Hi. Thanks for the posts here. While I have many of these apps there are some I clearly need to check out! Also, don't forget that the Linux on Android app lets you set up several distributions of Linux like Ubuntu, Debian and Backtrack on your android phone. So gnumeric, gnuplot, wxmaxima, libre office and so forth are all available. The only downside is that it uses VNC to connect so audio, for now, is out. However, you can always run android apps, make calls, and have your favorite flavor of linux up and running simultaneously by using side launchers like pie or unity to fire up the android apps which of course will give you your audio fix if needed!

I've Linux chroot ("Complete Linux Installer") on my Asus Transformer TF101 tablet (with Asus Eee Dock) and there are more downsides :
- VNC graphical access is slow compared to native GUI;
- more softwares don't work at all than on Maemo 5/MeeGo Harmattan Easy Debian. For example, Ubuntu 12.04 & LXDE on Asus TF101 doesn't open Chromium, Firefox, Synaptics, wxMaxima, TeXMaker, Thunderbird, Okular, etc. These problems depend on the Android hardware (GPU being used), Linux version, etc.

Android is a Linux device

No, Android is based on Linux, but it is not a Linux distribution*. Android has :
- Linux kernel;
- Bionic replaces glibc (so all the Android drivers aren't compatible with Mobile Linux, thanks Google... and a lot of Linux projects can't be ported to Android or are hard to port);
- SurfaceFlinger instead of X11, explaining why there is no "ssh -X", Linux chroot needs VNC, etc;
- different memory task management (which kills running softwares without user acknowledgement), so not full multi-tasking;
- no package dependencies (so it is normal to have .apk's with 10 MB where 9.5 MB are repeated libraries).
(*) : I see more differences than similarities between Android with desktop Linux distributions. While Maemo 5 has Linux kernel, glibc, X11, package dependencies, full multitasking, etc. But the definition of Linux distribution is not so rigid. So some people call Android a mobile Linux distribution. More opinions :
http://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-linux-faq...xsyswithoutgnu
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/andro...s-freedom.html
"Android is very different from the GNU/Linux operating system because it contains very little of GNU. Indeed, just about the only component in common between Android and GNU/Linux is Linux, the kernel. People who erroneously think “Linux” refers to the entire GNU/Linux combination get tied in knots by these facts, and make paradoxical statements such as “Android contains Linux, but it isn't Linux.” If we avoid starting from the confusion, the situation is simple: Android contains Linux, but not GNU; thus, Android and GNU/Linux are mostly different."
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2009/...or-developers/
"In fact, during a presentation at the Google IO conference, Google engineer Patrick Brady stated unambiguously that Android is not Linux"


iOS also has many parts from MacOS, but iOS <> MacOS.

Windows Phone 8 has many parts of Windows 8 : kernel (Windows NT one), NTFS, Direct X 11, .Net engine, etc. But Windows Phone 8 <> Windows 8.

Android is Linux but it is not GNU/Linux.

Hi. You are right about the variable performance of Linux chroot on different android devices. The only android devices I've ever owned are the Samsung Galaxy Note 1 and 2 so my experence is rather limited. While I found, on the Galaxy Note 1, Unity desktop environment to be a bit sluggish, LXDE worked fine. Both worked nicely on GN2. Synaptics and wxMaxima work fine on GN1. Also on the GN2 Synaptics, wxMaxima, TeXMaker and Okular work with no major problem. I haven't tried all these on GN1. Clearly native GUI should have superior preformance than VNC but, surprisingly, the response using VNC is very good on these devices. Have you tried Jump VNC? I think it is quite responsive. In general, I think you are better off using an android based browser instead of that found on linux on android but there are always trade offs. Also, I have a n9. It is a beautiful device too, but, I really wanted one with a HWKB. I would probably have not gotten the GN if the N950 was generally available. At least the Galaxy Note has a stylus like my beloved N900!

...can we stop the usual "Android is not X" and chroot talks AT LEAST HERE?

Why delete the entire post? There was some useful information here...


Also, in regards to previous post, chroot discussion is valid to include because you actually will have available some applications that are useful and will not need to replace with android equivalent...

Haha this is the best spoiled brat impression I have seen in a long time. Dare to give me infraction points for my behaviour? Fine I will just delete my useful post. LOL! Thank goodness you don't have a right to vote for forum admin directly otherwise people like you would make this forum full of threads with useful posts deleted if your type of admin didn't win.

The Internet Does Not Forget, here is the list again... from Google cache a week ago:

Alternative Repositories: F-Droid * --&gt; highly recommended! (many tools there)
cron / automation: Tasker / Automagic * Automation
BT tethering / DUN: BlueVPN *
xterm: Better Terminal Emulator Pro *
µTorrent: µTorrent (but it's quite sh*t) / tTorrent Pro * (totally cool! even supports DHT&amp; PeX, filtering, encryption) / aTorrent PRO
FileBox: Total Commander * (i use nothing else, has Samba/CIFS/NFS mounting along with archive handling)
SyncEvolution: CalDAV-Sync * / CardDAV-Sync * / FunV10 * / Synthesis SyncML Client PRO
Calendar: aCalendar+ * / Business Calendar *
Claws-Mail: Aqua Mail * / MailDroid Pro
Opera / MicroB: Opera * / Firefox Mobile *
OpenMediaPlayer: BSPlayer * / MX Player Pro *
KeePassX: KeePassDroid
Pidgin: IM+ *
IRC: AndroIRC premium
VKB: Hacker's Keyboard * / Thumb Keyboard (Phone/Tablet) *
Hildon-Home: Nova Launcher Prime * / Apex Launcher Pro
PyOBD: Torque Pro *
Updated/Added on 2013-07-09:
Tasks: Tasks (has a task provider, can be synced using CalDAV-Sync, preferred over Astrid Tasks) * / Astrid Tasks (can be synced with FunV10 against Funambol/SyncML server)
Firewall: AFWall+ *
Dbus Switchboard: Default App Manager Pro *
Bless: HexEdit *
DLNA client/renderers/network media players: BubbleUPnP * / MediaHouse-Pro
MoNav / modrana / Marble / Sygic etc: Sygic: GPS Navigation / OsmAnd+ * / Backpacker GPS Trails Pro / BackCountry Navigator PRO GPS / City Maps 2Go Offline Maps / Garmin Navigator / NAVIGON Europe (also other countries) / TomTom Europe (also other countries)
Conboy / Xournal / Quicknote: Handrite Notes Notepad Pro / Handy Note Pro /
Evince / PDF reader: ezPDF Reader Multimedia PDF * / RepliGo PDF Reader *
FBReader / MGutenberg / Dorian / E-Book Reader: Moon+ Reader Pro * / PageTurner Pro / Calibre Companion *
gEdit / TxPad / Leafpad: Jota+ (Text Editor) *
KhtEditor / PyGTKEditor: DroidEdit Pro (code editor)
Conky: OS Monitor / System Monitor / System Monitor / Quick System Info PRE
XArchiver: ZArchiver / B1 Free Archiver / AndroZip Pro File Manager / or Total Commander built-in
mBarcode: QR Droid * / Barcode Scanner+ (Plus)
MyPaint / Inkscape / Sketch: Infinite Design / Infinite Painter / Sketcher 3D Pro / SketchBook Ink / SketchBook Pro for Tablets / Paperless-Draw, sketch, tablet
SunVox / studio/recording: SunVox * / FL Studio Mobile
Gnumeric / Libreoffice: OfficeSuite Pro 7 (PDF &amp; HD) * / Quickoffice Pro (Office &amp; PDF) / Kingsoft Office 5.5(Free)
Currency Convert: Currency converter plus * / Easy Currency Converter Pro
OMWeather: eWeather HD, Radar HD, Alerts * / WeatherPro HD for Tablet / WeatherPro / AccuWeather Platinum
WPA Key Editor: WiFi Pass Recovery * / WiFi Pass Recovery &amp; Backup *
AppArmor / SELinux / Security: LBE Security Master * / SRT AppGuard / PDroid Manager (Frontend, needs PDroid 2.0 or OpenPDroid)
Cloud / WiFi / BT / LAN / USB printing: PrintHand Mobile Print Premium * / PrinterShare™ Mobile Print
Audio players: Poweramp Music Player * / Playerpro Music Player / n7player Music Player / Music Player (Remix) / etc etc etc -- too many, even WinAmp &amp; jetAudio
recaller: All That Recorder (dunno if it records radio/music too)
glogarchive: SMS Backup &amp; Restore Pro * / Call Logs Backup &amp; Restore Pro / Backup2CSV Pro Backup To CSV / Backup Call logs,SMS &amp; Contact / SMS to Text Pro / Conversation Backup / SMS Backup +
Hildon-Home contact widgets/caller shortcuts: Animated Widget Contact Pro