Re: [libreplanet-discuss] Samsung Galaxy S2 for Replicant

[Dmitry Alexandrov]

Caleb Herbert <csh@bluehome.net> wrote:
> On 09/17/2019 09:38 AM, Dmitry Alexandrov wrote:
>> Caleb Herbert <csh@bluehome.net> wrote:
>>> I consider the ancient Galaxy S2 decent.
>>
>> A device without GPS and hardware graphic acceleration (unless you are 
>> willing to run nonfree software on CPU)?  Or even without Wi-Fi and 
>> Bluetooth (unless you are willing to run nonfree firmware)?
>
> I don't care about GPS or Bluetooth.  I hate wireless stuff. ... I would 
> happily use a Wi-Fi dongle over an OTG cable.

You’ve dismissed three point, but there is still one left: hardware graphics 
rendering.  Your common sense might suggest that it is the least important 
issue, but no, quite the opposite: it is considered essential for any 
*droid-running PC, so many programs just won’t run without it.

>> Replicant is not Libreboot, it does not require any flashing.  It is 
>> installed just like as any other Android-based OS.
>
> That's a relief, although I don't know what all is involved in rooting and 
> changing the OS on a mobile device.  Last time I tried, it was hard for me to 
> do.

Not to insult anyone, but that’s growing into tendency: the most extreme 
software freedom advocates I meet on the Net turns out to be those who actually 
does need even a thousandth of it.

>>> costs five hundred dollars last time I checked.
>>
>> Wow!  That’s for sure a local issue.  I’ve just checked, in Moscow you could 
>> get a _new_ Galaxy S2 for 85 $ (which I still found unacceptably expensive 
>> for a 2011 Android phone, but if someone really needs it new), used — from 
>> 25 $.
>
> Oh, wow!  I might have gotten one many years ago if I knew this!

Ehm...  Is that a sarcasm?  You’ve just called to promote ‘nophone’, have not 
you?  :-)

Or the wrong paragraph cited?  If neither, I have to clarify, that I did _not_ 
suggest you or anyone to order it from Moscow: shipping from Russia to US would 
be pricey and slow, benefits of new over used do not worth it.  Not to say, 
that a small store [0] specializing on selling unsold legacy phones might be 
unwilling to deal with international shipping at all.

[0] https://www.avito.ru/i137078443

To anyone lacks it available for a sane price in his locality, I am 
recommending exactly what I have recommended — to order it from China:

>> So if you’d really like to recommend someone to buy Galaxy S2, I suggest you 
>> just submit to necessity to recommend him to run some more nonfree software 
>> in his browser, and order it somewhere else: at Ali a ‘refurbished’ device 
>> with shipping included would be about 40 $ [1].
>>
>> [1] https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-samsuns-galaxy-s2.html

> I've been jonesing for a camera.  (Remind me again: Which Replicant device is 
> fortunate to have at least the back camera working [without nonfree software 
> and loadable firmware]?)

I never checked.  I you’d like me to read https://replicant.us for you, then it 
says that i9100, n7000 and n51xx have both cameras working with free firmware, 
i9300 — back only, while i9250, n7100 have neither.

> Thank you for all your help!

Not at all.

signature.asc
Description: PGP signature