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Ubuntu Mobile Announced
Placid writes "The BBC has up an article detailing the 'Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded' project which was announced by Matt Zimmerman, Ubuntu's CTO, on the Ubuntu developers mailing list. Zimmerman stated that 'These devices place new demands on open-source software and require innovative graphical interfaces, improved power management and better responsiveness.' According to the article, Intel will have their finger in the pie too, as they've recently announced a prototype device running Ubuntu. Part of the project's goal is to maximise the power saving abilities of a planned low-energy chip codenamed Silverthorn. The chip will be just one-seventh the size of normal chips, and consume only 10% of the power of existing processor. What does this mean for projects such as OpenMoko? Healthy competition, or the beginning of the end?"
Surely, this will be good for competition?
Have a look at soylentnews.org for a different view
http://projects.openmoko.org/
Hosted Projects: 20
Registered Users: 525
That's not so much... Even http://opensource.y7.ath.cx/ doesn't cover them...
Sounds great, but rather bold prediction of using only 10% the power of existing chips. I seem to remember the crusoe chip being hyped like this, until it was released.
Now i get to see exactly how fast I can txt "sudo aptitude update -y && updatedb"
SMIRK
There are only two steps in the gathering of ultimate knowledge. Open your eyes and, RTFM!
...will it run Beyrl?
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
It seems like Ubuntu is gaining alot of momentum in different areas right now. I hope they can make all/alot/some of the objectives they set for themselves real.
Especially the fact that larger hardware/software companies are willing to work together with them (the Dell deal, now Intel with this chip) looks like a big step in the right direction! What's good for one distro is good for every distro as far as I'm concerned. If Ubuntu becomes more mainstream perhaps we'll finally be able to get some good drivers for our hardware and such!
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Unless it is based on anticompetitive practice, competition is always healthy.
If the other projects deserve to survive, because they add substantial value, then they will continue to exist. Otherwise not.
I have to say, I'd really appreciate a version of Ubuntu that would run on my iPaq. I installed Familiar but it wasn't all that exciting (it did, however, work. I don't want to take anything away from those guys.)
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Does anyone know when/where/how to get a hold of a phone capable of running an open os? Information is really scares on that subject, can seem to find many answers on the openmoko site. People are developing for it, so there must be a way to get a hold of one right?
Will this run on Pocket PC's as well, or is this just for mobile phones?
The N800's Maemo distribution is based on Debian, and while it does have a development community, things are a bit lacking right now. Would be nice if this device were supported, since a dist for many devices will probably get more development done for it than a dist for approximately two devices.
At the http://openmoko.com/ website after May 10th.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Most embedded Linux installs are hand made. usually you do not need a full distro for an embedded device but a smaller subset to get the job done.
I hope that Ubuntu project can create something that is workable that also delivers where all other embedded linux distros fell on their face, Size and performance.
Honestly a kernel+busybox+your custom app is all that is needed for most embedded linux uses. and can be rolled together by your in house engineers in a day.
Now trying to make a inly multi-purpose low power generic device is a different story but is the exception in the world of embedded lnux.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
"Healthy competition, or the beginning of the end?"
...or a false dilemma?
Looking at the article, this seems to be more about a version of Ubuntu for Web tablets instead of mobile phones. It looks like Intel are using Ubuntu for their Nokia N800 style device.
At some point, somewhere, the entire internet will be found to be illegal.
... will I still get that bloody Grub error 17 on startup ??? >:-(
An Ubuntu-Mobile? Like a brown car that runs on ubuntu? Like the Bat-Mobile? That's what I thought when first reading the title and thought Cool! :)
Which is a descendant of OpenZaurus, which is a descendant of Debian/Arm. I wouldn't be surprised, therefore, to see Ubuntu building on one of those. It'd save them lots of effort.
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The Slashdot crowd can get a bare-bones phone and start hacking on it in mid-May.
http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT9423084269. html
openmoko uses openembedded.
essentially, projects like openembedded, openmoko, and openwrt are a collection of patches and build scripts.
if ubuntu keeps updated with the latest embedded patches, then it can provide the same function.
Though Ubuntu has a different focus.
Also, the "embedded" devices keep getting bigger.
this is great. i have the motorola kernel and wanted to make something for my treo but this might make my life easier. so if you have carrier specific code and a custom rom, i wonder if you could feed that info into the ubuntu system and get it to work. this could free alot of people of preloaded cell phone software. usually you buy a phone and can personalize some of it but if this takes hold you could customize the whole thing. then that will make the other carries step up and be more creative with what they offer. and as stated earlier ubuntu has gotten alot of press lately. while not my distro of choice i applaude them for all the hard work they have done and wish them success. 6f 6e 63 65 20 69 6e 20 61 20 67 72 65 61 74 20 77 68 69 6c 65 20 79 6f 75 20 77 69 6c 6c 20 6d 65 65 74 20 61 20 77 6f 6d 61 6e 20 79 6f 75 20 6c 6f 76 65 20 73 6f 20 6d 75 63 68 20 79 6f 75 72 20 68 61 70 70 79 20 74 6f 20 6a 75 73 74 20 74 61 6c 6b 20 74 6f 20 68 65 72 09
Or more of Intel ridiculously over-hyping future products?
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As mobile device makers begin to put OpenGL ES chips into their devices, like this, http://www.imgtec.com/PowerVR/Products/Graphics/MB X/index.asp?Page=2 and if these devices are used as X servers (i.e., remote display terminals) then the only thing that remains for fantastic user experiences is people to write X apps to make the devices specifically useful in the different scenarios in which all people find themselves day in and day out.
Ubuntu is African for Halitosis.
Do the math. Core 2 Duo dissipates 65W. Silverthorn at 10% of that (65 * .1) = 6.5W. Transmeta used to have a 1W processor that Intel could only match by basically shutting down and underclocking everything possible, to the point of usability. I guess there are just different concepts of what a true low power processor is intended to be.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
As somebody who helps maintain an embedded Linux distro (iPodLinux), I honestly have to wonder whether or not Ubuntu could ever become light enough to fit comfortably onto handhelds, and whether or not they're going to bring any improvements to community projects like ucLinux.
~ C.
Heh, It's kinda fun to use Linux on portable devices. I got an old HP Jornada 690e (sh3 133 mhz 32 mb sdram) running JLime. Once you get Linux running on it, the configurations possibilities are almost infinite. I installed many lite versions of the software I run on my desktop and plus some weird stuff for pocket devices like Apache.
only an idiot, imho.
OpenMoko is primarily a HW platform + kernel bits, AFAIK. Wouldn't this... help them?? I mean, I would LOVE an OpenMoko phone with Ubuntu. I don't see the poster's logic.
http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Neo1973
"The Neo1973 is the first phone designed to run OpenMoko. It is manufactured by FIC who instigated the OpenMoko project."
Project run by HW company, I can't imagine them being sad there is more embedded linux SW dev happening, especially by a major distro as opposed to another HW company.
check out the green phone, google it.
It's for the best. That number on the internet is to the American public as the Boston strangler is to the woman home alone.
"Live as if you'll die tomorrow." Ridiculous. You could die later today.
Copy the ipk to the sd/cf/whatever card, run it, app installed.
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