Ubuntu vs. Lubuntu vs. Chrome OS Flex

[NormanFLinux]

I have transformed elementary OS into a ChromeOS style system by adding web apps to it through the Google Chrome browser. No need to to worry about Linux support and I can run apps both offline and in the cloud. Its the best of both worlds.

[TheFu]

RE: Non‑Apple tablets — have you tried Samsung? They have their own problems, but I find them to be acceptable cell‑capable alternatives to Apple.

I had a $50 Amazon 8 inch tablet for years. Scrubbed nearly all the Amazon stuff off it and used it as a normal Android tablet - book reader, media player, VPN client, pretty much anything to "consume" different information/media. Worked great! Just add f-droid for apps and avoid Amazon/Google app stores. After 6+ yrs of daily use, one morning, it stopped working. Never figured out why. There was no warning. Plenty of battery life too.

I'd had a 10 inch tablet, high end, when they first came out. That's how I knew that 10 inches was just too large. Did everything, including running a light Ubuntu inside a chroot on this tablet, but it was just too slow. The Amazon tablet was faster. That's what happens in 5 yrs. Perhaps 4 hrs of battery life.

I lived without a tablet when the Amazon Fire died for a few days, then it became very clear that I wanted a replacement. A little more speed, support for a larger microSD card, and a GPS were at the top of my needs. Plus, Amazon's 8in tablet was $75 that week. I wasn't going to wait until it was $50 again ... in June/July.

Did lots of research and ended up with a relatively cheap ($120) 8inch Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite. It arrived in a few days and I started purging google stuff from it. Added f-droid and added my VPN, nextcloud, jellyfin, wallabag, Voice (audiobooks), stuff. It was a little frustrating since the newer Android changed the security model to prevent access to data files by alternate apps. I still struggle with that. Added an off-line map/GPS tool (remember, no Google), and the GPS worked perfectly with OSM data. Eventually, my nextcloud data sync of music, audiobooks magically started working with the stand-alone music player and audiobook player. I have no idea what made that possible - perhaps an OS update?

I miss a few things from the Fire Tablet (package tracking from amazon), but I'm so very happy to have the GPS. Most of the time, I'm reading ebooks or controlling video playback on a projector via Jellyfin ---> Kodi. Jellyfin transcodes videos to the format the raspberry pi can handle well. Even on a pi v4, VP9 doesn't playback without losing audio sync. OTOH, h.265 or h.264 work great, so I have the jellyfin server transcode anything that isn't mpeg2, h.264. h.265 to one of those video codecs. Same on the Tab-A7.

Most Samsung tablets are overpriced 3x, like Apple's. This 8in tablet is reasonable for what it provides, assuming you get it under $130. I'm amazed at how much people will spend on what is basically a tracking device. That's what Android is - a way to track us. Before Android, everyone online used fake names. It was Google that was able to bridge the fake, online, names with credit cards (and real names) when Android phones took off. Cell phone companies don't provide service for free and most people seem to sign up for a monthly payment to have that convenient service. When I need cell service, I use a pre-paid SIM card, purchased with cash for a specific period of service. For years, I'd top it off yearly with a $10 addon, bought with cash. Keeping my real name anonymous was worth the slight hassle of doing that. Then the cell company removed the plan and started charging $3/month. I retained it until the pre-paid money ran out, then stopped. Switched to a nearly free SIM that has extremely limited use plans.

Of course, if you have a tablet with a SIM data card, there are plans for that. Here there's an unlimited data plan that can be added onto a monthly voice/phone plan for $20/month extra. A few friends use it to monitor their investment properties and cabins or beach home security cams. For fun, we watch the cows grazing, live, from 4 states away.

The cellular data Samsung Tab variants run about $160 with Verizon and GSM models available. A quick search today found 8.7 - 10.5 inch versions under $200. But it is still Android and it would be hard for most people to avoid the google ecosystem. Apple is better at hiding what they really do with the data, but being hidden and having better marketing doesn't actually change the truth.

[karyk]

The reasonably priced Samsung tablet has a crippled version of Dex, which is only wireless. I need to connect via HDMI. I actually ordered it and then cancelled once I realized that limitation.

[DuckHook]

It's not ideal, but IIRC a USB-C to HDMI cable/dongle will give you screen mirroring. You will get the big black bands vertically or horizontally (it's outright mirroring after all), but I find that it's not too bad. With a Bluetooth mouse+keyboard, it is usable as a desktop‑like platform.

[TheFu]

The reasonably priced Samsung tablet has a crippled version of Dex, which is only wireless. I need to connect via HDMI. I actually ordered it and then cancelled once I realized that limitation.

https://www.xda-developers.com/how-t...nux-chrome-os/

I've used scrcpy https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy to mirror my Android devices onto my Linux computers a year or two ago, if that's what you miss. I haven't tried it with this tablet, but it worked with the Fire tablet and my last 3 Android phones, so I'm pretty certain it is a generic Android feature, not anything special. It uses adb behind the scenes.