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Android’s desktop interface leaks

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Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#261

Post by modeless »

jeroenhd wrote: post #183
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…

Auto-hide the task bar at the bottom, and you've basically got the Gnome UI. Works just fine. It's the permanent screen reservation of the double task bar that really eats up the usable desk space. Samsung's task bar (when you enable the DeX integration on a tablet) also supports this and it makes for a fine user experience. Edit: I've enabled "force desktop mode" on my Pixel 9 Pro and hooked it up to my laptop dock.…

Hiding the bottom bar doesn't solve the problem because it still takes the corners away. You can't put UI there because the bottom bar will come up and cover it when you mouse into the corner. The OS is taking all four corners for itself. Greedy! Apps should have that space. Apps are what we are here to use and the OS is getting in the way.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#262

Post by heavyset_go »

hu3 wrote: post #220
evanjrowley wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a trend with Apple as well. It can be seen in iOS/macOS 26 Tahoe. There's lots of untapped potential in those iPads with M-series CPUs. We've also had rumors of a "MacBook Air Lite" sporting a cellphone A-series CPU. The convergence is happening. I would love to be able to do more with my Google Pixel phone. Right now, the MacBook is my primary workstation, but the possibility of an even more "mobile" productivi…

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.

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple cannibalized Mac for that forced App Store and services revenue.

Google is about to dip into that market, where desktop users are forced to use the Play Store to install any app. Apple would be foolish to leave that money on the table.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#263

Post by mh2266 »

tty456 wrote: post #200
AuthAuth wrote: post #114

The visual design is just so bad. Its so ugly and souless. I actually feel bad for the UI designer that had to put their name behind that.

What would you want to see different from this? is there an OS that actually looks good?

Mac OS X Snow Leopard, GOAT

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#264

Post by heavyset_go »

palata wrote: post #229
pluralmonad wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think one of the points is that all this attestation stuff does not protect against the majority of the ways users are compromised. Its just remote control with real security benefits, just those benefits largely accrue to companies and at the expense of the user.

If my system is signed and verified at every boot, doesn't that guarantee that my system hasn't been tampered with? Meaning that no malware has found a way to get root access and modify it. I find this valuable.

If you can't use your own keys and verify the process yourself, then no, that is not a guarantee.

Malware developers just have their software signed by the gatekeepers your device is programmed to inherently trust, because the gatekeepers don't give a shit.

The App Store and Play Store are the largest vectors of malware out there, and every year they are responsible for letting their users get scammed to the tune of billions of dollars.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#265

Post by 2III7 »

thebruce87m wrote: post #221
nosrepa wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm ignorant on this topic, can you not just plug a USB dock with HDMI out in any android phone and get a display out? I do it all the time on the previous three pixel phones I've had, but I didn't know that this was limited to those?

USB-C is only a connector/socket - a device having a USB-C socket does not guarantee much beyond being able to plug a USB-C connector into it. Some USB-C devices only use the port for charging for example. Others might only support USB 2.0. Getting a display out from something with USB-C socket needs the device to support something called DP Alt Mode. Note that cables matter too - you can have a DP alt mode enabled m…

It is understandable that every cable doesn't have to and shouldn't support every feature. USB cables would be insaney overpriced in that case. For simple charging you don't need a high speed 40gbps cable that can connect an external GPU.

To mitigate the confusion, all simple charging cables should be universally labeled as such and all high speed cables should also have some markings that indicate the maximum speed of the cable or something similar.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#266

Post by literallywho »

direwolf20 wrote: post #256
beAbU wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I think only the folder is still named Ubuntu12 or something (like Dota 2's folder is still called Dota 2 Beta), libraries in it surely are more recent than that. And even then, native Linux ports of games don't run that well anyway. Especially older ones, like Tomb Raider 2013, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, Alien: Isolaton, those all will run much better over Wine. I kind of expect newer ports to fall apart as well in the future. I was playing Hollow Knight the other day (native port) and it drops FPS quite often on my laptop (hybrid amd+nvidia), while through Wine those drops don't exist almost at all.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#267

Post by wackget »

tty456 wrote: post #200
AuthAuth wrote: post #114

The visual design is just so bad. Its so ugly and souless. I actually feel bad for the UI designer that had to put their name behind that.

What would you want to see different from this? is there an OS that actually looks good?

For desktop use? Windows XP. It's got the right balance of aesthetics and practicality. Windows ME also works, but is more utilitarian. Anything after 7 is just absolute garbage.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#268

Post by jml7c5 »

LoganDark wrote: post #181
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…

> Except that android phones with display output are mostly flagships with flagship prices. My Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE was like $80 in 2015 and had a mini HDMI. I expect nowadays most phones can output display over USB-C.

Surprisingly, no. It's a "premium" feature these days.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#269

Post by heavyset_go »

charcircuit wrote: post #119
dizhn wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But no root.

A root account violates principle of least priviledge. With proper design a root account should not be needed.

"Root" in this case can be normal users without privileges who are granted root-like capabilities granularly, not necessarily a true root account.

Re: Android’s desktop interface leaks

#270

Post by Borealid »

palata wrote: post #130
ece wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vastly superior security doesn't make you give up freedoms for security. But do tell me how successful the war against scams has been for the average user.

I am not sure what you are trying to say. Convincing a user to give their password will always be an issue, that's fundamental. But because phishing exists does not mean that security does not matter. Without security, there is no need to phish, because the system does not protect anything. Once you have a good security, then the best attack is phishing because it's easier to trick the human than the system. This mea…

You can't provide a passkey to a malicious site without writing your own web browser. And the "password" is a 128-bit integer.

It completely solves the phishing-password-stealing problem.

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