329 lines
15 KiB
HTML
329 lines
15 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
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<html>
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<head>
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<title>Liberate Your Device - Free Your Android! - FSFE</title>
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<meta content="Learn how to regain control of your data, with a free operating system and free apps" name="description" />
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<meta content="android smart phone operating system drivers apps Replicant OS CyanogenMod F-Droid FoeBuD e.V. fsf ansol free software phone mobile phone open source GTA04 Maemo/MeeGo Mer Tizen Carrier IQ spying spy analytics" />
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</head>
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<body>
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<p id="category"><a href="/campaigns/android/android.html">Free Your Android</a></p>
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<h1>Liberate Your Device!</h1>
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<div id="introduction">
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<div class="image" id="hello-free-droid">
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<img src="/campaigns/android/robot.png" alt="Liberated Android Robot" />
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</div>
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<p>
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Even though Android is mostly Free Software, devices usually come with proprietary software and services
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that prevent people from using them in an independent and autonomous way.
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Liberate your Android device: learn how to regain control of your data, with a free operating system and free apps!
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</p>
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</div>
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<div id="subpages">
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<div class="half">
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<h3><a href="#Apps">Free Software Apps</a></h3>
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<p>
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For beginners it is easiest to start with liberating mobile apps. We introduce to you dedicated Free Software app stores and present some apps for the most common use cases, for example messaging, navigation, or games.
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</p>
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<div class="action"><a href="#Apps">Liberate your apps</a></div>
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</div>
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<div class="half last">
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<h3><a href="#OS">Free Software Operating Systems</a></h3>
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<p>
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Most operating systems on phones you can buy are not free. They contain pre-installed proprietary software which limit your freedoms and harm your privacy. Advanced users should install an as freedom respecting mobile operating system as possible therefore.
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</p>
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<div class="action"><a href="#OS">Free your OS</a></div>
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</div>
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</div>
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<h2 id="Apps">The Apps</h2>
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<p>
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For most people, the <a href="https://market.android.com/">Google
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Play Store</a> is the only or the main source for their
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applications. It doesn't even tell you whether an app is Free Software
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or not, let alone its license. Unfortunately, most apps from this or
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other markets are proprietary. Even if you install a Free Software app,
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there is no reason to trust the downloaded binary. Using the Google
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Market also requires a Google account. It is recommended to not use this
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market at all.
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</p>
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<h3 id="F-Droid">F-Droid</h3>
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<div class="image left">
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<img alt="F-Droid" src="/campaigns/android/f-droid.png" />
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</div>
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<p>
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The <a href="http://f-droid.org/">F-Droid initiative</a> was started to
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change the sad Free Software app situation in the Android world. It
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builds a repository of easily-installable Free Software for the Android
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platform. There is an Android client application that makes it easy to
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browse Free Software applications, install them onto your device, and
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keep track of updates. When available it includes information about how
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to donate money to the authors of the app.
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</p>
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<p>
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The F-Droid repository contains details of multiple versions of each
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application. You can also easily create and add own repositories. But
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since the initiative is <a
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href="https://gitlab.com/fdroid/">very active</a>,
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developing in a decentralised fashion and open to collaboration,
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creating own repositories is not really necessary. Its goal is to
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include all useful Free Software Android applications and to keep up
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with their updates.
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</p>
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<p>
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We collected some information about how you can <a href="/campaigns/android/help.html#Apps">help out F-Droid</a>.
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</p>
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<h2 id="Sync">Synchronizing Your Data</h2>
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<p>
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When you run only Free Software and when you do not rely on non-free
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network services like the ones Google offers, it might look like you lose the convenience
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of synchronizing your contacts, your calender and other data with your
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other devices. Fortunately, there is plenty of Free Software that does
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this job as well.
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</p>
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<h3 id="sync-pim">Synchronizing Calendar and Contacts</h3>
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<p>
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There are several Free Software server implementations of
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CalDAV">CalDAV</a> and
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CardDAV">CardDAV</a> that you can use, such as:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<a href="http://owncloud.org">ownCloud</a>
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— commercial "key in hand" available at <a href="https://owncloud.com/">ownCloud Inc.</a>
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and other hosting options listed in <a href="http://owncloud.org/providers/">ownCloud supported service providers</a>
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</li>
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<li>
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<a href="http://kolab.org/">Kolab</a>
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— commercial "key in hand" available at <a href="https://mykolab.com/">MyKolab</a>;
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information on how to configure client applications available on
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<a href="https://mykolab.com/clients">MyKolab Client Configuration</a> page
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</li>
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<li>
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<a href="http://www.sogo.nu">SoGO</a>
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— can replace Microsoft Exchange servers;
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commercial support available at <a href="http://sogo.nu/support/index.html#/commercial">SoGO consulting services</a>;
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</li>
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<li><a href="http://baikal-server.com">baikal</a></li>
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<li><a href="http://davical.org">DAViCal</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="http://davmail.sourceforge.net/">davmail</a>
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— is not actually a contacts and calendar server,
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but a gateway to Microsoft Exchange servers providing CardDAV and CalDAV access access.
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It might be the first step to liberate your PIM data from proprietary solutions.
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</li>
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<li><a href="http://www.tine20.org">Tine 2.0</a></li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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Each of the devices where you would like to have access to your contacts and calendar needs a CardDAV and a CalDAV client.
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For desktop you can use:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird">Thunderbird</a>
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with the <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/">Lightning</a> calendar extension
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</li>
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<li><a href="http://kontact.org">KDE Kontact</a></li>
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<li><a href="https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/Evolution">Gnome Evolution</a></li>
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<li>
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<a href="http://lostpackets.de/pycarddav/">pyCardDAV</a>
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to use CardDAV as a address book in <a href="http://www.mutt.org/">mutt</a>
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(and maybe other email clients) or consulting the CardDAV server from command line.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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In the Android devices you can use:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<a href="http://acal.me">ACal</a>
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(<a href="https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=com.morphoss.acal">at F-Droid</a>) —
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although it doesn't update the Android calendar and contact database it still a very competent PIM application;
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</li>
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<li>
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<a href="http://davdroid.bitfire.at">DAVdroid</a>
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(<a href="https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=at.bitfire.davdroid">at F-Droid</a>);
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</li>
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<li>
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<a href="https://github.com/gggard/AndroidCaldavSyncAdapater">CalDAV Sync Adapter</a>
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(<a href="https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=org.gege.caldavsyncadapter">at F-Droid</a>).
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</li>
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</ul>
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<h3 id="sync-files">Synchronizing files</h3>
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<p>
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To keep files synchronized between devices
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<a href="https://github.com/owncloud/android">ownCloud android client</a>
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(<a href="https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=com.owncloud.android">at F-Droid</a>) —
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file synchronization and has a instant upload for photos and videos taken using the device;
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</li>
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<li>
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<a href="http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Doc:_dropbear">SSH Daemon dropbear</a> —
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is pre-installed on CyanogenMod and can be used to e.g. run <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rsync">rsync</a>.
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</li>
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</ul>
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<h3 id="sync-rss">Synchronizing feed readers</h3>
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<p>
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If you usually keep track of
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<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rss">RSS</a>/<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_%28standard%29">Atom</a> feeds,
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then it's nice to be able to keep all devices synchronized. Here are some suggestions of possible free solutions you can use:
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>
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<a href="http://apps.owncloud.com/content/show.php/News?content=158434">ownCloud New Reader</a>
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(<a href="https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=de.luhmer.owncloudnewsreader">at F-Droid</a>)
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</li>
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<li>
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<a href="http://tt-rss.org/redmine/projects/tt-rss">Tiny Tiny RSS</a>
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(<a href="https://github.com/gothfox/Tiny-Tiny-RSS-for-Honeycomb">source of the official Android client</a>,
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<a href="https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=org.ttrssreader">alternative Android client at F-Droid</a>)
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</li>
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<li>
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<a href="https://github.com/samuelclay/NewsBlur">NewsBlur</a>
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(<a href="https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=com.newsblur">at F-Droid</a>)
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</li>
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</ul>
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<h3 id="sync-webbrowser">Synchronizing Web Browsers</h3>
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<p>
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It's possible to host your own Firefox synchronization server
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li>deploying your own <a href="http://docs.services.mozilla.com/howtos/run-sync.html">Mozilla Sync Server</a></li>
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<li>using ownCloud <a href="http://apps.owncloud.com/content/show.php/Mozilla+Sync?content=161793">Mozilla Sync application</a></li>
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</ul>
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<p>
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It's then possible to use Firefox Web Browser advanced setup of the sync configuration to define the new server and credentials to use.
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</p>
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<p>
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Although there is some documentation on how to host your own Chrome Web Browser synchronization server,
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it is all very "in the air".
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See <a href="https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=181429">issue 181429</a> of the chromium development issue tracker.
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</p>
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<h2 id="OS">The Operating Systems</h2>
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<p>
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An operating system is a collection of software that enables you to use
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your phone and run other applications on it. Even though Android is <a
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href="http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.html">mostly
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free</a>, many phones ship with proprietary components and add-ons. Some
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phones also have a locked <a
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href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booting">boot loader</a>
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which prevents you from booting and installing other operating systems.
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If you want to buy an Android phone, make sure that the boot loader can
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be <a
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href="https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/">unlocked</a>.</p>
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<p>On some devices it can only be unlocked with clever hacks
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and their manufacturers tend to declare your warranty void when you unlock their device's boot loader.
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But, given European Directive 1999/44/CE, just the fact that you modified or changed the software of your device,
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is not a sufficient reason to void your statutory warranty.
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<a href="/freesoftware/legal/flashingdevices.html" title="Does rooting your phone invalidate its warranty?">See Carlo Piana's and Matija Šuklje's analysis</a> for more information.
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There are
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also companies that ship their devices with an unlocked bootloader or
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provide you with the means to unlock it. Besides that, it is a good idea
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to check if there are free versions of Android <a
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href="https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/">supporting the device</a>.
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</p>
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<h3 id="Replicant">Replicant</h3>
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<div class="image left">
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<img alt="Replicant" src="/campaigns/android/replicant.png" />
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</div>
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<p>
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<a href="http://replicant.us/">Replicant</a> is a
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distribution of Android that is 100% Free Software. Since it does not
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use any non-free drivers, it currently works on a limited number of
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devices.
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</p>
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<p>
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We ask you to help Replicant extend its support to more devices. You can <a
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href="http://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/issues">contribute
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code</a>, and <a
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href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/donate-to-replicant-and-support-free-software-on-mobile-devices">donate
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devices</a> to the Replicant team for testing purposes.
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</p>
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<p>
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Phones with pre-installed Replicant are available from <a href="https://tehnoetic.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=59">Tehnoetic</a>
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that donates part of the profits back to the Replicant initiative.
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</p>
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<h3 id="LineagoeOS">LineageOS</h3>
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<div class="image right">
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<img alt="LineageOS" src="/campaigns/android/lineageos.png" />
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</div>
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<p>
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<a href="https://lineageos.org/">LineageOS</a> is a version of
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Android which you can use without a Google account. Even though it is
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usually more free than the software your device comes with, freedom
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is not its main objective. While LineageOS works on <a
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href="https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/">most Android
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devices</a>, it makes use of <a
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href="https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/">non-free
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device drivers and firmware</a> which are fetched
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from a device and included in the ROM. LineageOS is the most popular fork of the discontinued CyanogenMod project.
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</p>
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<p>
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We collected <a
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href="https://fsfe.org/campaigns/android/help.html#OS">information</a>
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about how you can help to ensure that LineageOS and other operating systems become as good as possible, and
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how to identify and remove non-free parts.
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</p>
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</body>
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<timestamp>$Date: 2012-02-17 15:16:09 +0100 (ven. 17 févr. 2012) $ $Author: hugo $</timestamp>
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<legal type="cc-license">
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<license>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/</license>
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<notice>Portions of this page are
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modifications based on work created and shared by Google and
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used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3.0
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Attribution License. Android is a trademark of Google Inc.</notice>
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</legal>
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</html>
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<!--
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Local Variables: ***
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mode: xml ***
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End: ***
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-->
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<!-- LocalWords: FSFE CalDAV CardDAV ownCloud baikal DAViCal SoGO
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-->
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<!-- LocalWords: Kolab MyKolab davmail PIM KDE Kontact pyCardDAV
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-->
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<!-- LocalWords: ACal DAVdroid dropbear rsync RSS NewsBlur ven févr
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-->
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<!-- LocalWords: hugo
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-->
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