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Phone Link is Microsoft's late and closed source alternative to KDE Connect. It requires you sign in to a Microsoft Account for it to work. (cdn.masto.host)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by kde@floss.social to c/kde@lemmy.kde.social

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Phone Link is Microsoft's late and closed source alternative to KDE Connect. It requires you sign in to a Microsoft Account for it to work.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/phone-link-requirements-and-setup-cd2a1ee7-75a7-66a6-9d4e-bf22e735f9e3

This means all the transactions between your phone and your PC are monitored and sucked up by Microsoft.

@kde@lemmy.kde.social

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[-] mox@lemmy.sdf.org 95 points 4 months ago

KDE Connect also runs on more operating systems. It's worth mentioning to friends who run Windows.

[-] jbk@discuss.tchncs.de 53 points 4 months ago

You can even connect e.g. Android devices with each other! No PC/laptop needed!

[-] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 26 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

This feature is epic. Being able to save a file to my phone from my tablet or vice versa is fantastic.

[-] iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee 9 points 4 months ago

Ahh this one I didn't know! Awesome thanks!

[-] BigDaddySlim@lemmy.world 23 points 4 months ago

Easiest way for me to transfer my ROMs to my Steam Deck, even while using it in Windows

[-] hushable@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

also works on GNOME! (gsconnect)

[-] leopold@lemmy.kde.social 6 points 4 months ago

like most apps on Linux, kde connect was never exclusive to any desktop. you don't need gsconnect.

[-] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 9 points 4 months ago

I was not aware that KDE Connect ran on Windows! This is great to hear for recommendations. Thanks for spreading awareness!

[-] loutr@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 months ago

It works on all platforms, I work on mobile apps so I have quite a few Androids and iPhones, as well as a linux laptop and a Mac mini. It works seamlessly between all of those.

[-] Bro666@social.tchncs.de 6 points 4 months ago

@loutr @Kalcifer

You don't even need to connect computer anywhere. You can connect, say, your iPad with your Android phone and share stuff from one to another.

[-] Railcar8095@lemm.ee 3 points 4 months ago

Is there a port for M Macs? I'm missing it so much now that I don't have Linux on the laptop.

[-] refurbishedrefurbisher@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 4 months ago

What's preventing you from installing Asahi Linux?

[-] alyth@lemmy.world 56 points 4 months ago

Look what they need just to mimic a fraction of our power

[-] AVincentInSpace@pawb.social 29 points 4 months ago

Interesting that they bothered to make this considering KDE Connect already works on Windows

[-] iturnedintoanewt@lemm.ee 19 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

I'm sure it might stop working soon enough. For your safety.

[-] Flatworm7591@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 4 months ago

The only unique (I think?) thing about phone link is that it enables you to use your Android phone camera as a webcam, which can be handy if you don't have a quality webcam. I think its only in the beta version though.

[-] possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 7 points 4 months ago

Audio and video sharing would be really handy. I wonder if KDE connect might do this at some point

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[-] istanbullu@lemmy.ml 21 points 4 months ago

KDE Connect is an amazing app

[-] refalo@programming.dev 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

when it works. but it's so incredibly buggy, especially the desktop apps, and double especially the sms desktop app. holy shite is it terrible, and trying to get support is like trying to report a problem to google

[-] MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 months ago

All I'm going to say to this is....

You people still use SMS?

I've explicitly told people not to send me text messages. The protocols are old and shit compared to other instant messengers. I'm on Google chat, telegram, signal, discord, slack, teams.... Find another app to talk to me with. I generally don't care which one, but I actively refuse to sign up for or into any Facebook/meta/Zuckerberg properties. If you use something I don't that isn't owned by the zuck, I'll probably sign up so we can keep touch, but for the love of God, not SMS.

Look, SMS was great when phones didn't have internet on them. It was a quick and easy way to send updates and chat while away from your cable/DSL/dialup (whatever you had at the time). Now that data is the primary use for a mobile phone plan, just use a more robust IM app.

I also have about six or seven phone numbers, which I give out to different groups of people for different reasons, plus a phone number on my mobile which nearly nobody knows. All my other lines (all VoIP lines) ring my cellphone number. Texting from my VoIP line is not fun, but it does work. Multimedia messages generally get lost and RCS is just encouraging the use of something that should have been killed off.

I'm partial to Telegram and signal since they mainly operate by phone numbers, but I can make "voice" and video calls over data rather than having to use my cellphone directly; which allows me to call from my computer, laptop, phone, tablet.... Literally any device that can run the program. So if my phone is lost/damaged/stolen/whatever (unavailable for any reason), I can still send messages to you and call if needed.

If everything is tied to your cellphone number, and that number becomes unavailable for any reason, well... Get fucked I guess. Your SIM stops working, your phone dies/breaks/gets stolen, your provider decides to fuck your account up or charge you a fortune for no good reason and cuts you off, your provider has a major malfunction and stops servicing clients in your area.... Literally anything goes wrong with the one system you use and all your SMS bullshit goes away. Stop. Using. SMS.

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[-] Lightfire228@pawb.social 20 points 4 months ago

I wonder if KDE connect could leverage the way Syncthing does device discovery and pairing

It works across networks, with no configuration

[-] Tejas@floss.social 12 points 4 months ago

@kde
#kdeconnect is really awesome. The only negative point is that it won't allow you to send multiple files simultaneously. We have to send each file separately. If possible, please provide it soon.
@kde@lemmy.kde.social

[-] SloppilyFloss@lemmy.ml 13 points 4 months ago

KDE Connect mounts your phone as a network folder in Dolphin. You could copy multiple files and paste them into a folder in your phone through Dolpin as a workaround.

[-] AFC1886VCC@reddthat.com 4 points 4 months ago

That's my problem with KDE. Probably the one most useful feature it could implement, it doesn't have.

[-] woelkchen@lemmy.world 12 points 4 months ago

KDE Connect and Phone Link only have partial feature overlap. I prefer KDE Connect but to claim that either is a proper alternative for the other is wrong, unless I missed that KDE Connect supports casting the phone's screen to PCs and launching phone apps from there.

[-] englislanguage@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 4 months ago

There is scrcpy for that and you can launch arbitrary commands from KDE Connect too.

[-] woelkchen@lemmy.world 13 points 4 months ago

There is scrcpy for that and you can launch arbitrary commands from KDE Connect too.

I'm fully aware of that but the scrcpy feature set is not integrated into KDE Conenct, therefore the features overlap to a degree but aren't the same. Phone Link allows to launch apps from Windows, KDE Connect doesn't offer the same. That's no diss or anything, just stating facts.

[-] thirstyhyena@lemmy.world 11 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

closed source - true

alternative to KDE Connect - false

requires you sign in to a Microsoft Account for it to work - true

[-] Damage@slrpnk.net 10 points 4 months ago

you've got to place two spaces at the end of the text before every return if you want a
new line, otherwise two returns give you a

new paragraph

[-] Lojcs@lemm.ee 10 points 4 months ago

This is not new. Has been there for a while

[-] princessnorah 2 points 4 months ago

It's been there for years, I think at least since before 11 was released...

[-] guiguinofake@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

@kde@floss.social why isn't it called KDE Konnect instead of Connect?

[-] elfin@mstdn.social 7 points 4 months ago

@kde@floss.social @kde@lemmy.kde.social Which, funny enough, is Precisely Why I run KDE Connect.

Also, I don't let my androids fraternize with Windows machines, I'd have to boil them all later because, ew.

[-] natan_krea@masto.es 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

@kde@floss.social @kde@lemmy.kde.social

KDE connect es ya un buque insignia de la conectividad para los amantes del #softwarelibre y si no es por KDE ni sabríamos que Gates ha sacado una nueva basura al mercado.

[-] Norodix@mastodon.social 6 points 4 months ago

@kde@floss.social @kde@lemmy.kde.social
Kde connect is awesome!

[-] matthieu@mastodon.puffer.fish 3 points 4 months ago

@Norodix @kde@floss.social @kde@lemmy.kde.social it really is awesome! I use it daily. The last time was during a presentation at school , using my phone as a kind of remote for presentations is awesome

[-] YourPrivatHater@ani.social 6 points 4 months ago

It also doesn't work properly.

[-] Galapagon@sh.itjust.works 6 points 4 months ago

No screen mirroring though 😕

[-] englislanguage@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 4 months ago

Maybe scrcpy is the tool for you then.

[-] militaryintelligence@lemmy.world 5 points 4 months ago

I turned on phone link once. Had a hell of a time getting it to not connect to my phone.

[-] mousey@mastodon.seattlematrix.org 3 points 4 months ago

@kde@floss.social @kde@lemmy.kde.social

On one hand, *lame!!* Die in a fire, copycats

on the other hand, *cool!* it's not my imagination that kdeconnect is the best phone app ever. thank you to all involved!! ❤️

[-] silverdiamond@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Apart from screen mirroring and sms that everyone has mentioned the proprietary alternative undeniably has more features. I don't know whether it is phone link or link to windows but one of them has a feature where your phone can be used as a webcam over WiFi. As someone who set up ip webcam on my phone and used obs virtual camera through most of the pandemic's online classes it's quite useful and I'd like to see features like that just work and are not relying on mjpeg and proprietary software on the phone end. Their auto hotspot feature i haven't gotten to work and i think is useless but I'm thankful that i don't have to turn off kde connect when using samsung dex.

[-] b100dian@mastodon.social 2 points 4 months ago

@kde@floss.social @kde@lemmy.kde.social
Wasn't MS "Your phone" available for 5+ years? I mean, I know KDE connect is since 10+ years, but how is this news? Change of naming?

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[-] felichsdakatze@mastodon.social 2 points 4 months ago

@kde@floss.social @kde@lemmy.kde.social

I only stumbled onto KDE connect in f-droid about a month ago.

It's the fastest way to transfer large files from device to device.

I just wish I could show my phone screen on my old tablet.

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[-] BennyHill@lemmy.ml 2 points 4 months ago

It requires you sign in to a Microsoft Account for it to TRY TO work

ftfy, i wanted to give it a shot one time and it literally didnt work, at all. all of Microsofts cross device features are a hot mess, like how you are supposed to be able to share the clipboard between logged in windows PCs, never could get that working either.

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this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2024

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