Hey all,

I have a tablet that I’ve been working on and in order to setup OS I need to plugin a usb hub to the usb port, using an adapter to microUSB, ok, and then plugin either a keyboard and mouse or a combo unit (in my case, the wireless receiver device of a mini keyboard/touchpad device), and finally, the flash drive with the OS install on it.

To put it simply, it’s really a pain in the ass anytime I want to do some testing. It works, but it is a clutter and nuisance.

Is there any software that will allow me to plug in a USB cord from my laptop (Linux) and the other end into the USB port of the tablet, and use the laptop to control the tablet?

Thanks.

  • AndrewZabar@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    11·
    11 hours ago

    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.

    • koala@programming.dev
      1·
      9 hours ago

      Hah, no worries. I think it’s just an unusual use case and… well, I recognized it because I’m obsessed with PiKVM lately and those things!

      I’m not superknowledgeable on USB, but Linux has features to do this; they are called “gadgets” in this list:

      https://docs.kernel.org/usb/index.html

      I have used this to turn a RPI Zero into a virtual USB drive with these scripts: https://github.com/alexpdp7/rpi-zero-usb-iso/

      Likely by searching the Internet for USB gadgets you might find good explanations about requirements. I know there are unexpected difficulties- I’m using a Pi Zero instead of a nicer Pi because… nicer Pis can draw too much power over USB and bork what they’re connected to. So be careful.