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| Android 4.0 ported to Raspberry Pi |
| By Thom Holwerda, submitted by henderson101 on 2012-08-03 00:41:12 |
| "Naren has been working on a port of Android 4.0 to Raspberry Pi, and as you can see from the screenshots and video below, he's been making great progress. Hardware-accelerated graphics and video have been up and running smoothly for some time; AudioFlinger support is the only major missing piece at the moment." Not sure how useful it is, but still pretty cool. |
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| Comment by BBAP |
| By Bringbackanonposting on 2012-08-03 05:46:43 |
| Heh! Sure why not. |
 - Score: 7 |
| Besides just being neat... |
| By Wodenhelm on 2012-08-03 06:13:46 |
| ...I also think this could be an important step towards non-proprietary/open/custom -built/whatever mobile devices and tablets. Right now, a person can put together a PC, but mobile is more important than it's ever been, and who can put that together? It can be done, but it's right hard to do. This should help tremendously, even if it's not immediately beneficial. |
| - Score: 5 |
| Comment by vezhlys |
| By vezhlys on 2012-08-03 06:45:52 |
| Initial Raspberry Pi support was recently committed to NetBSD source tree too :). It is becoming quite interesting machine with lots of open source OSes support. However, is it really interesting to anybody except geeks and will it be the start for other similar solutions? I currently doubt it. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE: Besides just being neat... |
| By moondevil on 2012-08-03 07:17:16 |
| Except that the Raspberry Pi requires a binary blob for the GPU. |
| - Score: 6 |
| RE: Comment by vezhlys |
| By sagum on 2012-08-03 07:18:10 |
|
> Initial Raspberry Pi support was recently committed to NetBSD source tree too :). It is becoming quite interesting machine with lots of open source OSes support. However, is it really interesting to anybody except geeks and will it be the start for other similar solutions? I currently doubt it. The idea behind the Pi, is that people have a very cheap way to learn how to code, it's primary aim was for schools so kids had something to learn on/with. Geeks as you say, have already made a big headway and it will leave a lasting mark for other people wanting to learn how to code. Of course, it doesn't always have to be linux that it runs and I'm sure there are some nice projects out there that don't run linux. |
| - Score: 2 |
| Could this be a route to merge Linux desktop & Android? |
| By LouisBarman on 2012-08-03 07:54:52 |
|
I have always been intrigued about getting the full Linux desktop to run on Android (so you get the best of both worlds on an Android tablet device just by adding a proper keyboard and mouse) Reading the post they say they are working to use the same kernel for both Android and the Linux desktop. The next step would be for both systems to use same graphics stack. So for example would it be possible to port xfce to Android and finally get rid of X completely. I know there is work underway to replace the outdated X windows with something more modern and efficient -- could that replacement be the Android graphics stack? Why, I can hear you all asking -- well wouldn't it be great to have the best of both worlds on _one_ device? Why carry a laptop and a tablet when everything could run on one device. Imagine plugging your phone into an HDMI screen, attaching a proper keyboard and mouse and then starting the Linux desktop. |
| - Score: 2 |
| RE: Could this be a route to merge Linux desktop & Android? |
| By Desiderantes on 2012-08-03 08:34:01 |
|
> I have always been intrigued about getting the full Linux desktop to run on Android (so you get the best of both worlds on an Android tablet device just by adding a proper keyboard and mouse) Reading the post they say they are working to use the same kernel for both Android and the Linux desktop. The next step would be for both systems to use same graphics stack. So for example would it be possible to port xfce to Android and finally get rid of X completely. I know there is work underway to replace the outdated X windows with something more modern and efficient -- could that replacement be the Android graphics stack? Why, I can hear you all asking -- well wouldn't it be great to have the best of both worlds on _one_ device? Why carry a laptop and a tablet when everything could run on one device. Imagine plugging your phone into an HDMI screen, attaching a proper keyboard and mouse and then starting the Linux desktop. You've basically asked for Wayland [yes, Wayland runs on Android too], then asked for something like Ubuntu For Android. Seriously you neeed to read some news bro, these things are happening now. |
| - Score: 3 |
| RE[2]: Besides just being neat... |
| By jgagnon on 2012-08-03 11:42:33 |
| With enough pressure and a little time, Broadcom may just change their minds on that. I'm still hopeful. |
| - Score: 4 |
| RE: Comment by vezhlys |
| By Laurence on 2012-08-03 11:43:18 |
|
> Initial Raspberry Pi support was recently committed to NetBSD source tree too :). It is becoming quite interesting machine with lots of open source OSes support. However, is it really interesting to anybody except geeks and will it be the start for other similar solutions? I currently doubt it. Other similar solutions have existed for years already (eg Beagle Board). Where this device stands out is the price. |
| - Score: 7 |
| RE: Besides just being neat... |
| By chithanh on 2012-08-03 12:22:40 |
|
> ...I also think this could be an important step towards non-proprietary/open/custom -built/whatever mobile devices and tablets. Linux runs on the Raspberry Pi, but that doesn't make it an open device. In fact it is more closed than your average PC and even more than many Android devices. Every function or peripheral access needs a modified firmware blob. Only Broadcom can make those, and for some parts (like video decode) you even have to pay licensing fees before they give you a firmware blob that allows their proprietary drivers to perform the desired function. Don't get me wrong, the Raspberry Pi is a great educational tool. But it is not open at all. |
| - Score: 2 |
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