• Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee
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    2 days ago

    Android is a semi-immutable (heavily modified and basically owned by Google) distro that runs app in sandboxes.

    What is the difference?

    • TMP_NKcYUEoM7kXg4qYe@lemmy.world
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      13 hours ago

      The difference between Android and “proper” Linux? You said it:

      Android is a semi-immutable (heavily modified and basically owned by Google) distro that runs app in sandboxes.

      That is not what “tinkerers” want. They want access to the system. I have not tried it but can you even run an android app from the command line? I guess you can somehow but that just brings me to my other point. You kinda have to be an Android dev to tinker with Android, while on “proper” Linux the learning experience is more granular.

      edit: indeed running Android apps from CLI is not very tinker-friendly:

      https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6613889/how-to-start-an-android-application-from-the-command-line

      • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee
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        10 hours ago

        Sorry, I couldn’t follow/I don’t think I understood you.

        Why wound you want or need to run anything via CLI?

        Most Linux users never use anything CLI (similar MacOS & Windows). Why would Linux phone users? And what does that have to do with android app devs?

        The difference between Android and “proper” Linux? You said it:

        But (what I said is that) all of that you can get in various Linux distros too - what I was saying that the basic difference for devs is Google/Android SDK.

        • TMP_NKcYUEoM7kXg4qYe@lemmy.world
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          4 minutes ago

          Most Linux users never use anything CLI

          Indeed but I’m not talking about “most users”.

          Why would Linux phone users use CLI?

          You want to automate something with a script or want to create some workaround for something.

          But (what I said is that) all of that you can get in various Linux distros too

          Sure, but these distros aren’t the go-to choice of tinkerers. As I said for the normal Ubuntu user LineageOS is completely fine. “Proper” Linux phone’s target audience are Arch, Gentoo, Void,… users.

          the basic difference for devs is Google/Android SDK

          For devs sure but “tinkerers” aren’t always devs. They can just start as someone who just “pokes” into their system and eventually dives deeper, or stays forever at the “fix a thing here and there” level. In my opinion you don’t get this granular spectrum of skill. You either are an Android developer (be it Android app or Android system developer) or Android user. Maybe that isn’t true but the original topic was “why Linux phones when AOSP forks exist” and I think “tinkerers” might think this way about Android.