On Sat, 2 Dec 2017 13:17:14 -0600 Richard Owlett <rowl...@cloud85.net> wrote:
> On 12/02/2017 12:02 PM, rhkra...@gmail.com wrote: > > On Saturday, December 02, 2017 12:17:39 PM Richard Owlett wrote: > >> 6. *NOT* be a "smartphone". > > > > Well, I am curious about why you don't want it to be a smartphone, > > and whether doing something like removing the SIM from a cell phone > > (and possibly epoxying the socket) would meet your needs? > > > > You might say it's the 3 P's ;/ > [ Philosophical Practicality Prudence ] > > Philosophical - application of Linux philosophy > > As stated by McIlroy, and generally accepted throughout the > > Unix > community, Unix programs have always been expected to follow the > concept of DOTADIW, or "Do One Thing and Do It Well." > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_philosophy#Do_One_Thing_and_Do_It_Well > So you'll be avoiding anything containing systemd... > Practicality - avoidance of Android > Most "smartphones" come only with Android which presumes someone who > has never met the user knows best what the user needs (let alone > wants) and then goes to great lengths to prevent the end user from > installing a suitable OS. > And there, I think, you encounter the brick wall. It cannot possibly be accidental that modern portable hardware makes it so difficult to install Linux, or indeed any alternative OS. I think it is not desired that people should carry around devices which are not under the complete control of the manufacturer, particularly in terms of data collection. In short, I think you're trying to fight the system. I wish you luck: I have an eight-year-old Acer Aspire One, which I bought second-hand and which must be on borrowed time. It has Ethernet and three real USB ports, and runs straight Debian unstable without a trace of a problem. I've been looking to replace it for a few years, but have seen nothing promising. It's all 'runs Debian flawlessly, although the sound, Bluetooth and wifi don't work yet...' and even that in a chroot with the host kernel running. -- Joe
