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by pjmlp 619 days ago
No we don't, because it would be UNIX command line and X11 on our phones, as proven by multiple attempts to GNU/Linux phones since OpenMoko.

For all their flaws, iOS, Android, ChromeOS, and the gone Blackberry, Windows Phone, Symbian, actually rethought the whole programming stack, using modern programming languages, and UI/UX.
1 comments
fph 619 days ago
And security, don't forget that. Proper app isolation on Linux is still very tricky, with many competing approaches in Apparmor/Selinux/Snap/Flatpak/Docker, all complicated to set up and use. The consequence is that in practice a 2048 game has unlimited access to the files in my /home folder.

On the other hand, Android has a very solid permission and isolation system. This is why I don't want GNU/Linux on my phone; I would rather have a proper FOSS Android.

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zozbot234 619 days ago
The Android approach is among the most "complicated to set up and use" (since it's based on SELinux under the hood) but the OEM does that for you. There's no reason why Linux distros couldn't do the same thing using Flatpak and/or bubblewrap. (Plus AppArmor for extra hardening where sensible.)
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seba_dos1 619 days ago
Linux distros already do that thing. Distros like PureOS, SteamOS and Fedora Silverblue focus on Flatpak as app distribution model.

The thing is, nobody restricts you from ignoring that model and doing stuff the old way if you feel like it, which is in contrast to Android.

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kaba0 619 days ago
Just the lack of.. the whole ecosystem adopting the restricted model and there being a properly specified and documented model in the first place.
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