS does not seek to elevate the glories of tiny individual hackers clutching +their secrets close to their chest, instead elevating the glory of the community +as a whole. It pairs perfectly with Pine64, the only hardware vendor working +closely with upstream developers with the same vision and ideals. There is a +promise for hope in the future of smart phones in their collaboration. + +However, the path they've chosen is a difficult one. Android, for all of its +faults, presents a complete solution for a mobile operating system, and upstream +Linux does not. In my review, I said that software would be the biggest +challenge of the Pinephone, and 2 years later, that remains the case. Work +reverse engineering the Pine64 hardware is slow, there is not enough cooperation +between project silos, and there needs to be much better prioritization of the +work. To complete their goals, the community will have to work more closely +together and narrow their attention in on the key issues which stand between the +status quo and the completion of a useful Linux smartphone. It will require +difficult, boring engineering work, and will need the full attention and +dedication of the talented people working on these projects. + +If they succeed in spite of these challenges, the results will be well worth it. +postmarketOS and pine64 represent the foundations of a project which could +finally deliver Linux on smartphones and build a robust mobile platform that +offers freedom to its users for years to come.