Summary
- Free Software Foundation launched the Librephone initiative to promote free software on mobile devices;
- Project aims to replace proprietary components in Android with free software alternatives;
- Rob Savoye was hired for initial work at Librephone.
Librephone is the newest project from the Free Software Foundation (FSF). This appears to be the name of a cell phone, but that is not the case: it is an initiative created to encourage the use of free software on mobile devices, especially fully open Android implementations.
Founded in 1985 by Richard Stallman, the FSF is a non-profit organization that defends the development and use of free software, that is, software with open licenses that, as such, can be used, studied, modified and redistributed without restrictions.
But, since its founding, the FSF had been dedicated almost exclusively to software for PCs and servers. With the Librephone initiative, the organization is now also focusing its efforts on mobile devices, as stated by the executive director of the FSF:
Forty years ago, when FSF was founded, our focus was on providing an operating system that people could freely use on desktops and servers.
(…) The FSF is now ready to do whatever is necessary to bring freedom to cell phone users.
Zoë Kooyman, FSF Executive Director
What will Librephone work like?
Because Librephone is an initiative, not a solution in itself, your work will be done behind the scenes in software development. The initial phase will indirectly involve LineageOS.
The FSF explains that the initial work will be financed thanks to a donation from John Gilmore, one of the organization’s members. Gilmore uses a cell phone with LineageOS and F-Droid (open application store), but discovered that this operating system powers proprietary components from specific cell phones.
Because of this, Librephone’s first efforts will be to map proprietary modules linked to Android so that it is possible to reverse engineer these components and exchange them for alternatives that follow the principles of free software.
To this end, the FSF hired Rob Savoye, a developer who works on open projects such as DejaGNU, Gnash and OpenStreetMap.
Librephone may support other software projects related to mobile devices in the future, but, for now, the objective of the initiative is to encourage the development and use of free software on Android, to the detriment of proprietary components.
The project already has an official page (completely text-based, but it has): librephone.fsf.org.
In time: LineageOS 23, based on Android 16, was recently released.
Source: https://tecnoblog.net/noticias/fsf-anuncia-librephone-para-levar-software-livre-ao-android/
