And now a last annotation from myself. after reading throughout forums, comments and so on: This controversy about Purism won't end. There are opinions about ignoring the events, besides there are facts named within the blog-posting, further links with information for example and no backer has received any mobile device until now. Coming is also much whataboutism: When criticizing Purism, one should already use free alternatives like Replicant otherwise there seems no right to criticize. That's just a distraction from the major issues we have here, because Purism is not honest about the concurrent status and even if they could bring up this device: Is there a way to get rid of elementary firmware-blobs?

Yes, I'm using Replicant and I also make usage of LineageOS without proprietary services and as free as it could be with F-Droid - sidenote even there are applications / programs with proprietary interfaces, of course marked before installation. What's next? Am I worthy now to criticize Purism? Let's face the problem: The mobile sector won't become free. Purism is one thing, the others are patents and the companies behind holding the rights onto chips, drivers and interface-routines. Intel called out for Purism to delete a blogpost with information about reverse-engineering the FSP: Remember the roadmap? Look also here. Yes, seems the question was done "politely" but it doesn't mask the major issue I have named earlier. To quote:

You've got it? Purism even tells us about the problem, but in the end it's always about devices with privacy, big wordings for "customers", not human beings with the view on free, libre hard- and software and the (perhaps utopian) hope for a "better tomorrow". So it's about "believing" and whenever this is brought up humans tend to react more or less harsh. My point being stays: Companies like Purism use the believe, making up a marketing about it. Their first release of the Librem-notebooks? Full proprietary hardware. Afterwards coreboot-port came up this got better. That's the contrary of being honest at all but even though: We could believe and the question stays. What is the price of believing? A price for a lie and self-deception? It is becoming clear for me that I better wait for another round of Replicant, even LineageOS is not my way to go. But I have to live with compromises because the x86-platform is full of freedom-issues as the mobile platform is also same here. But those marketing-lies are even worse. And just having a device being "a little bit more free" is not better as I'm ignoring possible vendor-lockins for now. What about applications pre-installed? As nobody reviewed the Librem-device in the "wild" we doesn't know anything and I'm not sure Purism will mark their so-called "social platform" as optional. Besides I also add that I hope Purism will change their course, being more honest and open to the people and that their idea could in one way be successful. Yeah, as the blog-posting itself notes at the end: Having the chance for GNU/Linux being on a mobile device with phone-capabilities could be helpful for others to come. I'm not trusting the mentioned company, but I'm with hope for the basic idea itself. Strange, isn't it? I don't need a copy of "Apple" within free, libre soft- and hardware - mentioned within the article on Phoronix. What I want is just this: A device which I can handle as mine, where I am in charge respecting my whishes for a companion not spying onto my data and files. The ideal would be even fair handled, really free hardware, not causing harm / damage onto others and the environment itself - as I've said earlier in this posting, an "utopian" whish which is not made up as "marketing-lie" as I'm not believing in capitalistic values and system schemes (I don't even care about names and patents as they also do more harm than being useful). That's all for now!

The politics could start over with a first step just using more free, libre software (not open-source) within public departments instead of proprietary environments. People pay for services, so all people have the right to get a look onto the used soft- and hardware. When using free, libre software the departments could recognize the basic problems and then there is this little chance for other ways.

But this is just an utopian view: In our world there are capitalistic rules with a whole bunch of neoliberal self-deception. Just running for the carrot never to reach in a hamster wheel keeps going and going. It's even more sinister and dark as I was called "radical" just a few days ago for calling out those principles in another forum regarding Linux (without GNU). Instead of getting the image people tend to be aggressive and getting abusive calling some really smear arguments and rhetorical really bad tricks. So this was just a small example, the bigger ones would be even more ignoring the major issues: Patents, big wordings with big lies and so on. And just "a little bit more free" from a company like Purism is not the way to go in the end. Whenever this device is ready, this is just a helper for others to come. The question is: Is there really interest? Because that's the major point and having GNU/Linux on mobile devices with phone-capabilities (those are not telephones from my point of view, instead complex, little computer systems with also possible risks) is a view being helpful but unknown because Purism do as always shady marketing-tricks instead of being honest with people - which is also reducing the interest in a whole besides the common ignorance demonstrated (there are "Android" and "Apple", why others? common poor question).

Annotation: I don't want to generalize but some participants within the global Linux-community seem to have serious issues with distributions like Hyperbola, Parabola, Trisquel, Dragora and gNewSense. They never get tired to emphasize that those distributions don't have anything got on their own for example building packages and projects, just take from "others", no "own contribution". And showing them the progress here, meaning the replacement with Xenocara and LibreSSL, the inclusion of sndio, doesn't count. They just ignore this! And so any further criticism towards Purism will be ignored as most further problems within the "open-source"-endorsement itself is ignored and "free, libre software" is made more or less irrelevant just for believing this marketing-lies and cheap promises - only giving some insight what I've got as answers in summary. Thing is: If "we" really take software freedom seriously there has to be a combination and only having some kind of progress in regard to privacy is just terribly wrong. Afterwards you've got some mobile computer-system with no chance of being free in the manner of the whole definition of software-freedom, a very cheap compromise. And I have no understatement for this as I have no further understatement for this endless debate ongoing about only one init-systems, only one audio-service, only one major X-server for implementation. Just making the people some kind of free and directly dependent from other sources, just they ignore it again and again as some kind of story to being repeated, even in other distributions focussed in software-freedom.

Well, at all Mr. Poettering and some of us have different views onto how to handle GNU/Linux and therefore: Yes.
It is this concept of ignoring everything which annoys me. Instead of letting different views and approaches exist, using the phrase Live and let live!, everything is talked down under the table and therefore all the fine work done and reached is nevertheless right out of the view, because of the fast living of information.

I have no further problem with the existance of systemd, but I don't want to use it and I don't see any further usecase for such a big package. Another point also within the Librem-discussion because from my concurrent knowledge PureOS makes usage of systemd and is also using Gnome as basic for the mobile device and no further information about other ports like PostmarketOS here besides the already known marketing: You are free to install other operating systems!

Good joke at all, Purism! But perhaps they have a further demonstration about when the device is ready?
I hope all my criticism is just wrong, because otherwise we have another environment existing - when they are ready - with vendor-lockin. Because how is the guarantee when another system is installed and something is malfunctional or even worse? Most known: Delivered with PureOS and only therefore a guarantee and support. Everything else outside or perhaps community-support. And getting back to the blog-posts and articles: Not a round picture, even worse regarding freedom.

I have been tempted many a time to go on systemd websites with a username like allhailredhat and troll the crap out of people who love poettering/redhat crap.  and be like, "In the name of the holy redhat and poettering i beseech you and offer you gratitude for trying to make gnu/linux into the donald trump of operating systems."

Something like that...

Debian or archlinux users would get pissed off i am sure by that. xD

But yeah, i really strongly dislike the redhat trend that is happening with gnu/linux... ;/

We really need a free software users foundation I think.  One that strictly adheres to actual software freedom, including against licenses that are free but are used for anti-freedom purposes like redhat's dbus, or systemd, or even pulseaudio and networkmanager.

how to implement though is extremely difficult though...

Okay, it seems that neither Librem 5 nor Pine Phone are really any kind of an option regarding freedom for now. The problem for the Pine Phone especially for the so-called blob-less implementations is just being "free" within userspace and not far deeper as proprietary firmware is called. A quick check for the corresponding build-script getting clear as noted within: nonfree_firmware()

So if you want really free mobile soft- and hardware: Forget about it for now!

Perhaps there is something in future, but not now as both chances are again given away and just the usage of forseeable marketing-speech is given. Much ado about nothing: Blobless? Good joking.

Nah, wrong thread. Moved content!

You think you can make any mobile device with phone capabilities more secure with alternative ROMs? Think again: Android is full with freedom flaws and neither shortened thoughts like Google is doing that for some kind of "evil planning" nor any further tryout to fight against windmills help here. Android is damaged from the ground reasoning as every device got a clear ID and this is inbound for tracking. Well, in the end it is just more about the money to make from data in the first step and there will be more steps coming when people look after the potential of collected data throughout advertising. Again: No plan in the long run, but just think about any totalitary system, any fascist system in the making with access to all the collected data. Well? Got it? Okay, and now come again with the thought about having Android in some way "free as in freedom"? Think again about your mobile device being just a complete computer. And think again about being trustworthy with those on the one hand, but otherwise looking after conspiracy ideologies on the other hand where it is clear that this a "roadtrip" based on shortened decisions for the fast money - stop following those shortened stories and think / discuss.

Same here with Purism with the complete shortened picture to become "the Apple of open-source hardware". Congratulations to replicate a failed rolemodel and again more of the known: systemd as absolute component in PureOS being part of a complex computing device with some kind of phone capabilities and nevertheless integral parts being not free. Sad story? Yes, it is and it will stay a hard walk on the line towards freedom, security and privacy as base democratic values, the opposite is arrogance and ignorance in the short outcome first and in the long perspective the desastrous amount of danger for everyone confronted with the flaws and failures of our concurrent generations here and now. It is all about ignorant and arrogant decisions, nothing more in the first place. The consequences are some other side of this tragic.

Yes, happened to me also as I don't wanted links shared to proprietary services back when trying Libertree. Was a bit frustrating being onto a decentralized network and people only use this as some kind enhancer to their other accounts on YouTube, Twitter or even Facebook. Today I'd say that it is about "being seen", to flirt with the digital self-portrait as any account is exactly this.

Ah well. let's look a little bit deeper directly onto Purism: Is this company really what they want to proclaim for themselves? And before going into this: No, this is not about some "trolling", it is about hard facts what Purism and people being in responsible positions have said and done.

The kind of insights we had also with the postings in the introduction. Yes, those are reports of personal experiences. But where to start? Having people blamed for their reports that this company is not what they claim for being like to be seen from imagination? That's just a nicer way to give literally nothing about criticism and to follow Purism on this way full with self-deception. When you buy some product directly being completely "new" you give directly support to a seller and a company being responsible for the production - in this case buying a mobile or a service is a direct support for Purism and their infrastructure, their own mentality included. But what kind of mentality? They offer Librem One and therefore a fork of Mastodon. You know about the failure of Purism to moderate hatred and harassment coming up from their instance? To be clear: Purism actively refused to moderate their instance, because these came up from paying users. They've failed to make a point against abuse and harassment, against hatred. So they let prejudices happening just because of the money. But that's not all as the marketing director just recalled false slurs and accusations without a concrete background, even more had chosen a side here.

Just to repeat some lie doesn't make it more true and the whole conversation just demonstrate how Purism is completely failing as company. Purism is naive at best, and actively courts hatred and harassment at worst. Everyone can decide giving them money for this or better go elsewhere, making an own decision to liberate the hardware. Just to remember: They do nothing special in the perspective for the computers itself as Coreboot can be also done by everyone with interest and the Intel Management Engine has to stay active - whole time. It's just about some illusion being "more free". But what's the real price to pay? Not only to speak about the money itself but also for the support given to such a company with false values and many lies. Therefore creating risk for others being harassed and actively confronted with pure hatred? To risk darkest thoughts and democracy itself - and yes in the end it is all about the global freedom and peace also? It's yours to decide as my decision was clear and will stay this way giving no support to such false illusions. Remember the claim There is no cloud just other people's computers!? Okay, this company is coming up with the same mentality, pretending to be about some kind of "image". For real this "image" is nothing to be proud of. There is no real freedom with semi-free hardware and the x86-platform is damaged to the point being a risk for freedom, privacy and security itself! This could be done otherwise: With Libreboot for example and the will to develop this further, but not with companies like Purism. Same with the base - the operating-system.  Freedom is coming up with responsibility and the company is failing here also as it is all about illusions and some marketing-imagery. Nothing more! And when it comes for standing up for integrity, for same rights of every being, Purism has much homework to do as they are not believable.

Even if it had risc-v and had every bit of software freed except the modem, I wouldn't buy something like that for that price.