And also proprietary, as it’s distributed under source-available license:
https://github.com/futo-org/android-keyboard?tab=License-1-ov-file
What’s the pushback against it? I like that you can modify and publish version of it as long as it’s noncommercial
Edit: I don’t understand the down votes, I’m trying to learn - what are the downsides of this thatkmake so unpopular?
TIL
https://wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/4_freedoms
These are the 4 Freedoms of open source software - which OSE applies to open source hardware and other products in general. These are the freedoms to inspect, use, modify, and sell.
> The freedom to inspect or view. In software, this came from the freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish . Access to the source code is a precondition for this - such as FreeCAD files, text documents, spreadsheets, calculations, instructions, etc.
The freedom to use. Run or otherwise execute the software, product, or process. You may be charged for using the thing. But this is a moot point, because as soon as someone buys it, it can be released for free.
The freedom to modify. This is a big point: making improvements or adaptation is a key to distributing value.
Economic freedom. The freedom to distribute or sell. Freedom distribute copies of your modified versions to others. By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
Switched to this a couple weeks ago. I’m used to swipe typing on gboard. Unfortunately the swipe typing on FUTO is nowhere near useable for me yet. The accuracy is horrendous, and much of the time it just gives up on inputting any word at all.
Unfortunately swiping on Gboard has been my main method of typing for more than a decade. I’m so accustomed to it that I can type full sentences without even looking at my phone.
So in an effort to improve my privacy (by discontinuing my use of a piece of keylogging spyware as a keyboard) I’ve sacrificed the speed of swipe typing. Everything takes much longer to type now. Worth it? I guess I’ll keep trying for a month or so and decide then.
Have you tried Heliboard? It’s open and has swyping (you have to download a binary blob).
Yeah I tried swipe typing on FUTO keyboard too and was very disappointed, went back to the absolutely stellar Heliboard. It’s definitely as good as Apple’s swipe typing, especially after a few weeks of use.
To be fair the FUTO keyboard is still in Alpha and they plan to improve this specifically. I’ll keep an eye on it as it matures.
https://github.com/erkserkserks/openboard/tree/master/app/src/main/jniLibs
You probably want the v8a one
Just FYI you can use a firewall app on device to block Gboard internet access.
The speech to text is too slow for me, especially if you use 4 languages like me.
In the end I switched to HeliBoard, there I can type those 4 languages without changing the keyboard.
I just set it up following your comment but I cannot figure out how to set it up in order to type in different languages without changing keyboards.
Did you check the FAQ https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard?tab=readme-ov-file#faq–common-issues I think there the most things explained. It’s a long time ago I did it so I don’t quite remember either.
I had switched to HeliBoard in order to de-Google as much as possible. I’m not militant about it, but if there’s an alternative I’ll take it.
Decided to try out FUTO because I felt like I was missing swipe typing. And it’s good. But for me it’s just too much. It turns out I didn’t really miss swipe typing, and (possibly just a me issue) that extra feature was making FUTO much less responsive than Heliboard. So back I went.
I guess for me, simple and fast is more important than replicating my old Gboard experience. But each person is different.
You can add swipe (glide?) typing into HeliBoard. From their github readme:
- Glide typing (only with closed source library ☹️)
- library not included in the app, as there is no compatible open source library available
- can be extracted from GApps packages (“swypelibs”), or downloaded here (click on the file and then “raw” or the tiny download button)
The only reason HeliBoard doesn’t include this themselves is presumably legal liability plus their dedication to the app not having any network permissions at all.
FUTO is the greatest use of on-device LLM so far. It never gets anything wrong, even my thought markers “…”
