Run a full, desktop Linux distro on your Android phone with UserLAnd

Date:
Mon, 18 Apr 2022 20:13:14 GMT

Description:
Just as if it were an Android app. Because... well... you know you want to.

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In the past Ive covered how I used my Android phone to give me a Mac Plus in my pocket . Because, lets face it, installing operating systems where they were never meant to run is just fun .

And, while having an emulated, retro Macintosh on the go is obviously incredibly cool what if you want to run more modern desktop software?

For example: Lets say you want to run GIMP, a desktop web browser, or LibreOffice?

One of the easiest ways to do that is via an Android application called UserLAnd . (Yes, the A is capitalized.)

What UserLAnd does is lets you download an entire Linux distribution and set it up as a running process on your Android phone (just as if it were any regular Android application).

Then you can use a VNC client to connect to your running Linux distribution and use it in full graphical mode. Just like you would on a laptop or desktop.

While this isnt anything new (we covered this on The Linux Journal a few
years back), the system has continued to improve over time. To the point where I now use it, regularly, to do edits in LibreOffice or comic strips in GIMP.

Not joking.

Add in a bluetooth keyboard and mouse and youve got yourself a full desktop Linux experience on the go.

The developer behind the open source project , Corbin Champion , sat down
with The Lunduke Journal earlier today to talk about whats been happening
with UserLAnd and, Ive gotta say, its pretty cool.

In recent months, Corbin has started creating standalone applications using this code. The result is that you can now, for example, install a full, desktop version of Firefox that runs as if it were an Android application.

He calls it FoxBox .

After you install FoxBox, the application downloads a minimal Linux environment (enough to run FireFox), then grabs a desktop version of Firefox.
Which you can then run right on your phone with full sound and everything.

Obviously it is using the desktop interface so its not touch enhanced. But Ive found that most features are very usable with the touch screen. Of
course it all works exactly like a desktop PC if you add in a mouse.

Note: According to the developer, the sound support is a new feature that was developed and tested with FoxBox and will be also added into UserLAnd.

Hes done the same with GIMP , as well. So if you dont want to mess around with setting up a full Linux desktop then installing GIMP you can just install a read-to-go GIMP that utilizes the core code behind UserLAnd.

The developer has, I kid you not, made a version specifically for running an entire Minecraft (Java edition) Server . Right on your Android phone.

I absolutely love this sort of thing. Getting desktop (and server) software running on portable, pocket sized computers just so much fun.

Personally, I prefer the core UserLAnd which lets me configure my own Debian installation however I like. Thats just more my speed I like to tinker. But I definitely see the appeal in having desktop versions of GIMP or Firefox ready to go with a single click. Handy, for sure.

And the fact that all of this is open source is extra goodness. Tons of books . Games. Exclusive articles and Podcasts. You know you want it. Get 73%
off for 1 year

(And the Founding Member Subscribers get even more goodies. Worth checking out. You know. If youre extra awesome.)



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Link to news story: https://lunduke.substack.com/p/run-a-full-desktop-linux-distro-on


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