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Linux on Dex

linuxondex.com

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Re: Linux on Dex

#121

Post by elipsey »

I have pretty much given up on the prospect of running a full fledged FOSS OS on devices that don’t give access to the bootloader’s root of trust, or give you a userland that works with a kernel you can’t control (eg Crouton). It all sounds great until you start trying to do actuall work. As soon as you need anything that’s not provided by the manufacturer software image you start to notice all the foundational things you’re not allowed to do with your system.

Need a kernel option or module not provided? Nope, can’t build/sign it. Remember, not all modules are for new hardware (no VMs for you!). Current version of OS? Distro security updates for kernel? Um maybe if they get around to it lol.

It kind of reminds me of Doctorow’s thing about war on general purpose computing.* Like how is it in the interest of handset manufacturers to let you have a general purpose computer that could run unsigned (by them) code?

To have a real linux distro, you would have to be able to run unsigned privileged code, but that would make it possible to do all sorts of naughty things like unauthorized disk encryption, subverting DRM, mucking around with the radios, etc. You can’t really have have one without the other.

* http://opentranscripts.org/transcript/coming-war-general-com...

Re: Linux on Dex

#122

Post by minikomi »

i_phish_cats wrote: post #34

For those of us who don't have a supported device, there's an android app called [Termux]( https://termux.com/ ) which provides a surprisingly linux-y experience. I sometimes code on my 10" tablet with a small (60%) keyboard.

This + emacs + org-mode + a heavily customized doom emacs means I can track money using ledger, generate workouts using a python script outputting org tables and a lot more. Even worked out how to sync my folder to Dropbox, called from an emacs shortcut.

Re: Linux on Dex

#123

Post by asveikau »

Jaruzel wrote: post #69
tinyvm wrote: post #18

This is really cool. I've been looking for such thing for a long time now. If you have a corporate Job like consulting or something equivalent it's very likely you are packing an awful laptop with you everywhere you go, a DELL or a Lenovo or something like that. DEX opens a door for next generation Mobile Desktop , where you SmartPhone is also your Desktop Computer. I really hope Apple does something similar in this…

> DEX opens a door for next generation Mobile Desktop , where you SmartPhone is also your Desktop Computer. Remember, Microsoft tried this with Continuum for Windows 8/10 and Windows Mobile, it failed. No-one actually wanted the core of their desktop inside their phones. People have partitioned off different use-cases for their PC and smartphones, and the overlap is smaller than designers think.

You can't discount the confused product strategy re: old software in this failure.

People want desktops to run desktop software. Not WinRT/universal/modern/UWP. They did not understand this. So for multiple iterations, they shipped tablets, phones, etc., under the "Windows" brand that could not do what people think of when they hear "Windows".

They should have shipped a device circa 2012 that let you recompile desktop Windows apps for arm. They had the technology.

Re: Linux on Dex

#124

Post by zeppelin101 »

ekianjo wrote: post #110
zeppelin101 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why Samsung created the DeX docks. You connect your phone to the DeX device and then connect all the peripherals to the DeX pad: monitor (via HDMI), and mouse + kb.

it means you need to have your monitor and keyboard ready in several locations. at some point if you work on the go it does not make sense anymore.

You could connect to a TV, as well. Honestly, for actual IT/programming persons, such a set up is unlikely to be be exceptionally useful, but I could see using Ubuntu Linux on the phone in more modest ways. You could play a native Linux game (perhaps one you coded yourself), while using a Bluetooth controller. I'm kind of grasping for straws here, actually, but I'd say that the dex pad is pretty cool more broadly speaking. For example, you could use your phone's unlimited data to play back netflix or YouTube videos while connected to a TV. You could use the Samsung dex mode (which predates this Ubuntu mode by several years), while relying on only the touch screen to launch the playback of said video. For me this seems uniquely useful because my mobile carrier, T-mobile, limits tethering to several GBs (and bypassing it hasn't worked in the last few years) and it would be unwise to spend them quickly just to provide a data connection to the smart TV or another intermediary device.

Re: Linux on Dex

#125

Post by adrianmonk »

gcbw2 wrote: post #3

This (and the internet in general) is pretty anemic on details. Is this a VM on top of dalvik? I assumed DEX was deprecated in favour of ART https://source.android.com/devices/tech/dalvik/gc-debug.html I mean it is still compatible bytecode (i think) but who knows anything about android roadmap anymore?

Apparently it has no connection, even though they're both technologies for running things on Android.

Presumably someone in branding at Samsung thinks this makes sense. They might not even be wrong considering this is end user focused whereas .dex files are something only developers see.

Re: Linux on Dex

#126

Post by esotericn »

ObsoleteNerd wrote: post #107
i_phish_cats wrote: post #34

For those of us who don't have a supported device, there's an android app called [Termux]( https://termux.com/ ) which provides a surprisingly linux-y experience. I sometimes code on my 10" tablet with a small (60%) keyboard.

I do lots of work on my phone thanks to Termux and a 60% bluetooth mechanical keyboard. It's one of my most essential apps on Android. Either using it directly or using it to SSH into servers, raspberry pis, etc.

I'd really appreciate knowing which keyboard you're using!

Re: Linux on Dex

#127

Post by adl »

camelNotation wrote: post #31

I want a laptop with a hole where the mouse pad should be. I want to be able to put my phone into that slot, dock it, and use the screen of my phone as the mouse pad for the laptop. I want my phone to do all the processing and work. I want the laptop dock to be an extension of my phone, running something like DEX to make the laptop experience work. The only thing I want this laptop dock to do is give me a screen, a k…

An HP Elite Lapdock and a Note 9 will get you 90% of the setup you want. I have that setup, it doesn't dock into a slot, it hangs on the side with a USB C cable, but the rest is just as you describe.

Re: Linux on Dex

#128

Post by craftyguy »

> Linux on DeX currently supports one customized Ubuntu image (Ubuntu 16.04 LTS version provided by Canonical) which only operates on selected Samsung devices. (Note9 and Tab S4).

A crappy distro on a couple of old devices? No thanks. I'll just wait for the Librem 5 [0]

0) https://shop.puri.sm/shop/librem-5/

Edit: Misread "Note9" as "Note7" (don't ask). Ooops. My conclusion still stands.

Re: Linux on Dex

#129

Post by tehduder9 »

craftyguy wrote: post #128

> Linux on DeX currently supports one customized Ubuntu image (Ubuntu 16.04 LTS version provided by Canonical) which only operates on selected Samsung devices. (Note9 and Tab S4). A crappy distro on a couple of old devices? No thanks. I'll just wait for the Librem 5 [0] 0) https://shop.puri.sm/shop/librem-5/ Edit: Misread "Note9" as "Note7" (don't ask). Ooops. My conclusion still stands.

Note 9 is an old device? What world are you living in? Note 9 will probably be years ahead of that Librem smartphone

Re: Linux on Dex

#130

Post by tehduder9 »

tinyvm wrote: post #39
nine_k wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I won't hope that a phone would handle 10000 rows much better. But that "Excel" thing might be an answer: the laptop must be running Windows, and Windows users often run an antivirus, and some Windows antivirus software is known to be terrible. (The MS-provided basic antivirus was always fine in this regard, though.)

>I won't hope that a phone would handle 10000 rows much better. Galaxy S9 has 2 X 4 Core @ 2GHZ , my corporate laptop has an i5 from 2015 with 2 @ 2GHZ. I'll go with the Galaxy.

FYI GHZ isn't a good indicator of performance difference between 2 different types, models, and architecture;

it's like comparing the revs of your cars, it's just the cycle rate, not the Instruction rate

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