Use it as a desktop PC
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Hi, first of all thanks to all contributors of new https://www.ubuntu-touch.io/
I read:
"Use it as a desktop PC
Connect your device to a monitor or TV, and it expands into a windowed desktop. Productivity like on a traditional PC."So reading that I feel even more clumsy, because it seems like it's a piece of cake (I wish it were so). I have a Volla X and, as far as I know, is not easy for someone with knowledge at the user level to connect that device to a TV (https://github.com/HelloVolla/ubuntu-touch-beta-tests/issues/107) and work like on a PC.
I wonder if it's honest to make a statement like this...
Still, I'm very grateful to all of you who make this project possible.
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@naizena For now Fairphone 4 is the only device with support for wired connection to an external display as it is indicated here : https://devices.ubuntu-touch.io/device/fp4/
For others devices, in many cases a wireless aethercast is possible.
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@libremax Maybe I just wanted to express my frustration at not being able to use Ubuntu Touch as a PC. I've been using Ubuntu Touch for a long time (aquaris 4.5 2015) and I was excited about the idea of convergence on a linux, and I thought that one day I would have a simple PC on my mobile. Today I see it as far away... Thank you for your comment.
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Hi @naizena
I share your frustration, but we do not have a say on the hardware development.
So we need hardware compatibility and an appropriate port to be able to offer this feature.I found it amazing that we can do this with the Fairphone4 an already with the experimental port of the Fairphone5.
And all that with a very small team of enthusiastic developers.As with most things in live it's neither black or white but somewhere in the middle.
Glass half full kind of thing :winking_face: -
@AppLee Thanks a lot for your time, your work and your answer. I don't know how mark this topic as solved...
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@naizena This topic is more of a discussion than a question, so it doesn't need to be marked solved imho.
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@naizena It might still be worth considering a wireless display option if it's important to you. I'm sure wired is a better solution, but if not possible, it's nice to have another option.
I was going to suggest the Microsoft Miracast Adapter V2, which has worked very well for me with several different UT devices.. but it seems the adapter is no longer produced and it's hard to find a used one.Does anybody know of any other wireless display adapters that work well?
Mine wasn't cheap, $60 CAD (€40), but if using an external display is an important feature to you, it's a shame not to be able to. I get minor latency in display (well under 0.5 seconds), and two-finger scrolling doesn't always work when using the phone screen as a mouse. But with a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, it's great. And while not every app is well set up for it, on the whole the OS functions very well in desktop mode.
I hope you're able to find a solution. -
@AppLee said in Use it as a desktop PC:
Hi @naizena
I share your frustration, but we do not have a say on the hardware development.I am feeling just like you. As a matter of fact, I raised this issue already 5 years ago, see https://forums.ubports.com/topic/5207/libertine-and-desktop-apps-in-ota-14/5?_=1749883727005
I don' think running desktop apps on a phone, even with an external screen, is the main interest. What would be of more interest in my mind is to be able to connect a tablet running Ubuntu Touch to a BT keyboard and mouse and use it as a desktop computer (running desktop apps). Using BT connections is no problem, but running desktop apps on Ubuntu Touch is still a problem. I wondered last year whether this had improved with Focal (see https://forums.ubports.com/topic/9953/desktop-apps-on-focal), there was NO reaction.
I am sorry to say that the only ones who succeeded in making a tablet that can also be used as a (small) desktop computer are Microsoft with their Surface Pro device.
I am continuing to check the UBTouch Forum once in a while for progress on this topic, but I lost hope...
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Hi @gdegrez
The Volla Tablet is available with Ubuntu Touch working on it.
I'm currently at the Volla Community days and I will test a couple of apps if I can.There is a lack of tablets compatible with Ubuntu Touch, but what you're saying about running desktop apps on Ubuntu Touch is changing ; with a keyboard and mouse/touchpad apps available for ARM should run on Ubuntu Touch and with the compatibility with snaps it brings a lot of apps to try out.
Of course we cannot guaranty full compatibility, but it might work...
Also the best way to have something is not just raise an issue in a forum, you can create a real issue (feature request) on Gitlab and sponsor developers or raise founds to get the feature you want.
This is a community, which means the effort is also shared across our community members.
Sitting idle is not being part of a community (and to be clear I don't say that you are, I'm just encouraging everyone to contribute) -
You can install Termux on any Android Tablet and run a full blown Linux desktop there. It's relatively easy to setup and works very well.
That's at least my replacement until something comparable is reached in Linux OS world.
The Volla tablet should get support on UT soon, at least I hope so and look forward to it.
