Running Linux On Acer's C100 Tablet PC 249
Christopher Coulter writes submitted a link to this detailed guide to putting Debian GNU/Linux on an Acer Tablet PC. That most manufacturers aren't leaping to provide Linux support on their tablet PCs doesn't mean it isn't possible ;)
Re:What was wrong with it before? (Score:4, Insightful)
But what about? (Score:3, Insightful)
2) Handwriting recognition?
3) Documentation annotation?
4) Screen rotation?
If you're going to drop the cash on a tablet pc (over that of a laptop) don't you think that we need to come up with this stuff?
Maybe I'm optimistic... (Score:4, Insightful)
That most manufacturers aren't leaping to provide Linux support on their tablet PCs doesn't mean it isn't possible ;)
When will manufacturers (not just tablet PCs, but hardware across the board) realize that supporting Linux will benefit them greatly? I mean, even the small steps that nVidia has taken has won the hearts of many a geek.
I guess they just don't realize it. Funny thing is, I have a friend who works for ATI and says that they use Linux workstations do big chunks of their development, but have never considered explicitly supporting their stuff on Linux. Maybe we should be more vocal as a community.
...and in related news... (Score:2, Insightful)
But what does that really acheive, apart from proving to the world that you need to get a life? We already know that Linux is a highly flexible operting system, but unless there's a concrete reason for running Linux on something, it's pointless really. I'm already waiting for the first person to announce that they've converted their internet fridge [cnet.com] to Linux.
Re:What was wrong with it before? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Maybe I'm optimistic... (Score:3, Insightful)
It's just that it isn't, as a whole, yet seen as a priority by the business community to put all that effort into Linux work - and after all, Linux users can do the works themselves, yes?
Re:But what about? (Score:2, Insightful)
Cool! How about handwriting recognition? (Score:2, Insightful)
Next step: is there a good free handwriting recognition software? I mean one that can work in two languages on the same system? The one bundled with Windows restricts you to one language.
I wanted to purchase a Tablet, but it is useless if it can't work both in my mother tongue and in English. There is an Internet here! You can't stick to one language unless you are born English.
Re:What was wrong with it before? (Score:3, Insightful)
There generally doesn't need to be a reason. He had an itch and scratched it.
the pieces are there, M$ blows again. (Score:3, Insightful)
The combination of X and ordinary free software on this platform blows away M$ offerings which restrict you to one user one computer one program, DOS days limits. Find and grep are powerful search tools and not that difficult to learn or use. KDE's embeded konsol has stylus buttons that make using the command line easy: shortcuts to history, enter and commands from a pull down menue that remembers your most common commands. Of course, for note taking, it would be much easier to simply record the conversation as ogg files and then use speach recognition to convert it, how's that for "intuitive"?. At 800 MHz, you should be able to do that, recoginize your hadwriting and serve it all out with apatche dynamically at the same time. Try that with eXPensive software.
Baby-Brother Syndrom (Score:2, Insightful)
So if i see my elder brother has successfully installed Linux on XBox, i for sure want to install Linux on C100 with ink feature!
Where Do You Want Linux To Run Today?(tm)
Not the best idea. . . (Score:4, Insightful)
Having built Tablet PC apps, I can say that there are a number of reasons why the platform just ain't there yet, and a good number of these are because its really *really* hard to design an operating system that runs in an intuitive manner with nothing but ink input. As things stand now, you can't even log into XP TE with ink. .
Anyways, its great to see alternatives for the tablet, but unless some serious dev effort is put into making Linux work with an entirely different input profile, I can't see it as real useful here.
Re:but... (Score:4, Insightful)
Something I've wanted to do for a long time is have an application or set of apps to record audio from a meeting (this thing has a built in microphone) and have a handy note pad to hand write notes on at the same time (I'm talking pages and pages of notes, diagrams, etc.). Most of the PDAs I've tried are too small for my taste and are cumbersome when taking lots of notes or don't have enough memory for the amount of audio I'd like to record (maybe with external media?). My laptop doesn't have a microphone (easy to resolve though), but my biggest issues with taking a laptop to meetings is typing on it is kind of annoying for everybody and you always have the screen between you and people across a table from you.
Obviously this could be done with M$ OS and software. But, that's where the big coolness factor comes in. Add in the shear number of *nix tools that I normally use to do other things simultaniously while in meetings on my laptop and I think it'd rock! I think I just convinced myself to buy one!
Would VNC help? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Thats not the "ink" software people want. (Score:3, Insightful)