If you need to stick with crontab entries (perhaps they are generated/managed by some other software), it should be possible to write a systemd generator[1] to generate the required timer/service units from the crontab file(s).

[1]: https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/systemd.gen...

It already exists: https://manpages.debian.org/testing/systemd-cron/systemd-cro...

I now want to add apprise support to systemd-cron.

Awesome readings ;-)

In addition to the other suggestions, you might want to check-out distrobox: https://github.com/89luca89/distrobox

It provides support for starting host commands within a container, and also exporting commands from containers to the host.

Last I looked, distrobox made $HOME fully accessible to all its containers. That's the very opposite of parent comment's "protect against the most trivial of supply chain attacks".

As an ex Psion 5 user, I've often been tempted by the devices from Planet Computers: https://store.planetcom.co.uk/products/gemini-pda-1

The keyboards on them are excellent, but the software/firmware stories for their devices are awful. Frozen kernels due to proprietary blobs, and support for running full Linux distros is limited and lags by months to years. And they're expensive as hell.

But they keyboards are good enough that I'd still kinda like to try the Astro Slide 5G. I just don't want to order one only to wait years for it to arrive.

As an owner of Cosmo, I can confirm all of the above. The form factor is great and the keyboard is amazing, but the software story kills it all dead in the water. I wish someone could just do a dedicated Linux machine like that.

I know of Resolutiion, but no idea how successful it's been: https://resolutiion.monolithofminds.com/