[Gimp-developer] GIMP for Android

[Sergii Pylypenko <x pelya x gmail com>]

Hi. Android users might be interested in this:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cuntubuntu
sources are here: https://github.com/pelya/cuntubuntu

It's a Debian/Ubuntu environment, launched on Android inside fakechroot session,
the GIMP is pre-installed, and is the only application that works reliably in that kind-of-an-emulation
(the other app that works is AbiWord, and I've failed to launch OpenOffice/LibreOffice,
because it depends on way too many intricate Linux stuff like pseudo-terminals).

It differs from other Linux for Android installers, because it does not require rooting your device -
it will run on any stock Android device, as long as it has 200 Mb internal memory and 350 Mb external storage -
all you need is to click Install button on Google Play.
All devices released this year will satisfy that requirement, however older devices usually have very little internal memory.

The user interface is a straight conversion from the desktop, so it's quite unmanageable for fingers,
however if you're lucky owner of a Galaxy Note or other device with a stylus (or a Bluetooth mouse),
you can manage to perform some simple tasks.

I've already abandoned the development, because it generated almost no downloads on Google Play,
however I might wish to release some app like "Gimp for Galaxy Note and it's stylus",
which will be the same Ubuntu environment, with only GIMP available and all other useless stuff stripped,
like desktop environment and package manager. Also I want to replace the Xtightvnc<->Android-VNC-viewer
combo, and implement my own Android native X server based on XSDL and my own SDL port,
which will provide the 24bpp screen color depth and other slight improvements.
I definitely won't do that this year, and probably not the next one (read: never), because there are already
quite a lot of drawing and photo editing apps for Android, some of them even support layers,
and users will definitely bitch about the touch-unfriendly interface.

Anyway, If you'll still find GIMP on Android useful, even the way it is now, you may try to convince me
to continue development, or ask advice if you want to develop it yourself
(put my email to CC, I'm not subscribed to the mailing lists).