Full Unix to replace phone? - Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I moved on to another phone a while ago. But I have always loved my Atrix... Has anyone ever thought about seeing what kind of linux unit our phones could be? I mean, minimal phone code & use both processors for Ubuntu or whatever popular arm linux is available.
My main deal here is that the phone w/ the lapdock has always been an awesome wifi terminal. I just feel like half of it's processor is wasted running the phone UI. Anyone have any plans for a full linux Atrix project?
& yes, I already have ubuntop on my Atrix & have had it since it came out.
& yes, I know Canonical has already stated they are working on Ubuntu for phones, but the stench of their Vaporware is hurting.

It all comes down to the kernel. With the limited support we have for our device, it's hard enough trying to run android on the thing (ICS); an operating system which is "native" for phones, it'll be that much harder to port desktop Linux. Standard Linux kernel is starting to come with android stuff, but it's still going to need device specific patches.
Now if ubuntu comes out with a universal arm/tegra kernel, that would be kind of amazing.
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Related

Dual Boot/Multi boot on NT - Android+(windows/linux/other tablet OS)

I'm wondering if it is possible to Dual Boot/Multi Boot Nook Tablet?
e.g. Android + Windows (of course the one for Tablets) OR Linux OR even iOS OR any other?
Anyone interested?
I can be part of this development, though i'm newbie in android world and mostly i'm playing with MatLab, C, C++, Jave (very less) etc. But i think i still can be useful somehow and i am also ready to use my NT for development/testing purpose (provided that i get some solution of backup/restore with apps installed)
thanks
I would consider looking up this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=21323255
Adam provides a little bit of insight about dual booting from sdcard and more!
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windows 8 doesn't work on the Nook. Only the devices which come out with windows 8 can actually run windows 8. ios also doesn't work because there's no source code out there. Linux is under development, I think it's Adam Outler who does that.
yes, for windows/ios, may not possible but i think, linux is possible. i have been going through the threads. actually due to some hardware issues, like processor etc. NT can't be generalized. also, even with rooting, we are still far behind in using its true capabilities.
CM9 is on it's way. Currently sound doesn't work, the kernel paniks sometimes and some minor bugs are the problems for the devs.
well, looking forward for CM9. i hope it will give more freedom than existing root...
I looking forward for CM7, maybe alpha version will be release few next days.

[Q] Webtop 2.0 on ICS. Is this possible?

Call me crazy alright, but it is possible to get old 2.0 webtop on an ICS system? Flashing it via Fastboot, cwm or Rsd?I just can't get used to it and found it very disappointing specially the lack of:
-A descent mobile view.
-Full featured firefox.
-The ability to run linux and per se, a most competitive laptop environment.
-Real multi-tasking with lots of windows opened at once.
-Best integration with Lapdock keyboard and trackpad.
-Capability to run dedicated os programs like openoffice.org (not this joke of quickoffice...)
-A true laptop resolution at all for God sake!
-Many more
I know that this 3.0 is very light-weight and almost "flawless" but still not that useful for me specially coming from an Atrix with the webtop2sd mod, pure laptop experience... OMG what have I done!!! Lol!!! Neh... I wouldn't trade my razr for anything... at least in 17 months!
Have found something googling it but the info is not very useful as well, so looking for the advice from somebody here willing to point in some direction to get this working, if this it is even possible.
Thanks!
General consensus will probably be no. Until I get home tonight, I can't look at /dev/block/webtop to see if its possible. In theory, so long as the files are 100% separate, I don't see why it wouldn't be possible. Problem being, I think they tie into the system files somehow and aren't completely separate as they'd need to be.
Anyone else have any ideas on this? I plan to put ics on my clns replacement tonight, but i might not since I want the full featured webtop.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Webtop 2.0 seems intact on ICS
I'm interested in this as well. I only acquired a lapdock post-ICS, so I unfortunately don't know exactly how things worked before.
It seems like all of the pieces are still in place for the real Ubuntu webtop. The old webtop does not appear to have been not removed in the update; mounting the /dev/block/webtop partition (ext3) reveals a 1 GB linux filesystem. I would be surprised if the Linux environment is broken, as chroot Linux environments such as "Free Linux Installer" work identically in both GB and ICS.
The big question is how the webtop is launched; I'll try and figure this out, but if anyone knows or has a copy of whatever script launched the Ubuntu-based webtop this would be very helpful!

Ubunutu for Phones

http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone
Ubuntu for phones uses Android as its base, so does that mean features that are broken in ICS and JB builds would still be broken in UFP?
Not really. I've spent a lot of time with these as I hope to bring it to the Atrix. But it's not based off those builds, In the video he describes that it is ment to be compatible with any devices that run android. It is actually built off their operating system simmilar to windows 8 and windows 8 RT. It will be released for the samsung galaxy nexus. It will function similar to how their OS runs on computers, where it comes with one OS, but it will be compatible with another. Ubuntu Phone will hopefully be able to run on devices that run android. meaning that as long as you don't have an iphone, or windows phone, you should be able to run it. Which to me is really exciting as I see a lot of promise with this OS, especially along side our lapdocks
That would be amazing if we could get a full supported ubuntu for the atrix. Im looking to reutilize mine (despite its broken digitizer)
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Unfortunately, almost nothing stated in here is accurate.
The only Android dependency is the Android Kernel. So any issues we have, would still exist in Ubuntu for Phones.
I do hope the Ubunutu OS will be able to run on my atrix 4g. But yes, all android issues will exist if we have to stick with the atrix 4g kernal.
IF ported Galaxy R 3.x.x kernel gonna fully working before late Q4 2013, I assume, ubuntu for android will working flawlessly on our atrix

Ubuntu

Came across this today and wanted to share with anyone who might have been in a cave today
http://mobilesyrup.com/2013/01/02/u..._campaign=Feed:+Mobilesyrup+(mobilesyrup.com)
Hope this comes our way
Sent from my Nexus 10
I hope it comes.
Indeed, my dream is to one day have the ability to dual boot Android and a native Linux distro.
brGabriel said:
Indeed, my dream is to one day have the ability to dual boot Android and a native Linux distro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It isn't clear to me that the Ubuntu phone will actually be a "linux distro" - at least not in the sense that most think of them (Android runs Linux, after all). But, details seem to be scarce.
Plus, applications built for a mouse aren't going to be ideal even on a tablet. Otherwise we wouldn't have all those apps for services that are already web-based (including, ironically enough, xda).
rich0 said:
It isn't clear to me that the Ubuntu phone will actually be a "linux distro" - at least not in the sense that most think of them (Android runs Linux, after all). But, details seem to be scarce.
Plus, applications built for a mouse aren't going to be ideal even on a tablet. Otherwise we wouldn't have all those apps for services that are already web-based (including, ironically enough, xda).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I agree the new Ubuntu for mobile devices won't exactly be like its desktop predecessors. I was referring to what I've seen on other tablet development forums, such as the Asus TF300T running an Arch Linux ARM natively as a dual boot with Android. Would it be "ideal" on a touch screen tablet? Certainly not; but it wouldn't be completely unusable. Besides, I think that's why many of us are on xda in the first place. Because we're not content with running vanilla stock ROMs with our hands held out to to the manufacturers for fixes and upgrades.
Like the sound of this but only as a dual boot option for now.
brGabriel said:
Yes, I agree the new Ubuntu for mobile devices won't exactly be like its desktop predecessors. I was referring to what I've seen on other tablet development forums, such as the Asus TF300T running an Arch Linux ARM natively as a dual boot with Android. Would it be "ideal" on a touch screen tablet? Certainly not; but it wouldn't be completely unusable. Besides, I think that's why many of us are on xda in the first place. Because we're not content with running vanilla stock ROMs with our hands held out to to the manufacturers for fixes and upgrades.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I RDP .....*A LOT*...... from my N10 to my various Linux boxes now.... this would be a very welcome thing for me.
And.... to have another player in the mobile game would only be a good thing for us all.
Also, as the native apps are mosly C or C++, it would be interesting to see how much faster they would run.

[Q] Other Linux distros possibility?

So, with Ubuntu Mobile capturing the attention of hundred of thousands I thought I would ask the one question that's been in my head since the first time I heard of Ubuntu Mobile, what about other Linux distros?
Considering Ubuntu is Debian-based and one of Ubuntu Mobile's key selling points is "it's the same is your PC" software-wise *cough* bloatware *cough* how likely do you think it is for a similar feat to be acomplished by another Linux distro (I like the ring of 'Arch Mobile' :cyclops: ) or will this be a more disgustingly exclusive Ubuntu feature (much like Unity, which didn't gain much traction in other distros).
Please voice your opinion on the matter, even if it's not completely relevant. I'd like to see how the community sees this.
Ubuntu for mobile has optimised stdio.h for touch screen mode of input and integration for touch input device at kernel level. Maybe if another distro can achieve this... Probably need a lot of libs & /dev/ mod files to get compatible drivers for touch devices. Repositories (apt.get, rpm, deb & yast etc) need to haxe modified programmes (apps) optimised for phone display, i/o etc.... Not an easy task.....
Dead cookies leave no trails...
Maybe a mobilised version of PackageKit would work for package management woes, if not I think there may be hope depending on how the phone utilises its 'desktop mode' and that can resolve issues that may accompany distro-specific issues (like Arch's KISS philosophy) and the libraries will be added to repositories (or even just made into an installable package?) for touchscreen usage and hopefully packages could be installed traditionally (i.e. 'apt-get install' 'pacman -S' 'yum install' 'dpkg -i' etc.)
I built a Linux image for my phone (Galaxy Spica)
-W_O_L_F- said:
I built a Linux image for my phone (Galaxy Spica)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh that's quite interesting, when it was running a Linux image was your phone still running Android and with Linux working inside Android (using VNC for X etc.) or was it running natively in the same fashion as Ubuntu Mobile is said to be?
I would think that any Distro based of Ubuntu will be able to be run on a phone.
swehes said:
I would think that any Distro based of Ubuntu will be able to be run on a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope by the time all the mobile software is "figured out" (for lack of a better word) that using the device-specific software won't be limited to Ubuntu-based distros, I don't mind Ubuntu and its derivatives per se, but I much prefer using a more advanced distro; but I suppose Ubuntu is what you make of it
swehes said:
I would think that any Distro based of Ubuntu will be able to be run on a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not a comletely new idea mind you. We have two Ubuntu/Linux threads in the Asus Transformer tf101 dev thread. Both are WIPs but both have many users who are working on making the process better and simpler to have Linux and Android dual boot. Both methods are for native install as well so no need for chroot or VNC.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk HD
Interesting thought. I don't know if the variation will come from other Linux flavors or just different themes or desktop environments. Could it just be that there are themes or desktop environment like cinnamon, XFCE, pantheon and others instead of different Linux operating systems completely? Then again everything is going mobile so maybe the other Linux flavors will disappear unless they follow in Ubuntu's steps and go mobile.
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Cl3Kener said:
Interesting thought. I don't know if the variation will come from other Linux flavors or just different themes or desktop environments. Could it just be that there are themes or desktop environment like cinnamon, XFCE, pantheon and others instead of different Linux operating systems completely? Then again everything is going mobile so maybe the other Linux flavors will disappear unless they follow in Ubuntu's steps and go mobile.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, not everything is going mobile. It's just that x86 machines have reached saturation point by now; everyone has one, so the focus is on getting a smartphone or a tablet. Plus, hardware is so powerful that there's no real need to upgrade. Software has not caught up. Even as a gamer, my ATI 6950/Phenom II 955 box hasn't had an issue with running everything topped out so far, new games and all. For sure, you don't need much just to run the everyday stuff like Chrome or Office. People still use desktop computers quite a bit, though in quite a lot of households I do find that it's not at all uncommon for the computer arsenal to consist exclusively of laptops (though that is still x86 and not ARM).
Kookas said:
No, not everything is going mobile. It's just that x86 machines have reached saturation point by now; everyone has one, so the focus is on getting a smartphone or a tablet. Plus, hardware is so powerful that there's no real need to upgrade. Software has not caught up. Even as a gamer, my ATI 6950/Phenom II 955 box hasn't had an issue with running everything topped out so far, new games and all. For sure, you don't need much just to run the everyday stuff like Chrome or Office. People still use desktop computers quite a bit, though in quite a lot of households I do find that it's not at all uncommon for the computer arsenal to consist exclusively of laptops (though that is still x86 and not ARM).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well obviously software developers and video gamers will always have desktop computers. It's people that aren't processor hungry that just want to check emails and social media that are going mobile. I know people that don't even own a computer and just use internet through their phones. I can see them embracing of having their phone work as a computer when they dock it into a monitor keyboard mouse environment. That's the only way they could teach their kids about computers.
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I'd love to see Debian for phones. But once I think about it. There's nothing "new" about this concept. Technically Its already out as I have native Debian and arch Linux on my iconia tab via an arm ports. Touch screens support has been patched into the Linux kernel since the 2.6.x series so it works great at the hardware level. So when I get to to bottom of all of the hype all I see is canonical marketing some sort of Unity Touch. (Gnome and KDE were too big I guess ). My point is what bother to get another ubuntu like os for phones when there's already 99% of distos already ported to arm and touch. The only thing that Ubuntu for phones can do that the Debian/other linux ports can't do is make calls, but any hacker with a pair of tweezers could port the radio interface to a Linux distro.
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