I have had this idea for sometime now. Too bad it is an idea I am not able to do by myself.

I have been here for some years now and even though it has been very teaching to dig and search for info to make things work I think something else could be also good to have.

Maemo Leste is developing and soon people may stop using Fremantle. But there are a lot stuff on Fremantle side which may never be ported on Leste and it would be a shame that they would be forgotten.

So I have thought that could it be possible for members who know how and have been using N900 a lot until these days that there would be one final collaboration made to make as updated Fremantle version as possible for people who become here as new N900 users?

I don't know could or should it be made as a CSSU update (which would of course be nice to have one final update) or as a custom image you can get running with backup/cloning tool (which I think would be maybe easier to accomplish).

I think that CSSU thumb could be the best starting point because of the low memory of the device, but some may know things better than me what would be the best option to start with.

I'm not sure how things work but my idea is something like:


1. Flash the system with latest firmware.
2. Do CSSU update
3. Install needed kernel
4.Install needed backup/cloning tool
5. Clone updated custom Fremantle image


Better would be:
1. Flash the system
2. Do CSSU FINAL update which would do everything


During these years there have been shared several updates after CSSU to get things to work:


1. Tinymailcamel package to get Modest default mail to support IMAP
2. Updating certs from devel repo with openssl1 and maemosec-certman-common-ca
3. GPS fix with google supl and ip change
4. Nginx setup to get microb browser to access web
5. Cutetube2 fixes to get youtube working
6. Iptable configures for firewall
7. Hotspot and ssh tweaks and tricks
8. Some have automated backups and encrypted folders
9. Swap and overclock settings with battery patch watchdog disabled.
10. Youtube-dl
11. Telegram cli
12. Maps
13. Podcast and rss reader fixes (which may work with nginx too)
14. Custom partitioning for system to have more space
15. Deletes for unneccessary bloatware
16. Browser tweaks for Fennec 17 and Opera 12.
17. Sulu just published one final jessie image for Easy Debbie and juiceme has made instructions how to get Netsurf beowser running on it, which would now be Netsurf 3.10.


Just to mention few which I am aware of.



I think the custom image should include all these basic stuff so that they would be working as default. People who would not wan't some of them could then uninstall them, but it would be easier to uninstall from a fully working system setup than try to maintain or install right packages to get things to work.

It has seemed that some of the folks who know how and who have been using N900 have been shifting to use other devices. With them the knowledge will be soon gone and they may not be in this forum as often as they have been helping new users. So this kind of collaborative effort would be a historicly important and it would record the last state of maemo Fremantle to later generations to wonder how they got things working with that old kernel!

It would also make it possible for people to use Fremantle as long as possible and for those who wan't to keep Fremantle still alive it would give a starting point for new users and developers where they do not need to use time to solve things which have been solved already, but where the fixes are scattered throughout the forum threads.

I was using for a while Nokia E90 with symbian and found out how it is going with Symbian and heard about the latest Delight updates for different devices, where the system have been tweaked to work as fast as possible, unneccessary bloatware taken away, certs updated etc. It felt good and I thought could it still be done for Fremantle one last time before Leste?

I believe it could be done and I believe it would not be such an overwhelming effort. But what do you people think? And if you like it and know people who could help to make it happen could you contact them?

So this has been in my mind for some time and wanted to share it.

It's good idea for me.
You just need to get some people that know, can and WANT to do it

I'm not sure f I could contribute anything here.
I consider myself an advanced Debian user and a lot of that transfers well to Maemo. But I was never an actual advanced Maemo user.

That being said, I appreciate your enthusiasm. Therefore I'd like to bestow on you the torch of keeping Easy Debian alive.
So far I wasn't able to reach qole for hosting my latest ED image and the link I posted is already expired. So please keep on sharing it!

I downloaded it on my phone just to have it saved when I noticed the deadline and that it wasn't in qoles repo and I didn't have computer with me on holidays. I will try to put it somewhere. Thanks one more time for that.

I am hoping some other members would find this a right thing to do. I mean setting up a system with updates is not really so big thing to do, if there would be a short brainstorm with guys first. If it would start from CSSU thumb, then list and locate needed packages, then to make needed updates, installing usefull apps and making them to work, removing bloatware, adding needed repos, changing settings to make system faster. After that to make a clone of the system for backup or whatever means it should be done.

I can try to gather shared files from threads and gather shared scripts and info.

Hi,

I read your proposal once more.
It is a beautiful project.
IMHO, N900 is the most rich, shared, enthusiastic and dynamic phone project ever and the device is just a jewel.

But it is a huge work.

Personally, I am really not up to date any more since years with N900.
All those certs thing are over my head for example. I still think like in 1995 where you just had to write html and that was read by a browser.
I didn't follow the train with Microb or mail, Opera or browser in easy debian. Easy debian never worked really well for me (GUI not adapted IMHO, small buttons, windows problems). Surely mostly because I never worked really well for it!
To sum up, I progressively abandoned N900 functions when they stopped working or became to slow, ending with a camera-phone-sms only device (that I will anyway love forever!).

Just to say I wouldn't know how to contribute to this project.
Yes, maybe by finding back how I encrypted /home with this double boot thing: with a password secretly entered at boot you go to your home, without password (just wait), it boots into an empty phone.
But is it of any interest? We are not working in secret services, are we?

Yes, one thing I could do is to host that latest ED image.
Just let me know where to grab it!

I can conclude on a positive note:
Although it would be great to make a finished clean package with everything at its best state for the new users and for history purposes,
Everything I personally made on my N900 is written here on TMO, somewhere... nothing is lost!

All an excellent idea, fully in keeping with the CSSU idea.
May I add that the bluetooth tethering is a standard option in most mobile phones now, it should have been packaged and on the repos or hand packed as a .deb at least but including it in a late-game CSSU would be cool too.
there are also other SUPL servers more privacy oriented than the google one. https://libredd.it/r/privacy/comment...ageos_in_2019/

It would also be possible to build a custom ready to USB flash CSSU image. I am not sure why that never became a thing and we have been hanging on the old Nokia builds.

Just the kind of knowledge I lack. So I will start to gather files and scripts and guides and let's see if it would come together as something that is easy enough to accomplish. It could also be called Legacy build, it being the legacy of all the people here who have kept Fremantle alive this far and showing/sharing what has been done.

And yes, bluetooth should also be on it, even though I always disable it on my devices.

Just listened some podcasts where people explained how a pc without any bluetooth or wifi or anything was compromised through electrical frequences from the fan and harddrive.

@ric9K That double boot option could be a cherry on top of everything. It would be one thing a member here has managed to do to make N900 more secure.

Part of the reason images haven't been done before is copyright issues. This is why CSSU was/is distributed how it is.

Living in a mostly FOSS world one can easily forget that issue with parts of Maemo.