View Single Post
Posts: 248 | Thanked: 1,142 times | Joined on Dec 2014 @ Earth
#37
Originally Posted by thetao View Post
I have managed to figure out things like it not including a JVM
Indeed, no JVM. On the other hand, Sailfish OS is a full blown GNU/Linux under the hood, so if Java is still that much important (is it in 2018 ?) somebody in the community would eventually port it.

Originally Posted by thetao View Post
or a radio app,
No official FM radio app by Jolla Oy or 3rd party (on the official app shop).

On 3rd party repos (basically openrepos.net) :

- For FM radio, I heard about PirateFM, works on some phones with FM Qualcomm receivers. Kimmoli has written it for the OnePlus-X. Users have reported using it succesfully on Jolla C phones. Currently according to Jolla, the FM driver for the Sony Xperia X isn't enabled in Sailfish X.

- For Web radio, I personally use AllRadio, it serves all my needs.
It's also available on the official Jolla shop.

Originally Posted by thetao View Post
and not offering downloadable maps,
It happens that no map is pre-installed when you take the phone out-of-the-box.

But there's the wonderful "OSM Scout Server" (developped by Rinigus on this same forum).

It's available on 3rd party repositories.

It is also available on the official Jolla app shop, but due to some current policies, some function on the app shop version might be disabled (If I remember correctly : applications on the Jolla shop cannot run in the background, so the daemon mode might be disabled. You'll have to ask Rinigus). Anyway newer version usually come faster on the openrepos than on the official shop.

This OSM Scout is a local map server. Basically, it's like having your own Google Maps server installed locally on your phone.

It can be used by applications such as Poor Maps (simple 2D map displayer), WhoGo Maps (the new best app for maps on Sailfish) or used as a map back-end in unrelated applications like Laufhelden (a sports tracker Sailfish application. it can use OSM Scout to display a minimap along your sport tracking. Extremely useful when you do sports out of cell coverage or abroad out of roaming).

Originally Posted by thetao View Post
What sorts of tethering are supported? Bluetooth? Wired? If wired tethering is supported, what drivers package does it use on the computer side? Maybe the same as Android?
Sailfish usually has 2 way to show up on the computer side :
- You can either select that weird MTP thingy that Windows uses to share files.
- Or you can show up as a network device (Sailfish call it "Developer mode") and then do whatever pleases you (e.g.: SSH into your phone)
(You can also not show up and just charge).

Regarding tethering :
- the official interface out of the box only offers Wifi Connection sharing.

- By using the network access ("Dev mode" of the USB connector) you could basically do whatever you want.
I'm sure there should be some nice user-friendly interface on some repository to help you set it up, but I haven't investigated.
I'm more a command line guy, so I basically have 2 approaches :
- either I SSH to the phone using the "dynamic proxy" option ("-D" option) of ssh to setup a SOCKS proxy and only set the proxy in a couple of desktop application (e.g.: proxy in Firefox using FoxyProxy for easier switching) to save bandwidth.
- or a manually setup NAT forwarding using ip tables.

I've never attempted bluetooth networking on Sailfish.

Originally Posted by thetao View Post
Does Sailfish include "office" software, i.e. for reading .doc, .docx, .rtf, .xls, .xlsx, and .csv files...plus .odt and .ods since it's Linux? I expect there is a .pdf reader. Is this all native code?
Out of the box, the phone is naked, again.

On the official Jolla app shop, you'll find "Documents", an official native document reader for Sailfish.

If you install the Android compatibility layer, then you can go crazy with whatever floats your boat.

e.g.: The official Aptoid of Sailfish features things like Microsoft Office, Polaris Office, WPS Office, ... but only the Viewer from LibreOffice (?)
You can get even more out of other Aptoids, or even from Google Play (if you install Google Services) or Yalp (if you install MicroG, respectively).

Though, regarding Android, keep in mind that :

- current android layer is Myriad's Alien-Dalvik
Because it's an implementation of the android dalvik "kind-of-JVM JIT", it's stuck at Android 4.0 Kitkat.
you wont be able to get Lollipop-only apps running.

- Sailfish OS 3.x will, according to Jolla's blog, bring android improvements, but they can't say much yet. (probably NDAs with the various companies they are investigating).



Originally Posted by thetao View Post
4) What's the current state of the API for blocking calls? I've been getting lots more robo calls lately (is the rest of the world also plagued?) and wish for something better than Blackballer on my E73, which can only process known phone numbers.
Saddly I haven't much experience. Have noticed efforts like Phonehook and scumstopper. But don't know much about it.
Info blurb about the first - phonehook - mentions supporting wildcards, and seems to be still used (and htus working ?) in 2018.


In general :
- Out of the box, the phone is pretty much naked (on purpose, to be light and minimalist)
- On the official Jolla store, you can quickly find a couple of official Jolla application covering most of the basic needs.
- There's a community of 3rd parties devs, spread between the official Jolla app shop and mostly OpenRepos as a 3rd party repo.
- It's a full blown GNU/Linux under the hood. You can pretty much do anything.
- Sometimes, it might require some efforts (tracking the best 3rd party app from some community dev on a 3rd party repo).
- Sometimes, it might require getting your hands dirty and eventually type a few stuff on the command line (SSH or fingerterm).

Depending on your needs, its pretty much usable as a daily driver.
(Still:
- check if you have some unusual needs. In your case : check if you can find a decent Office android app to edit while on the go as this is something that you seem to need.
- check if that stupid android app that you bank *absolutely insist you have to use* in order to log works (or public transportation e-ticket, etc.) Some are outright available on the sailfish aptoid, some require installing Google Services, some might even require an additional java library)
 

The Following 12 Users Say Thank You to DrYak For This Useful Post: