[TriLUG] Linux distros on Android tablets?

[Randy Barlow]

Hi TriLUG!

I have an interest in installing a "regular" Linux distribution on an 
Android style tablet (as opposed to a laptop with a touchscreen). I've 
read about some people on the Interweb doing things like this, and I was 
wondering if anyone in the LUG had done it before or not. I'd love to hear 
about your experience if you have. This could even be a cool TriLUG talk!

In particular, how to get started? Obviously, these devices don't have
BIOS, and don't typically boot from USB, so how does the boot process 
work? I'm interested in this question both from the perspective of initial 
installation, and also how would the installation boot thenceforth.

I'd personally be interested in doing this most with either Gentoo (don't 
worry, you can use distcc to compile on a "big" computer!), Fedora, or 
Debian, but if you have an experience with any distro I'd love to hear 
about it.

Also, what kind of UI software have you found to be handy? Is it tricky to 
get things like an automatic on screen keyboard to pop up when you click 
in a textbox (similar to how Android or iPhone does it)? Which window 
managers work well for touch screens? What about other hardware support 
for things like GPS, cell networks, the touchscreen, etc.?

Obviously, tips on how to select devices to do this with would be helpful 
too.

Thanks!

-- 
R