Heyo, Here's the link to the Replicant 6.0 0004 rc1 images: https://ftp.osuosl.org/pub/replicant/images/replicant-6.0/replicant-6.0-0004-rc1/images/i9305/
In Solidarity, Kurtis Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli: > Hi, > > I've just pushed the 0004 RC1 images. > > The most important thing to know (copied from the release notes draft) > is the following: >> It will also not be possible to keep the data partition and a full re- >> installation will be necessary. Users are advised to backup the >> important data from the applications (contacts, SMS, etc) before >> migrating to a this release. There are already [some tips][23] on how >> to backup some applications. We didn’t have enough time to investigate >> the precise cause of the issue. > > Since we use WordPress for the blog system, it's not easy to share > drafts: > - By default users need an account to see the drafts. The result of it > is that none of the drafts end up being public. > - When the drafts are published they are not draft anymore. > > In addition to that the default web interface forces people wanting to > work on articles to execute the JavaScript code coming from WordPress. > While the code is probably fully free software it's still an issue to > force people to run specific code. > > So we will probably have to find another way to work on announcements in > the future. > > In the meantime I've written a script to semi-manually extract the > release notes from WordPress. The script has already been sent as a > patch to the mailing list, and the result has been pasted at the end of > this mail. > > I've also found a bug between after tagging the release, and a > patch (modem: workaround silence not finding the SIM card when it is > "launched")[1] has already been sent for it. > > References: > ----------- > [1]https://lists.osuosl.org/pipermail/replicant/2020-January/002447.html > > Denis. > > == Release notes == > > # Replicant 6.0 0004 release and Replicant 9 status. > > Posted on [January 9, 2020][1] by [GNUtoo][2] > > Replicant is in the [list of distributions that are recommended by the > FSF.][3] As such, Replicant needs to follow [strict criteria][4] that > ensure that the distribution does its best not to violates its users’ > freedom. > > However fixing the issues and making new releases can sometime take a > long time. The last Replicant 6.0 release was from December 2017. > > This new release fixes some very serious freedom and privacy issues: > > * We found an issue within the phone application: it was leaking the > phone numbers of both inbound and outbound calls to third parties > as part of a feature called phone lookup providers. More details > are available in the [bug report][5]. Even if it was not trivial to > reproduce and find the bug it’s now fixed as the feature has been > completely disabled with 3 patches ([[1]][6], [[2]][7], [[3]][8]). > * F-Droid has been removed as many applications shipped in it are not > compliant with the [guidelines][4] for distributions recommended by > the FSF. It was kept so long because we expected to get it fixed > upstream fast enough, but that didn’t happen for various reasons. > We have setup a [wiki page][9] and a [forum section][10] for more > information about the issue and how to deal with it. > * Several nonfree firmwares related to the back and home “touch” > buttons were found and removed with 4 patches ([[1]][11], > [[2]][12], [[3]][13],[ [4]][14]). The firmwares seem to have only > been used for factory testing, so the buttons should still work on > the devices that have them. > * On all the currently supported devices with a modem, when users set > the device in flight mode, the modem is only asked to go in low > power mode. Because of that the modem is probably still on and its > OS is probably still running. Because of that we fixed the wiki and > added [the scripts to disable (and enable back) the modem][15] to > the new Replicant images. They work by preventing Replicant to load > the modem OS. > > This release may also fix [several bug(s) which made some SIM cards not > recognizable by Replicant 6.0][16]: we have now merged a fix for one of > the bug ([#1909][17]) but as we don’t know if all the “SIM card not > recognized” bugs are related. We would highly appreciate if those that > opened the original bug report could confirm if it also fixes their > issues as well. > > Several issues still need to be fixed, but we didn’t want to delay even > more this release, as that would prevent users from getting the fixes > mentioned above: > > * It’s still not possible to build Replicant 6.0 from a [distribution > that is recommended by the FSF][18] (bug [#1861][19]) > * While investigating if it was possible to upgrade WebView, the > Android builtin web browser component (bug [#1786][20]) we also > discovered that, because Android build system doesn’t use a package > manager, finding the license of each repository wasn’t trivial (bug > [#1973][21]). > * More investigations are needed as well to replace WebView with a > free software and up to date implementation (bug [#1786][20]). > * The bug related to a bad sound quality during calls in some > circumstances (bug [#1773][22]) is not fixed yet, but there is a > workaround that works for some use cases. > > It will also not be possible to keep the data partition and a full re- > installation will be necessary. Users are advised to backup the > important data from the applications (contacts, SMS, etc) before > migrating to a this release. There are already [some tips][23] on how > to backup some applications. We didn’t have enough time to investigate > the precise cause of the issue. > > As the internal WiFi doesn’t work with free software, some new network > related features improving usability were merged : > > * RepWiFi has been removed as it’s now possible to use the stock > Android menus to handle the WiFi. This was done by patching Android > to also accept external dongles. It is less reliable than with > RepWiFi because in some cases reboots are needed for the WiFi to be > recognized, and enabling the WiFi most probably also powers on the > Internal WiFi chip as well, increasing the power consumption. > However it should reduce the probability of applications like > F-Droid being broken in the future, as it’s better integrated in > Android. In the event that Replicant 6.0 stops being maintained and > that Replicant 9.0 doesn’t get support for all the Replicant 6.0 > devices, this patch should increase the lifetime of the affected > devices. > * Ethernet support has been added but it doesn’t work on all the > devices. > * The USB networking scripts has also been added to the devices. > * Support for some rt2500-usb dongles that don’t need the OS to load a > firmware [has been added to the Galaxy SIII 4G (i9305)][24], which > is an uncompleted device. Unfortunately it couldn’t be ported to > other devices in due time for this release. > > Other improvements were also made: > > * llvmpipe is now the default OpenGL renderer. This allows running > many applications that weren’t working before. Unfortunately > llvmpipe significantly slows down some system components used in > the graphical interface. This has been catered for by patching > Android to use the old libagl renderer for those system components. > > * [Scripts to switch between OpenGL implementations globally][25] > have been added to the image as well. Thus, if you want to revert > back to the old behaviour, just run androidsw.sh in a root > terminal. To switch back to the new behavior you can instead use > llvmpipe.sh. Note that llvmpipe.sh will still keep the old OpenGL > implementation for the system components mentioned above, so there > is little risk in trying the scripts. > * It’s now easier to build Replicant as there is a new script that > wraps part of the building process. It’s also more convenient as it > stores build logs. The script has been used to build the release, > and the build instructions also use it now. > * It has became easier to modify the installation instructions as > they now apply to all devices, and were split into parts that are > reusable. This way a modification needs to be done only once and > not 10 or 30 times like before. > * [Instructions to backup the modem data partition][26] have been > added. The modem partition can [become corrupted][27] in some > conditions. As it can be very difficult or impossible to recreate > that partition, and that it’s required for the modem to work, we > strongly advise users to do a backup. > > Work on Replicant 9 has also been ongoing in parallel. As it will use a > kernel closely based on upstream Linux, it has some implications: > > * The work on Replicant 9 is made with the Galaxy SIII (i9300), so it > should be supported. > * The Galaxy Note II (N7100) is very similar to the Galaxy SIII but > requires a bit more work to be supported. > * The Galaxy SIII 4G (I9305) and Galaxy Note II 4G (N7105) could also > be added if work is done to add support for their modem in > Replicant. > * We don’t know yet how much work is needed to add support for the > other devices that are currently supported by Replicant 6.0, so we > don’t know yet if they will be compatible with Replicant 9 or not. > We would need to find or get more information on the upstream > status of theses devices before having a rough idea. > * It will be easier to add support for devices using a mainline > kernel. > > We also take advantage of this release to announce some policies > changes: > > * As Replicant 6 only supports devices with isolated modems, > Replicant 9 and upward will also only support devices with isolated > modems. > * Support for devices with non-isolated modems and upstream kernel > will need to be added in other Android distributions instead. > * We are welcoming collaboration with various upstream projects and > other Android distributions to co-maintain the ability to run > Android with upstream kernels. > > As Replicant 9 requires more work and working to upstream devices > support in Linux takes more time than adding devices in Replicant 6, we > also decided against supporting devices with batteries that cannot be > replaced by users and developers. > > The issue is a very practical one: if we start adding support for a > device, we want to be able to spend the time required to do it right > and to work with upstream projects like Linux to add support for it in > theses projects as well. The advantage is that it makes Replicant and > the device being added more sustainable. However if the device has a > battery that is not replaceable by experienced users, developers, > repair shops, or [repair café][28], the device would have a very short > lifetime which is incompatible with making Replicant sustainable: > > * Users would need to buy the device new in order to make sure that > the battery lasts enough for a daily use. Buying the device second > hand would be way more complicated as users would need to make sure > that the battery last enough time. > * Developers would still be able to work on the device for a very > long time, assuming that they are not users as well that want to > use the device. But their work would not be very useful without > usable devices. > > If we look at the smartphones currently supported by Replicant 6.0: > > * They all have removable batteries, so they are very easy to > replace. > * Compatible batteries are easy enough to find in several countries. > > And for the tablets supported by Replicant 6.0: > > * They all have batteries that are not removable in the usual > meaning, but they can still be replaced by opening the device. > * It is easy enough for experienced users, developers, repair shops, > and repair café to open the device and remove the battery, so it is > probably possible to replace it as well. > * It would be interesting to know more about the availability of > compatible batteries. > * It might also be possible to use tablets with batteries that last > way less than when the device is new, as many people have them off > most of the time. But even in that case it still shortens a lot the > lifetime of the device, as they probably still needs a working > battery to boot. > > This entry was posted in [Replicant news][29] by [GNUtoo][30]. Bookmark > the [permalink][31]. [Edit][32] > > [1]: <https://blog.replicant.us/?p=4515> (4:30 pm) > > [2]: <https://blog.replicant.us/author/gnutoo/> (View all posts by > GNUtoo) > > [3]: <https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-non-gnu-distros.html> > > [4]: > <https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html> > > [5]: <https://redmine.replicant.us/issues/1827> > > [6]: > <https://git.replicant.us/replicant/vendor_cmsdk/commit/?id=de9e5b00e2a4072d2fd7e89e9abfc512a50d77e3> > > [7]: > <https://git.replicant.us/replicant/vendor_cmsdk/commit/?id=2d8ae47d9919f83cdf7244c3eeb34f919d83a33d> > > [8]: > <https://git.replicant.us/replicant/packages_apps_Dialer/commit/?id=c730399d4854875a76baa24ab653fbc049b8deef> > > [9]: > <https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/F-DroidAndApplications> > > [10]: <https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/boards/40> > > [11]: > <https://git.replicant.us/replicant/kernel_samsung_smdk4412/commit/?id=160424ba716cde87e4ff213972a03388e90bf75e> > > [12]: > <https://git.replicant.us/replicant/kernel_samsung_smdk4412/commit/?id=1fe39350b36767cc60ae58c2b2ea5fa29d484be0> > > [13]: > <https://git.replicant.us/replicant/kernel_samsung_smdk4412/commit/?id=0ee78af736ce947d286d21b5fdc2c0212b2f8d38> > > [14]: > <https://git.replicant.us/replicant/kernel_samsung_smdk4412/commit/?id=e40b2fa239e15c3ea8ea9407be704882916bcacc> > > [15]: > <https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/ModemDisable> > > [16]: > <https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/SIMnotRecognized> > > [17]: <https://redmine.replicant.us/issues/1909> > > [18]: <https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html> > > [19]: <https://redmine.replicant.us/issues/1861> > > [20]: <https://redmine.replicant.us/issues/1786> > > [21]: <https://redmine.replicant.us/issues/1973> > > [22]: <https://redmine.replicant.us/issues/1773> > > [23]: > <https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/UsageNotes#Backups> > > [24]: > <https://git.replicant.us/replicant/kernel_samsung_smdk4412/commit/?id=a2ad1c05d8e609e3daf820deebf477c5f93d6f3e> > > [25]: <https://git.replicant.us/replicant/vendor_replicant- > scripts/tree/display/renderer/device-files> > > [26]: > <https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/BackupTheEFS> > > [27]: <https://redmine.replicant.us/issues/1869> > > [28]: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repair_caf%C3%A9> > > [29]: <https://blog.replicant.us/category/replicant-news/> > > [30]: <https://blog.replicant.us/author/gnutoo/> > > [31]: <https://blog.replicant.us/?p=4515> (Permalink to Replicant > 6.0 0004 release and Replicant 9 status.) > > [32]: > <https://blog.replicant.us/wp-admin/post.php?post=4515&action=edit> > > > This body part will be downloaded on demand. >
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