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

[Patrick Shirkey]

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...



--
Patrick Shirkey
Boost Hardware Ltd