This actually is/was really good.
On my note 9 I can open a shell. Or with HDMI get a Ubuntu desktop.
Any ideas what Google changed in Android 10 to break compatibility?
On my note 9 I can open a shell. Or with HDMI get a Ubuntu desktop.
Any ideas what Google changed in Android 10 to break compatibility?
I think Termux uses proot to get around this, so it still works (for now). If this is indeed the reason, Samsung probably just said "fuck this shit".
Expect Google to push out a Fuchsia-based Android whose kernel won't allow the proot hack sometime in the next few years. Like it or not, the closed ecosystem of iOS provides more value to end users, and Google wants to bring those benefits to Android.
Does this mean the title should read something like "Due to Android 10 update, Linux on DeX will now require a jailbreak whereas it did not before"?
Samsung always appeared to do little to discourage "opening up" their devices, unlike for example HTC and other Qualcomm based ones.
Is there any "official" proof for this statement? To me closed ecosystem of iOs (and semi closed Android for that matter) look truly pathetic comparatively to what I have on Windows/Linux desktop
Summary: the conundrum Google finds themselves in is they want all code run by the user in plain sight: signed by the developer and inspectable by their anti malware tools. It's not difficult to see why they want this.
The stand out counter example is Browsers downloading and running javascript, which is unseen by them, unsigned and worst of all for them utterly impossible to prevent entirely. So in Termux's case it's always going to be near impossible to block interpreted languages like python from running.
The interesting special case is what they called mmap(PROT_EXEC), possibly better called mmap(PROT_EXEC|PROT_WRITE). In other words, the ability to write and execute create code on the fly. JIT's can't work well without it, so without it Javascript is always going to run like a dog. But with it is is always possible to load an ELF binary yourself in user space, bypassing the kernel entirely. Termux could always replace the libc exec() with something that did it that way.
So it looks to me like this is all just re-arranging the deck chairs. Ultimately Google can't use technical measures to prevent any malicious app from running any code they damned well please. Their attempts to accomplish the impossible won't help the malware problem, but does make like difficult for innocent apps like termux.
As others have said this have said, this has nothing to do with Samsung killing Linux on Dex. Unlike Termux, they have to power to turn it all off.
They want it to just work and be secure. iOS has this figured out hands down.
As for "just work" - nothing "just works" in the software business. It is snake oil
I doubt this is true for everyone.
If you're happy with the freedom the OS vendor gives you, then the sandbox is a win because it eliminates a possible vector of harm. If you're not happy with the set of solutions, and want to put together your own, then you need a way out of the playpen. Different, not better or worse.
Am I correct to assume that you mean direct updates, and/or security (from hackers, states, and, in a sense, hardware vendors themselves)?
I learned about it in the AskNoahShow ep.144 titled "SailfishOS" [1], you might wanna check it out.
It runs notably on open-source phones from Sony. You can bet that's my next toy!
A couple of things:
fastboot oem unlock is a one way trip, it blows some kind of fuse and you can never relock the bootloader. While I give Sony lots of points for having a page showing where the UART is in their phones, they lose all of those points for deciding that unlocked devices can no longer get OTA updates, even when reflashed to a stock ROM.
Sailfish was really, really janky when I tried it, I couldn't even turn on developer mode without signing in to a Jolla account, then it hung for at least 5 minutes trying to enable the developer mode.
For the XA2 Ultra, there's also no LineageOS build.
My idea and recommendation, taking a cue from Noah Chelliah (link above), is basically to have two smartphones — 1 dedicated to SailfishOS, and 1 "fallback" on Android for everything else. Then see from there.
Thanks for that.
And having a real Linux distro in your pocket is really really nice & only illustrates how stripped down are regular Android phones and tablets every time I interact with one.
> illustrates how stripped down are regular Android phones and tablets
Oh don't get me started on that... I could probably write a short novel about it. But you know that already. Part of me feels disappointed that of all the Linux-y podcasts and blogs and comments I've been exposed to over the years, it took me this long to identify Sailfish as my probable salvation.
More likely: Linux on DeX had much less adoption than Samsung thought it would have, so after Android 10 they simple decided it wasn't worth continuing development.
OTOH your explanation is eminently plausible. A dual desktop/phone seemed like a cool idea to me several years ago, but people would rather just use their phones. Plus, people now use websites/services more than local applications - and services like dropbox have largely solved the rest of the files-anywhere problem.
Maybe if you're removing restrictions for all applications (this may make Android CTS to not pass). However I was mostly thinking of Samsung only giving elevated privileges for DeX, that is completely fine too (even some Google applications have those relaxed restrictions, i.e. Google Play).
In this later case I don't see Google disallowing this, because you're not effectively reducing Android security.
Google doesn't allow those apps on Google Play (clarifying because it's confusing i.e. you can't get an alternative to google play from google play).
While DeX isn't downloaded from Google Play, so that restriction doesn't directly apply; I can well imagine google cracking down on it. Perhaps also on other Play alternatives.
But just my imagination - IDK.
But it works well on my Tab 5e. I used it a few times to work on the move. No need for an external monitor with a tablet. I guess I won't upgrade it to androidA 10 for as long as I can.
They are well know in the Android developer community for their AOSP customisations (down to the API level and having a Samsung Android SDK).
Samsung's desire to continue developing the feature
For regular Android, the fact that Linux is being used is mostly transparent for userspace.
Given the lackluster development of it (like one or two releases, that was it) I suspect they discovered there wasn't enough money in it to justify the further development.
Pretty disappointing.