Re: The future of mobile computing.

[Garreau\, Alexandre]

Le 11/12/2014 à 13h56, Richard Stallman a écrit :
>> The advantage is that with Replicant on a decent phone, you almost get
>> something as secure as a normal (understand: not recent, fancy,
>> SecureBoot and/or tablet laptops) computer.
>
> Unfortunately, that is not so.  And we can't make it so.

> the phone has a second processor, the "modem" processor, which talks
> with the phone radio network.  That is always run by proprietary
> software with a universal back door.

> Even worse, nearly all phones allow the modem processor to take
> control of the main processor

I precise: I was not speaking of “ordinary phones” but
replicant-supported phones, more precisely those where (as I mentionned
it in my mail) the modem is *separated* and can’t take control of main
CPU and RAM (or at least microphone/webcam/etc.) via DMA.

Then on *this* kind of phone, it’s almost equivalent to what most people
(unfortunately) use with a “normal” computer: without SecureBoot, with a
proprietary BIOS and a proprietary-firmware wifi card.

Of course that’s still less free than a Leemote Yeelong or even a
Thinkpad X60(T)/T60. But that’s equivalent to most user cases, just to
say Replicant on an appropriate phone (not so special, a few are fine)
is nearly equivalent, and on a phone that’s really impressing.

Then of course *other* problems come: you always let your phone on, and
it has a geolocator activated, you can’t on Android has a decently
hackable system, you can’t easily disable/filter javascript, you can’t
have a keyboard allowing you to write a very complex password decrypting
your disk, you can’t install a free BIOS, you tend to use it more
passivally as a consumer than actively as a producer (interface made for
that): you can’t do a lot of useful things for your security and
freedom…

But *technically* Replicant make it *possible* to have something
equivalent.

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