Series 8 Episode 6 – In this episode we welcome Florian from the UBPorts project, we have a great discussion in the benefits of using Ubuntu Touch on your device, more under the hood tips and another epic Irish saying. Enjoy.
00:24 Wayne welcomes us to Series 8 Episode 6 of the Binary Times Show from a sunny Bristol. Mark tells us it’s dull in Kilkishen, but the show won’t be! The guys are delighted to welcome Florian Leeber (pronounced Layber), a member of the board of directors in the Ubports foundation and head of infrastructure in personal union. Florian tells us that it’s a nice day for a stroll in the park in Vienna today. He’s joining us to discuss the Ubports project.
02:43 The discussion starts with Wayne asking Florian what exactly is Ubuntu Touch and why people should take an interest in it. Florian tells us that Ubuntu Touch is a mobile phone operating system and provides us with a brief history of the project. He feels the initial project was probably ahead of its time and Ubuntu can be misunderstood for the direction they try and take Linux, as they were creating a lot of software that wasn’t already in existence. As an example, Mir and Unity 8 were created to achieve a snappy mobile desktop environment. Florian points out that these had to be created as they weren’t available elsewhere. Mark also points out that Ubuntu’s Contributor License Agreementlead to a lack of contributions. Florian can see the necessity in such an agreement. Florian’s only criticism is that because the project was largely in house the developers didn’t think of external developers all that much and the project was not particularly well documented, while Florian provides some technical examples. He also thinks the approach that the Ubports foundation are taking now with the likes of the PinePhone is more practical towards building a community than the one originally envisaged, and thinks that Purism is making the same mistake as Canonical did with the Librem 5.
Florian goes on to tell us how he became involved in the project. He didn’t get involved until 2015 and was surprised he hadn’t heard of it previously. He became aware of the porting community and became involved in trying to port a HTC X One. This failed but gave him the opportunity to get to know and be involved in the community. When Canonical announced they were no longer developing Unity 8 and Ubuntu Touch, he came together with others in the community and between them all decided to continue the project. These were fast moving times in the project, as you may well imagine, but it all came together fairly quickly. The original community evolved into today’s foundation, while the community continues to grow and there’s always more and more to do!
18:08 Wayne asks Florian what are the benefits of using Ubuntu Touch. Florian tells us the main advantage is that the phone doesn’t rely on cloud services and it’s an independent way of bringing mobility to people to use their phones on the go. The only applications that use cloud services are those that need them, such as NextCloud and Fluffychat. This has the advantage that Ubuntu Touch user’s are not being tracked constantly with profiles of their usage being built, unlike Android and iPhone. The guys agree that this is a good reason to use Ubuntu Touch. Florian feels it’s about giving people choices, and the ability to do whatever you want with your phone. Wayne imagines a Jimmy Hendrix moment at the end of the show.
24:34 Wayne asks whether Ubuntu Touch is for enthusiasts or everyday users. Florian feels that Ubuntu Touch isn’t quite there for everyone at the moment, but it is an important goal that the OS is usable by a mass market audience. This includes reducing the hackability of the phone and preventing users from installing random packages anywhere so that it’s possible to employ Over The Air updates successfully. Stability is crucial in a phone.
28:44 Wayne asks about the convergence features of Ubuntu Touch. Hardware is still behind the vision, though things are improving. Florian thinks that Shiftphones may be great convergence devices when they have an HDMI output. Shift is a small German company producing modular, beautiful and sustainable phones and convergent devices. Florian points out that following Android devices isn’t ideal due to breakage between versions and devices like PinePhone that don’t rely on Android in any way are a better way to go. He goes on to talk about another collaboration they have with Volla and the Volla Phone. He notes that Hallo Welte are investing in helping Ubuntu Touch work on the Volla phone and getting Anbox to work. Open Hardware and Software that is commonly adopted is the future in Florian’s eyes, allowing <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Tech“>Big Tech like Facebook to take notice and produce apps for Ubuntu Touch. This prompts Wayne to ask if Ubuntu Touch users really want Facebook, and Florian talks about the pervasiveness of the platform, while also pointing out that privacy by design is integral to Ubuntu Touch. It’s difficult to find the right balance that will allow enough people to adopt the platform.
42:58 Mark asks Florian how sustainable is Ubuntu Touch. Florian tells us that the foundation is quite sustainable and goes through the various funding channels they have. He also says to continue to grow they need more employees and where to employ qualified people at reasonable rates is proving an interesting problem
48:38 Mark asks Florian for his opinion on Bruce Perens recent presentation on What Comes After Open Source. Florian thinks it’s a good idea, fewer licenses and developers getting paid for their time is a good thing. As with all good ideas, the devil is in the detail, and how to decide who gets what will be the hard part, though worth exploring. Florian questions the security and traceability of today’s web development practices. Florian finishes by inviting everyone to try out Ubuntu Touch and also there are plenty of ways to contribute.
58:55 Under the Hood. Thanks to Dave over on the Other Side Podcast Network once again for Mark’s Under the Hood, and it is yet another [Humble Bundle], this time the DIY Maker School Bundle.
Florian’s Under the Hood is a recommendation to try out Stellarium and Pure Maps from the Open Store on Ubuntu Touch. He also tells us that uNav has a new version coming out soon.
Wayne’s Under the Hood is a sane way to look at df -h, and that is 'echo "alias df='df -h -x squashfs -x tmpfs -x devtmpfs'" >> ~/.bash_aliases'
62:45 Saying of the show is kindly provided by Florian and soon to become a favourite of both Wayne and Mark, and that is ‘die Technik is a hund’ or Technology is a dog!
We hope you enjoy the show as much as we did making it, and thanks to Florian for making this a great one.
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