Elementary OS, or something like Garuda or Debian with either Gnome or KDE desktops.

Exactly. And as I said in another comment, you can make a wrapper for it if their website is not the most mobile-friendly. Any browser can handle everything beneath the skin.

Well, they all have standard web interfaces, and so many apps are merely wrappers for it or a rebuilt front-end. On a Linux device one would presume you’ll have a standard web browser so all you need really is a wrapper for the website and the browser engine handles all security. Is there any reason not to just go that route?

Thank you, again, for the info. I’ll check out those links. I appreciate it.

Thanks this is what I am looking for because everyone else misunderstood that I could run software on the tablet to “host” it. I think there’s some limitation of the USB architecture that makes what I want not really possible except with some very specific computers. I understand it but at the same time I don’t understand why. You can’t output raw signals to USB in a way that something on the other end will just hear that data as pure data. There needs to be some kind of mutual agreement on protocol at the fundamental level, if that’s a sloppy way to phrase it.

Thanks I’m gonna look into this because it might be worth a small investment to be able to do this going forward with other devices.

I appreciate your reply. You got what I was asking for. I realize I was not explicit about the unique nature of my needs but you got it.

It’s not an anything tablet it’s x86 CPU architecture can run pretty much anything. Originally had a sluggish Win10 but I managed to install a Linux distro. But the idea is to do it without any software on the tablet to run, like even to bring up the BIOS.

I commend and congratulate you! As a born American, it was never a problem for me. However, as a Jew I know full well the fragile and tenuous peace can vanish in a moment if any one or more ethnic groups become a convenient scapegoat for a regime. My grandparents got out of Germany literally with moments to spare. At the same time my grandparents were boarding a plane, SS were bashing down the doors to their home.

So if you are in a position that you could ever face persecution like that, getting the F out is the smartest thing to do. I sincerely wish you all the best and hope you make a peaceful life somewhere that isn’t headed down the hellish path that America is. Even being a white American, I still sometimes worry because of being Jewish. It can very easily happen again to my people, especially since antisemitism is in vogue again lately. And the biggest problem is that it’s familiar and comfortable for most people; my people are expected to have acclimated to oppression - hey aren’t you used to it?

I hope someday soon, the USA will be safe again for you, though I would further admire if you’ve made a life somewhere that is preferable even over a safe USA.

Kudos to you and your family.

Salud, cheers, prost, l’chaim!

I tried it out a while back it looks promising but long from usable yet really. But maybe……

I wish! I have a Samsung and I used to have an LG. One thing I anticipated which turned out to be on the nose is that these TVs stay operational just up until the maker decides they want your money again. I never bought into it to begin with. I only got a Smart TV to begin with because it has everything else I want. But I go straight to hooking up a computer. The apps on the TVs are all ooh and aah until a couple of years go by and then suddenly the apps are not compatible with the sites or backends what have you, and guess what? No more updates. You need a new TV despite the fact that yours is 100% perfectly fine, other than the inherent sabotage built in.

So that’s why I never even had any expectations. But I would love to find the best Linux distro for a media machine that my wife could learn to use. Right now I have to do all of it because it’s just browse to the files or load a playlist. I’d like something like Kodi or Plex but they have issues with one thing or another. I just want an SMB based connection in an interface that shows friendly thumbnails kinda like Nova player on Android. That app is highly underrated. Free, as far as I know open source and aside from a few control designs not being too great, the app is terrific. Kicks VLC’s butt. Why are they still designing the software like it’s 20 years ago and it’s on Windows XP?

Anyway I digress. Smart TV running Android or Linux would rock but I don’t expect it to be too feasible. But what do I know, because I’m not a professional dev.

Honestly fine by me. I prefer Linux remain non-mainstream. It has integrity like this. The moment any suits see dollar signs on it, it’s as good as ruined.

Why? Office is such shit.

Not at all. More like not wanting to see some corporate entity start to turn it into another monetized trash heap that’s enshittified to be sold to the masses in bloated and corrupt form. There’s a legitimate argument for remaining the way it is.

I’m just gonna run it solo either with multilaunch, or I’ll do separate vm instances for the different game instances. I don’t need Steam for anything as of yet.

Thanks for the info about the front-ends.

Yeah I don’t play it on Steam, I use the old launcher because I run multilaunch. I was playing it back in ‘06 and am stuck in my ways.

I’ll take a look in Lutris, though, thanks.

How different is it, then, functionality-wise, from VirtualBox or VMWare?

What’s actually the best one? I used to use PlayOnLinux and it worked so well. But then it started to have problems and I read it was abandoned.

So, for example, if I wanted to play Guild Wars with multilaunch, what integrator would be smoothest and least complicated?

Yeah, and also games often require a real install. I think aside from those types of scenarios, the safest, most efficient and convenient is a VM.

Like I said elsewhere, the ideal way if you absolutely need to run Winblows on the same machine, is to do so within a VM on the Linux host. Not usually an option if the purpose is gaming, and, well, usually the purpose is gaming.

The BEST way if you must use Windows, is to have it in a VM on a Linux host. Isolated in its own sandbox.