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Linux on Dex

linuxondex.com

141–150 of 228 posts

Re: Linux on Dex

#141
post #69
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.

It's not that Continuum failed. It's that Windows Mobile failed as a platform (for other unrelated reasons), so we didn't even get to the point where Continuum was even a realistic consideration.

Re: Linux on Dex

#142
post #29

I was hoping this would allow me to ssh into my phone to make/take calls and send/receive texts. Does anyone knows if that's possible?

Texts are probably possible. (I use Pushbullet, but Android Messages would also work). Only Apple seems to have got the control over the stack to get calls through iPad/macOS. I was hoping that Dell Connect would be an option but it's not clear that voice is pushed through there.

> Only Apple seems to have got the control over the stack to get calls through iPad/macOS.

If you're on Google Fi, you can make (and take) phone calls on your desktop via Hangouts.

Re: Linux on Dex

#143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You forget there's also the security twonks in the mix. Those people in favor of forced updates and signing everything too. "Oh my god", they say "what if the user ran something bad !?".

Permission granted to the user is also granted to malware.

Nobody is arguing against sandboxing.

The problem is sandboxing schemes that put the device manufacturers' needs ahead of the device owners' needs.

Re: Linux on Dex

#144
post #106
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It wasn't that no one wanted them - they just weren't powerful or portable enough. Snapdragon's 835 changed that. So will the A12X from Apple.

The Snapdragon 835 is not the enabler here. A mid-range 5-year-old phone has 4 cores at 2+ GHz, more powerful than a 10-year-old computer. Even back then this was powerful enough to run plenty of desktop workloads. The thing that's enabling usage of phones as desktops is USB Type-C which is fast enough and versatile enough to carry video output and a USB singal while powering the phone.

Absolutely. The power of the 835 was not the processing power alone, but pairing the 835 with greater than 3 gb of RAM. This helps push it into a desktop capable experience.

I bought a Sentio Superbook, and my pixel is the only non-apple device I have so I can try to use it in this manner.

Re: Linux on Dex

#145

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 thing…

While I agree with you for a primary device, this is still a major step up to be able to have a nice-ish environment available when you for whatever reason don't have another device with you.

Re: Linux on Dex

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cortana (well, search indexing) also really hurts performance. They're both disk I/O heavy services and make the whole machine sluggish imo

Turn Cortana off.

I've tried disabling the Search Index Service a few times only to find that it's restarted itself.

Re: Linux on Dex

#147

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.

I expect corporate HR departments to love this, actually. Give everyone identical cubicles with docking station and accessories. People can be shuffled around, and they can easily take their devices with their work with them. Send someone to headquarters for training or whatever, and they just have to bring along a pocket device and find a station to plug into when they arrive.

Re: Linux on Dex

#148
post #29

I was hoping this would allow me to ssh into my phone to make/take calls and send/receive texts. Does anyone knows if that's possible?

I suspect that the VM gets suspended when you undock the phone. I wouldn't count on being able to use it for persistent background services.

Re: Linux on Dex

#149

I'd love to use this, but my 8 month old Note 8 is apparently unsupported. Has anyone tried it? Does it work anyway, but just "unsupported"? Or do you get gated at the registration step?

I was able to register but haven't received an email (yet). Hopefully it works on the Note 8 as well, but given that it is mentioned a grand total of 0 times on that website - I'm not holding my breath.

Re: Linux on Dex

#150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You forget there's also the security twonks in the mix. Those people in favor of forced updates and signing everything too. "Oh my god", they say "what if the user ran something bad !?".

Permission granted to the user is also granted to malware.

Okay, so give it an off switch.

Gate it behind a long 20-step procedure. Put a video of a guy repeatedly telling the user "hey, hey, this is bad, don't do this unless you're a developer and know why you're doing it, it's a bad!".

I mean really you don't even have to go that far.

Just give it an off switch.

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