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Samsung has a feature that came out with the Note 9 called Linux on Dex. The basic idea is to let users run a desktop environment after buying one of their $99 accessories. We can do better than that.
Iâm going to show you how you can use this feature on any device (iPad, other tablets, Macs and PCs). For free.
First, download and install the Linux on Dex app onto your Samsung phone.
Go to the app and run the terminal on your phone, and install vnc4server by running `sudo apt-get install vnc4server`. You will need to enter the password which is âsecretâ by default. After youâve installed vnc4server, you can run `vnc4server :0 -geometry 1280x720` to serve it on the local wifi network.
Now go to your phoneâs wifi settings, and look at the IP address your phone is on.
Linux running on a Surface Book at full 3000x2000 resolution.
Finally, go to your iPad (or laptop/other) and download VNC Viewer. Iâd recommend setting up an account so you donât have to set up a new connection every time. When you go to the VNC Viewer app, youâll have to set up your connection, so enter the IP address from the phone from before and name your connection. Next, you will be asked to enter the password, which is âsecretâ by default.
You should see your linux environment running at 1280x720 resolution.
A couple things to note:
- You need to have the terminal up at all times, otherwise the system freezes (but saves state)
- VNC isnât the most secure protocol so beware using this on public networks. You just might find someone trying to connect to your system by guessing your âsecretâ password.
- You can set your resolution to fit the screen youâre working on. For example the old iPads had a resolution of 1024x768 so the command youâd want to run in your terminal after installing vnc4server is `vncserver :0 -geometry 1024x768`. For other devices, you can use the following commands:
Retina iPad 9.7: `vncserver :0 -geometry 2048x1536`
iPad Pro 10.5: `vncserver :0 -geometry 2224x1668`
iPad Pro 12.9: `vncserver :0 -geometry 2732x2048`
Macbook Pro 13: `vncserver :0 -geometry 2560x1600`
The best part of this is that you can use any device as a screen while keeping your data locally on your phone. With mobile phones getting more powerful, youâll be able to use full desktop apps on Linux (like IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate).
I was at the library a few days ago, and my laptop ran out of power. I had a charger on me but decided to see how well I could transition from using Linux on Dex on my Mac to a Surface Book (at full 3000x2000 resolution). It worked perfectly.
As youâd expect, the phone will probably heat up quite a bit. While you could spend $99 for that fancy accessory with a built-in fan, because this is a post about hacking together a solution, hereâs a cheaper solution:
I wonder if this works better than the fan in the Dex Pad
With the phones we carry with us getting more powerful each year, this could be what the future of computing looks like. Iâm particularly excited about the possibility that people in developing nations may be able to access a desktop environment for the first time by using their phones and any old tablet.
Anyways, let me know what you think, if there are any bugs you ran into, or any suggestions.
Turning your Samsung phone into a Linux desktop, the free way. was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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