Phones are kind of a mess and it seems PCs are far more secure/anon vs even graphene on a pixel. Drives aren’t very easily backed up or even cloned. Software is limited on mobile or needing flashed or rooted. There’s a lot to a phone that could be easily solved by a tablet/2 in 1 or Micro PC with SIM capability for phone replacement if size could be slightly larger. Working or doing much if anything even on a 6.7in screen is not that good Samsung Dex was awesome but not quite the same. So I’m willing to go larger. It would be nice to go from phone usage to gaming power. But be able to add multiple internal SSDs slots as USBs are just slower and finnicky fiddly.
But it seems PCs are leaps and bounds more capable. And SIM capable 2 in 1s are the middle ground. Which would be a better daily driver for anon and security? Convenience when on the go without sacrificing processing power as least as possible.
What about a central PC setup that you carry everywhere? Having access to running VMs, servers, all on the go. Not a laptop but similar to an micro ITX or Intel NUC.
AR mirroring PC glasses would be what I really want. The hardest part is a convenient mouse keyboard setup for times like laying in bed at night. There’s so many devices things get cumbersome to do and process all the time chargers, peripherals, cables, OS types. So I was wondering what are some other peoples perspectives on this type of thinking and solutions.
Its actually seeming like a device to cast or transition screen size is most convenient. Say from AR, to TV, to monitor, or phone sized easily without always cabling in to change.
Pretty sure the best setup is a portable laptop with internet coming from a cellular tablet/modem that you can disconnect the battery of.
You mention lying in bed, but that’s easily solved by a lightweight laptop. Wireless mouse that works on your sheets. They have small gaming laptops even, for when you need more power. Anything more powerful and you could just build a server and lock it down unless you have a hardware security key plugged in.
I was actually looking at the winmax gpd 2. But I’m really still thinking on it. I been shopping around but it’s a hard choice because theirs so many different pros and cons to each device. Power usage, battery life, speed, graphics, refresh rate. I’m totally open to suggestions. And really just weighing the pros and cons. I also like 2 in 1s and small laptops so I guess I got options.
The hardest part about the setup you’re describing is the power. PCs aren’t as power efficient as phones, so you’ll need to lug a battery around with you if you want it running at all times.
I know. I’m prepared to build it inside a backpack or similar sized carry package. But I was really looking for the most convenient pound for pound processing power an ease of use type device. Running Linux is a must. I’m fully OK with it replacing my phone. I considered a modified steam deck but a GPD seems awesome. Depending on the specs. I’ll dive deeper into it.
I dunno, laptops have gotten tremendously better - can run most of a day without power anymore. I certainly have charged my phone 3x as much as my laptop. And I already carry an external 10k Wh battery for my phone.
OP actually raises a good point about power consumption that I hadn’t considered in a while.
Energizer makes a 20k mah and 30k mah and their both awesome wireless charging digital percentage display multiple USB ports. Just watch out for the old android charger. If it was USBC it would be perfect. Perhaps they make a model now I don’t know. But the one I have is rock solid. Even in freezing temps overnight left in the car. It holds power well.
I want to warn you before you consider touchscreens: Linux is 90% of the way there. I own a tablet, and it works fine, SIM is detected, but there are just those little bugs that will drive you insane.
This is what I worry about. I know a battery will be needed between hard power sources but I want Mint on a 2 in 1 or something similar.
You might be interested in a raspberry pi or similiar arm board, they are generally more power efficient.
What are some issues going in I should know about? The main issues that is.
Most UIs are not optimized for touch, but if you use one that is like GNOME it will still have issues. The onscreen keyboard is not outstanding, you essentially need wayland apps for modern features like touch scrolling etc, and there will be bugs. For me the main bugs are some GTK popups will cause them to crash when typing into them on virtual keyboard, and swiping through apps doesn’t work very well on debian. If you use a different de or distro, your experience might vary.
PCs are far more secure/anon vs even graphene on a pixel.
Lol, both kind of devices have dedicated chips on the CPU that run their own microcode.
Drives aren’t very easily backed up or even cloned.
You can use Neobackup to periodically backup, or recovery create a clone of the system partition. If you mean external drives, you are right.
Software is limited on mobile or needing flashed or rooted.
Well… Depends on what you need to use. There’s very few apps or niche use cases that require root.
SSDs slots as USBs are just slower and finnicky fiddly.
Just use an SSD enclosure
Convenience when on the go without sacrificing processing power as least as possible.
Again, it depends on what you want to do. Open and edit documents? Phones are more than capable Edit videos? That’s gonna take a while.
What about a central PC setup that you carry everywhere? Having access to running VMs, servers, all on the go. Not a laptop but similar to an micro ITX or Intel NUC.
Something like a GPD?
Whatever I plan to run is going to be Linux based that’s a must.
I’m unsure what a GPD is but I am about to look into it. Edit: GPD looks perfect, I didn’t know this existed. I’m gonna see what specs I can nail down. I was thinking of building a micro PC with a full desktop capabilities. Like a 3.9l case with micro ITX or so and just running AC mostly, with battery backup on low power when on the go.
Cloning graphene like clonezilla isn’t possible. I have created backups and played with device settings. Capturing a complete carbon copy backup is not possible to my knowledge which seems to be the most ideal given the nature of security around graphene. Now writing everything to an external drive except for the OS could probably be done but you would have to be connected all the time to a USB or cable of some sort.
SSD enclosures look awesome I didnt know this existed lol I’ll definitely be swapping out my flash drives for one of these as long as there isn’t any cons vs say 1 tb flash drive far as performance. I’m unsure how it’s going to perform without being connected to the motherboard slot vs USB. But this is a decent middle ground I suppose.
I am wanting full PC capabilities just in a small daily package similar to a phone but I’m willing to ditch the phone for say a 2 in 1 or ideas??
NeoBackup only works if rooted, unfortunately. Well, unfortunately users don’t have full control over iOS and Android without having to sidestep stuff.
Laptops are arguably potentially far more secure. Most mobile apps collect every bit of data they can (and have internet access for no reason) , and mobile devices have standardized ways of enabling it - how often other apps are launched, what other apps are installed, etc, etc. PC OS’s don’t have that stuff built in, and apps rarely have that kind of code. Plus they’re just easier to firewall (as much of a nuisance as it is to do. Hell, GCM was built to do most of this stuff.
I’d like to run VMs inside whatever I decide to get if I make the plunge. I’m still hashing out all the options and I’ve got a nice desktop to pull parts from 6700xt 5600x or 5600g got both water cooled plenty of ram and 5tb of storage external and SSDs. So I am just trying to figure out what route is the best. Consolidate down to one device overall would be so nice rather than phone, PC, tablet, and then dealing with peripherals, battery chargers, batteries and more. Its a lot all the time. Different OSes and specs. Bad cross comparability. Plus I’d like to run some AI models as well. So I’d prefer something relatively beefy but you can’t lug around a desktop lol. I’d like to run home assistant and generally have a nice capable all in one life device. Seems interesting to toy with atleast. I’m sure there’s downsides I haven’t thought of.
