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Android’s desktop interface leaks

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Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#251

Post by digiown »

evanjrowley wrote: post #137
freedomben wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my concern is convergence computing will reduce the importance of desktop interfaces and the freedom we have to install whatever applications we want Yep, it absolutely will I expect. All the pieces are being or have been laid to build the new world where only a "trusted" device will be able to use the internet. Us nerds can still have our Linux, but it won't work with much of the internet because we won't be able…

If this trend continues, then self-hosting may become the final bastion of hobbyist FOSS.

I am somewhat hopeful that local AI will save us. It will be fairly easy to automate interacting with normie devices and services in the near future. It's not impossible to prevent it, but that will probably be annoying enough to the normies for them to reconsider. I see a future where the select few will still be able to use their free devices to operate the nonfree ones remotely, while incrementally taking back control with things like self-hosted tools.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#252

Post by ankurdhama »

modeless wrote: post #179

They ought to put the status bar at the bottom. All the designers using Macs probably forgot, but Chrome's tab interface was designed for Windows where it could be all the way at the top of the screen. And in general it's more common for desktop apps designed for mouse and keyboard to have frequently accessed UI elements at the top of the window than the bottom. So desktop apps would benefit from being able to use th…

Agree. They should make the desktop UI similar to what is there on ChromeOS or Samsung Dex. The top bar doesn't make sense at all.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#253

Post by digiown »

palata wrote: post #205
orev wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my PC runs on Linux so I don't feel threatened. Well, you should feel threatened. Where do you think the push towards TPM and secure boot is heading? Microsoft is insanely envious of how Apple and Google locked down their platforms and have total control over app stores, and that’s what Microsoft wants too. It’s a huge revenue stream they’re leaving on the table. Now that there’s precedent on mobile, they’ll have n…

Right, I guess we agree but I was not clear. In general, I don't care so much if Windows or macOS become as locked as Android or iOS, as long as I can install Linux on my hardware . My point is that many people seem to complain because they want to be root on the Google-certified Android. I disagree with that: Google makes an OS where you cannot be root. If you want an OS where you can be root, you should be able to…

The problem is more that you're forced to use Google's OS. Usually just less convenient, but often in a literal sense too with these government services increasingly requiring attestation.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#254

Post by digiown »

palata wrote: post #201
ece wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This level of security exists on open as well as closed platforms, the problem is the closed platforms not allowing you to do things that aren't giving your password away (like installing fdroid or using beeper easily). I just have a hard time believing this is superior in any way.

I think you're confused. I you run GrapheneOS, it is an open source platform built on top of AOSP (the Android Open Source Project). Part of the security model is that you don't run as root. I am an advanced user and I don't want to run as root on my phone, I am happy with GrapheneOS as it is distributed. Now if you want to be root, you can install an OS that allows you to be root. Just like I unlocked my bootloader,…

Meh, I'm ok with not having root on my phone. What I'm not ok with is not being able to flash whatever I want to run on it later without unlocking and wiping. For this reason I have an automated script to verify Graphene's signatures and replace them with my own. This would give me the ability to extract data using root at a later date, for example.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#255

Post by neya »

dfajgljsldkjag wrote: post #69

This looks like it will help a lot of students and families who are on a budget. If you can just plug your phone into a screen you do not need to buy a separate laptop anymore. The browser extensions are the most important part because that is what makes a computer useful. I am glad to see they are thinking about this.

This has existed for more than a decade. Even my old Samsung S10+ had this feature. It's called Samsung DeX and it is not some handicapped environment like iPad OS either, you can actually get real work done, especially if you're a software engineer.

https://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/app/samsung-dex

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#256

Post by direwolf20 »

beAbU wrote: post #67
pjmlp wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet they failed to get game devs to natively target SteamOS. As long as they depend on Proton, they haven't fully solved their problem.

What's the purpose of a native build if the windows build runs just as good, or even better? They ensured that the devs need not worry about another build target that requires extensive QA. Maybe in the distant future we will get ubiquitous native builds, but honestly and again, who cares? Proton and Wine means there is a single target now, instead of the fragmented mess that is Desktop Linux today.

Valve also uses a Linux runtime for Linux native games. I think it's based on Ubuntu 2012.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#257

Post by TheRoque »

pjmlp wrote: post #40
palata wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As long as they depend on Proton, they haven't fully solved their problem. Maybe not, but they fully solved my problem with games, which was that I could not play on Linux. I started playing again just because of the SteamDeck, I think it's a pretty big achievement :-).

Hardly any different than running MAME.

It's actually really different. WINE literally stands for: Wine Is Not an Emulator (yes, the acronym is contained within the acronym itself)

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#258

Post by jabwd »

joe_mamba wrote: post #93
gf000 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A 2-3 generation old pixel on the second hand marker is not expensive at all though. And you easily add a mouse/keyboard just fine to it.

>A 2-3 generation old pixel on the second hand marker is not expensive at all though. Sure but at around 300 bucks is still way over 50 bucks. And even if you get a used Pixel 8, having separate phone and computer adds a priceless layer of redundancy and flexibility. If someone steals my phone, I don't want to also loose my work PC with it.

"work pc" -- random 50 dollar fire hazard running Linux. Anyway, those Android phones though they are obviously going to be the unreliable part in this story.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#259

Post by heavyset_go »

jeroenhd wrote: post #210
joe_mamba wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This looks like it will help a lot of students and families who are on a budget. If you can just plug your phone into a screen you do not need to buy a separate laptop anymore. Except that android phones with display output are mostly flagships with flagship prices. But 50 Euros on the used market got me a retired corporate HP/Dell laptop with 1080p screen, intel 8th gen i5 quad core, 8GB RAM and 256GB NVME on which…

Resell the 8GB of RAM and buy an even better phone then? That's 150 euros of value right there. Then use the money on a reputable second hand store to buy a used S20 5G 128GB for 150 euros, or a S22 128GB for 145, maybe an S21 Ultra 5G 256GB for 139, and you've got yourself a valiant workstation already (Samsung DeX works great out of the box, no need to wait for Google here). I can also find an S20+ 5G 128GB for 75…

Why buy a used phone that will stop receiving updates, can't be fixed or upgraded and can't run whatever you want on it when you can use a real computer instead?

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#260

Post by jabwd »

fendy3002 wrote: post #247
hu3 wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I highly doubt Apple convergence is going to happen. A fully capable iPad would mean less sales of MacBook Air and so on. An iPhone with official docking Desktop UI also never going to happen. Same story.

and you can't install apps as easy on iPhone than on mac right? That's 2 different world that Apple need to cross, and it's unlikely.

App instalation isn't really even the problem. It is just the capabilities you have that you do not have access to. a modern iPad can easily run macOS as an 'app', if you will. The kernel is there, the userland is there, just not the checkbox from up high. Even Xcode works well in macOS VMs nowadays.
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