"4GB RAM is required in your device for downloading a Linux image". This remind me the requirements when I was student: 4MB RAM were required for Linux kernel compilation from command line, 8MB if X server was running. My PC had 120MB of hard disk. Other times ...
Linux on Dex
201–210 of 228 posts
Re: Linux on Dex
#202Earlier quoted context omitted.
The closest thing to what you're describing seems to be the Librem 5[1]. It's a bit of an investment to get into now, but if you believe that such a product is worthwhile, I think it's worth backing even at this stage, just to show that the market is there. 1 - https://shop.puri.sm/shop/librem-5
Looks like a lot of people are mentioning this one, so buyer beware that it's in the kickstarter stages & it's not currently possible to buy outside of kickstarter
Yes but they actually ship hardware right now (laptops), just raised a round of funding, and post regular updates on tangible progress. A safer bet than most, I'd say.
Re: Linux on Dex
#203Earlier quoted context omitted.
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!
I have a NIZ Plum 84 with bluetooth that works well. There's a number of sizes: https://www.nizkeyboard.com/product/hot-selling-bluetooth-us...
Re: Linux on Dex
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe something like the Cosmo Communicator [1]? It's a 'reboot' of the Psion PDA form factor by the same people who created the Gemini PDA. [1] https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/cosmo-communicator/
Not likely. Both the Cosmo and Gemini use Mediatek SoCs. You're unlikely to ever see a mainline kernel go anywhere near those things, let alone one supporting the majority of the hardware. Odds are high you'll even be stuck with a 3.10 (or maybe 4.4 if you're lucky) fork of the kernel. As much as I love the formfactor, it's way more likely that we'll see a mainline kernel running on one of the various Snapdragon 845…
What's the difficulty with Mediatek? Lack of documentation? (Serious question.)
Re: Linux on Dex
#205This 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…
The whole point on Dex is that you can connect a phone to a big screen and a big keyboard. Well, maybe your clients will provide you with a decent screen and a decent keyboard. (If I were a consultant, I'd pack my own. At this point lugging a laptop starts to make sense.)
Bluetooth keyboard/mouse plus a USB-C to HDMI dongle would enable you to work in any conference room with a display available.
Re: Linux on Dex
#206Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some laptops with a built in SIM module can actually text. I don't know about calls, but have a look around. I know for a fact that the Fibocom modems don't support sms, maybe the Huawei ones do.
Older thinkpads have empty minipcie bays for cell modems. I think my x201 does but I haven’t checked.
My old T430s came with Ericsson 3G minipcie card installed. The bay can be used for many things, not just modems and not just minipcie; msata drives work there too.
Re: Linux on Dex
#207I 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…
> 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?
Perhaps naïvely, I imagine that selling me hardware is in their interest. Is control of what runs on the hardware they manufacture really worth more than selling that hardware more widely? Granted, there aren’t a whole lot of us who want to run our own OSes, but we do exist. How much money do the manufacturers make by maintaining control?
Or do they keep it because of contracts (perhaps like HDMI or other copyright-monopoly-enforcing standards) requiring them to prevent users from owning their hardware?
Re: Linux on Dex
#208DeX, WSL, Crostini, all experiments for a simple purpose: steal users freedom and offer FOSS code in a proprietary jail to avoid direct competition against FOSS.
IOW be prepared to find in the next 5/8 years PCs with Windows kernel and basic userland as a UEFI fw and "Linux" (GNU actually) software available and offered via Microsoft store. Also be prepared to find mobile devices dockable with the same offer from Samsung etc. The end of freedom.
That's is a clear demonstration of the need of mandate by law free software and open hardware: having free software is not enough if we do not have hw to run it directly.
Re: Linux on Dex
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
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 deskto…
Just like with the Ubuntu Phone: we just wanted a regular X11 on the phone, not a copy of Android app space on Android base.
Nokia N900 had regular X and a forked Gtk+. I liked that thing. They didn't really support it well. Then Elop came.
Re: Linux on Dex
#210I 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…
Indeed. I'm on the lookout for a solid system that can boot a vanilla Linux kernel (something like an x86 laptop or ARM laptop, sub 10 inches preferably) that can make phone calls, receive SMS, and has a built in 4G modem. Does such a thing exist? I'd rather have a crap phone attached to a powerful computer, than a powerful phone that locks itself down so much that it's a crap computer.
Honestly I do not see real FOSS-usable mobile radio devices, nor GSM, 3G, 4G, 5G or anything else. No OEM (and perhaps states also) want real free communication devices...