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Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

charlieharrington.com

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Re: Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

#61

Post by 3np »

afandian wrote: post #29
3np wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is it that makes your Gemini unused, you think?

I did write a blog post or two on it on the train using termux and nano. That was cool. And the occasional SSH session. But as a phone running Android it's not quite there. Features like the LED controller app are half-baked vanity apps, and I'd rather they'd spent the time getting the lower level stuff right. Low quality phone call audio, random glitches, and software updates were mostly forgotten about. If I did wa…

Do you know how viable (if even possible) it is to run Linux on it? There are some notes for Kali[0] and Debian[[1]. I've come across comments that it's far from ideal due to Halium but I'm yet to understand what that means in practice.

[0] https://www.kali.org/blog/kali-linux-for-the-gemini-pda/ [1] https://support.planetcom.co.uk/index.php?title=Debian_Notes

Re: Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

#62

Post by kilroy123 »

dTal wrote: post #41

I got a GPD Micro PC a couple months ago and I'm in love. It's a magical size - exactly small enough to slip into a back pocket like a chunky phone, and exactly large enough that it's actually practical to use desktop software on it. It's ergonomically first-rate - I've done CAD work on it. And it's durable too - I've dropped it several times already and it's barely even scratched. It's also unlocked a class of activ…

What model do you have?

It seems pretty under powered to me. What exactly do you do on it?

Re: Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

#63

Post by ubermonkey »

For a really long time, I never left town without my laptop, even if it was a pleasure trip. I have lots of stuff there I might want on a personal level, plus for the last 14 years I've been in a broad role in a small software company that kind of requires it. (I mean, it doesn't, and I'm not griping, but it's easier for everyone else if I limit the amount of time I'm truly unreachable, so I pick and choose.)

The incredible growth in on-device capabilities from my iPad + a keyboard went a long way towards making that unnecessary; adding a remote desktop client (for access to the back-end Windows server things I might want) closes the loop.

Unless I'm dead sure I'll NEED a full computer on a trip, I don't take one now. The default has become "nope." Even -- especially! -- as a photo management platform, because my iPad has ample storage and I'm a Creative Cloud user. I used to have to carry the laptop to dump and process photos during the trip (to avoid dealing with 2,000 all at once when we got home). Now I can go day by day, sync to Adobe, cull and do some processing, and just take the final pass once I'm home.

That's great.

(Ironically, this same era has seen me become increasingly deep into Orgmode, which is annoying, because as great as it is on a desktop there's still no truly great way to work with it from mobile short of setting up sync to a Linux box and using mosh/ssh.)

Re: Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

#64

Post by danohuiginn »

For me, a folding bluetooth keyboard was what made the difference. It really tilts my default time-to-fill behavior from consuming towards producing. I'd also recommend having a ring on the back of your phone, so you can prop it at a good viewing angle.

I've been writing with obsidian, coding via ssh. Jupyter notebooks and other browser-based environments are also good, though much smoother with a tablet-sized screen.

Re: Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

#65

Post by selfhoster11 »

Multicomp wrote: post #47

I've been looking around at old sharp zaurus organizers and psion mx5 devices for the use case of offline portable word processor that can save text files to eventually go to PC via CF / SD card. for this years nanowrimo. Most psions are 300 bucks, i can't justify that though i love the idea. And the 15 buck zaurus organizers either only have a 30 character 'memo' function or are so old they only run DOS and have to…

If a "wireless keyboard" form factor suits you, look into Alphasmart devices.

Re: Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

#66

Post by throwaway413 »

mathewsanders wrote: post #59
joeman1000 wrote: post #54

Similar to what I’ve been doing lately. Bought an M1 iPad (different story…) and have been using MOSH and Blink Shell to access my computer at home running emacs. Has been a blast doing journaling, logging my time in org-mode, writing notes in org-roam for uni subjects. Has been a game-changer for me. I know it’s just a ‘dumb terminal’ but the experience is so seamless it’s incredible. MOSH makes sure the connection…

What is the UX for switching between apps or moving the screen like? Can you do this with keyboard shortcuts or do you find yourself switching between keyboard and touch screen for some interactions? I find this idea of using a keyboard super appealing but don’t like the idea of switching between keyboard and screen all the time. At least a virtual keyboard is on the screen!

Alt+tab works fine on iOS, and I’m pretty sure you can trigger the app switcher view with a shortcut, can’t remember.

Re: Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

#67

Post by selfhoster11 »

paraknight wrote: post #5

I've been saying this for ages — the future setup is going to be phones as a singular device. When you get home, you'll dock it to be able to use your peripherals or extra monitors. Phones will become even more powerful, but even then anything heavy can be done in the cloud or at the network edge (with minimal latency thanks to 5g, see cloud gaming). OSs will become more convergent (Windows tried it, Huawei's doing i…

Hell no. Real techie software is basically a third-class citizen on smartphones at this point, with the promise of being locked out even more. The cloud is not a solution to everyone's problems, thanks to what it can or cannot do (technical problems), and thanks to the fact that some just don't trust it or don't want a recurring subscription (socioeconomic factors). If you ever want to upgrade the hardware, you'll also need somewhere to install it, and dongles won't suffice.

Some people may be happy with this future, much like people who create and process lightweight office documents on iPads. But there will always be demand for singular PCs or laptops.

Re: Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

#68

Post by afandian »

tluyben2 wrote: post #37
afandian wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Before buying anything from Planet, see how well they have done at maintaining older devices. Latest release for Gemini PDA is Android 8.1, three years ago.

Is it not possible to put a newer Android on it yourself? Because you could run Linux on it as well?

I'm sure all things are possible. I just felt like it was indicitive of a feeling like they abandoned the device soon after launch to work on the next shiny thing.

Re: Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

#69

Post by afandian »

3np wrote: post #61
afandian wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did write a blog post or two on it on the train using termux and nano. That was cool. And the occasional SSH session. But as a phone running Android it's not quite there. Features like the LED controller app are half-baked vanity apps, and I'd rather they'd spent the time getting the lower level stuff right. Low quality phone call audio, random glitches, and software updates were mostly forgotten about. If I did wa…

Do you know how viable (if even possible) it is to run Linux on it? There are some notes for Kali[0] and Debian[[1]. I've come across comments that it's far from ideal due to Halium but I'm yet to understand what that means in practice. [0] https://www.kali.org/blog/kali-linux-for-the-gemini-pda/ [1] https://support.planetcom.co.uk/index.php?title=Debian_Notes

There are certainly options. At the time (due to other factors like hardware) I wasn't inclined to try it myself.

Re: Smart Phone, Dumb Terminal

#70

Post by swiley »

andrepd wrote: post #31
axiolite wrote: post #19

It was around 2000, after buying a Cassiopeia E-100 that I realized a keyboard makes any computer massively more usable. With that I bought a Psion 5MX, used it great success, and never considered a device without a physical keyboard again. Switched off to Nokia Communicators, then several Android Sliders. All worked great. I was always the guy in the conference room who could login to servers and look-up info, despi…

It's a shame and a contradiction how the smartphone market has ballooned for the past few years yet choice is smaller and smaller. How can it be that there are 100s of smartphone models out every year yet every single one has the same form factor? You cannot even get a phone smaller than the phablets of 6 or 7 years ago, let alone a phone with physical keys...

NDAs, closed drivers, and other anti-competition tricks to keep innovation out.
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