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The ratio between nerds and "normal" consumers is pretty high, and being a nerd does not automatically mean you care about having a "mobile unix workstation" (w

The ratio between nerds and "normal" consumers is pretty high, and being a nerd does not automatically mean you care about having a "mobile unix workstation" (what unix-worthy work can you actually do on a phone?), and even if you have one it doesn't mean you'll actually find a use for it. It's safe to say that the market is irrelevant, and, unlike things like woodworking, boutique manyfacturers can't really exist in this space

cosmic_cheese 1y ago
I don’t really care to do any task traditionally associated with full fat computers directly on my phone, simply because the input methods are extremely poor for that kind of thing. If my phone could act like an ultrabook/netbook when hooked up to a screen and proper desktop input on the other hand (similar to DeX, iPadOS 26, and the forthcoming baseline Android desktop mode), that’s a more interesting proposition and probably one that a number of more typical users would find interesting too. For example, university students whose main use for a computer is editing documents could comfortably get by with nothing but a nice-ish phone, a monitor, and a Bluetooth KB+mouse.
- Almondsetat 1y ago
  Google is said to be in the process of unifying Android and ChromeOs (which can run Linux programs), so your wishes are not that irrealistic (especially since DeX has been around for a while now)
  - chrisweekly 1y ago
    cool, good to know also, FYI (and for the sake of non-native English readers), it's "unrealistic". ["irrealistic" relates to irrealism, a literary technique that departs from reality]
- _shantaram 1y ago
  this thing was so far ahead of its time https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-PadFone-Smartphone.83851.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-PadFone-Smartphone... if it came out today with say 16gb of RAM and used the new Android VM feature I would buy it instantly
  - doubled112 1y ago
    I had an Asus TF700 tablet which had HDMI out and a keyboard dock/touchpad probably about 10 years ago. It could have been a decent concept if the Tegra 3 chipset wasn’t a little underpowered and the onboard storage so slow. On new stuff, a Bluetoothu keyboard and mouse more or less solve input, and USB-C should solve video out (and input if you want). Modern phones should be powerful enough for basic desktop use, I just don’t think people want it.
- fsflover 1y ago
  > If my phone could act like an ultrabook/netbook when hooked up to a screen You just described Librem 5.
  - cosmic_cheese 1y ago
    The only problem is its hardware, which even a 5+ year old ultraportable laptop soundly beats and wouldn’t make for a very good desktop experience. The StarLabs tablet would be much better suited here, but it’s also 12.5” which is so large that you may as well just get a laptop with more power and better battery life.
    - fsflover 1y ago
      But it's not a laptop or tablet, it's much lighter and smaller, so you can take it with you in a pocket everywhere, and only when you really need, you will use it as desktop. I don't really understand your point.
davidw 1y ago
> unix-worthy work can you actually do on a phone They're more powerful than plenty of computers from not too long ago
- gloxkiqcza 1y ago
  Apple is rumored to release a MacBook with an iPhone 16 Pro SOC this year.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
skybrian 1y ago
If you interpret “this space” a little more broadly, there are boutique manufacturers catering to hackers that sell tiny, cheap, wearable computers. Check out all the stuff Adafruit sells.
esseph 1y ago
I've rebuilt Linux servers with my phone from multiple countries over. I've also reconfigured BGP speaking routers with it.
- cft 1y ago
  I have also fixed live bugs in vim from my Android phones, starting from 2014. Controlled BGP enabled switches too. Fixed database replication issues.
yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago
> what unix-worthy work can you actually do on a phone? I do most of my light/routine server management via SSH from my phone, plus keeping a version control checkout of my documents that I do actually work on in vim (yes, the limited keyboard is annoying but it's fine for light work). At a previous job, the former extended quite far; I could get paged in the middle of the night, connect to the VPN, SSH into the server, triage, and frequently diagnose and even fix the problem without having to actually get out of bed.
- Almondsetat 1y ago
  But in that case all that you need is a pocketable PC with linux that can sit on your nightstand, especially since doing work-related stuff on your personal smartphone seems dangerous
  - yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago
    > But in that case all that you need is a pocketable PC with linux that can sit on your nightstand, ...A smartphone, yes. > especially since doing work-related stuff on your personal smartphone seems dangerous It was my work phone, not my personal phone.
  - Telaneo 1y ago
    > especially since doing work-related stuff on your personal smartphone seems dangerous As compared to your personal laptop? Or is the 'personal' qualifier that makes you say that?
    - Almondsetat 1y ago
      where have I talked about personal laptops?
      - Telaneo 1y ago
        Nowhere, hence why I was asking.

cosmic_cheese 1y ago

I don’t really care to do any task traditionally associated with full fat computers directly on my phone, simply because the input methods are extremely poor for that kind of thing. If my phone could act like an ultrabook/netbook when hooked up to a screen and proper desktop input on the other hand (similar to DeX, iPadOS 26, and the forthcoming baseline Android desktop mode), that’s a more interesting proposition and probably one that a number of more typical users would find interesting too. For example, university students whose main use for a computer is editing documents could comfortably get by with nothing but a nice-ish phone, a monitor, and a Bluetooth KB+mouse.

Almondsetat 1y ago
Google is said to be in the process of unifying Android and ChromeOs (which can run Linux programs), so your wishes are not that irrealistic (especially since DeX has been around for a while now)
- chrisweekly 1y ago
  cool, good to know also, FYI (and for the sake of non-native English readers), it's "unrealistic". ["irrealistic" relates to irrealism, a literary technique that departs from reality]
_shantaram 1y ago
this thing was so far ahead of its time https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-PadFone-Smartphone.83851.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-PadFone-Smartphone... if it came out today with say 16gb of RAM and used the new Android VM feature I would buy it instantly
- doubled112 1y ago
  I had an Asus TF700 tablet which had HDMI out and a keyboard dock/touchpad probably about 10 years ago. It could have been a decent concept if the Tegra 3 chipset wasn’t a little underpowered and the onboard storage so slow. On new stuff, a Bluetoothu keyboard and mouse more or less solve input, and USB-C should solve video out (and input if you want). Modern phones should be powerful enough for basic desktop use, I just don’t think people want it.
fsflover 1y ago
> If my phone could act like an ultrabook/netbook when hooked up to a screen You just described Librem 5.
- cosmic_cheese 1y ago
  The only problem is its hardware, which even a 5+ year old ultraportable laptop soundly beats and wouldn’t make for a very good desktop experience. The StarLabs tablet would be much better suited here, but it’s also 12.5” which is so large that you may as well just get a laptop with more power and better battery life.
  - fsflover 1y ago
    But it's not a laptop or tablet, it's much lighter and smaller, so you can take it with you in a pocket everywhere, and only when you really need, you will use it as desktop. I don't really understand your point.

davidw 1y ago

> unix-worthy work can you actually do on a phone They're more powerful than plenty of computers from not too long ago

gloxkiqcza 1y ago
Apple is rumored to release a MacBook with an iPhone 16 Pro SOC this year.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

skybrian 1y ago

If you interpret “this space” a little more broadly, there are boutique manufacturers catering to hackers that sell tiny, cheap, wearable computers. Check out all the stuff Adafruit sells.

esseph 1y ago

I've rebuilt Linux servers with my phone from multiple countries over. I've also reconfigured BGP speaking routers with it.

cft 1y ago
I have also fixed live bugs in vim from my Android phones, starting from 2014. Controlled BGP enabled switches too. Fixed database replication issues.

yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago

> what unix-worthy work can you actually do on a phone? I do most of my light/routine server management via SSH from my phone, plus keeping a version control checkout of my documents that I do actually work on in vim (yes, the limited keyboard is annoying but it's fine for light work). At a previous job, the former extended quite far; I could get paged in the middle of the night, connect to the VPN, SSH into the server, triage, and frequently diagnose and even fix the problem without having to actually get out of bed.

Almondsetat 1y ago
But in that case all that you need is a pocketable PC with linux that can sit on your nightstand, especially since doing work-related stuff on your personal smartphone seems dangerous
- yjftsjthsd-h 1y ago
  > But in that case all that you need is a pocketable PC with linux that can sit on your nightstand, ...A smartphone, yes. > especially since doing work-related stuff on your personal smartphone seems dangerous It was my work phone, not my personal phone.
- Telaneo 1y ago
  > especially since doing work-related stuff on your personal smartphone seems dangerous As compared to your personal laptop? Or is the 'personal' qualifier that makes you say that?
  - Almondsetat 1y ago
    where have I talked about personal laptops?
    - Telaneo 1y ago
      Nowhere, hence why I was asking.