Android does lots of things already, it can play videos, games, music, browse, download and upload content online, but what would you say if it can do more?
Yes! Rooted users can! and that's the beauty of it!
Why install Debian?
Because you can! Not to mention you can double your phone as a Netbook PC! Do things that you'd have a better time with on a PC than you do with your phone anyways.
Begin!
The Zmax has decently good specs, the 1.2 Ghz Quad Core CPU and 2 GB or RAM is PLENTY for a handheld, and the 1280x720 screen has just enough room for a confortable full-on desktop. Let's put this little PC to Work!
Apps we will be getting for Android.
Other Requirements
Getting Started
Download and install Linux Deploy on the Play Store. Once that's finished, we're going to open it. Once we are inside, we are going to create a new Disk Image. This is where the OS will download and setup in. Press the "Download" icon to open Properties.
These are the settings that prove to work well
You can mix and match settings to your liking, though this setup works great! the tutorial continues into this setup, so let's get to it =D
Once you got everything setup as you'd liike, scroll up and hit Install. Be patient, this takes awhile, as the OS is being downloaded from the servers.
Once that's complete, Download XServer XSDL from the Store and install it.
Once it's finished, open Xserver and wait til it goes to the blue screen. black out then go to Linux Deploy and press Start. It will take you back into Xserver, Now the desktop will load and you'll be in!
Configuration
You can use it now if you wish, but there's more to do! There are no applications installed besides the bare bones. This may be tricky, but it's easy. I'll explain it in english.
apt-get means aptitude get. it's how Debian downloads and installs programs to the computer, much how Play Store does with a GUI front-end. it's a very simple command, fret not as we are going to do now.
Let's get our Package manager ready to work! The PPAs are outdated from a fresh install. we need to update them for the packages to be available. Hunt down Terminal then enter THIS.
apt-get install update
It will update, once it's done we are ready to install stuff!
Actually installing Programs
We need a browser, Let's get IceWeasel, It's essentially Mozilla Firefox, but compatible with ARM.
This is how to install it. Locate Terminal Emulator and type this in:
apt-get install iceweasel
then hit enter. it will build a list of it's dependencies then ask if you want to install, press Y and then enter.
It will now begin downloading the files, then placing them, and setting up launcher scripts.
That's how we do it! Use that command for other programs too
These programs I tested and works
Games that work that I've tested
All these programs work as they would on a PC. Mouse and keyboard is recommended, but using the touchscreen works okay.
Audio Support
This is a pretty big deal breaker for many, no audio means no fun! and I see why. Here, we will be setting up PulseAudio, Creating a shortcut to launch it easily and getting it to play!
First we need to install PulseAudio
apt-get install pulseaudio
when that's finished, now we are going to create a quick shortcut on our desktop to begin audio transmission. Right click the Desktop and select Create Launcher. now under "Command" Paste this ridiculously long line here:
pactl load-module-simple-protocol-tcp rate=4800 format=s16l3 channels=2 source=auto_null_monitor record=true port=8000 listen 127.0.0.1
Let's name that shortcut "Start Audio" or something you wish. Check Run in Terminal. When you double click that shortcut, Terminal should appear and disappear really fast.
On android, Go to Simple Protocol Player , set IP to 127.0.0.1 and then port to 8000, don't forget to change the frequency to 48000 or else the sound's pitch will be incorrect and very poppy. If sounds are now playing (be it through youtube in iceweasel) then SUCCESS!
Note that when music plays on android, Simple Streamer will stop, so it will need to be restarted, as such as the new shortcut on each reboot.
Theming
Right out of the Box, The desktop will appear as though it's fresh from 2004. Many are fine with that, (say to the XP purists) but maybe we want it to look more modern, a look to even rival your Desktop setup! The beauty of Linux is it's customization. It's not locked down like (vanilla and OEM versions of) Android or Windows, Just copy files and viola!
The name of the theme I'm using is Gnumix Colors. It looks great, sleek and modern. This section we will go over theming, folder locations and how to copy and apply themes.
Hop online and download a theme of your choice, once you do, open it in Xarchiver.
The folder that houses Themes and Mouse cursors is
Filesystem/usr/share/themes
Copy the folder from the archive there. most themes are easily setup like this, but some are more involving. Some themes you should check the folders, and if there are folders like gtk xfwm4 etc, back up one and that's the folder you copy.
Now, go to settings, Window manager, and apply the window borders, then Appearance, then apply the window contents. if all went well, you've successfully setup a theme!
Icon themes are much the same, but have a different folder. Find the Icon theme you wish to use, and open it in Xarchiver. when it's open, extract the folder into
Fielsystem/usr/share/icons
If setup properly, the icons will appear in Appearance in the Icon tab.
Cursors Themes are the same way same way. just copy the cursor theme to the same folder, go to Mouse Settings, Theme then apply!
Whisker Menu - What about the Applications Menu? Isn't there a way to improve it? Yep! Whisker Menu is the answer. With this bad boy you can now search for programs and stuff!
To install, in terminal type: Whisker Menu apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin
Once it's finished, go ahead into Panel Properties and add it, remove the standard XFCE menu and replace it with Whisker menu. Now things should be looking more modern!
To skin Whisker Menu, you will need to go to your user folder and open the file .gtkrc-2.0 with Gnu Emacs24. then modify paste a template you found over everything inside the file. save the file then stop and restart Linux deploy to apply.
VirtualGL – The fabled Hardware rendering support
Apparently there's a way to get basic hardware acceleration to work here, but no where can I find that anyone has done this. If you know how, PLEASE share!
Feel free to share screenshots! Also feel free to recommend other useful software.
-Love Steventechno!
Q: Why use the Root account?
A: You can use a standard account and use sudo to open thunar, but you HAVE to have root access to manipulate files on the SDCard. Period.
Note that using a normal user will work, using thunar as sudo can cause inconsistencies, and some cases fail to interact with the desktop properly.Also ANY program you want to grant SDCard access to needs Sudo. so you might as well use Root as the daily anyways.
Q:If I plug in a flash drive, does it appear like a normal PC?
A: No it does not. You'll have to add the entry to the usbstorage as a custom mount. the drive will then be manipulatable just as the SDCard.
Q: OpenGL Software does not work!
A: I don't know how to setup and use VirtualGL (or if it even runs on ARM at all.)
Footnote: If I forgot to include anything, Lemme know too!
Yes! Rooted users can! and that's the beauty of it!
Why install Debian?
Because you can! Not to mention you can double your phone as a Netbook PC! Do things that you'd have a better time with on a PC than you do with your phone anyways.
Begin!
The Zmax has decently good specs, the 1.2 Ghz Quad Core CPU and 2 GB or RAM is PLENTY for a handheld, and the 1280x720 screen has just enough room for a confortable full-on desktop. Let's put this little PC to Work!
Apps we will be getting for Android.
- Linux Deploy
- Xserver XSDL
- BVNC (Backup Plan)
- Simple Protocol Player
Other Requirements
- Good Internet
- 4GB of available space
- Maybe consider a Custom Rom, I've ran this on CM12.1,Resurrection Remix and BrokenOS All without issues. It should work on stock too.
Getting Started
Download and install Linux Deploy on the Play Store. Once that's finished, we're going to open it. Once we are inside, we are going to create a new Disk Image. This is where the OS will download and setup in. Press the "Download" icon to open Properties.
These are the settings that prove to work well
- Distribution: Debian
- Distribution Suite: jessie
- Architecture: armhf (Armel is for older devices, and is slow on modern systems. armhf is the way to go.)
- installation type: File
- Installation Path /storage /sdcard0/gnulinux.img
- Image Size: 3072MB
- User name: root (I'll explain why)
- Desktop environment: XFCE
- Graphics subsystem X Server
- GUI Settings Check XServer XSDL (This is important!)
You can mix and match settings to your liking, though this setup works great! the tutorial continues into this setup, so let's get to it =D
Once you got everything setup as you'd liike, scroll up and hit Install. Be patient, this takes awhile, as the OS is being downloaded from the servers.
Once that's complete, Download XServer XSDL from the Store and install it.
Once it's finished, open Xserver and wait til it goes to the blue screen. black out then go to Linux Deploy and press Start. It will take you back into Xserver, Now the desktop will load and you'll be in!
Configuration
You can use it now if you wish, but there's more to do! There are no applications installed besides the bare bones. This may be tricky, but it's easy. I'll explain it in english.
apt-get means aptitude get. it's how Debian downloads and installs programs to the computer, much how Play Store does with a GUI front-end. it's a very simple command, fret not as we are going to do now.
Let's get our Package manager ready to work! The PPAs are outdated from a fresh install. we need to update them for the packages to be available. Hunt down Terminal then enter THIS.
apt-get install update
It will update, once it's done we are ready to install stuff!
Actually installing Programs
We need a browser, Let's get IceWeasel, It's essentially Mozilla Firefox, but compatible with ARM.
This is how to install it. Locate Terminal Emulator and type this in:
apt-get install iceweasel
then hit enter. it will build a list of it's dependencies then ask if you want to install, press Y and then enter.
It will now begin downloading the files, then placing them, and setting up launcher scripts.
That's how we do it! Use that command for other programs too
These programs I tested and works
- Gimp: apt-get install gimp
- LMMS: apt-get install lmms
- LibreOffice: apt-get install libreoffice
- VLC Media Player: apt-get install vlc
- Transmission: apt-get install transmission
- Pidgin IM: apt-get install pidgin
- audacious: apt-get install audacious
- xarchiver: apt-get install xarchiver
- Ristretto: apt-get install ristretto
- GNU Emacs 24: apt-get install emacs
- Whisker Menu apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin
Games that work that I've tested
- Battle for Wesnoth: apt-get install wesnoth (Runs pretty well)
- Boswars apt-get install boswars (Seems very slow paced, could be performance.)
- Which way is up: apt-get install whichwayisup (Needs hardware keys to play.)
- freeciv apt-get install freeciv (Must be ran as un-root user.)
All these programs work as they would on a PC. Mouse and keyboard is recommended, but using the touchscreen works okay.
Audio Support
This is a pretty big deal breaker for many, no audio means no fun! and I see why. Here, we will be setting up PulseAudio, Creating a shortcut to launch it easily and getting it to play!
First we need to install PulseAudio
apt-get install pulseaudio
when that's finished, now we are going to create a quick shortcut on our desktop to begin audio transmission. Right click the Desktop and select Create Launcher. now under "Command" Paste this ridiculously long line here:
pactl load-module-simple-protocol-tcp rate=4800 format=s16l3 channels=2 source=auto_null_monitor record=true port=8000 listen 127.0.0.1
Let's name that shortcut "Start Audio" or something you wish. Check Run in Terminal. When you double click that shortcut, Terminal should appear and disappear really fast.
On android, Go to Simple Protocol Player , set IP to 127.0.0.1 and then port to 8000, don't forget to change the frequency to 48000 or else the sound's pitch will be incorrect and very poppy. If sounds are now playing (be it through youtube in iceweasel) then SUCCESS!
Note that when music plays on android, Simple Streamer will stop, so it will need to be restarted, as such as the new shortcut on each reboot.
Theming
Right out of the Box, The desktop will appear as though it's fresh from 2004. Many are fine with that, (say to the XP purists) but maybe we want it to look more modern, a look to even rival your Desktop setup! The beauty of Linux is it's customization. It's not locked down like (vanilla and OEM versions of) Android or Windows, Just copy files and viola!
The name of the theme I'm using is Gnumix Colors. It looks great, sleek and modern. This section we will go over theming, folder locations and how to copy and apply themes.
Hop online and download a theme of your choice, once you do, open it in Xarchiver.
The folder that houses Themes and Mouse cursors is
Filesystem/usr/share/themes
Copy the folder from the archive there. most themes are easily setup like this, but some are more involving. Some themes you should check the folders, and if there are folders like gtk xfwm4 etc, back up one and that's the folder you copy.
Now, go to settings, Window manager, and apply the window borders, then Appearance, then apply the window contents. if all went well, you've successfully setup a theme!
Icon themes are much the same, but have a different folder. Find the Icon theme you wish to use, and open it in Xarchiver. when it's open, extract the folder into
Fielsystem/usr/share/icons
If setup properly, the icons will appear in Appearance in the Icon tab.
Cursors Themes are the same way same way. just copy the cursor theme to the same folder, go to Mouse Settings, Theme then apply!
Whisker Menu - What about the Applications Menu? Isn't there a way to improve it? Yep! Whisker Menu is the answer. With this bad boy you can now search for programs and stuff!
To install, in terminal type: Whisker Menu apt-get install xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin
Once it's finished, go ahead into Panel Properties and add it, remove the standard XFCE menu and replace it with Whisker menu. Now things should be looking more modern!
To skin Whisker Menu, you will need to go to your user folder and open the file .gtkrc-2.0 with Gnu Emacs24. then modify paste a template you found over everything inside the file. save the file then stop and restart Linux deploy to apply.
VirtualGL – The fabled Hardware rendering support
Apparently there's a way to get basic hardware acceleration to work here, but no where can I find that anyone has done this. If you know how, PLEASE share!
Feel free to share screenshots! Also feel free to recommend other useful software.
-Love Steventechno!
Q: Why use the Root account?
A: You can use a standard account and use sudo to open thunar, but you HAVE to have root access to manipulate files on the SDCard. Period.
Note that using a normal user will work, using thunar as sudo can cause inconsistencies, and some cases fail to interact with the desktop properly.Also ANY program you want to grant SDCard access to needs Sudo. so you might as well use Root as the daily anyways.
Q:If I plug in a flash drive, does it appear like a normal PC?
A: No it does not. You'll have to add the entry to the usbstorage as a custom mount. the drive will then be manipulatable just as the SDCard.
Q: OpenGL Software does not work!
A: I don't know how to setup and use VirtualGL (or if it even runs on ARM at all.)
Footnote: If I forgot to include anything, Lemme know too!
