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-   -   Possible to run Slackware on a tablet? (https://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/slackware-14/possible-to-run-slackware-on-a-tablet-4175454453/)

diwljina 03-26-2013 11:01 AM

Well, tablet/mobile's biggest advantage is it's weakest point at the same time. They certainly can't be used as regular computers due to their size, but some applications can be used. I won't be running mutt on mobile, but there are other things I like in linux that is not present in Android. Freedom most of all. When I bought my first Android phone, I had an impression that I'm running windows. I installed flash light app from Google Play and it asked me for some crazy privileges. I got lot of adds on top of that. I had no control over my own device. So I moved to F-Droid, but still, not nearly enough apps there.

With Slackware/some other linux distro on any device we are using (mobile/tablet) we'll have everything we love in linux. I don't use KDE on desktop, but I'd love to use KDE plasma active on tablet. It would feel right. Slackware on desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile... You're always home.

Woodsman 03-26-2013 12:47 PM

I want one thing from a tablet: freedom from being tracked and data-mined. None of the android based systems provide that. A free/libre system offers that hope.

I have a friend who now seldom uses his desktop computer. Almost exclusively now he uses his iPad tablet. He doesn't care about walled gardens and data mining but the simple fact he he uses the tablet for his computer needs is an interesting observation. He's not into free/libre software but I suspect anybody who is wants a tablet that doesn't phone home.

My main desires for a tablet are basic web surfing with a browser that works the way I want and not the way data miners want, an ebook reader that isn't trying to render my collection unusable with DRM, and a way to make my videos portable when I visit family and friends.

slkrover 03-26-2013 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elesmod (Post 4917710)
The name is "Canonical" and it's not something new in Ubuntu, it's tha name of the company that is producing Ubuntu (and always has been). The thing you meant is probably "Unity", which is the desktop environment in Ubuntu :)

Yes. Sorry it is "Unity" that I don't like. I even retried it on my PC for steam on Linux. Hated it.

larrybpsu 03-26-2013 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottavio (Post 4919046)
On a related thread that I started I got the impression that the Slackware crowd doesn't consider a tablet/mobile a real computer. Pity. And I think that explains why Slackware won't be ported to a tablet any soon.

I, too, just purchased a Nexus 7 last month. It's the first tablet I've ever used. I tinker with my Nexus 7, but it has that feeling of the original MacOS (not OSX). It's cute, but it could be a real tool, too.

I consider it a real computer, it's just Android devices don't follow a standard as the PC's do. The Raspberry Pi seems to follow some of the PC standards, so it's easier to port to.

If we could only get Peter Norton out of retirement and have him create "Peter Norton's Inside the (insert Android device)" :(

Another really big issue to me are the mysteries of the file system and boot process. There's no documented BIOS, if one even exists. I've rooted it, but it's still running stock. Folks say changing kernels and/or ROMS will cause all the installed apps to be wiped..and I hate rebuilding systems from scratch. I don't have that much disposable income to potentially brick a $250 gadget either.

Maybe someone should make a tablet device based on the RaspberryPi hardware?

Unless something changes with the Android platform, I don't see myself purchasing another Android device, ever.

ottavio 03-27-2013 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Woodsman (Post 4919339)
I want one thing from a tablet: freedom from being tracked and data-mined. None of the android based systems provide that.

Disable background data and GPS tracking and you're done.

enine 03-27-2013 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diwljina (Post 4919260)
Well, tablet/mobile's biggest advantage is it's weakest point at the same time. They certainly can't be used as regular computers due to their size, but some applications can be used.

This I don't agree with. Just because they are small doesn't mean they are not useable. I'm using my 9" 1024x600 netbook now and other than the occasional dialog box which is >600 height I don't have any issues. Most tablets have similar resolutions.

I've been tempted to take the keyboard and upper case off of my 12" Dell C400 and flip the display to make it a tablet.

Each iteration of Android seems to get a little more iphone like becoming a little less intuitive and limited because those stupid iphones sell the management over other systems only want it to be iphone like leaving those of us that want more to keep wanting.

michaelslack 03-27-2013 09:57 PM

Where I would like to see things going is somewhere in the direction of ubuntu-for-android-linux-desktop-on-a-smartphone, whereby we have just one device which works as a phone/tablet but then when put into a dock (with keyboard, monitor, mouse connected) also has a desktop system running on it. I'm not mad on the idea of the phone/tablet part being android but I guess it would be better than nothing. In this type of setup why wouldn't you have slackware running as the desktop system? In fact in my dreams I just see the telephony/tablet part being one of the desktop applications running on the small touchscreen "display".

Michael

diwljina 03-28-2013 05:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enine (Post 4919867)
This I don't agree with. Just because they are small doesn't mean they are not useable. I'm using my 9" 1024x600 netbook now and other than the occasional dialog box which is >600 height I don't have any issues. Most tablets have similar resolutions.

Maybe you misunderstood me. I'm also using my 10" netbook and although it is not as comfortable as 24" monitor and full size keyboard, it is quite usable for anything I do. But phones and tablets lacks keyboard. On my desktop/laptop/netbook I use keyboard almost exclusively (rarely reaches for mouse), but working on devices without keyboard with only touch screen can't be the same, particularly because already small screen surface is filled with virtual keyboard.

Consider this: one of your servers goes offline and you are out with only your 4" phone/8" tablet at your side. Try to solve the problem with it. Painful no matter what OS it is running.

ottavio 03-28-2013 06:15 AM

And by the way you can use voice recognition instead of typing. It's not very good but neither is my typing.

slkrover 03-30-2013 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diwljina (Post 4920425)
Maybe you misunderstood me. I'm also using my 10" netbook and although it is not as comfortable as 24" monitor and full size keyboard, it is quite usable for anything I do. But phones and tablets lacks keyboard. On my desktop/laptop/netbook I use keyboard almost exclusively (rarely reaches for mouse), but working on devices without keyboard with only touch screen can't be the same, particularly because already small screen surface is filled with virtual keyboard.

Consider this: one of your servers goes offline and you are out with only your 4" phone/8" tablet at your side. Try to solve the problem with it. Painful no matter what OS it is running.

Bluetooth keyboards work very good and the nexus 7 can take a wire mouse in its usb slot.

slkrover 03-30-2013 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by larrybpsu (Post 4919558)
I, too, just purchased a Nexus 7 last month. It's the first tablet I've ever used. I tinker with my Nexus 7, but it has that feeling of the original MacOS (not OSX). It's cute, but it could be a real tool, too.

I consider it a real computer, it's just Android devices don't follow a standard as the PC's do. The Raspberry Pi seems to follow some of the PC standards, so it's easier to port to.

If we could only get Peter Norton out of retirement and have him create "Peter Norton's Inside the (insert Android device)" :(

Another really big issue to me are the mysteries of the file system and boot process. There's no documented BIOS, if one even exists. I've rooted it, but it's still running stock. Folks say changing kernels and/or ROMS will cause all the installed apps to be wiped..and I hate rebuilding systems from scratch. I don't have that much disposable income to potentially brick a $250 gadget either.

Maybe someone should make a tablet device based on the RaspberryPi hardware?

Unless something changes with the Android platform, I don't see myself purchasing another Android device, ever.

When installing custom roms you can wipe everything or just factory reset(erase user data/system). If you have set your nexus to be backed up and restored by google and install a custom rom with factory reset(erase user data/system only) it does not erase media or dlc and it re installs all your apps and settings for you and will even put your wallpaper back. The only thing you have to do is redo your desktop tiles. A factory reset back to full functionality with most roms and 100 apps takes 6-8 minutes and most of that time is it re downloading. Your time is less than a minute.

Go to xda and read the sections on installing different roms. The custom kernels let you over clock, change how many cores are active and even read/write priorities too.

larrybpsu 04-02-2013 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slkrover (Post 4921634)
Go to xda and read the sections on installing different roms. The custom kernels let you over clock, change how many cores are active and even read/write priorities too.

I spend about an hour a day on xda, and my opinion of the place is: YUCK!!

The forum just isn't in a 'readable' format for me. Threads aren't properly maintained, and there's too, too, too much OT content. The S/N ratio is very bad.

I've even looked at the source.android.com stuff. That doesn't really help either. I know PC's and x86 architecture, and it's very difficult to comprehend another Tech system (the Android world) without a similar reference. (Can't teach an old dog new tricks?)

About the ROMS's and kernels.... I see SO many of both that I would probably end up building my own, since I don't see the need for all the fragmentation. One kernel does this, and another does that. It's like distro-hopping. Well....just highlight the 'config' changes or patches to make that happen. Maybe something like: androidbuilds.org. But that's probably another 2-5 years away.

I've been VERY spoiled by my LONG history with Slackware. If I want to tweak it, I can. On an Android box....what CPU? What Video? What other specific hardware? Then add on the binary blobs. I know that they are available for the Nexus 7. Then build on a PC then test it on the Android device and hope you don't brick it. Can Android code be developed on Android? Core Android code, not just 'Apps.' My initial research says: NO. That is what ultimately makes Android a poor platform for me.

And the App Store(s).... I remember an old Linux App Store. Can you say: Lindows? Still around? No. I actually tried Linspire, but it folded. Imagine that. Xandros bought them out...then they folded. Destiny? Hope so! ;)

And a final reminder. An Android device is first and foremost, an 'appliance.' Therefore it will fail as a 'computer' in most folks eyes. It has failed me. The RaspberryPi is an inexpensive computer...and sold that way. My next purchase will be a Pi!

FYI: I do NOT own a smartphone, either. Should I wonder why? No. I'd love to pipe CallerID info on the screen of my MythTV cluster (running on Slackware PC's)...but I don't even have a landline anymore! :)

enine 04-02-2013 07:46 PM

Whats the difference between an raspberry pi and an android device other than the addition of the display? The only reason android devices are appliances and not computers is because thats how they are making them. They are perfectly capable of being a computer.

larrybpsu 04-02-2013 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by enine (Post 4923875)
Whats the difference between an raspberry pi and an android device other than the addition of the display? The only reason android devices are appliances and not computers is because thats how they are making them. They are perfectly capable of being a computer.

The Pi is a single platform. Android has HOW Many 'platforms?' A 'standard' helps acceptance, uptake, and development.

A question to ask here is: WHY can't all Android platforms run Jelly Bean? They're too fragmented (hardware, device, driver) to keep up to date. Manufacturers also want folks to buy NEW devices, too. It's kinda like the Microsoft game on the 'hardware' side. "Buy new hardware to get new features." It's a sad situation. I consider hardware obsolete when it is BROKEN, not OLD. My old Dual PentiumPro runs two CPU's at 200 MHz, but I still run it every winter season to contribute to WorldCommunityGrid.org. It may not be fast, but it helps science, and keeps my war room above freezing. It runs Slackware 14.0, too!!

Android devices ARE computers, just not "General Purpose" systems, as PC's and such are. Again, they're an appliance. Your DSL/Cable modem is a computer, too, but it was developed to do a special function, ONLY, therefore known as an appliance. Folks that have an itch will build code for it, and increase the appliance's function...but it's still an appliance, not a General Purpose computer.

Ahau 04-03-2013 09:08 PM

I am dual booting android and linux (Porteus-ARM, which I based on slackwarearm) on my Tegra2 tablet. The keyboard (or lack thereof) is a limiting factor for general "desktop" use, but it does what I want it to do and I have a wireless keyboard/mouse combo that work out of the box on it when I'm at home. I've not found a decent desktop-agnostic virtual keyboard, so at present I'm running e17 which has a touchscreen setup with a built-in keyboard and tiling. The fact that each board requires it's own kernel is a big pain as well, but it certainly is possible to run Slackware on a tablet.


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