Comp(h)osting (with) our phones

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Revision as of 22:52, 9 February 2026 by LEa (talk | contribs)

Gossip round

  • What was your first (smart)phone? What is the history of the device you brought in to convert into a server?
  • Which OS are your running on your current phone? What are your favorite apps and why?

Using smartphones to host websites

In the afternoon session, we started setting up the mobile phone servers. We largely followed this guide: Composting Mobile Phones - Hosting server on obsolete mobile phones. Marie had brought a few phones to use, but for those running Android, it was also possible to use their own devices.

The steps included: 1. connect all phones and laptops to the same WiFi. 2. Download Termux on the phone. 3. Download Termux API, open it and check the permission on 4. Install termux API (and test with termux-vibrate... brrrt). 5. Install and run NGINX. 6. Edit the html page

To be able to edit the website from our website, we ssh'ed into our phones with our laptops. Using termux, we could do other fun things with our phones without touching them. For example:

  • turning the flashlight on and off
  • changing the wallpaper on the phone
  • using text to speech (only enabled by default on some devices)
  • recording with the phone's microphone
  • read SMS

Links and resources gathered throughout the day

Marie! Low Tech Magazine Making dithered images with python Ivan Illich: *Tools for Conviviality* (1973) Clara Rigaud Web Design Museum

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