“All I Want for Christmas is...” a device that works as a tool for me not as a tool that continues to work for its maker

We love a new tech gadget. What will it be? It's all about “smart” these days.

• A smart watch (full article)
• A smart phone (full article)
• A smart home (full article)
  
  • full of IoT things: doorbell, lights, sockets, security cameras

  
  

What do You Mean, “Freedom-Respecting”?

Today there's a huge gulf between the Big Business approach and the freedom-respecting approach.

What do I mean by “freedom respecting” and why would I care this much? After all, we might ask,

“Dear Julian, we know you love Open Source, and we know those Big Tech prorietary vendors are out to get us with their vendor lock-in, their advertising, and their data collection. Yes it's annoying but it's how things are in today's world. We put up with it because we just want something that's easy, that does what we want. They make that stuff, and it works. Why are you still getting so upset about it?”

For insight, read or listen to The Future of Computing and Why You Should Care and The Neighborhood and The Nursing Home.

For some of my personal recommendations, read on. There is a longer article linked to each one.

Smart Watch

There's an open source smart watch → the PineTime (main | shop | wiki) from Pine64

• Both its hardware and software are open source
• A review | DDG search for “pinetime review”
• Being created in order to inspire open development, Pine64 sell it directly for a very low price
• There is working software so you can just use it. For developers, there is a development kit

→ Read the full article: PineTime Smart Watch — Awesome Open Source

Smart Phone

“What's it to be: Android or iPhone?”

Actually, NO! Apple and Google both press us into their servitude with their extreme vendor lock-in, advertising and data mining. We don't have to accept it, once we learn there's an alternative.

What to buy:

• Murena /e/OS smartphones
  
  • deGoogled, Android-compatible phone
  • with deGoogled “cloud” suite: email, docs, storage, etc. (optional, free or €2~20 /month)
  • choice of phone models (€300~600) including Fairphone

  
  

Being freedom-software (open source), the maker guarantees your freedom to use the tools they provide or change to others. What does that mean in practice? For example, if you don't like the terms and conditions of the Murena cloud software suite, you can use a different one provided by someone else, be it an independent commercial provider, or run by your school or club, or at your best techie friend's home. And then you don't even need a Murena account.

→ Read the full article: All I Want for Christmas is... a Smart Phone?

Smart Home Automation

Automating our lights, security cameras, all the Things? We'll be needing some IoT Gadgets and a home automation system.

Recommendation for home automation control centre:

• Home Assistant controls and monitors everything

“Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first”

There are different ways to run Home Assistant. You can buy it as a tiny device pictured above, code-named “Home Assistant Yellow”. Alternatively, because Home Assistant is freedom software, it's open source so your best techie friend can set it up for you on more or less any old computer you have, if you prefer.

For lots of information about using Home Assistant, listen to The Self-Hosted Show podcast.

For recommendations on security cameras, also consult The Self-Hosted Show.

For your smart switches, plugs, lights, temperature sensors etc.: mylocalbytes.com (UK) or cloudfree.shop (USA).

→ Read the full article: A Freedom-Respecting Smart Home

#fossGadgets #openHardware #awesomeFOSS

Feedback:

• email me: julian@foad.me.uk
• matrix me: @julian:foad.me.uk

Donations gratefully accepted

Feedback:

• email me: julian@foad.me.uk
• matrix me: @julian:foad.me.uk

Donations gratefully accepted

julian

2022-12-04 16:50:42

PineTime Smart Watch -- Awesome Open Source

My smart watch is open source. Awesome!

PineTime from Pine64 (product | shop | wiki)

The PineTime is made of open-source hardware and open-source software.

Read a detailed review by It's MOSS.

Being created in order to inspire open development, Pine64 sell it directly for a very low price. It comes as a working product ready to use. For developers, the similarly priced development kit is recommended.

I haven't worn a watch for decades, but I am so happy this exists, I have ordered one.

Actually, to be candid, I ordered one because I want to be more intentional about promoting open source products. We can tell our friends we don't need Apple or Google owning us. But telling is weak. Showing is strong.

A few weeks later... here it is! Woohoo!

I installed GadgetBridge from F-Droid on my degoogled Android phone, and connected it. Upgrading the Infinitime firmware from version 1.6.0 as supplied, to the then current version 1.11.0, went smoothly.

What Does it Do?

It tells the time. It notifies me, with vibration and on-screen display, of notifications shown on my phone. It can control a music player on my phone, start/stop, track skip, and volume control. Those are the functions I find useful, at least initially.

There's an intriguing “navigation” screen, as in map directions. I have not been able to make it do anything, and on searching online found a note that it “only works with PureMaps/Sailfish OS”. That's a pity. I wonder if it can and will be made to work with the awesome open source Organic Maps.

Maybe you are more interested in the step counting and heart rate monitoring. There are also some little gadgets like timers, scribbling, metronome, and mini-games.

Where Next?

This is a hacker's watch, a hackable watch. Infinitime OS is not the only OS it can run. There is also Wasp-OS, and instructions on how to switch between Infinitime and Wasp-OS.

On either operating system, it's possible to add new functions. I would like to learn how to do so. For instance, I would like to monitor and control my smart home gadgets.

Alternatives

Other smart watches exist with open-source hardware and software designs. Some are hacker-only projects, which you can build yourself, such as Bellafaire's and more that we can find in round-ups such as this and this.

Here are the ones I know that are available to buy.

• Bangle.js reviewed in MagPi magazine, Feb. 2022
• Watchy by SQFMI

And finally, I came across an interesting project by “dcz” who has begun making a bike “computer” based on Bangle.js watch hardware with custom software: Jazda.

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This article is part of my Open Source Gadgets series.

#fossGadgets #cloudFree #degoogled #awesomeFOSS #openHardware

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Feedback:

• email me: julian@foad.me.uk
• matrix me: @julian:foad.me.uk

Donations gratefully accepted

---

Feedback:

• email me: julian@foad.me.uk
• matrix me: @julian:foad.me.uk

Donations gratefully accepted

Best Open Source Smartwatch 2021 - Learn How to Hack your Smartwatch

Here are some of the best open source smartwatch in the market. Pick from different smartwatch with open source hardware and software, see the list

^{Jo Di Calivo (SmartWatch Specifications)}