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The world of Linux Handhelds in 2018

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Re: The world of Linux Handhelds in 2018

#51

Post by gadgetoid »

primitur wrote: post #3

I have pretty much every Linux handheld ever made, and my original First Batch Open Pandora is still the one I go to for my casual gaming needs. The reason is that the community around this device continues to produce absolute gems for the machine, as can be witnessed in what would have to be one of the most underrated app-store/repo's around: http://repo.openpandora.org My next-favourite device is the GPD Pocket. It…

+10 for the OpenPandora, the community is incredible. It really gives me hope and confidence that the Pyra- while it may take a while to gain momentum- will be an incredible platform for many, many years. That said while I have a first batch Pandora and a silver 1Ghz unit I don't game much anymore and they're a little neglected. I enjoy breaking them out every now and then to find dozens of updates to various PND apps and check up on what's new.

I love having a complete set of Robert's visually consistent emulator front-ends.

Don't get me started on iControlPad :D I've never seen a "lol" so loaded!

I'm keeping a close eye on the Gemini since I love the form-factor and my phone is getting a little crusty. The GPD Pocket has definitely also tempted me.

Re: The world of Linux Handhelds in 2018

#52

Post by gadgetoid »

TheAceOfHearts wrote: post #8

I pre-ordered the Pyra and have been following its development ever since. IMO, many companies could learn a lot from them. Despite being such a small team they give out regular updates and are completely transparent. I think as long as you're honest about what's going on people are very understanding about delays and many other issues. For an example of a massive hardware screw-up, take a look at the Jolla tablet. T…

I'm still on the sidelines with the Pyra, but keen to see how it pans out! It's looking really really close now, though.

Two Months?

Re: The world of Linux Handhelds in 2018

#53

Post by nine_k »

leadingthenet wrote: post #49
dorfsmay wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't one of the main criticism of GNOME that it's too opinionated?

And those people are exactly the reason why Linux will never be the OS of choice on desktop for the vast majority of people. Which it should be, because it's a great piece of software, underneath the horrible UX.

In this sense, Linux already is the OS for hundreds of millions, in the form of Android.

It just got a very different UI and somehow reworked userland.

Is this what you'd prefer on the desktop, too?

Re: The world of Linux Handhelds in 2018

#54

Post by nerdponx »

mpol wrote: post #30
nextos wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's true. We need a phone running a pure Linux userland. The Nokia N770-N9 saga was too good to be forgotten. IMHO, Librem should include some form of physical keyboard to take full advantage of Linux. GNOME is already quite touch friendly, but still. Aside, Jolla seems to be going to be purchased quite soon. I hope the new owners try to come up with a new business model that involves open-source. Sailfish failed…

Jolla is very much in survival-mode. Their priority is to build a sustainable business. Making Silica open source is not aiding that sustainable business in the short term. Be aware, making software open source involves a lot of work. You don't just throw stuff over the fence and be done with it. You need to maintain it, review and apply patches, answer questions, write docs. That doesn't come free, and doesn't help…

You need to maintain it, review and apply patches, answer questions, write docs

I don't understand this. None of that is necessary at all in order to release the source code. Just make it available to download. Heck, you can even "protect" it (nominally) with a download code that you ship along with the device, like you find with music.

Re: The world of Linux Handhelds in 2018

#55

Post by gadgetoid »

tluyben2 wrote: post #11
primitur wrote: post #3

I have pretty much every Linux handheld ever made, and my original First Batch Open Pandora is still the one I go to for my casual gaming needs. The reason is that the community around this device continues to produce absolute gems for the machine, as can be witnessed in what would have to be one of the most underrated app-store/repo's around: http://repo.openpandora.org My next-favourite device is the GPD Pocket. It…

I really like the Pocket; everyone (including you) complains about the keyboard but it just takes a few days to get used to it imho. It has stellar battery life (ubuntu + i3wm gets me well over 20 hours while coding). For casual gaming my OpenPandora is still my go to. Indeed a Switch seems tempting but I like having a device I can code on, again, stellar battery life, and I have spare batteries for the thing so I ca…

My entire argument in favour of the OpenPandora pretty much boils down to this: http://repo.openpandora.org/?page=detail&app=package.starcra...

I mean... what else do you need?

I've never had much success programming on it, though. Not for want of trying. I even ported Propeller IDE for giggles. I think I've just never given the keyboard enough time to build up any sort of muscle memory with it. This is the same issue I have with the GPD Pocket- as much as I love the size and aesthetic, I'm convinced the keyboard will render the thing useless and relegate it to the bottom of my plastic tub of technology remnants.

Re: The world of Linux Handhelds in 2018

#56

Post by nerdponx »

squarefoot wrote: post #21
saagarjha wrote: post #4

My personal take on Linux handhelds is that they're held back by their user interfaces. None of the options I've seen have the polish of iOS and Android; they just look ugly and painful to use. On desktop this is 1. improving and 2. partially masked by the paradigm that you're supposed to "get work done", but mobile is in a large part still a platform for consumption and issues such as these make it difficult to seri…

The Linux users/developers ecosystem is dominated by techies who mostly find the typical Android/iOS user interface inadequate; very far from the normal phone/tablet user: we love to use the shell to get things done or spend time customizing the system here and there, therefore the lesser incentive to have a finger oriented interface. Most people looking for native Linux handhelds probably either don't need/like that…

Part of the problem is ugly or inadequate defaults. I wish more UX and UI designers contributed to open source projects.

Re: The world of Linux Handhelds in 2018

#57

Post by mpol »

nerdponx wrote: post #54
mpol wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jolla is very much in survival-mode. Their priority is to build a sustainable business. Making Silica open source is not aiding that sustainable business in the short term. Be aware, making software open source involves a lot of work. You don't just throw stuff over the fence and be done with it. You need to maintain it, review and apply patches, answer questions, write docs. That doesn't come free, and doesn't help…

You need to maintain it, review and apply patches, answer questions, write docs I don't understand this. None of that is necessary at all in order to release the source code. Just make it available to download. Heck, you can even "protect" it (nominally) with a download code that you ship along with the device, like you find with music.

Even then you need to vet it beforehand, if it all legal and clean to offer as open source download.

Re: The world of Linux Handhelds in 2018

#59

Post by mikestew »

AlphaWeaver wrote: post #46
qengho wrote: post #7

Check out Noodle Pi – http://noodlepi.com It’s the world’s smallest and lightest handheld computer. And unlike most of these devices with tiny built-in keyboards, it features a modular docking system so you can dock it with a range of different keyboards, from a tiny thumb keyboard to a full-sized one, or a gamepad. Noodle Pi can be assembled, disassembled, repaired and upgraded by users, with no soldering or tools r…

Your account has promoted the Noodle Pi repeatedly over the past several weeks... What's the threshold for spam?

As far as I can tell, parent mentioned Noodle Pi five months ago, and today is only the second time. Compared to that, I’m the biggest Apple shill around.

Re: The world of Linux Handhelds in 2018

#60

Post by izacus »

ekianjo wrote: post #19
chx wrote: post #17

You can put a Linux in a chroot on most (? all?) Android devices , even non rooted https://www.xda-developers.com/guide-installing-and-running-... and the Moto Z family has a landscape keyboard upcoming https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/physical-keyboard-mod-for... so that should be a contender too, I feel.

It's not optimal because your have to go thru Android anyway and since Android phone end up having a very limited lifetime of updates you will have to run a chroot on top of an unsecure/obsolete Android version over the long run.

What kind of security attack vector are you finding on a offline gaming device with 6-12 month old Android?
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