Ask HN: Would you use a native X windows server for Android? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Would you use a native X windows server for Android?

6 pointstmzt4 comments

As I've mentioned on this site before, I've previously completed a port for Xorg to run on Android devices.

While I have released all of the modified source on Github (username is tmzt), the instructions to build it are complicated. In addition, Android has progressed far beyond the days of 2.3 and the HVGA devices I targeted.

I'm considering starting over and building a fully native application, targeting Android 4.0 and focusing on tablets. I would also add support for GLES rendering and potentially GLX support.

So I'm asking the HN community if this is something you would use.

If there's interest I can paste a link to the working APK for ARM devices, once I move it to something with more bandwidth than a Dropbox link.

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There's a lot of X software, but (alternatives to) the most popular software are already available on Android, and I'm afraid that lots of existing software isn't exactly optimized for a small screen and a virtual keyboard. Can you say a bit more about why I'd want to install X?

Well when I originally developed the port (which I call AndroiX) there weren't many Android tablets capable of running the software. Now there are, so I would argue that not all Android devices have small screens or lack a usable keyboard.

Unlike most Android software which doesn't allow for most control or modifier keys (this includes Connectbot the last time I tried it), X applications on Android could take full advantage of a Bluetooth keyboard. You could use a full Gnome 2 or XFCE desktop environment running alongside all of your Android applications without dual-booting or flashing the Android device. (You only need root to run a chroot.) You can also run X applications remotely using an SSH application such as Connectbot.

There are many tutorials on the internet suggesting that a user run a Linux environment in a chroot on Android using VNC with an Xvnc server, and still numerous people on Android forums asking for such a solution. Can you point me to a full word processor, IDE, or other application for Android designed with keyboard use in mind?

Ah, I see. Yes, X-for-Android makes more sense in that context.

Yes! I have used your software in the past and it has been indispensable on my Galaxy Note II.

I SSH into my school's servers (NCSU) the MATLAB IDE and Maple GUI on my phone's display. It's been quite a bit less clunky than remote-desktop or VNC.

Thank you for developing this software.

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