| Hello community!Welcome to the UBports Foundation email newsletter, January 21st, 2022 |
From your editorEverything we do or say is based on our perspective. On how we see or feel things to be. And, of course, the same goes for the other party if we are interfacing with other humans.
Usually my perspective is a small room in the Netherlands when I type another edition of this newsletter. This time I'm abroad and my perspective is now across 180 degrees about 15 km free line of sight filled with images of rural France. So, clearly, perspectives can change.
Speaking of perspective, a few days ago I wanted to connect my rather new fancy Canon photo camera to my (Android, I know) Canon phone app over WiFi. Funny thing, I did not wanted to accept the "Collection of Information on Usage Status" terms, which also includes Google Analytics for Firebase. And, guess what, the app refuses to do what it is supposed to do: connect, and download pictures from my camera to my phone. Well, I don't know about you, but this really p*sses me of. Can somebody please explain to companies like Canon that the gathering of usage data is not vital to the functionality of an application? That an app can function also when it does not send usage data to some remote server? Recently some research was published about the scale at which phone data is shared: https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2021/extensive-scale-of-phone-data-sharing-revealed. Tl;dr: it's not pretty.
Today I am thinking back on that small detail in my life, and contemplate on the impact our little project has had and still is having. How we are working together with phone manufacturers to get their devices supported so people like you can have a purchase option, a choice.
Sure, there are still enough battles to be fought, and we are clearly not the number one in the market, but, as they like to say in the US, "we're not small potatoes either".
This summer in the Netherlands will be the MCH2022 event. MCH stands for "Must Contain Hackers" and some 3500-4500 people from all over the world are expected to attend. And we, as UBports project, will be there too! With our own tent, where we will be organizing activities as well as giving talks in our tent, as well as on the main stages (that is, if our talk proposals are accepted of course). We are currently preparing a marketing campaign so more people will know that we will be there. By the way, we are looking for volunteers to help out during the event. And who wouldn't want to have this nice jacket as a reminder of an awesome time?
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We also already had a few people replying that they could do a deep level tech talk, so there are options there as well. So, if you like to attend, send me an email.
Anyway, sit back, grab hold of your favorite beverage and enjoy another episode of the UBports Newsletter (while I write this edition this time in silence).
Greets, Jeroen Baten
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News, hot from the press
In the pas weeks the latest edition of the Dutch Linux Magazine contained an advertorial about our project. No link as of yet, but keep an eye out on linuxmag.nl for more news. Also, somebody did a review of our latest (and great) OTA-21 release: https://youtu.be/7Pmr4IN7pPw
Apps in the spotlightHere are some new Ubuntu Touch apps to try out:
You can find these apps on the OpenStore (https://open-store.io/).
Please remember that OpenStore has a built-in option to donate to app creators. We urge you to use that button, so that we'll get more great apps on Ubuntu Touch.
| Help needed!If you have some spare time or money, we could use some help in the following domains: A message for all new subscribers: with other mobile phone operating systems you may get stuff for free in money terms but then you are the product in that transaction. With Ubuntu Touch you are not the product, but we can’t live just on fresh air. Please consider the value you get from Ubuntu Touch, including the money you save by not spending money on paid apps, and donate on https://ubports.com/donate And if you have been an active community member and want to pitch in on a more managerial level, consider becoming part of the Board of Trustees. You can read more about this in the following blog post: https://ubports.com/blog/ubports-blogs-nieuws-1/post/become-a-member-of-the-ubports-foundation-3766
Ubuntu Touch and the 10 Year SmartphoneThe environmental impact of manufacturing a smartphone is big. So you better use your phone as long as possible instead of replacing it by a newer model every three years. Ubuntu Touch helps you extend your phone's lifespan. Some phones are even still supported more than nine years after their release.
The number one and three in the top 3 of most popular Ubuntu Touch phones are the Google Nexus 5 (released in October 2013) and the OnePlus One (released in April 2014). Both phones are still supported by Ubuntu Touch, as well as other phones from this period, such as the BQ Aquaris E4.5 (the first commercially available phone to run Ubuntu Touch), the Meizu MX4 and the Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo+.
That said, breathing new life into old devices for environmental reasons was never the aim of the UBports project. The current transition to the 20.04 base will have an impact on users of older phones. When the transition is complete, many old phones won't be supported anymore. That's not a policy decision, just a matter of reality.
How old is your phone and how long should you be aiming to keep it? Read the full article on our blog: https://ubports.com/blog/ubports-news-1/post/ubuntu-touch-and-the-10-year-smartphone-3799
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Ubuntu Touch Q&A 115
Yes, we have another edition of our popular Q&A recordings. This time number 115! You can have a look at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0ZAl-dFB4A. No extensive notes this time because even community members who do this valuable work sometimes have a break.
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