[CALUG] Android observation

[Walt Smith]

HI,

I'm not on any Android list, nor have
plans to do so...   

Using it, however, is a slight pain because 
of the size.  Smartphone.  I am not familiar with the larger tablets or
netbooks maybe running Android.  Maybe I should be:

I'm using my linux and Windows desktops significantly
less.  Even without a higher speed home Internet,  the relatively
small Android  data plan I have is more than adequate for all 
but videos, and possibly audio.  I don't use much audio, but
that may change.  I wait for other wifi opportunity to check
youtube once a month.

My Android does what I'd like the desktops to do-
the desktops do what I'd like the Android to do.
I understand there's a Android desktop for PC's..
Haven't investigated it, am not interested until I get a
recommendation.  But it'd be nice if I had a desktop
Android ( including hardware compat for PC devices, 
which I know  is not practical ) where I could access all the
regular linux desktop apps.

I made recent Queries  about NTFS and linux file access.
( to this list )
that was: why doesn't the 32G thumb drive "work", or
the 400g hard disk also on USB ?

 **  One thing that strikes me is that I can plug the Android into
either Win7 or  Linux ( ext4 or LVM, or is it btfs now ?) 
using the USB, and there's no problem transferring files 
either way on either system.  It "Just Works".  **

So, does Google own that code ?   If not, why don't desktop makers
implement the same code on the desktop?  I'm not sure this 
would be the same situation where many hardware manufacturers
make Windows-only  devices, proprietary to exclude Linux,
etc ( come-on, lets face it - I can't see firmware being so secret for
a wifi, although I CAN see some secrecy for a subset of special
functions on a graphics card....  but not the whole instruction set ..
and I can see it being as difficult to unravel - reverse engineer - 
a bin Windows file as a Linux bin file. 


aside:
Now, for many years - over a decade, probably 2, I read 
about the problems developing ntfs for linux by developers.
I had thought most of the compat was completed....
Am I wrong ?

2.
Now, I notice many stores still sell - NEW - Android 2.3.4.
for about $30.   say what ??   Mine has 6.0, and is quad core
( it's a free phone )  but only has somewhere about 2 gigs of
storable space....  and, I still haven't checked to see if I can
squash in another "memory"card... whatever it is...

But the old iphone4 I got from a friend has 12 gigs of available space !!!

Say what ? !!   So I'm going to start using it as a video taker 
( short 60 second segments ), camera.    and get data on wifi.
Don't need no stinkin "phone carrier" for all that use !!

So, one other question.  Can a person buy used Android 
smartphones  ( full display ) ?  I have an app, but don't know 
how to use it,  called Automate.  I'd like a security system where
maybe 4 phones will take a picture  every 2 seconds, send it to
another smartphone, and then have the images D/L to a PC...
automatically.  ( use wifi, ad hoc,   one phone probably on USB to PC. )
So, anyone know how to use the app ?  Anyone think the 
security idea is a bad one ?




Walt . . . . 






----
 The government is lawless, not the press (people).
 ( [Supreme Court] Justice Douglas re: The Pentagon Papers )