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Termux and Android 10

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Re: Termux and Android 10

#261

Post by Skunkleton »

larrik wrote: post #43
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…

I agree with this mostly, except for:

> "copy and paste these config lines into this config"

Copy-pasting things you don't understand into configs on Linux is hugely dangerous. It just happens that Linux desktop users aren't high value targets, so you usually get lucky.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#262

Post by on_and_off »

agluszak wrote: post #162
geofft wrote: post #148

This title is misleading for a few reasons: - Android 10 is not killing anything. Targeting API level 29, the native API level of Android 10, prevents the mechanism Termux uses, but you can target a lower API level and run just fine on Android 10, and in fact Termux does run just fine on Android 10. - API level 29 blocks a specific mechanism that Termux happens to use to run arbitrary code. There are other ways to do…

Right now apps on Google Play are required to target at least API level 28. This will most probably be raised to level 29 in the near future, essentially blocking distribution of Termux, at least in its current form.

They had 2 years to react to that change.

I am the first one to decry the absurd power that apple and (to a lesser extent) google have on what you can run on your own device, but this isn't it.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#263

Post by kragen »

zozbot234 wrote: post #236
kragen wrote: post #223

I'm having a hard time already in Android 6. I used to be able to do things like use Termux to move videos I'd downloaded in NewPipe into subdirectories and delete them; apparently with Android 6 I can't do that any more. What alternatives to Android are people using? I'm already not using the Play Store, just F-Droid and a couple of third-party apks.

If you're not using Play, why not root your device? You could ultimately bypass all of these restrictions.

Well, I don't know how to tell a safe root from a malware root (or find one that will work for my device), and I'm ignorant enough about Android to wonder if rooting the device means I'm running everything as root and consequently have no protection at all from malware? I mean, it's embarrassing, but that's the truth.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#264

Post by j-james »

Sebb767 wrote: post #114
AsyncAwait wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These phones are primarily about user-freedom, privacy and my ability to do whatever I want with a device that I've purchased, without restrictions imposed by the OEM. Also, honest question; What do you actually 'use' the latest specs for? These Android/iOS phones are basically all about media consumption, something that has been sufficiently performant for years. You have great hardware, but no software to take real…

> Also, honest question; What do you actually 'use' the latest specs for? Browsing, chatting, navigating and some smaller task. Don't get me wrong, the hardware specs aren't _bad_ and 3G are okay now, but this phone costs as much as all three smartphones I've owned combined and I don't think this will be enough 5+ years in the future, which would by my expected lifespan of this device. Adding to that are the singular…

> 3G are okay now

Is it really?

AT&T and Verizon, two of the largest mobile data conglomerates in the US, have stated their intentions to shut down 3G service in favor of 5G by February 2021 and December 2020 respectively.

https://techblog.comsoc.org/2019/02/22/att-to-shut-down-3g-n...

https://stopthecap.com/2019/08/01/verizon-delays-shutdown-of...

Re: Termux and Android 10

#265

Post by michaelmrose »

hsitz wrote: post #248
michaelmrose wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chrome OS historically has been the most thoroughly mediocre desktop experience available on any device. Inferior to windows, traditional Linux, or Mac worthy of note only in that one could find one at Walmart for $200. Between launch in 2009 and 2018 the necessary escape hatch to run real Linux was a flaky tool called crouton. 9 years later a better but more complicated tool exists with caviates like > Can I run X p…

Well, I bought my first computer (TRS-80) in 1979, first laptop in 1990, and I've had lots of different computers. MS-DOS, nearly every version of Windows, Linux versions since 1995, never a Mac OS but I got an iPad last year. Right now I have one Windows laptop, one dual boot Windows/Linux laptop (mostly Linux), a Raspberry Pi running Raspbian Linux, the iPad, and the Pixelbook. I got the Pixelbook on sort of a lark…

Instant boot is best described as suspend to ram but that is a pretty screen/battery life for the price.

I'm not convinced the security is notably better.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#266

Post by vkaku »

I love Termux. They must introduce a mode where a user can whitelist certain applications for this, get the permission policy inside the application.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#267

Post by teruakohatu »

on_and_off wrote: post #262
agluszak wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right now apps on Google Play are required to target at least API level 28. This will most probably be raised to level 29 in the near future, essentially blocking distribution of Termux, at least in its current form.

They had 2 years to react to that change. I am the first one to decry the absurd power that apple and (to a lesser extent) google have on what you can run on your own device, but this isn't it.

This has been discussed for over a year at least, there is currently no solution (that the developers consider acceptable, proot is an option they don't). As each day passes we move closer to the app being banned from the Play Store (or at least updates being banned).

Re: Termux and Android 10

#268

Post by teruakohatu »

altfredd wrote: post #229

Impact of Android 10 on Termux usability is already old news. What worries me more is behaviour of Termux developers. They make dubious claims and effectively sabotage their own application (more on that below). The solution to Android 10 problems — a software wrapper called "proot" [1] — has already been found. That solution would allow to keep all of Termux functionality and preserve existing package managers (such…

I guess it needs to be forked.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#269

Post by est31 »

j-james wrote: post #264
Sebb767 wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also, honest question; What do you actually 'use' the latest specs for? Browsing, chatting, navigating and some smaller task. Don't get me wrong, the hardware specs aren't _bad_ and 3G are okay now, but this phone costs as much as all three smartphones I've owned combined and I don't think this will be enough 5+ years in the future, which would by my expected lifespan of this device. Adding to that are the singular…

> 3G are okay now Is it really? AT&T and Verizon, two of the largest mobile data conglomerates in the US, have stated their intentions to shut down 3G service in favor of 5G by February 2021 and December 2020 respectively. https://techblog.comsoc.org/2019/02/22/att-to-shut-down-3g-n... https://stopthecap.com/2019/08/01/verizon-delays-shutdown-of...

I think that quote refers to the 3 gigabytes of RAM of the Librem 5 that was mentioned higher up in the chain, not the 3G wireless technology:

> But you pay 750$ for a 3GB quad core phone

Both Librem 5 and the Pinephone support LTE, although no 5G.

You are entirely right that phones which don't support LTE will have major usability regressions very soon so when you buy an older model phone you should really watch out to buy LTE capable ones.

Re: Termux and Android 10

#270

Post by hsitz »

michaelmrose wrote: post #265
hsitz wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I bought my first computer (TRS-80) in 1979, first laptop in 1990, and I've had lots of different computers. MS-DOS, nearly every version of Windows, Linux versions since 1995, never a Mac OS but I got an iPad last year. Right now I have one Windows laptop, one dual boot Windows/Linux laptop (mostly Linux), a Raspberry Pi running Raspbian Linux, the iPad, and the Pixelbook. I got the Pixelbook on sort of a lark…

Instant boot is best described as suspend to ram but that is a pretty screen/battery life for the price. I'm not convinced the security is notably better.

The chromeos boot actually isn't quite instant, even if they call it that. But it is not at all suspend to ram; it's a full boot in the space of a few seconds. Of course, most of the time I just do a suspend, like an ordinary notebook. But the lighter-weight less resource-intensive chromeos is a benefit, snappier than Windows or OS X would be on the same hardware, that's for sure.

Ha, not surprised you don't believe security is better. Security is on the level of iOS or Android, everything is sandboxed. ( https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/3438631?hl=en ) And updates are as smooth and unobtrusive as they are on iOS or Android; don't get me started about problems with Windows updates.

Really, it's not bad. It's surprisingly really good. Of course, if it weren't for Crostini/Linux it would be too limited for many people to use as their main computer. But with Crostini, it's pretty great for the right users. Pixelbook hardware in particular has a quality feel, makes you feel good just to use it. And the software has a polished feel, too. It just works. Windows, in comparison, feels like a clunky mess; a complex, clunky, mess.

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