I'm back in the boat

In mid-2014 I first heard about Jolla and Sailfish OS and immediately bought a Jolla 1; wrote apps; participated in the IGG campaign for Jolla Tablet; bought the TOHKBD2; applied for (and got) Jolla C.

Sounds like the beginning of a good story doesn’t it?

Well, by the beginning of 2017 I had sold everything (except the tablet, we all know what happened to that one).

So what happened?? I was a happy Sailfish user, but Jolla’s false promises disappointed me.

Yet, despite all that, I still think about Sailfish OS to this day. I think it’s because, despite some proprietary components, the ecosystem around Sailfish OS is ultimately open source. And that’s what interests me. It also got a fresh update which solves some of the problems that where there 5 years ago.

Nowadays, thanks to the community , Sailfish OS can be installed on many devices, even if with some less components, but I’m looking for that complete experience and so I asked on the forum if there was someone willing to sell his Xperia device with or without the license… and I got one for free. Better still, in exchange for some apps!

To decide which applications to create, I therefore took a look at that ecosystem. I started with the apps I use daily on Android and looked for the Sailfish OS alternative (spoiler: I’m impressed, good job guys!).

I am writing them all here because I am sure it will be useful to someone else:

• AntennaPod (podcast app) -> PodQast
• Ariane (gemini protocol browser)
• AsteroidOS (AsteroidOS sync) -> Starfish
• Connectbot (ssh client) -> built-in (Terminal)
• Conversation (xmpp client) -> built-in (Messaging)
• Davx5 (caldav/cardav) -> built-in (Account)
• DroidShows (TV series) -> SeriesFinale
• Element (Matrix client) -> Determinant
• Endoscope (camera stream)
• Fedilab (Mastodon client) -> Tooter
• ForkHub (GitHub client) -> SailHub
• FOSS Browser -> built-in (Browser)
• FreeOTP -> SailOTP
• Glider (hacker news reader) -> SailHN
• K-9 Mail -> built-in (Mail)
• KDE Connect (KDE sync) -> SailfishConnect
• Keepassx (password manager) -> ownKeepass
• Labcoat (GitLab client)
• Lemmur (Lemmy client)
• MasterPassword (password manager) -> MPW
• MuPDF (PDF reader) -> built-in (Documents)
• Newpipe (YouTube client) -> YTPlayer
• Nextcloud (Nextcloud files) -> GhostCloud
• Notes (Nextcloud notes) -> Nextcloud Notes
• OCReader (Nextcloud RSS) -> Fuoten
• OsmAnd~ (Maps) -> PureMaps
• Printing (built-in) -> SeaPrint
• QuickDic (dictionary) -> SailyDict
• RedMoon (screen color temperature) -> Tint Overlay
• RedReader (Reddit client) -> Quickddit
• Signal -> Whisperfish
• Syncthing (files sync) -> there’s the binary, no UI
• Transdroid (Trasmission client) -> Clutch
• Vinyl (music player) -> built-in (Mediaplayer)
• VLC (NFS streaming) -> videoPlayer
• WireGuard (VPN) -> there’s the binary, no UI
• YetAnotherCallBlocker (call blocker) -> Phonehook

So, to me it looks like almost everything is there, except:

• a gemini protocol browser
• a client for GitLab
• a client for Lemmy
• a UI for Syncthing
• a UI for Wireguard

I’ve already started to write a UI for Syncthing, then maybe I could write the browser for the gemini protocol or rather the GitLab client?

Please consider a donation if you would like to support me (mention your favourite project!).

Many many thanks to Jörg who sent me his Sony Xperia 10 Plus! I hope I don’t disappoint him!