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Termux and Android 10

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Re: Termux and Android 10

#41

Post by zozbot234 »

forgotpwd16 wrote: post #14
pathartl wrote: post #4

I'm really starting to despise most OS's for having such an overbearing security policy. I think it's really why I've stuck with Windows for so long. For sure Windows is not as user-stupid as something like macOS, iOS, Android, etc... but for me as a power user it's just about as powerful as I need to be. I'm not even considering *nix distros here because honestly the market for every day users for something like Ubu…

For every day users, that is those wanting access to email, social media, an office suite, etc I will argue that Ubuntu or Mint is fine. Even for other users, the most frequent issue that I've seen being mentioned is Windows-only software. If there is no such thing then the aforementioned distros should be fine. Also, there was never unlimited access in Android unless you had a rooted device. Probably there will be a…

Rooted users can freely alter or disable enforcement for any SELinux policy. None of this will affect them. (OTOH, many apps can't be installed or function on a rooted device due to SafetyNet and the like. And no, there is no safe bypass of SafetyNet since Google can potentially require users to run a remotely-attested "stock" firmware in order to pass the check.)

Re: Termux and Android 10

#42

Post by AsyncAwait »

sxp wrote: post #13

I really hope they figure out a good solution for this problem. One way I distinguish between a "real" computer and a toy or appliance is whether you can use the device to write software for it. With Termux, you can write Linux-style programs on the Android device itself or even build full Android apks. One of the other awesome things about Termux is that you can use it to setup a pretty complete ARM Linux environmen…

The only "real" solution is to get an actual Linux phone, such as the PinePhone[1] or Librem 5[2].

1 - https://www.pine64.org/pinephone

2 - https://puri.sm/products/librem-5

Re: Termux and Android 10

#43

Post by larrik »

pathartl wrote: post #4

I'm really starting to despise most OS's for having such an overbearing security policy. I think it's really why I've stuck with Windows for so long. For sure Windows is not as user-stupid as something like macOS, iOS, Android, etc... but for me as a power user it's just about as powerful as I need to be. I'm not even considering *nix distros here because honestly the market for every day users for something like Ubu…

As someone who has been on Linux a long time, but still has to support family members using Windows, here's my perspective:

1) Linux is usually easier in the "happy case", where everything works as it should, and it supports everything that the user needs.

2) Linux is way way way less likely to just change something and break the whole system while the user is sleeping. (This was REAL fun with my grandparents-in-law when their Dell All-in-One PC decided to upgrade itself from Windows 8.1 to Win10 despite Dell not having drivers for Win10 on their fancy custom monitor. I have to fix it for them every 6 months now.)

3) Searching the web for Windows solutions to your issues without being a computer expert feels like it has a >80% of infecting your computer with malware or getting you on the phone with a scammer. As a computer expert it's like 20% (not even zero!).

4) Fixing a Linux problem can be painful, but is often "copy and paste these config lines into this config". Arcane.

5) Fixing a Windows problem can involve having to go into the registry, which can't be copy/pasted and is extremely difficult AND dangerous. (There probably IS a way to copy/paste it, but I don't know it).

6) That said, it's easier to fall off the "happy path" and into real trouble in Linux. Fixing the issue by randomly clicking stuff is more likely to work in Windows than Linux.

7) It's way easier to find someone you know to help you on Windows than Linux, for now.

8) Gaming is still so much better on Windows, unfortunately, but the gap is closing.

9) The few times I've gotten family members to try Linux, they called me LESS often for support. Even on laptops!

10) Windows is becoming increasingly user hostile in every way. Ads, forced updates, forced settings changes, privacy issues, etc.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#44

Post by AsyncAwait »

AgloeDreams wrote: post #26
tmpz22 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tablet companies really need to realize that a decent tablet with a decent dev experience is going to lead to an explosion of developers on their platform and result directly in way higher quality apps and therefore way better sales and brand. Imagine if websites couldn’t be developed on normal desktop computers and you had to run an extremely inefficient emulator every time you wanted to make a small notification.

That would be ChromeOS tablets. Full linux terminal in container and all. Hasn't really made any difference.

As a Linux user, the last thing I want to do is use a computer controlled by Google. I am however typing this on a Mirosoft Surface Pro 7 running Linux.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#45

Post by zozbot234 »

mschuster91 wrote: post #34

I get why Android is doing this, even if they're not openly writing it: they want to get in control of malvertising which downloads untrusted binary code that is not in the APK and thus scannable for the Play Store security scanners. What I don't get: why aren't they creating a separate entitlement for runtime code execution that requires manual approval in the Play Store?

Hopefully that entitlement would require manual user approval, too. I might not want any old free-to-play game from the Play Store to be enabled to run unapproved code on-device, but I definitely want it for Termux.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#47

Post by liveoneggs »

sxp wrote: post #13

I really hope they figure out a good solution for this problem. One way I distinguish between a "real" computer and a toy or appliance is whether you can use the device to write software for it. With Termux, you can write Linux-style programs on the Android device itself or even build full Android apks. One of the other awesome things about Termux is that you can use it to setup a pretty complete ARM Linux environmen…

where do chrome books fall on this spectrum?

Re: Termux and Android 10

#48

Post by seph-reed »

liveoneggs wrote: post #47
sxp wrote: post #13

I really hope they figure out a good solution for this problem. One way I distinguish between a "real" computer and a toy or appliance is whether you can use the device to write software for it. With Termux, you can write Linux-style programs on the Android device itself or even build full Android apks. One of the other awesome things about Termux is that you can use it to setup a pretty complete ARM Linux environmen…

where do chrome books fall on this spectrum?

By default, similar field as screens, keyboards, and mouses. A rather advanced peripheral to some other computer.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#50

Post by badRNG »

cft wrote: post #15
ufmace wrote: post #11

I installed Termux on my Chromebook a few years ago to try and create a local development environment per this article[0]. It seemed to work okay, but I never liked how janky and unsupported the whole thing felt. I couldn't bring myself to try and build a workflow around it long-term. And here I guess that's vindicated. Whether now or in a few years, the whole concept of Termux is not long for this world. I guess the…

When we need to quickly diagnose and fix some sudden server issue from anywhere, Termux is indispensable. I even bought a tiny Bluetooth USB keyboard because of it.

Have you thought about giving LineageOS a spin? It has a built in terminal with sudoer rights available
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