How open are these phones?

[Xenophon]

My apologies if I come across as a n00b. That's probably because I am one. I owned a mobile phone very briefly for about 3 months a few years ago before giving it up completely. I'm actually a closet technophile, but the combination of bad phones, spammers, etiquette-unaware friends and family members, ******ed service providers and my own stubborn philosophies have made me shy away from the damn things.

Until now, that is. (I fancy I sound Jeremy-Clarkson-esque right about now)

I like what I see with the N900 and the fact that it is running Maemo, a linux distribution, FOSS, scratch your itch and all that. But how much of this translates to the phone?

So, my n00b questions:

If I don't like Maemo for some reason, can I replace it altogether?
Will I be able to do a dist-upgrade or similar once Maemo 6 comes out? No compatibility issues with the phone?
How would one go about connecting to the maemo installation on the phone? USB/wifi & then SSH?
Will backing up all my configuration settings and phone based data effectively be the equivalent of backing up my home directory?
Is there a whitelist application that will only allow calls/sms-es from numbers that are on a whitelist?
One of my pet peeves has always been the existence of SMS/texting. I've been told that it's part of the yada-yada specs or some such and that I cannot turn it off - is that right?
From what I read, I can install apps from the repository and even add new repositories. How about installing binaries and so on?


Thanks in advance!

[GeneralAntilles]

If I don't like Maemo for some reason, can I replace it altogether?


Sure, although it's unclear as of now how this may affect the cellular functionality.


Will I be able to do a dist-upgrade or similar once Maemo 6 comes out? No compatibility issues with the phone?


Currently unknown, but speculation says an upgrade shouldn't be an issue (although I doubt very much it'll be a dist-upgrade).


How would one go about connecting to the maemo installation on the phone? USB/wifi & then SSH?


I'm not sure I understand this question. You could access the phone over any of its available network connections to connect to whatever services you have active. SSH should be available for installation out of the box.


Will backing up all my configuration settings and phone based data effectively be the equivalent of backing up my home directory?


Should be.


Is there a whitelist application that will only allow calls/sms-es from numbers that are on a whitelist?


Unknown, but I'm sure such a think could be created if it doesn't exist yet.


One of my pet peeves has always been the existence of SMS/texting. I've been told that it's part of the yada-yada specs or some such and that I cannot turn it off - is that right?


The existence? If you never use the service, and never see it, why does the existence bother you? I'm not sure I understand this question.


From what I read, I can install apps from the repository and even add new repositories. How about installing binaries and so on?


Well, the repositories are simply little indexes of all of the binaries they host, so, yes. dpkg is also available from XTerm.

[Xenophon]

I'm not sure I understand this question. You could access the phone over any of its available network connections to connect to whatever services you have active. SSH should be available for installation out of the box.

Sorry for not being clear. I wanted to know how to get access to Maemo on my phone from my PC so as to, say, perform an apt-get etc.

The existence? If you never use the service, and never see it, why does the existence bother you? I'm not sure I understand this question.

Well, never seeing/hearing/storing it would be the primary prerogative. But, it would be even better if the sender knows that the SMS was never delivered. It is also useful while roaming globally as you generally tend to have to pay for incoming SMS-es as well.

Thanks for the info!
X

[mikkov]

Sorry for not being clear. I wanted to know how to get access to Maemo on my phone from my PC so as to, say, perform an apt-get etc.


You answered you own question in your original post and GA answered again with the same answer: use SSH. Ask more specific if there's still something unclear.

[GeneralAntilles]

Sorry for not being clear. I wanted to know how to get access to Maemo on my phone from my PC so as to, say, perform an apt-get etc.


As mikkov says, OpenSSH (http://maemo.org/downloads/product/openssh/).


Well, never seeing/hearing/storing it would be the primary prerogative. But, it would be even better if the sender knows that the SMS was never delivered. It is also useful while roaming globally as you generally tend to have to pay for incoming SMS-es as well.


No idea, sorry.

[Capt'n Corrupt]

Certainly SSH server on the device is a HUGE benefit. This gives you access to a remote terminal on the device but also implies SFTP, which lets you remotely access the files on your N900. With SFTP you can use Filezilla or Gnome's Nautilus (or other apps, I'm sure) to move files wirelessly -- and with a purty GUI -- knowing only the device address (IP, or domain if you've configured one for the network you plan to use).

This is one area openness shines.

In fact, I can't wait to see what the crazy kids here cook up with dynamic dns and 3G. For example, it's not out of the question to run a simple web server from your N900 regardless of where you are! Why? Not sure.


YARR!
}:^)~

[sarahn]

Certainly SSH server on the device is a HUGE benefit. This gives you access to a remote terminal on the device but also implies SFTP, which lets you remotely access the files on your N900. With SFTP you can use Filezilla or Gnome's Nautilus (or other apps, I'm sure) to move files wirelessly -- and with a purty GUI -- knowing only the device address (IP, or domain if you've configured one for the network you plan to use).

This is one area openness shines.

In fact, I can't wait to see what the crazy kids here cook up with dynamic dns and 3G. For example, it's not out of the question to run a simple web server from your N900 regardless of where you are! Why? Not sure.


YARR!
}:^)~

I already use sftp and scp. I have a script that backs up the file system every night and my computer is supposed to copy over the file for that night. That broke at some point because my router is st00pid and won't assign IP based on MAC address, and I don't know how to do that on the device itself.

boa is a web server for embedded devices though I'm not sure how it's doing for security.

[linuxeventually]

Yeah hopefully it won't be long before Mer, Android, etc. are ported but it may take a long time.

There are hardware-related cut-offs as far as new OS releases go.

You should be able to connect via USB, wifi, 3G, bluetooth and maybe even ethernet (from the community anyway)

SSH rocks. Give sshfs a spin.

Should be able to use/run no-ip or other for the dynamic IP thing. The N95 supports web servers.

Could use Google Voice # for white-listing.

Used to be able to get carriers to disable SMS but they are a bit more persistent now. I tried disabling data on my phone (there is a dedicated button to launch the web browser which I keep pressing - it happens to be enter if on any non-"home" screen) and they told me data was linked to SMS. This is something to take up with your cellular carrier. I also recommend giving people your GV # that way you can control the specifics.

SSH, VNC. etc. There are plenty of tutorials, wiki, etc. for existing NITs. And there will many more after the N900 is released.

[Capt'n Corrupt]

I already use sftp and scp. I have a script that backs up the file system every night and my computer is supposed to copy over the file for that night. That broke at some point because my router is st00pid and won't assign IP based on MAC address, and I don't know how to do that on the device itself.


Cool! It's neat to hear about these setups.


boa is a web server for embedded devices though I'm not sure how it's doing for security.

Heck, the N900 hardware should be beefy enough to handle a lighttpd daemon (assuming no memory leaks -- crond restarts). Of course, memory over processing-capacity would become the larger issue. Still a cool thought, though!

YARR!
}:^)~

[allnameswereout]

Certainly SSH server on the device is a HUGE benefit. This gives you access to a remote terminal on the device but also implies SFTP, which lets you remotely access the files on your N900. With SFTP you can use Filezilla or Gnome's Nautilus (or other apps, I'm sure) to move files wirelessly -- and with a purty GUI -- knowing only the device address (IP, or domain if you've configured one for the network you plan to use).Yes, you can then remotely control the N900 for example to configure some tweak you're reading on t.m.o. But beyond that...? For most users not useful. Also, you need to think of security implications (default passwds, brute force cracking). I'd def. put the SSH server off unless necessary.

You can easily use rsync + SSH for backups. Plus something like Rsnapshot, or Fly Back ('Time Machine for Ubuntu'). But you could run this on the N900 hence not requiring a SSH server.

In fact, I can't wait to see what the crazy kids here cook up with dynamic dns and 3G. For example, it's not out of the question to run a simple web server from your N900 regardless of where you are! Why? Not sure.3G bad upload, webserver on OMAP3 hmm. Other way around is more interesting. VPN, SMB, UPnP, tracker. I really would like to minimize the number of services on the N900. Heck, you could even let other devices do the maths and let the N900 get the results, much like a thin client.

Proxy/BNC which can be connected to from desktop or NIT. Synchronisation of browser, PIM, mail, user data (rsync), ...

[Xenophon]

Thanks everybody!

As for Google voice, I ain't in the USofA :(

[linuxeventually]

You aren't in the US? So? There are workarounds you know. Obviously the free calls are to US [and Canada] or from. But some VOIP makes all the difference.