this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2025
478 points (96.7% liked)

Linux

48900 readers
963 users here now

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

Rules

Related Communities

Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Full-size usb, Ethernet and keyboard mean you can use it as a Linux computer, install arbitrary debian packages, run shell scripts, python scripts, and you don't need any dongles. This is the differential factor. You can't do the same on a smartphone, and it's not supposed to be a smartphone. Why would you need a separate sim card when you can simply tether Internet from your phone?

I get that this device isn't for you, but there are people who don't want to write and maintain apps through apps stores and simply want to copy simple scripts into a small device they can have with them. It's a niche market and good for them for trying to fill that niche.

I wonder what they use for charging port if not usb c...

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

You can do all that with USB C and a touch keyboard. There is no good reason under the sun to make a device that is this dated in concept.

Whatever the market is they're trying to fill, it'll be so extremely niche that this product is already a failure. It's not the first time some kind of ultra niche product from kickstarter failed before launch because except for a small handful even cared.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (2 children)

How do you install utilities like kubectl and azure CLI on Android?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

I can do that and more on my Pinephone running Kali Nethunter. While it's mostly a gimmick with awfull battery life, I've already used it a few times mostly in regards to wifi pentesting for my cyber-sec job, i.e when going to lunch onsite and you notice a new wifi AP you didn't see when inside the office you're working on.

And since it has an USB-C, I can simply plug in a dock with two USB-As, Ethernet, PD and HDMI, to turn it into a full-fledged Kali desktop.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 13 hours ago

Pinephone looks great and the keyboard case seems very ergonomic. Fo you use it as your daily driver?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 20 hours ago

If you get a phone and install PostmarketOS on it, you could also get pretty far on it, couldn't you?