any way to change desktop environment?
-
Hi.
Is there any way to change the desktop environment from unity 8 to conventional DE?
like MATE, lxde, gnome, etc.
I'm currently using jingpad a1 and it works perfectly, but just hope to see MATE running on the ARM hardware
-
@finfetworld The only DE that Ubuntu Touch supports is Lomiri. There are currently also no plans to change this.
-
There are various reasons for this being impossible currenty, mostly because hardware drivers on such devices are not open-source and are specific to Android, meaning there must be a translation layer implemented to use them.
Traditional DEs might support the notorious Wayland protocol, but this is not yet implemented in UT. At some point in time this could work.
Another problem is that UT has a lot of security and confinement implemented, and a read-only root file system. A traditional DE would not be able to run without major hiccups and very limited functionality I guesss.
-
@flohack i would love to see UT r/w permissions to be closer to actual ubuntu ....... sudo is king ......are there any known plans for this it is in my opinion that would allow people to tinker more and allow broader development ........every single linux distro kinda has a "sink or swim" policy when it comes to this
-
@developerbayman UT's goal is not to be a traditional Linux distro. One of its main goal is to be usable by normal/casual people.
Lomiri however has started to be available for other distros like Debian so maybe you can wait for those
-
@kugiigi i think that is a terrible direction for UT to go in until UT is on phones next to android/apple in stores(in mass) it will never be used by "normal people" with the history of linux being a "developers operating system" thats what people expected the reason UT never really caught on more than it did is now abundantly obvious to me now
i think i safely speak for everyone that has spent hrs on their android devices trying to install a linux compatibility layer when we saw the release of ubuntu touch .......thats what the world was excited for....... -
@developerbayman UT was created with that approach right from the start when Canonical started the project. UBports doesn't find a valid reason to change that. There are reasons why read-only systems exists like Fedora SilverBlue. Linux is known for technical people but it's really mostly about people who accepts the compromises of using a niche or non-mainstream product. I assure you there are non-technical UT users. Like I said, you are free to use other traditional Linux mobile distros
-
@developerbayman
I'm a normal user and i use Ubuntu Touch as a "normal phone".What excited me about Ubuntu Touch is no gafam and long support for my phone.
It's been 8 years my degafamed MX4 is supported, updated, and fullfill my daily needs.
If you want to use your Ubuntu Touch device as a power linux user, you can, make it read/write and hack it.
But just know that then you're outside UBports supported area, and OTA updates is to be avoided after that.
-
@keneda yeah thats my biggest fear and why i havent change system r-w yet although im tempted
does it break the OTA updates totally? Or just more errors?
As a phone it does work great few bugs but i can use it as a daily so no complaints there
-
@kugiigi lol true i could ....but i wont....for some reason im totally obsessed with UT (prob all the years i wanted a UT device)
....basically i look at it like this ....this is the platform i have chosen so what i will do is go long term once i master the dev cycle (like i did with android) i will just create the functionality i want
see part of the fun also is the feed back
Also i have to point out ...why even have libertine if not for power users?(i mean yeah i know its usefull for general use)
Its so close to being every devs nerd dream power pocket pc phone
~according to my beliefs i must remain a broken record on this ....even tho it might not have any real world effect lol
-
@developerbayman said in any way to change desktop environment?:
according to my beliefs i must remain a broken record on this ....even tho it might not have any real world effect lol
Just watch out to avoid the possible real world effect of annoying and alienating people. It's fine to have your own beliefs, it's a different thing to badger others about them. Broken records aren't much fun to listen to.
That said, my belief is that you really need a second device, which you can use to experiment to your heart's content without any risk to your daily driver.
Is currently using an Op5t
Also owns an Op1, a BQ E4.5 and an Xperia X, as well as a BQ tablet and a Pinetab2. Please, someone... make it stop. -
@kugiigi i do believe that approach is what killed public interest mainly due to the name "Ubuntu" being attached the name itself leads to certain expectations ......please dont get me wrong im not complaining.....just what i really think to be the case for this wonderful little operating system ......if it was made with linux power users and developers in mind (basically just give us ubuntu with lomri) ....and watch how popular UT would become ...i bet 20 bucks
-
@moem yeah sometimes i come off harsh my intent isnt to annoy or badger just calling it how i see ....and im not always right....but as far a UT goes these are simply my observations
"a good friend will criticize you, while placators remain silent“
-
@developerbayman Actually, Canonical created Libertine to offer desktop apps on their tablet. It wasn't really for power users. Libertine + Puritine were available out of the box on UT tablets back in the day and some preinstalled apps like Libreoffice. Libertine is barely maintained/developed nowadays due to well, lack of workforce and also isn't a priority.
Messing with apt is a hit and miss. It really depends on what you do and/or install. The problems comes from the fact that OTA updates may be delta so any changes in that update may conflict with whatever you did in the system. A full OTA update won't break the system but all your system changes will be gone.
With that, you still have a choice if you are a power user. It's just more effort and complicated for power users to do technical tasks. Rather that than normal users putting more effort to do things like updating the system
I personally modify my system and do a lot of hacks. Not with apt though, although I did that too in the past when I developed my apps directly on the my device. I created a script called Jerk Installerto install my hacks which helps me install/uninstall whenever I update the system.If you're looking for "Linux" apps and programs. The issue more than just the read-only system. First is the old base which will be fixed, to some degree in the focal upgrade. Another is the wayland support which is supported already in newer devices but still not good. Libertine uses xmir which is slow and unmaintaned. Another is support for package managers like Flatpak, Snap and Appimage which would need significant effort.
-
@developerbayman said in any way to change desktop environment?:
......if it was made with linux power users and developers in mind (basically just give us ubuntu with lomri) ....and watch how popular UT would become ...i bet 20 bucks
If UT was made for "power users and developers" I would get rid of it instantly. I am a normal user having no interest in tweaking a phone or fiddling with Lomiri etc. All I want is a phone that works without any intervention by me.
-
@cliffcoggin said in any way to change desktop environment?:
I am a normal user having no interest in tweaking a phone or fiddling with Lomiri etc. All I want is a phone that works without any intervention by me.
And you are very much not alone in that. Some of us casual users really don't want Android or iPhones!
-
@cliffcoggin that could be the beauty of it like one terminal command ...power user .....without command normal use case
-
@kugiigi may i have access to you "jerk script"?
-
thanks for all you feed back! .
-
@developerbayman Here https://github.com/kugiigi/jerk-installer
It's just a simple script that can replace and restore system files. Most of my packages deal with QML files but I've also tried other things like config files.
My main hacks right now is for Lomiri and the OSK.
