Remember that “worst bug ever” in the Android G1, which echoed anything typed into the phone into a root-enabled command shell? Enterprising hackers have found a use for that after all. One of them was able to parlay it into a complete installation of Debian Linux on his G1. (It actually took fairly little hacking, as there is already a version of Debian compiled to run on the G1’s ARM-based architecture.)

This only works if your Android is still on the RC29 or prior firmware versions; the RC30 patch removes the phantom root shell and thus the ability to install alternate software.

Other Android hackers have since come up with modified versions of RC30 that incorporate command-line access, but as with the Debian hack, they require that your phone not already have been updated to the official version of RC30.

Needless to say, adding Debian to your Android phone is probably not something everyone will want to do. For those who do, however, it will provide access to a wider variety of Linux applications than those available to Android—including, perhaps, compiling the original FBReader rather than using the Android Java port.

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