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Not for heavy use, but for quick notes and calendar checking.
I ssh into my home server and drive my spacemacs instance from there.
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What exactly would you use it for? Not trying to be negative, I'm just not sure what would be worth typing out on a phone keyboard on the go, instead of waiting until I have access to an actual keyboard. I guess if you have a keyboard for your phone that's also different. (so for android tablets etc this is great)
I use it as a replacement for Android apps in several cases. - Need to jot a note: vim is far better than most native apps - Need to access a remote system: use ssh or mosh - Need a calculator: Python is there, with a lot of useful libraries It even emulates a mouse, so elinks is quite usable on text heavy websites. For some mobile hostile websites it is more usable since the text is large enough to be legible. A sim…
I can also say that it's not entirely there, and has a number of significant limitations as compared to a full-featured Linux desktop or laptop.
My equipment: A Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9" tablet, with a Logitech "Type-S" self-supporting folio case/keyboard combination. I have major reservations against both pieces of hardware and can recommend neither on the basis of capabilities, vendor support, and artificially-imposed limitations.
That said, the form factor, display, and battery performance are exemplary. The tablet runs virtually all day on a charge, the keyboard for months, under heavy use. I've long sought a highly-flexible, lightweight, portalbe, long-battery-life system, and in terms of the fundamental physical package, this is almost completely there.
The keyboard has had physically-damaged keys since the beginning, Logitech first refused, then temporised, and finally claimed it did not have a suitable replacement product. (Why a keyboard/case should be dependent at the model-number level with specific hardware kit is entirely beyond me, and shows a desperate need for industry standardisation.)
Samsung's Tab A has proved resistant to rooting or re-ROMing, including the ability to make a back-up of the system prior to such activities so as not to lose critical data in ways that can only be described as deliberately user-hostile. I was not aware of this at the time I purchased the device, under exigent circumstances, and would not do so again.
Termux allows breaking out of many of the limitations of the Android "ecosystem" (I prefer to think of it as a toxic waste dump, but that's another story.) Be aware that Termux itself has a number of components, including base Termux, the Termux API Android App, the Termux package repository (based on app), and multiple third-party repos (e.g., pip for python). Collectively these provide a basic terminal environment, nearly 800 packages (a small count by Linux standards, but a surprisingly useful selection), and many more utilities through third-party utilities.
Not provided are a system root, full access to external storage media (I have a 128 GB microSD card, but can only make very limited use of it thanks to Android stupidity), or full access to the Android side of the house, though some interactions, including application intentions and clipboard interaction, are supported and are tremendously useful.
Another major limitation of Termux appears to be its terminal implementation itself. This is good so long as you're going forward, but is painfully slow in any back-navigation actions -- e.g., scrolling backwards in less and other pagers. Delays can be of many seconds. I've learned to quit out of files and re-open them from the start rather than going backwards. Experimenting from other Android console apps suggests this is a fault within Termux itself.
I've also had many lag and freeze issues using Termux for remote SSH access -- it's OK for quick or noninteractive (e.g., remote command-execution) interactions, but not for prolonged SSH sessions. This is tremendously disappointing as Termux, unlike other SSH tools I've used, doesn't map the / key to "navigate out of the application". Critical when editing files in vim, and making apps such as SSHBot entirely useless.
I've found the community and developers helpful (excepting the two major issues above, I've seen multiple small issues fixed rapidly), and again, compared to the sheer uselessness of stock Android as a Real Computing Platform, this is a transcendental leap.
But it's Still Not Full Linux, and if that's what you're hoping for, you'll be disappointed.
On that point: Samsung shocked the motherlovin' stuffin' out of me last week in announcing (and reported here on HN) that they would be supporting full Linux distro installation on future Android devices. That would be a welcome development.
Stuff that absolutely rocks under Termux
Bash for file management. Every goddamned Android file manager in existance sucks balls.
mps-youtube. Install via pip. Provides console-mode, backgroundable, youtube video access. mps and mvs are related applications which can play other remote or local audio and video files (generally just the soundtrack). Media can be backgrounded, lists can be compiled and saved, content can be downloaded, and much, much, much more.
The Termux-API App. This provides access to the clipboard, application intents, and various Android capabilities. You need to install the "termux-api" package as well under apt. The ability to find specific files (say, from my 6k+ PDF library) and launch them to a PDF reader is just ever-so-slightly useful. (The degree of fail of Android Apps in this space is ... staggering.)
APT. God I've missed this.
vim, emacs, python, perl, ruby, ... An amazingly complete package set.
SSH. Limitations noted, it's vastly superior to App-based SSH clients.
I tried this out a little while ago and I was really impressed. It's worth mentioning that this isn't just a Debian chroot/container, the software is actually compiled to run natively on the Android NDK. It seems like they work around any limitations of Bionic compared to glibc by patching NDK headers and using support libraries. Check out their "ports tree" to see what packages are available: https://github.com/term…
What exactly would you use it for? Not trying to be negative, I'm just not sure what would be worth typing out on a phone keyboard on the go, instead of waiting until I have access to an actual keyboard. I guess if you have a keyboard for your phone that's also different. (so for android tablets etc this is great)
TL;DR: Your Android device really is a fully-capable computer, if the goddamned vendors will just get out of your goddamned way.
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Chromebook I'm still waiting for Amazon to restock after I saw this post go up: https://blog.lessonslearned.org/building-a-more-secure-devel...
Great link. It's got Apache! Always wanted to run a web server on my phone.
I wouldn't run most (any?) of them on a connection exposed to the real world, but at least in theory if you want to run an AAMP stack I believe you could, though on a quick glance you might actually have to be content with Nginx. You can also provide your own little bit of Gopherspace if you so desire.
Been using this for quite a while now, awesome app. Solved all my needs for a decent SSH terminal, and even for running a pocket version of Emacs.
I tried this Emacs for org-mode. It was not that good experience. Very recently I found orgzly[0]. It might be interesting for you too. [0] https://github.com/orgzly/orgzly-android
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I use it as a replacement for Android apps in several cases. - Need to jot a note: vim is far better than most native apps - Need to access a remote system: use ssh or mosh - Need a calculator: Python is there, with a lot of useful libraries It even emulates a mouse, so elinks is quite usable on text heavy websites. For some mobile hostile websites it is more usable since the text is large enough to be legible. A sim…
Do you do vim with Gboard/SwiftKey or do you have a hardware keyboard?
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Just a warning, unless you get a "free" Chromebook from a hacker friend you're looking at probably $100 for a new one. In the end you're way better off with a beater $50 eBay thinkpad like my favorite x201. Which supports LibreBoot, is a repairable real computer. Thick is the new thin.
$50? Nice find. I have come in possession of a t42 with a cracked display. I've set it up so I can ssh into it but it seems not worth the hassle because 1GB RAM and core2duo (afaik) processor. What is your setup and use case if you don't mind sharing.
If not cheaper, they're sometimes lacking AC adapter and/or drive caddy but that's maybe another $20.
X201 (not the tablet x201s) is i5/i7 12", enough pep for my needs, also you can get DisplayPort and modular UltraBay for optical with the optional dock thing.
The "dock" actually latches on and can even charge a standby battery with the most awkward external connector ever, if you desire extra thickness in your laptop, and frankly who doesn't.
If I open this on my phone, run vi , and type some text - how do I input so I can say :wq ?
In fact, there's an issue about this: https://github.com/termux/termux-app/issues/184