Re: [LAU] OT: android for the linux user ...was: legacy equipment for a user who does not "program"

From: Simon Wise <simonzwise@email-addr-hidden>
Date: Tue Mar 18 2014 - 03:48:10 EET

On 18/03/14 02:41, Patrick Shirkey wrote:
>
> On Tue, March 18, 2014 2:12 am, Rob wrote:
>> On 03/17/2014 10:44 AM, Simon Wise wrote:
>>> Any hints appreciated ... an app called juiceSSH has given me a command
>>> line locally, and ssh access to my other machines with a clean interface
>>> and good keyboard support.
>>
>> I use Connectbot, which is FOSS and offers port forwarding without an
>> in-app purchase, and VNC to control my machines remotely over ssh tunnels.
>> I haven't tried JuiceSSH, but as soon as I see in-app purchases I get
>> concerned about an app.
>>
>> I also have an SSH server installed. I used to use sshdroid, but at some
>> point they got overzealous about detecting ad blockers (any change to your
>> hosts file is treated as an ad blocker and the service will fail to start)
>> so I've switched to SSHelper, which is FOSS. However, my current phone
>> (Galaxy S4 on Sprint) seems to only do IPv6 on the cell network, if
>> there's
>> an option to disable that I haven't been able to find it, and I can't get
>> inbound connections to work with either. But for mounting stuff over sftp,
>> it works reasonably well on wifi.
>>
>> Haven't tried XSDL yet because VNC (x11vnc on the machine being
>> controlled)
>> is so much faster than forwarding X clients in my experience, but I also
>> haven't tried getting a debian chroot -- my old phone couldn't handle it,
>> I
>> only got my current phone a few months ago and haven't had time to root it
>> yet or put on a different ROM, and I thought all the debian chroot methods
>> required root.
>>
>>> Haven't yet added an admin account, first I am seeing what is possible
>>> without it. But the command line isn't much use, even man is in /sbin it
>>> seems.
>>
>> It is very frustrating that even ping requires root, and that devices we
>> paid for require security exploits to even get root. The excuses even
>> prominent Android bloggers give (can't damage your device if you don't
>> have
>> full control of it) are ridiculous, along the lines of advocating
>> welded-shut car hoods just in case the user gets it in his head to open it
>> up and put windshield washer fluid in the oil pan, though it wouldn't
>> surprise me to hear that argument soon in the age of mandatory GPS tracker
>> legislation.
>>
>> You can install bash without a full debian chroot, but it's still fairly
>> limited without the other GNU software, and of course, you're still
>> limited
>> to doing whatever the phone allows you to.
>>
>> My phone is actually more powerful than the laptop I bought a month after
>> I
>> got it, so I've thought about Ubuntu for Android or something similar,
>> something with a bit of effort put into making it usable without a
>> bluetooth keyboard and mouse (I do have a keyboard case for my phone, but
>> when I use VNC I always have to zoom in to operate menus and the like, and
>> right- or middle-clicking is tedious) but the next thing I do will be to
>> root it and possibly get a better ROM on there, if there is one without
>> too
>> much functionality missing.
>>
>> Android still strikes the best balance between functionality and freedom
>> for me, but it's nowhere near as open as even Ubuntu, and Google has been
>> making more and more pieces of it proprietary of late, letting the
>> original
>> FOSS components languish unchanged in the AOSP repositories.
>>
>
> What you'll find is that after a while the locked down filesystem which
> usually requires a proprietary windows only application to make updates or
> complex contortion to interact with in Linux is a real pita. Don't even
> think about using external hardware that requires a custom driver to be
> installed.
>
> When forced to work with Android devices I prefer to use adb to interact
> with them.
>
> ./adb shell
>
> You can also use adb wirelessly if your device supports the wireless flag
> which is pretty handy.
>
> setprop service.adb.tcp.port 5555& stop adbd& start adbd
>
> Depending on your distro you can get access to adb as a package or if that
> is not possible for you might have to install it via the android sdk.
>
> Then you can use your desktop to work at the system level while still
> retaining access to the touch interface for other things...

ok, adb was next on the list to try ... I'm treating the android somewhat as a
remote extension of my desktop, and I'm quite happy doing any setup or
installations via the desktop, I'll want to keep the whole samsung/android set
of drives and interface, that seems to be done quite nicely, but also want to
explore the development side for my own potential uses, so adb is a must.

Patrick .. you're in Sydney I think? I've just moved back here after doing a
degree in Perth ... I'm based in Ultimo, want to catch up sometime?

Simon
_______________________________________________
Linux-audio-user mailing list
Linux-audio-user@email-addr-hidden
http://lists.linuxaudio.org/listinfo/linux-audio-user
Received on Tue Mar 18 04:15:03 2014

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Tue Mar 18 2014 - 04:15:03 EET