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I keep hearing this. How is it that in practice I can get my desktop to do anything I want, but I can't get my phone to do anything I want?

NikolaeVarius 6y ago
Make your desktop send a phone call natively i.e. not LTE/WiFi
- blendergeek 6y ago
  How do you think phones make phone calls? Because today, they use LTE. However that has nothing to do with whether Android is Linux or whether one can make a desktop do whatever they want.
blendergeek 6y ago
When you run 'Linux' on the desktop, you are running the Linux kernel with GNU userspace. The GNU project would rather you call it GNU/Linux, to pay homage to their hard work. That is too hard to say, so everybody simply says 'Linux'. Android also runs the Linux kernel. However, the tools that allow you 'to do whatever you want' are not what you interact with. Android has its own userspace tools designed by Google. These are what you are familiar with. It used to be possible to use a terminal and sort of interact with an Android device like a desktop Linux computer, but that has slowly been disabled overtime.
- blacksmith_tb 6y ago
  Quite a bit of "whatever you want" is still possible on Android[1], though ideally you will have root, be comfortable using adb, etc. Ultimately the reason it's easier to do what you want on a linux desktop is that Google isn't actively trying to stop you there... 1: https://hackingpassion.com/android-hacking-with-termux/ https://hackingpassion.com/android-hacking-with-termux/
- doublesCs 6y ago
  Ouch. You know, I've heard many times about the GNU / Linux conversation but not being an expert I didn't really know where one starts and the other ends. So your comment has been extremely useful for me, thank you. And yes, we should pay more homage to GNU...
Cactus2018 6y ago
This gets to the controversy, "GNU/Linux" vs "Uses the Linux kernel" https://www.fossmint.com/difference-between-android-and-linux/ https://www.fossmint.com/difference-between-android-and-linu... >In Conclusion, Android is not a GNU/Linux distro but its Kernel is Linux and since it is the convention that a collection of software put together around the Linux Kernel is referred to as Linux, Android is Linux. > * Android cannot run any programs that are meant for GNU/Linux distros also; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU/Linux_naming_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU/Linux_naming_controversy

NikolaeVarius 6y ago

Make your desktop send a phone call natively i.e. not LTE/WiFi

blendergeek 6y ago
How do you think phones make phone calls? Because today, they use LTE. However that has nothing to do with whether Android is Linux or whether one can make a desktop do whatever they want.

blendergeek 6y ago

When you run 'Linux' on the desktop, you are running the Linux kernel with GNU userspace. The GNU project would rather you call it GNU/Linux, to pay homage to their hard work. That is too hard to say, so everybody simply says 'Linux'. Android also runs the Linux kernel. However, the tools that allow you 'to do whatever you want' are not what you interact with. Android has its own userspace tools designed by Google. These are what you are familiar with. It used to be possible to use a terminal and sort of interact with an Android device like a desktop Linux computer, but that has slowly been disabled overtime.

blacksmith_tb 6y ago
Quite a bit of "whatever you want" is still possible on Android[1], though ideally you will have root, be comfortable using adb, etc. Ultimately the reason it's easier to do what you want on a linux desktop is that Google isn't actively trying to stop you there... 1: https://hackingpassion.com/android-hacking-with-termux/ https://hackingpassion.com/android-hacking-with-termux/
doublesCs 6y ago
Ouch. You know, I've heard many times about the GNU / Linux conversation but not being an expert I didn't really know where one starts and the other ends. So your comment has been extremely useful for me, thank you. And yes, we should pay more homage to GNU...

Cactus2018 6y ago

This gets to the controversy, "GNU/Linux" vs "Uses the Linux kernel" https://www.fossmint.com/difference-between-android-and-linux/ https://www.fossmint.com/difference-between-android-and-linu... >In Conclusion, Android is not a GNU/Linux distro but its Kernel is Linux and since it is the convention that a collection of software put together around the Linux Kernel is referred to as Linux, Android is Linux. > * Android cannot run any programs that are meant for GNU/Linux distros also; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU/Linux_naming_controversy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU/Linux_naming_controversy