Canonical Developing Ubuntu OS For Tablets 228
snydeq writes "Canonical is preparing a version of the Ubuntu OS for tablet computers as the company looks to extend its presence in the mobile space, InfoWorld reports. The OS will be a lightweight version of Linux with a simplified, touch-friendly user interface, and tablets with the Ubuntu OS could become available late in winter 2011. The focus will be on developing an OS with a simplified user interface that provides quick access to the most-used applications. Development efforts will also focus on adding on-screen keyboard features and compatibility for multitouch drivers."
HELL YES! (Score:3, Insightful)
AFAIK you can install your own version of Ubuntu onto the Joojoo, which is way cheaper than an iPad but has decent enough hardware specs.. this could be really awesome!
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on the other hand, TFA says this won't be out until the end of 2011 :/ Best just to wait and see what other decent tablets come out in the meantime.. preferably ones with expandable storage, and an open environment..
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The JooJoo and the iPad are both $499. How is the JooJoo "way cheaper"?
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Wow. Nothing personal but I can't imagine how you've been nodded up... TWICE. What do you need to pay in the future? What has Apple announced they would do along these lines? You buy an iPad today and it will function as it does forever without ever talking to Apple again. Please specify exactly what functionality will get turned off if you don't send Apple money above and beyond the initial purchase price.
Considering that the JooJoo's manufacturer is likely to go out of business before the warranty expires
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Here in the UK the JooJoo is £320 while the cheapest iPad is over £400. I looked at the JooJoo specs last night though and it doesn't appear to have expandable storage either.. and with only 4GB of storage it's rather limiting. Guess I'm back to waiting to see what other cool stuff comes out in the next few months. I'm still happy with my netbook too, but there are a couple of things that a tablet would be nice for if the price was right.
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It includes a USB port that you need to pay Apple an extra $30 for...
Some things so surprising that I had to go verify it for myself. This needs to be repeated loudly: the iPad has no USB or SD card slot ! Amazing how anybody can use it for anything...
I'll eagerly wait for this Ubuntu tablet version on whatever tablet it can run. I've already tested the Netbook version and found it quite nice (unfortunately the hardware was flaky).
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http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MC531ZM/A?fnode=MTc0MjU4NjE&mco=MTcyMTgxODY [apple.com]
The kit includes two connectors, each with a different interface:
The Camera Connector features a USB interface. Just plug it into the dock connector port on your iPad, then attach your digital camera or iPhone using a USB cable (not included). iPhone 3G is not supported.
Use the SD Card Reader to import photos directly from your camera's SD card. Connect it to your iPad, then insert your digital camera's SD card into the slot.
So... (Score:4, Insightful)
What about getting it ON a Tablet? Anybody agreed to or even thinking about putting Ubuntu on their tablet?
I don't see a lot of people wanting to buy a tablet only to replace the existing OS.
Though it'd be nice to get some kind of slate for a cheap price - this should cut down the price by $100, if Ubuntu can get someone on board with it.
Re:So... (Score:4, Informative)
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They already have an app store, that's effectively what the package manager has been all along... I believe they are working on extending it to allow paid app purchases, while still having the benefits of centralised updating etc.
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The iPad does run OSX, albeit a somewhat stripped down version of it...
If you jailbreak it, you can restore the unix userland tools which apple removed.
Don't think the business model will work. (Score:5, Insightful)
The other problem is that tablets are media consumption devices, and Netflix doesn't work on Ubuntu.
Using Linux isn't going to save any hardware manufacturer a significant component cost. And since Android is there for free, there's not a good business argument for bundling Ubuntu.
Seth
Consumption? (Score:2)
tablets are media consumption devices
Says who? Plenty of artists use more expensive tablets such as Cintiq for media creation. Or by "consumption" did you mean an old name for TB, which sounds like TV?
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Are you trying to imply they sell the hardware as a loss leader? You certainly "think different" [google.com] to most people in the industry.
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As for media...that's a point. But then, it'd be open, so companies could develop the appropriate apps, and you could use the media you already have.
But how would companies make sure that you don't tee(1) [wikipedia.org] the audio and video into your WebM encoder so that you can save a Netflix streaming rental permanently?
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How would they make sure you don't download it from your favorite Bittorrent tracker, bypassing the need to shell script at all and still giving you a copy to watch whenever you like?
"Make sure the paid service is less functional and portable than the free one" is probably not the correct answer to that question. It sure hasn't been so far.
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I don't see a lot of people wanting to buy a tablet only to replace the existing OS.
I might not qualify as 'a lot of people', but I will be damned if I will leave Windows 98 on my Fujitsu stylistic 2300!
20 years ago was a long time, but I am pretty sure my intent was replacing its OS right fast after buying it.
Ubuntu runs on it just fine today. Back then I used slackware and then debian, as ubuntu didn't exist yet.
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Though it'd be nice to get some kind of slate for a cheap price - this should cut down the price by $100, if Ubuntu can get someone on board with it.
Simply an observation:
WalMart - the world's largest and most aggressive deep discount retailer - has never been able to consistently undercut OEM Windows by $100 - by $75 - by $50 - on systems with competitive, marketable, specs.
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I would point out that WalMart does undercut by hundreds of dollars on computers- they just do it by selling windows machines instead of macs.
For the better part of a decade, WalMart tried to make a go of OEM Linux.
With Slashdot's cheerleaders on the sidelines. The netbook was the chain's last big push. Nothing ever came of it.
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Right now, I'm using it on a dead standard HP Probook. Horrible configuration. For the wireless, you have to click on the "wireless" icon, click on the appropriate network, and put in the network password. I have a lot of technical skill-if it took me twenty seconds to figure that out, I bet your average user could have a painful minute and a half process on their hands! Dual monitors were also a terrible pain, like I've heard sometimes. I plugged the second monitor in, the menu for the two monitor setup po
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To counter your example, i have the following machines running ubuntu:
a packard bell desktop (c2d 2.2ghz, 2gb ram, ati x1600 video etc)
a self build desktop (q6600, 8gb ram, 64bit, nvidia 8600 video)
a dell latitude c610 laptop (with a cisco pcmcia wireless card since theres no built in wireless)
a dell latitude d600 laptop (the onboard broadcom wireless didnt work in 8.04 but does out of the box with later versions)
an asus eee 901 (running the netbook version)
all of these machines get updated to the latest ve
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I'd recommend that you never start a business, as you seem to have missed the point that it's future updates that break it, and that returns kill retail. FAIL
All the machines i run ubuntu on, had all of their hardware supported out of the box and none of them have failed due to updating. The reason your machine on which you compiled wifi drivers from source failed after updating is because the system package manager is unaware of your self compiled drivers and is therefore unable to update them to match the other updated components. I would not sell a machine with ubuntu on it that required manual hacking like that to get something working, there are plenty of s
Why so long? (Score:2, Interesting)
The iPad is out NOW. Windows tablets will be out SOON. Why be so late to the game? I don't understand the slowness of FOSS to catch Win/Mac.
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No-one gives a shit about tablet computers. Never have.
Re:Why so long? (Score:4, Interesting)
On my desk I want a big monitor, whereas a tablet computer should be as small as is practical. Where I would put a tablet computer, if anyone sold one for a price that was actually worth paying, is on my coffee table. The laptop I have on it now is clunky to use while lazing on the couch. I expect if ASUS ever get their act together I'll buy one of theirs and install this Ubuntu on it.
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No-one who bought an iPad bought a tablet computer... they bought a hit of Steve's bong, that's all. The vast majority of people who bought an iPad would happily give it back for a full refund if Apple offered one.
Re:Why so long? (Score:5, Informative)
The iPad is out NOW. Windows tablets will be out SOON. Why be so late to the game? I don't understand the slowness of FOSS to catch Win/Mac.
And the android tablet was out in 2009 [youtube.com]. I don't understand why the Win/Mac are so slow to catch up...
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How come that never made a splash?
If an Android tablet is put on sale in a forest and nobody buys it, does anybody care?
Maybe a lack of a massive marketing campaign? Notice how the older models of androids didn't sell well, but when the Motorola Droid did a huge marketing campaign, it sold amazingly well? Same (more or less) tech, just had the marketing to go behind it. Never underestimate the power of a good marketing budget.
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Microsoft has had their OS on tablets longer than you've probably been using computers. At least 10 years. If you have been using computers longer than that you should be ashamed of yourself for being so slow to know this. It's been mentioned numerous times around here and several of them have had moderate success.
Yes, I know, I had one. But those were a desktop OS smacked into a tablet-style device, if you wish to get technical about it. These newer tablets are made with the touchscreen in mind at the beginning, not the end. Though if you prefer, we could also claim that the old Palm PDA's are tablets that predate all of this...
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touchscreen != tablet. Tablet is a form factor
Well that would explain why I didn't mention the touch screen computers from the 80's that are used in businesses for sales...
Let's be honest here: either you're a n00b or a liar. You told us that tablets were first OSS.
And where did I say that tablets were OSS? This is the first time I've even mentioned OSS. Believe it or not, but the computer world isn't limited to Windows, Mac and the rest are OSS.
When you got called out on it you acted like you knew all along and claimed that the OS really wasn't a tablet OS. Now you've been called out on that too. You're wrong. Any way you try to slice it at this point you're wrong and attempting to back peddle is only going to make you look like more of an ass who doesn't know when to give in when you've been proven wrong.
From your own Wikipedia link, it states that WinXP tablet edition was made it 2004 (opposed to the normal WinXP made in 2001, 3 years before), and was an 'edition' (meaning MODIFIED version) and when it
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I have a tablet from the early 1990s which I bought at a second hand place for the sake of curiosity. It runs windows 3.1
Re:Why so long? (Score:5, Insightful)
*sigh*
FIRST of all, tablet PC's are over 10 years old.
Second of all, the reason FOSS always seem to be behind Win/Mac is that when there is a FOSS project which is pioneering something, it is usually not advertised and ignored until one of these companies comes along and claims to have invented it. When MS/Apple pioneer something, they spend millions telling the world about it. It then becomes relevant to people that there is a FOSS version of this famous thing.
So, in summary:
FOSS comes first -> not a big deal until the others do it.
Proprietary comes first -> FOSS are lagging behind.
Mmmkay?
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FIRST of all, tablet PC's are over 10 years old.
Sure. But what cool technology ever hits the big time on its first birthday?
PCs were around for 15 years before the web sold them to your grandma's friends.
Tablet PCs before the iPad were clunky and slow computers with weird connectivity and someone trying to pump you up for balky character recognition as their greatest feature.
Now they're big-screen smartphones, and everyone wants one.
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Just buy two for your children or your technologically challenged family members and let them have their fun while you keep using the devices that suit your own needs.
Fixed that for you. [bbspot.com]
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I'm surprised no one's mentioned Nokia's N800, that was a fully fledged internet tablet running Maemo that was a precursor to the iPad, having much more in common with it than the tablet PCs of the time. Though it did support flash. Later firmware revisions brought a portable version of firefox and a more finger friendly UI. Though the soft keyboard always supported stylus or finger input. Mine must be about four years old now.
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How much money can Microsoft invest in putting touch drivers into Windows 7? How much money can a company with a fixed six-month release cycle who puts out free software invest? For that matter, how much development time have you invested into making Ubuntu what it is?
Personally I'm just a leach - I barely touch alphas and betas and have only started to participate in the forums and bug reports to help collect information, but I understand full well why my Touchscreen PC works flawlessly under Windows 7 b
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...it's all about interest.
If there's interest, there can be a better experience on Linux than Windows 7. Beating MacOS/PhoneOS is a much lower bar.
Personally, I want tablets that don't skimp on the parts and aren't gravely restricted to what they can do or are allow to do.
I'm not holding my breath on Redmond here...
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FOSS is more than that, its primary tangible benfit is that it keeps people safe from being milked for every penny they are worth for everyday software that everyone should get the benefit of. Without it there wouldn't be innovation, know that too.
Building the Open Base. (Score:2)
FFS - winter in which part of the world? (Score:2, Insightful)
When will comapnaies/websites with worldwide audiences wake up and realise that usign terms like 'ready in the winter' is NOT conducive to setting expectations equally? 'Winter' is completely relative to where in the world you are located.
How about using something somewhat universally acepted like '3rd quarter', or even better - state the damned month directly and give youyself an actual target/deadline!
Re:FFS - winter in which part of the world? (Score:5, Funny)
Perhaps they, like the DNF team, refer to the winter in Ecuador.
Dollar for dollar, winter is in January (Score:2)
'Winter' is completely relative to where in the world you are located.
There's more land mass in the northern hemisphere and more disposable income too. For example, the majority of the population of industrialized English-speaking markets do not live in Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa. They live in United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland. So with more land mass in the Northern Hemisphere and more developed countries in the Northern Hemisphere (apart from South American countries and South Africa), the majority of wealth experiences winter in the first quarte
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Not only that - but the products usually don't get released in the southern hemisphere until 6 or 18 months later anyway. So the season is still accurate.
Seriously though, I have to agree. If you want to divide up the year into 4 vague sections use quarters dammit.
What are the odds... (Score:5, Insightful)
I hope they hire a UI designer who isn't an Apple admirer. We need fresh ideas [youtube.com]...
Window Buttons (Score:2, Insightful)
"Okay, so we're now designing a touch-screen version. Considering how many right-handed people are out there, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to move the window controls to the left-hand side of the screen."
Doesn't seem so ergonomic anymore, now, does it?
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You can change that. You know that, right?
Re:Window Buttons (Score:4, Funny)
But it still bothers me just a little bit. It makes me think that Ubuntu is going in a direction that I don't want to go.
left?
Newbie Friendly Too. (Score:2)
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A tablet version will probably try to run apps full screen anyway, with a few possible exceptions. Ubuntu Netbook Remix already works that way, and I assume the tablet edition will take the netbook concepts one step further. Classic windowing controls don't really apply, though clearly there will still be a need to close windows/applications.
It's the apps stupid (Score:2)
Are they going to redesign those "most used apps" too? A simple touch friendly veneer won't do much good if all it does is throw you into an instance of the Gimp or OO.org.
Re:It's the apps stupid (Score:5, Informative)
If this is a business device, the killer app is OneNote. Sure tablets dont suit a lot of people, but if you want to take notes, do research, read and link information, be mobile etc... Onenote is it. Evernote is not. (right idea, wrong execution). There are also niche applications (medical etc), but from a general business focus... do Onenote.
If its a consumer device - create an open iPad. BUT you will also need to ensure that Music, Reading, Web browsing, Gaming, Sharing work brilliantly. Only Apple has really succeeded with that, as long as you live in their ecosystem. If you can made those apps work openly **and** get the media providers on board, then you stand a chance.
Linux customize for "X" never works (Score:3, Interesting)
Unless every app were designed to run in the new constraints, they won't look, work or act right. Netbook spins of Linux are always just menus with large icons that just make you feel like you are playing with a toy with extremely limited options and usability.
Maemo just about got it. Droid definitely got it. Making an "Ubuntu" version would need to be more than a new Window manager and selection of packages. It needs a controlled and contained UI that will work within that environment and integrate well.
This rather leads me to an idea... one that is either really stupid and/or impractical or something else.
If Linux's X apps were created with an application's equivalent of HTML's "CSS" then perhaps applications could be tremendously more adaptable to different user environments.
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If Linux's X apps were created with an application's equivalent of HTML's "CSS" then perhaps applications could be tremendously more adaptable to different user environments.
Sounds like the QML (Declarative UI) portion of Qt Kinetic [trolltech.com] (and Qt Style Sheets have been around for a while).
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It does but I think there needs to be more. Applications generally expect to run in a window and have tool bars and all the things a typical Window system does. It doesn't leave it open, necessarily to other paradigms. Not saying that I have considered other paradigms or could even imagine one, but considering the iPhone and Maemo, I can imagine a bit where current expectations of current apps won't be too adaptable. Basically, my idea is completely unrefined and not well thought out and would require s
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Other netbook lines are the same. Ubuntu gives the world the freedom to support any hardware they like with at any price point.
HTML's "CSS" sounds good, just need the perfect fonts
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please don't make me use my fingers as a mouse rep (Score:4, Interesting)
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Wait why exactly is a scroll bar bad?
for the same reason that having a scroll area on the touchpad is bad, and multitouch scrolling is good. sometimes you mistouch and you scroll when you meant to move, or move when you meant to scroll. but most humans can touch with one finger or two, or for that matter, drag instead of tapping.
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First of all, I don't like to use my finger; I prefer a stylus, on a passive digitizer. I may change my tune after using multi-touch, but I have not had the pleasure as yet.
The Apple Newton deals with the scroll bar issue by limiting the UI to vertical only, and supplying a set of scroll arrows in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. Tapping an arrow scrolls one page. The important thing is that the location never changes. Some apps add a second set of scroll arrows. In Dates (the calendar), tapping the
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Insta-fail? Lack of scrollbars cripples the mobile browsers. Their absence on the iThing is merely annoying. Whereas Android could sorely use real scrollbars.
So who is the Linux darling these days, anyway? (Score:2, Interesting)
Joy for Dell Streaks? (Score:2)
Ubuntu as a "something newer" OS would put real computing power and freedom into a larger pocket/messenger bag.
Could we finally enjoy a flash supporting, codec rich, web friendly OS on usable hardware with real usb?
I really hope this works and we see a generation of creative computing again vs the DRM, rented, book erasing, push dreams of an Apple, MS, Amazon ect.
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I'm sure you can reflash the firmware a' la Cyanogen's stuff- just using an ARM Ubuntu build with the Tablet Remix overlay- and it wouldn't surprise me if they don't have a bit of that kind of thinking going on in their heads right now over in Round Rock.
Shuttleworth must be stoned! (Score:5, Insightful)
8.04's focus was stability.
9.04's focus was netbooks.
9.10's focus was cloud computing.
10.04's focus was pretty themes (and apparently dyslexia).
10.10's focus is now tablets.
Am I the only one that thinks that a Linux distro should stick with focusing on doing one thing very well? Seems all of these half-baked ideas are just late-night bong-induced dreams that get left at the wayside 6 months later. You just end up getting a bunch of "won't fix" bugs in LP because "the focus is now release+1". /me grows weary of this runaround...
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Am I the only one that thinks that a Linux distro should stick with focusing on doing one thing very well?
I hope so.
A useful OS needs to do *MANY* things well. And the UI must be at least not hell to work with, not everyone does everything in a terminal and uses Pine to read their mail... Window GUIs exist because many people prefer them, they should elegant and well designed.
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A useful OS needs to do *MANY* things well. And the UI must be at least not hell to work with, not everyone does everything in a terminal and uses Pine to read their mail... Window GUIs exist because many people prefer them, they should elegant and well designed.
Agreed. That, however, has nothing to do with the fact that each release has steered the entire distribution in a completely different direction.
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Ubuntu's one main focus has always been on ease of use of the average user (read: people who are generally not aware of Linux, or even Windows for that matter*) People want a stable experience, that runs on their netbook, stores their stuff so that they can always access it, and looks good while doing it.
Are you saying that 10.04 is unstable, doesn't work at all on a netbook, and has no support for cloud computing?
I wouldn't say these are half-baked ideas, I'd say they're more like milestones. I don't think
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APad with Android (Score:4, Interesting)
Orphan Electronics Apad M800 $150-$200 Street Price
http://pricedinchina.com/buy-orphan-iped-mid-slate---m800-wifi-7-android-tablet-pc---m800-iped.aspx [pricedinchina.com]
It looks like China already beat everyone including to a degree the Open Source community with a clone of the iPad. They are already selling an iPad clone in China. It looks just like the iPad in everyway, but the guts. I understand it is suppose to have an 600mhz Intel CPU inside, and 2gb of storage with USB port and I thought a memory card. It also has Wifi and web cam built in.
Seems like this thing beats the iPad in almost every area that people complain about for the iPad. Much lower price, same size screen (7"), open and can do all the things the iPad can't or won't. Seems like a pretty good iPad killer to me, and it run Android already so there isn't really an issue of limited apps either. Runs Flash, MKV/H.264, MPEG 1&2, RM/RMBV, MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC, AAC,AC3, WAV.
If I were going to buy a tablet computer I would certainly give this one a serious look.
If the screen isn't big enough for you. I have seen other Orphan Electronics tablets advertised with bigger screens, but of course they cost more than this version does.
Here is one with a 10" screen for $290 and has more storage and still uses Android.
http://chinagrabber.com/buy-10-orphan-iped-m16-1024-x-600-android-apad-wifi-tablet-pc-m16-mid.aspx [chinagrabber.com]
At $100 retail in China and $150 retail on some web sites. Seems like this is exactly the kind of table that all the Linux companies like Ubuntu should be looking to use as their hardware platform. At the price of $100-$150 it beats even most eBook readers on price, and it has wifi built in so adding more books/music/software isn't an issue, not to mention the USB port on it.
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There is a reply button. Then messages are threaded. This makes things easier to follow.
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Does anyone remember X11 running a 486-100mhz with 16Meg of memory?
Have you actually measured the performance/overhead of rendering on X11?
Then you suggest Android...
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Does anyone remember X11 running a 486-100mhz with 16Meg of memory?
No, but I ran X11 as a parallel desktop on a 20MHz 386 with 12MB of RAM.
XFree86's X11 could be installed and run as a full-screen application under OS/2, in parallel with the WPS/PM desktop. This was on a Toshiba T5200 "laptop" in the 1990s. Performance of both native OS/2 PM and X11 applications was quite snappy, even with the OS/2 NFS client+server running. In fact, I often ran a third desktop in parallel (full-screen WinOS2) for MS-Office applications.
My recollection of OS/2 (WPS+XFree86+WinOS2) on a
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he said they'd still suck, like they always have
Those who fail to understand X11 are condemned to reinvent it, poorly.
Sadly, many people using Unix today fail to understand the benefits of a client-server architecture which doesn't care whether it's rendering in the same computer or a completely different architecture and operating system on the other side of the planet.
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Hmm, why? Xorg uses less than 5MB in all PCs I have.
Again, why? Xorg may currently have many hacks, but it works fine. Linux based OSes were of the first to show desktops as 3D surfaces, and even have real time video playing on them.
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Linux based OSes were of the first to show desktops as 3D surfaces,
Yeah except for the fact that they weren't. Apple and Microsoft were showing it off before Compiz existed.
and even have real time video playing on them.
That's funny cause my Amiga was doing that before the first revision of the Linux kernel even existed.
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Apple: Bullshit. They were submitting for patents on that, indicating they could something like it in December 2008. Here's the /. story [slashdot.org].
As for Microsoft, maybe they had some demos, but nothing real until Vista, which was the first Windows with a compositing wm (Desktop Window Manager).
By these dates, Compiz had already been forked and that fork (Beryl) had already re-merged.
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X11? Pfffft. Some of us quite happily ran X11 on 486s. The problem is not X11.
Any tablet is going to be heavily dependent on proper GPU drivers regardless of what's powering it. Ubuntu has an advantage for being more open and having a wider developer base that also includes power users. The bar is much lower and the community is more interesting.
Hardware that is already supported in Ubuntu has an advantage here.
Re:X11? (Score:5, Informative)
If this has X11, I doubt it will be especially lightweight.
Er, the Nokia n series including the 770, n8x0 and n900 all use X11. Works fantastically.
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not to mention those devices have unremarkable rendering chips by tomorrow's standards. If the existing nvidia binary blob or nouveau equivalent could be used with a tegra2 we might have some serious grunt!
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MeeGo uses X11 [meego.com], it seems.
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Including/excluding modules doesn't constitute a kernel fork or a "different version". That's like saying you rolled your own version of Windows by removing the network driver.
I'm not sure why he got modded troll - he's absolutely correct. TFA summary makes it sound like Linux is an operating system.
Technically... (Score:3, Informative)
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The Linux Kernel is a kernel.
Linux is a family of operating systems that are based on one of the Linux kernels or a kernel derived from one.
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GNU/Linux vs. uClinux (Score:3, Informative)
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This is where you get into scaring away real users with semantics arguments like this. This is where the year of the Linux desktop never comes around.
Re:Another iPad wannabe? (Score:4, Insightful)
Who really gives a shit if Ubuntu copies Apple? Apple is the market leader in some areas, like UI for example, but their shit is expensive and non-free. They make locked down shit that I would never purchase (for myself) or use. Canonical makes a distribution of a free operating system that anyone can use, and they are steadily trying to improve it. If Canonical can make something to emulate the market leader in UI design, and their product is also FREE, then what is the problem with that? I can't see how that is NOT a good thing for the average person. Apple may not like it because they are trying to make money, but I don't think we should shed any tears over that.
It's not like you have to use this tablet OS, anyway. You can use the standard Ubuntu UI if you choose to. That's the nice thing about having a choice, and choices are something that Apple will never willingly give you if you buy their products. I, personally, don't care for dumbed-down interfaces. I didn't care for the netbook remix on my netbook so I installed full-blown Ubuntu on it. If I ever get a "tablet" (i.e. a regular netbook with a touchscreen, not any of this faggy no-keyboard ipad crap), then I will most likely run regular GNOME or KDE on that as well. For my grandma, sure, I will give her Ubuntu Tablet Edition or an ipad or whatever. She would benefit from the simplistic UI and lack of options to confuse her. It's nice that the option is there for those who want it, but that doesn't mean I have to use it.
Re:Another iPad wannabe? (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't buy the whole thing about Apple being a market leader in UI. I'd say quite the opposite, actually. From phones with touch screens instead of buttons (how do you use it without looking at it?) to laptops that you have to click with two fingers at once instead of just having a two buttons, their products are full of 'features' that do nothing to improve the user experience. Instead, they just look flashy or are simply different for the sake of being different. I find OSX the same, it's full of silly little quirks that make no sense other than to differentiate them from other OSs. Originally a windows user, I found it MUCH easier to find my way around linux operating systems than OSX. I still struggle every time I have to do set something up on a mac.
Obviously Apple are market leaders in a number of areas -- perhaps most notably advertising, but also in making attractive, well constructed hardware etc. For all their faults, I do like the well built feeling of their newer macbook pros. I just don't see that their UI design is anything special at all. For this reason, I'll be interested to see what canonical come up with. Pity it'll probably be based around gnome....
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Sorry, I don't use garbage like Loonix.
And I don't use garbage like iPads. See how that works? Now get back into your cave, troll.
Re:Another iPad wannabe? (Score:5, Funny)
Well they did invent the graphical user interface, the mp3 player and the smartphone.. oh and they just invented multitasking.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ubuntu-for-mobile-internet-devices [ubuntu.com]
TAIPEI, Taiwan, June 7, 2007 - Canonical Ltd., the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, announced more details on Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition at Computex 2007 in Taipei.
Re: (Score:2)
Considering that the iPad's nothing really special there- it's just an iPhone with a bigger screen. A tablet computer, done right is probably always be an expansion of a MID. The article refers to MIDs- and the iPad's no different there. It's a MID, with a larger screen and 3G access, that's all.
I'd be careful of calling a "fail" there as it's not where you think it is. :-D
Re: (Score:2)
Actually, they're not me-tooing it. They've had this in the chips for about the last 3-4 years in some form or another. They've got hardware partners in the mix at this point, though those haven't been announced yet.
Re: (Score:2)
Hi Steve, do you still "shit different"?
Re: (Score:2)
Why would you put Ubuntu on a server? I only have an Ubuntu server because I run xbmc on Ubuntu as MythTV frontends so using Ubuntu for the backend is the easy way to ensure that everything stays consistent between the different boxes; it's about the last distro I'd pick for a general purpose server.
And while I agree that UNR is a kludge, it works pretty well for what it's designed to do (e.g. web browsing). If I boot Windows on the same netbook and run Windows Update, IE can only display about three lines