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Ubuntu Powered Tablet Spotted!

dkd903 writes "The year 2010 had been all buzz with tablets and a similar trend is expected during the year 2011 too. We have already seen a lot of Android powered tablets. But how does a tablet powered by Ubuntu sound? A Chinese manufacturer TENQ has launched a tablet called P07. The device is said to be running Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition and the boot time reported to be almost instant."

169 comments

  1. Year of the Linux Tablet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Surely 2011 will be the Year of the Linux Tablet now?

    1. Re:Year of the Linux Tablet by zerorez02301 · · Score: 0

      I don't want any flavor of tablet, I wish people would stop trying to sell me one.

    2. Re:Year of the Linux Tablet by poetmatt · · Score: 0

      what's wrong with taking your medication?

    3. Re:Year of the Linux Tablet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't have to buy one do you?
      Like you don't have to buy pretty well any bit of IT kit you don't want to.
      Not everyong wants a gaming rig or a netbook or an ebook reader.

      So what is your problem then? If it ain't for you then it ain't for you.

    4. Re:Year of the Linux Tablet by icebike · · Score: 1

      I don't want any flavor of tablet, I wish people would stop trying to sell me one.

      I don't want Breck shampoo. I wish people would stop trying to sell me some.

      See how stupid it sounds?

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    5. Re:Year of the Linux Tablet by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 1

      what's wrong with taking your medication?

      The medication makes it hard to hear the voices... and the voices told me long ago not to trust anything or anyone that tries to quite the voices. This is confusing because The Great Weasel told me it was OK to take the medication as long as I wash it down with a bottle of vodka. When I told that to the people in white they moved me to the cloud room again...

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    6. Re:Year of the Linux Tablet by vikstar · · Score: 1

      Any tablet running Android.

      --
      The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim.
    7. Re:Year of the Linux Tablet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You read too much Neil Gaiman. Repeat after me: Comics is not literature. Good. Now: Being crazy is not fun. Good. Now: schizophrenia is not cool, it's fucking torture.

      You got them all? Good.

    8. Re:Year of the Linux Tablet by Chrisq · · Score: 1

      I don't want any flavor of tablet, I wish people would stop trying to sell me one.

      Not even strawberry?

    9. Re:Year of the Linux Tablet by cyclomedia · · Score: 1

      No, 2011 will finally be the year of the Linux Desktop. But entire world and dog will fail to notice because they got rid of their desktop and will be playing with their Apple/Microsoft Tablets.

      --
      If you don't risk failure you don't risk success.
  2. And... by nesabishii · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    ... TFA is already /.ed.

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    Tired of Political Trolls? Opt Out!
    1. Re:And... by yanyan · · Score: 3, Funny

      It was probably hosted on one of those Ubuntu-powered tablets.

    2. Re:And... by war4peace · · Score: 1

      That's what happens when you post hot nerd articles on your website. Runners-up, beware!

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
  3. the truth be told by ceCA · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Is this 4chan? Where am I?

  4. Sigh by atari2600 · · Score: 1

    I guess the server's uptime is about the same as the tablet's boot-time once the /. crowd "spotted" the product.

  5. Here's the text and Google Cache version by garcia · · Score: 5, Informative

    Google has a cached version: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:h8oRGG22slsJ:gadgetizor.com/the-tablet-season-brings-a-new-ubuntu-powered-tablet/6304/+http://gadgetizor.com/the-tablet-season-brings-a-new-ubuntu-powered-tablet/6304/&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a

    2010 has been all about tablets - there is the iPad and a plethora of Android tablets - and it seems like it is going to continue to 2011.

    Now it seems we have a different contender. A few days back, some pictures of an unnamed tablet running Ubuntu has cropped up. The device is said to be running Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition and the boot time reported to be almost instant.

    The specifications of the device are said to be as below:

            * Intel Atom 1.6 GHz
            * 2 GB RAM
            * 32 GB SSD Hard Drive
            * Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.10 "Maverick Meerkat"

    UNE 10.10 supports multi-touch but there has been a dearth of devices which uses its multi-touch features. While I am very excited to see a tablet running Ubuntu, I do not think Ubuntu is ready for tablets yet. For now Honeycomb seems like the OS for tablets.

    And another thing, in the images the button has the Windows logo. Puzzling!!

    Source: http://www.gizchina.com/2010/12/23/exclusive-leaked-images-reveal-ubuntu-powered-tablet/
    Via: http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2010/12/leaked-images-of-mysterious-ubuntu-powered-tablet/

    1. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by Oriumpor · · Score: 2, Funny

      ROFLMDAO the image is the epitome of the Ubuntu install. Get it loaded up, try to play your music off your mp3 player while finishing it up and you get the damn codec error.

    2. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by kwerle · · Score: 1

      Exactly what I was thinking. It may be a few more miles before this is an iPad killer.

    3. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by oodaloop · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I saw the pic and thought, "Of all the damn screenshots in all the world, why did they leak that one?"

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    4. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by kwerle · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I saw the pic and thought, "Of all the damn screenshots in all the world, why did they leak that one?"

      It was the first one that didn't have a crash backtrace?
      >:-)

    5. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by AndGodSed · · Score: 1

      Yeah, when you install it yourself you get the option to install the codecs and flash etc with the OS installation, but on pre-installs you do not have that option.

    6. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      Your FUD is a couple of years out of date.

      This problem actually applies much more to Apple products.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    7. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      Leave it to OEMs to manage to create a lesser experience than you can get by just downloading the relevant Linux distribution yourself.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    8. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by horza · · Score: 1

      Flaws for me:
      * no ARM processor
      * fairly bulky looking frame around the device
      * looks like standard LCD, bit of glare, not as good as Samsung AMOLED

      Every Ubuntu user probably bought a Microsoft Windows PC and reformatted it, probably do the same with an Android tablet.

      Phillip.

    9. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      would you care to elucidate your point?

    10. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by devent · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That is the epitome of the USA "IP" laws. Because cooperation have lobbed your government so much that an idea (or an algorithm) can be patented you can't just take a free copy of Ubuntu and play your mp3 files on it. On the other hand you outsource your jobs and your production so fast to China and India that in a few years the "IP" is the only thing of value your country would have left. You government knows that, that's why there is so big push towards forcing all other countries adopt your idea of "IP" as well.

      --
      http://www.mueller-public.de - My site http://www.anr-institute.com/ - Advanced Natural Research Institute
    11. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by wonkavader · · Score: 1

      That lack of an ARM processor is the killer for me.

    12. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by hedwards · · Score: 1

      I don't think that's true. They don't preinstall it, but it's relatively trivial to add another repository and install them yourself. Anybody that's not capable of that with a bit of googling is probably not going to be happy with a Linux anything.

    13. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by jnaujok · · Score: 1

      I pulled the image and inverted the colors. It looks sort of like the windows logo, but it's missing the trailing dots. It may just be a four-diamond type logo, not a windows logo. Hard to say with how hard it is to see though.

      --
      Life, the Universe, and Everything... in my image.
    14. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by AndGodSed · · Score: 1

      You don't need to add another repository.

      The first time you want to play an MP3 or view flash in your browser you are asked if you would want to install the relevant software.

      It is really very simple.

    15. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by Scarletdown · · Score: 1

      What this needs is an icon on the desktop titled "Activate Now". Running it then connects to the relevant repositories and installs all the codecs that typical users were accustomed to back in the Windows world. And during installation, various tip screens come up explaining in layman's terms the reasons why these were unable to be installed at the factory.

      Remember, you may not be able to change the world, but you can at least make a dent.

      --
      This space unintentionally left blank.
    16. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by AndGodSed · · Score: 1

      This should be trivial. The only problem with putting this on the desktop is that the current version of Unity that runs on Mutter does not support having desktop icons.

      The next version will use Compiz and will support having an icon on the desktop.

    17. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by Kjella · · Score: 3, Informative

      Well if you've been here a while as your UID says, you should know it's all about the patents. You check the button in the install process, Canoncial doesn't. With preinstalls it would be the OEM installing it for you, which makes the OEM a lawsuit target. At least in the US the MP3 patents are valid for at least 2 and possibly 7 more years if the submarine patents are recognized. Patents for MPEG2 that's required for DVD reading goes to 2023, H.264 to 2028. That's fine if you're called Linux Mint and doesn't have deep enough pockets that anybody will bother to sue you but if you're a big OEM they might. At least no OEM feels like taking that chance...

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    18. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by intangible · · Score: 1

      An error? You click "play MP3" and it says "hey, your retarded country's laws have prevented this file from playing out of the box with free software; if you want to play MP3s, you just have to click this button for us to work around the stupid patenting ideas concept legally" and then wow, it works. Seems like the only possible legal solution to me, not an error.

    19. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Better put that in the product documentation under "BEFORE RETURNING."

    20. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by asdf7890 · · Score: 1

      At least it shows it is the real thing or close to - rather than a "based on" with just enough changes to make upgrading later when it is no longer supported by the hardware manufacturer a pain.

    21. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by ArcherB · · Score: 1

      I don't think that's true. They don't preinstall it, but it's relatively trivial to add another repository and install them yourself. Anybody that's not capable of that with a bit of googling is probably not going to be happy with a Linux anything.

      I don't have a problem googling on my desktop, but I seriously won't be happy about doing it on a tablet. Googling is not the same without a keyboard and mouse. Sure, it's possible, but not nearly as easy without the proper input devices and screen.

      --
      There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
    22. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by mangu · · Score: 1

      ROFLMDAO the image is the epitome of the Ubuntu install. Get it loaded up, try to play your music off your mp3 player while finishing it up and you get the damn codec error.

      Funny thing is that in my Ubuntu computers all the media formats I try always work. OTOH, I recently gave a coworker a copy of a film I enjoyed and he couldn't play it in his windows computer because it was a Matroska video.

    23. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      I don't think that's true. They don't preinstall it, but it's relatively trivial to add another repository and install them yourself. Anybody that's not capable of that with a bit of googling is probably not going to be happy with a Linux anything.

      I don't have a problem googling on my desktop, but I seriously won't be happy about doing it on a tablet. Googling is not the same without a keyboard and mouse. Sure, it's possible, but not nearly as easy without the proper input devices and screen.

      It works well enough on my android phone and it would be easier on a tablet. Personally I would prefer SHR or android on a tablet instead of ubuntu.

    24. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by gmhowell · · Score: 1

      Known anti-Apple troll. Leave it alone.

      --
      Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
    25. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh noes! It uses something other than an ARM processor!

    26. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what you said, means nothing to 99% of the users. And someone who does care that much about the church of Gnu wouldn't check the box so it won't matter to them either.

      How about you apply the Windows Suit in reverse: well you paid for the license on X platform in your home. And you've only got one pair of ears, so we're going to assume license transfer even if you're not actually using it. (You know, like having to pay for Windows even if you wipe it and install Linux.)

    27. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by Oriumpor · · Score: 1

      Trolling, for the truth. Linux advocates: learn to laugh at yourself, or you'll just get made fun of even more.

      (RedHat->CentOS user since Halloween.)

    28. Re:Here's the text and Google Cache version by RocketRabbit · · Score: 1

      Which means the battery life will suck. Wake up there trolly boy.

  6. But... by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 1

    ...does it run Linu..oh wait.

    --
    Palm trees and 8
    1. Re:But... by commodore64_love · · Score: 1

      I'll ask the question: Does it run Lucid Puppy? I want an OS that fits in RAM (read: fast).

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
  7. Somewhat pointless, without a tablet UI by pedantic+bore · · Score: 0

    The Ubuntu UI is very nice, but it's designed around the assumption of a big screen and a precise pointing device. The icons are too small, and the menus too long and deep to be navigated in a small screen with a touchscreen, from what I can guess.

    --
    Am I part of the core demographic for Swedish Fish?
    1. Re:Somewhat pointless, without a tablet UI by oodaloop · · Score: 3, Informative

      Uh, what? This is based in Ubuntu Netbook Remix, with big buttons and multi-touch support. This is not the desktop edition.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    2. Re:Somewhat pointless, without a tablet UI by Haedrian · · Score: 1

      Netbook edition wasn't designed for a big screen... it was designed for Netbooks.

      I dunno, when I saw it originally I thought they designed it specifically for touchscreens - http://www.ubuntugeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ubuntu_netbook_remix_beta.jpg

      Looks to be allright for a tablet.

    3. Re:Somewhat pointless, without a tablet UI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And here some up to date screenshots

    4. Re:Somewhat pointless, without a tablet UI by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ubuntu is also more than just the desktop (gnome-panel, gnome-shell, Unity, wtfever). All the apps are designed around a mouse/windowing paradigm. If you put Ubuntu on a tablet that's all touch-based, it's going to suck until applications are rewritten.

      There are people at Canonical working on multitouch stuff, and that's awesome, but even when they're done with all the infrastructure work it's going to be YEARS before the desktop and applications catch up with that work. If it ever does. Linux desktop development seems to have slowed down in recent years. Maybe because it's more fun to hack on web/Android/iPhone stuff, and there's more money in it.

    5. Re:Somewhat pointless, without a tablet UI by pedantic+bore · · Score: 1

      And here some up to date screenshots

      This is a good example, I guess, of how two people can look at the same thing and see two different things.

      Consider this screen from that page: http://s0n1c2122.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/ubuntu_netbook_10-10.png

      I can hardly read the icon text on my full-sized notebook at full resolution; the default font is unusable, and the white-on-beige color scheme just makes it worse. The toolbar icons are too small for me to reliably press just one, and my fingers, although pudgy, are not unusually so.

      --
      Am I part of the core demographic for Swedish Fish?
  8. Re:Obligatory by oodaloop · · Score: 1

    Yeah, I guess it's natural for the tablet to come after the phone. Perhaps 2012 will be the year of the Linux 3d holographic projection augmented reality mobile device.

    --
    Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
  9. Re:Obligatory by SirDrinksAlot · · Score: 1

    Perhaps Linux will be ready for the desktop when we have flying cars?

    I was promised flying cars by the year 2000. We have received no flying cars and I don't believe we're any closer to them as we were when they were originally imagined. The same promise is made of Linux every year I'm sure it's in the same boat(car).

  10. Not for the USA.... by Lumpy · · Score: 1

    It's right there on the website at the top...

    FORBIDDEN!

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
  11. Anyone can have a Ubuntu tablet right now. by Lumpy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    GO to ebay, search Tablet PC. Pick one.
    Download Ubuntu 10.10
    Install Ubuntu 10.10 on the tablet.

    Magical poof happens with a bright brown genie appearing and angels singing.... you have a ubuntu tablet! Something that nobody ever though of....

    Granted, Tablet PC's have been around for decades, and running Linux on them has been happening for decades.... Ignore that.

    Fujitsu stylistic works great, plus I can use a stylus so I can use it as a writing tablet. Too bad there is not a OS replacement for MSFT One Note.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:Anyone can have a Ubuntu tablet right now. by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      GO to ebay, search Tablet PC. Pick one.
      Download Ubuntu 10.10
      Install Ubuntu 10.10 on the tablet.

      Magical poof happens with a bright brown genie appearing and angels singing.... you have a ubuntu tablet! Something that nobody ever though of....

      Granted, Tablet PC's have been around for decades, and running Linux on them has been happening for decades.... Ignore that.

      Fujitsu stylistic works great, plus I can use a stylus so I can use it as a writing tablet. Too bad there is not a OS replacement for MSFT One Note.

      The 'tablet' you describe is a notebook with a wacom tablet built in. It's not a tablet in the iPad sense.

      I realize that sounds like typical Slashdot pedantry , but the points about 'not having to wait for it to boot' and the 'apps are actually designed to use it' are critical to making a 'tablet PC' take off. Microsoft missed the mark. I used to have a Tablet PC. The fact that it had XP's less-than-spectacular suspend mode is what kept it from being little more than a laptop to me.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    2. Re:Anyone can have a Ubuntu tablet right now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You leave out an important piece of information!

      Q: What do I do if this Tablet PC doesn't have an optical drive?

      A: You're in luck, there's tons of options. I've listed them from IMHO easiest to hardest.

      1. If the machine is already running Windows, there are Windows Installers for Ubuntu
      2. You could boot to USB and install off of a USB key.
      3. You can PXE/Netboot install Ubuntu. Several tutorials exist
      4. Push comes to shove, you can remove the hard drive, pop it into some sort of cradle, and set up a ubuntu install from a third machine.

      Ask a 'buntu geek, i'm sure they can help you out.

    3. Re:Anyone can have a Ubuntu tablet right now. by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 1

      Granted, Tablet PC's have been around for decades, and running Linux on them has been happening for decades.... Ignore that.

      You keep on using that word... I don't think it means what you think it means.

      --
      Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
    4. Re:Anyone can have a Ubuntu tablet right now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and angels singing... "You are now a beta tester! Hie thee to the Forums with your new hobby!"

      This is a commercial endeavor, which _should_ mean there is actually going to be full drivers for the hardware. Not "somebody is working on it -- maybe next year" moving to "Nobody is working on that anymore, try different hardware."

      Happens all the time with Laptops. It's not going to be better with Tablets unless somebody sells pre-equipped Ubuntu gear, _and_ continues to support their sold hardware with driver updates as the kernel moves on. Hard to say with TenQ, but it'd be awesome if they invest in becoming that company.

    5. Re:Anyone can have a Ubuntu tablet right now. by jace_d · · Score: 1

      how i've longed for a replacement to one note! for years now. I really hope LibreOffice does something about it. Having a tablet with a full featured ,open source OneNote-like program will win the hearts of students the world over... I will pray.

    6. Re:Anyone can have a Ubuntu tablet right now. by ndogg · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I've seen Ubuntu on a number of tablets for years now, and it's always someone installing it over something that's already there, but that' not really the point of this article, is it? It's that Ubuntu comes preinstalled, and fully supported. Now that's something different.

      --
      // file: mice.h
      #include "frickin_lasers.h"
    7. Re:Anyone can have a Ubuntu tablet right now. by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      I dont have to wait for it to boot. It suspends and wakes nicely.

      also the "wacom tablet" remark is way off. I CAN use my finger or a stylus. it's a resistive screen.

      as for apps. I have far more apps available than the iPad. far FAR more.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    8. Re:Anyone can have a Ubuntu tablet right now. by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      I dont have to wait for it to boot. It suspends and wakes nicely.

      Ah, my bad, I thought you were using XP Tablet.

      as for apps. I have far more apps available than the iPad. far FAR more.

      Right, and how many actually make good use of your finger?

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    9. Re:Anyone can have a Ubuntu tablet right now. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Xournal, look for it in the repos

  12. Re:Obligatory by selven · · Score: 5, Funny

    1995: Year of the Linux server has arrived!
    Linux people: Come on, year of the Linux desktop any time now!
    2000: Year of the Linux wireless router has arrived!
    Linux people: Come on, year of the Linux desktop any time now!
    2008: Year of the open-source browser has arrived!
    Linux people: Come on, year of the Linux desktop any time now!
    2009: Year of the Linux smartphone has arrived!
    Linux people: Come on, year of the Linux desktop any time now!
    2011: Year of the Linux tablet and cloud desktop has arrived!
    Linux people: Come on, year of the Linux desktop any time now!
    2043: Year of the Linux mind-machine interface, interplanetary spaceship and household robot. The Windows source code has been wikileaked six times, and it is statistically impossible for Microsoft suing someone giving away their own fork of Windows to get a jury of people all 12 of which are willing to enforce copyright law, so Windows is de facto open source.
    Linux people: No, all that is insignificant! Windows is still winning on the desktop! Come on, year of the Linux desktop already!

  13. Article slashdotted but... by coolmadsi · · Score: 1

    The index page of the website seems to be working fine, its just the articles that are down. This means that while you won't be able to read all of TFA, you can read three sentences and see a photo.

    1. Re:Article slashdotted but... by Dexter+Herbivore · · Score: 1

      Ah /. The Anonymous for cool articles webwide.

  14. Tablets Suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Ah, the form factor which combines all the problems of "too big" and "too small."

    It's nice to see Ubuntu on there, but you've still got the "Where the fuck is the keyboard" problem and the "the screen is too small" problem and the "it doesn't fit in my pocket" problem. Some of these are problems I can live with; tradeoffs are a good thing and a sacrifice in one place can pay for itself in another. But all of the problems at once, without any advantage to balance it all out? No thanks.

    Tablets: a solution which creates problems without solving any.

    Get it down to where it will fit in a pocket, and I'll find a way to use it, in situations where anything bigger is too big.

    Put a keyboard on it, and I can use it to get things done, whether it fits in a pocket or not.

    Give it a 50" screen and I'll use it in the living room.

    As is, this thing or an iPad or others like it: No place to take it to. No time when it's the right tool for the job. No point where it's useful. Lame.

    1. Re:Tablets Suck by alen · · Score: 1

      the form factor is the cool part. you can buy board game apps so your house is not a mess and you can take your games everywhere you go. you can lay an ipad flat on a table and play monopoly like with the board game version.

      any product that just tries to be a lite version of a netbook will fail

    2. Re:Tablets Suck by initdeep · · Score: 1

      not too mention they are actually decent travel visual media consumption devices.
      I don't currently own an iPad or similar, but i did get a chance to play around with one over the holidays, and it was actually nice for sitting in the "back of the bus" and watching a movie with headphones.
      nicer screen than most built in vehicle dvd systems, bigger than using my cellphone.

      and my kid thought it was nice to play simple little games on when he was bored.

    3. Re:Tablets Suck by Asic+Eng · · Score: 1

      Well watching a video while traveling is nice, but how do you handle that - do you hold the iPad in your hands for the duration of the whole movie? That's the sort of application where I can't imagine giving up my netbook - even balancing this on my knees (if there is no fold-out table) seems more comfortable than that.

    4. Re:Tablets Suck by roc97007 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I disagree on a couple of points. Please bear with me while I set this up.

      I carry a Droid X, and use Logmein Ignition to log into my main workstation to do the few operations I can't yet do on the phone itself. The only thing I really need is a slightly bigger screen. So yeah, the screen is too small.

      My company issues ipads, and I find them very stable and usable. I've *never* thought "damn I need a keyboard for this" because the onscreen keyboard does what I need it to do. (And I'm a fast typist.) I've also never thought "damn, I need a bigger screen" because the screen is big enough and the GUI is designed so that things pop up when you need them and go away when you don't need them anymore.

      The Samsung galaxy tablet has at least as good (in my opinion better) interface as the ipad, and it *will* fit in your pocket. It has significantly more screen real-estate than my Droid X but is almost as portable. Similar to the ipad, the virtual keyboard is good enough that I've not seriously considered getting an external keyboard for it.

      So on issue 1, "it's too big or too small", it depends partly on what you're trying to do, but in general the best computer is the one you have with you, and I'm more likely to be carrying a 7 inch Android tablet than I will be lugging an ipad. And if I really needed the real estate of the ipad, I'd be tempted to lug a netbook instead, and have things like USB, external video, SDRAM slots, flash support, etc etc.

      I think you see where this is going. Both iOS and Android have good enough virtual keyboard support (not just the keyboard itself, but positioning, operation, how it's called up and dismissed and stuff like that) that "where the heck is the keyboard" is pretty much a non-issue.

      Now what of Ubuntu?

      If Ubuntu is implemented on tablets of the size, weight, complexity and cost of laptop computers, with half-assed touch support that wasn't properly thought through, you *will* be in a position saying "this is too big for this job, too small for that one, too heavy to carry around in one hand, and where the heck is the keyboard??" To which I'd add the possibility that "Right click on this thing is a right pain in the ass". ...and the product will be a failure.

      Want to see how to do it wrong? Look at current Windows 7 tablet support. Instead of coming up with a touch paradigm that works well, Microsoft has chosen to fake it by leveraging their existing Accessibility tools. It's a total fail -- clunky and annoying to use, with a half-assed keyboard and kludgy mouse gestures that make you wish you had a real keyboard and mouse, too big (to make room for the task bar, tray, start button, walking menus, lack of virtual desktop) to have any kind of portability advantage, too small to be a serious PC. Windows 7 tablet support is everything you were complaining about.

      To be a serious contender, Ubuntu needs to be a *lot* better than that. But Apple and Google have demonstrated that it can be done.

      I can tell you from experience that I can do probably 70% of the work I need to do on the iPad, and with Ignition I can get to my real PC and do the rest.

      Hell, I can do about 50% of my work from my Droid X, and (with some difficulty) still log into my PC from the phone to do the stuff I can't do locally. If either the iPad or the Droid had USB support, I could leave my laptop at home on business trips.

      Having used both, I estimate that I can do any part of my workflow on the 7" Galaxy tablet that I could do on the 9.7" iPad screen, and I'm more likely to have the smaller form factor on me.

      And so, an Ubuntu tablet with USB host support, SD card reader, and a decent, usable GUI in a 7" form factor would be a godsend. It should also have an HDMI out like the Droid X so I can do presentations without having to lug a laptop.

      In summary, the whole point of this exercise is to be able to do most of your work without having to lug around a backpack. Current hig

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    5. Re:Tablets Suck by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      Perhaps there is a case with a hook.

    6. Re:Tablets Suck by Asic+Eng · · Score: 1

      Maybe, but that would start to swing as the bus moves, and it wouldn't let you adjust the viewing angle - given the iPad's reflecting display, I don't see how that would be satisfactory. Anyway - quite obviously some kind of case/attachment could be build to give you a satisfactory viewing experience, I'm just curious how people actually use it.

    7. Re:Tablets Suck by MichaelSmith · · Score: 1

      I'm just curious how people actually use it.

      A guy I work with keeps his iPad right below the screen of his work computer. I uses it to browse the web. Our IT policies pretty much say you can be sacked on the spot for browsing a non-work web site on work equipment. Its a safe way to go because there is a separate project where people are developing for the iPad in the same office.

      Other than that I find tablets and phones are great for displaying content such as plans and maps when flat on a table. Its a good replacement for a rolled up map or similar.

      Its definitely a bit awkward for reading. Not as good as a netbook. There is a case which combines an external keyboard with a prop for the tablet. Sort of turns it into a laptop.

    8. Re:Tablets Suck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My company issues ipads, and I find them very stable and usable. I've *never* thought "damn I need a keyboard for this" because the onscreen keyboard does what I need it to do. (And I'm a fast typist.) I've also never thought "damn, I need a bigger screen" because the screen is big enough and the GUI is designed so that things pop up when you need them and go away when you don't need them anymore.

      (Hi, original "Tablets Suck" AC here.)

      Thank you for such an informative comment. Just one more question: did you type that comment on an iPad? Assuming you didn't, could you have, or does that very question evoke horror?

      I just cannot imagine typing anything as long as your comment (I'm not calling you wordy, just that it's not a trivial as typing a username+password or something like that) on the iPad's onscreen keyboard, or editing any nontrivial amount on text on its little screen. It sounds like hell, whereas doing that on a "net top" is no problem. Am I wrong? Really, that wouldn't make you think "damn I need a keyboard for this"?

    9. Re:Tablets Suck by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Good question. I did that on a keyboard. I'm doing this on the droid. Not horror but some reluctance. Virtual keyboards are not repeat not a perfect substitue for hardware and anyone who tells you different is a damn liar.

      Typing fast on a virtual keyboard takes practice but can be done. You should see my daughter make her galaxy dance.

      Editing is more of an issue. The biggest problem is that my finger easily covers three letters which makes it hard for the tablet to know where to put the cursor. Droid has tap-tap-hold feature that pops up a magnifying glass for precise positioning. Cut and paste has improved but a mouse will always be faster.

      On the other hand, operations that translate well to gestures can be faster on a tablet. Web browsing for instance is very fast and intuitive. It depends on what you're doing.

      The point is, work can be done on a well designed tablet device with a minimum of pain, and i'm more likely to have a tablet in my coat pocket than a laptop.

      I wouldn't want to type in that first article on a virtual keyboard, but did this one without too much trouble.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  15. Re:Obligatory by del_diablo · · Score: 0

    Somebody mod this up, I love the humor :P

  16. Obligatory snooty reply by mark72005 · · Score: 0

    It's been on MY tablet since 199x!

    1. Re:Obligatory snooty reply by AndGodSed · · Score: 1

      If it were ubuntu the snooty reply would be "It has been on MY tablet since 2004!"

    2. Re:Obligatory snooty reply by navyjeff · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I've got Ubuntu 10.10 on my Thinkpad X200 Tablet. It works pretty well, but not everything works perfectly. I've had every version of Ubuntu on it since 9.04, and some of the earlier ones actually seemed to work a little better. There are still a few kinks, though. Thankfully, sites like ThinkWiki exist to help with some of the problems.

      I'm still having a few issues, though, such as the fingerprint scanner not working or when rotating the screen, the touch sensor doesn't translate its coordinates properly (so left-right becomes up-down when the screen is rotated 90 degrees). The mute button doesn't work properly either, but other than that it runs pretty well.

    3. Re:Obligatory snooty reply by hairyfeet · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Uhhhh...it sounds like about half the stuff on your tablets does not work but "other than that" it runs pretty well? It is THIS, this "it is free so you should put up with it" attitude that keeps FLOSS from taking off on mainstream PC devices like netbook/nettops, laptops, desktops, etc.

      Another perfect example: Remember how everyone was touting when Dell started selling Ubuntu on select netbooks? Ever look at one? Notice anything....funny...about them? Like the fact that Dell removes ALL Canonical repos and has to run their own? Why is that? Is it because Dell is pushing crapware on them like on the Windows boxes? Nope, it is due to the fact that even with such a limited amount of hardware to support Canonical can't be bothered to do actual QA before release and if you use the regular repos it breaks the Ethernet and sound! Oh joy, oh happy day!

      Now damn it, I KNOW good quality FOSS software CAN be done. Hell Jobs took BSD and built an empire with it that has even surpassed MSFT in market cap so it CAN be done! But it will NOT ever be done with this "oh well, it kinda sorta works" attitude. If Apple pushed out an update that broke half the Macs don't you think people would have a fit? If MSFT broke half the new Dells out there? Hell yes, heads would roll! So why this "shit sandwich" attitude? It is like someone saying "Free meal!" and when you sit down they hand you a shit sandwich and say "hey it's free, you've no right to complain" well bullshit, we have EVERY right!

      As a retailer I WANT to be able to sell Linux boxes, and not just "hey lets put it on the shitty hardware" boxes like what Walmart tried, but actual good quality machines! I WANT to have nice Ubuntu boxes right beside the Windows ones, and know that for at least 5 years after I sold it that it will keep running, even after updating! But right now frankly I can't. I can't because there is no hardware ABI, every damned upgrade which at 6 months is ridiculous, breaks two things while fixing one. I can't because I can't even expect it to go a full year without "update foo broke my driver" bullshit thanks to lousy QA, it is just a mess!

      So while I wish these Chinese luck, I'll think they'll find out the same thing I and every other retailer I've talked to found out, that Linux ends up costing MORE money than Windows. How could that be? Simple figure in the returns when updates break crap, which by law then have to be sold as used, usually at a loss, figure in the amount of time required to fix all those breaks, and it quickly becomes MORE expensive than simply slapping an OEM Windows Home license and calling it a day. I'm sure I'll get hate for saying the emperor has no clothes, but he is wearing his birthday suit and his willie is waving in the breeze.

      The average Joe, the ones you HAVE TO sell to to gain critical mass, ain't messing with CLI, ain't gonna deal with "update foo broke my drivers" or trawl forums for fixes. If a box leaves the store working it needs to STAY working as long as the user follows basic best practices. That simply isn't the case with Linux, as by following best practices the user will BREAK the machine by updating! So I have the choice of either pulling a Dell and repackaging everything and running my own repo (too expensive), turning off updates and leaving the machine vulnerable (unacceptable), fixing every update fuckup for life for free (too expensive) or just slapping a Windows License and an AV and AntiMal and calling it a day. Which do you think in the end I'm gonna choose?

      So please don't settle for this "it kinda sorta works" shit sandwich mentality, demand real progress! Demand either a stable ABI, or if Linux guys hate those so much, even though Solaris, BSD, Windows, hell just about every OS other than Linux, has had them for over a decade? Fine, tell us of another way to INSURE that drivers continue working across releases and DO THAT. None of this "let the kernel devs" handle it BS, If a driver works now it should work five years from now AS IS PERIOD. Make it easy, make it reliable, and guys like me will be happy to sell your product and display it proudly on our shelves. Hell you think we spend all that extra money in Windows licenses because we LIKE to add that to our final cost?

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    4. Re:Obligatory snooty reply by pspahn · · Score: 1

      I tried to say the same thing the other day, but in my blind rage at having an updated but now broken webcam on my Ubuntu eeepc, I think my statements came off as a bit rage-like and biased. That said... thank you for the sentiment.

      --
      Someone flopped a steamer in the gene pool.
    5. Re:Obligatory snooty reply by abigor · · Score: 1

      You make some good points, but in all honesty Jobs did not "take BSD and build an empire with it". It's a common misconception that OS X is based entirely on BSD code, when in truth it makes use of a lot of open source from a variety of projects, and crucially it contains a great deal of closed source code (including tons from Next). Otherwise, I fully agree with what you're saying.

      The simple fact is, designing a solid, working desktop requires clout and very good people working outside of the code on things like design and marketing. Not going to happen in the purely open source world. A hybrid approach like Apple's does seem to work well though.

    6. Re:Obligatory snooty reply by km_2_go · · Score: 1

      "Uhhhh...it sounds like about half the stuff on your tablets does not work but "other than that" it runs pretty well?"

      He listed three minor issues. At least two I can think of a workaround for. If you think a modern tablet with a CPU that boasts 382 million transistors has six features, then it's time to take your meds. Considering 10.10 was not written with tablets in mind, I think this is an astounding acheivement, not a "shit-sandwich".

  17. it's the software, stupid by alen · · Score: 2

    the iPad is cool not because it can read email but the app store. all kinds of apps that do things that were unimagined a few years ago.

    i'm looking at an ipad next year because there are apps for kids that even out the cost between buying crap like leapfrog. there are apps to get kids to learn to read

    1. Re:it's the software, stupid by LingNoi · · Score: 1

      Yeah, or you could just use a book and help your kid read instead of letting a computer do your job as a parent...

    2. Re:it's the software, stupid by lmcgeoch · · Score: 1

      Um...Linux has great educational software. (Better than leapfrog)

      I would think Tuxpaint (one of my kids all time favorite games) would be amazing on a tablet.

    3. Re:it's the software, stupid by Nadaka · · Score: 1

      Ubuntu has had free software repositories built in for basically forever. Apple borrowed the idea of an "app-store" from linux.

    4. Re:it's the software, stupid by Haedrian · · Score: 1

      Ubuntu has an app store as well. There are educational games and educational stuff.

      There's a 'flavour' of Ubuntu called "Edubuntu" which is designed for classrooms.

    5. Re:it's the software, stupid by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      Yes: "all sorts of stuff from the app store" that no one ever seems to mention when droning on how good the app store is.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    6. Re:it's the software, stupid by Sarten-X · · Score: 1

      I can personally attest to Edubuntu's usefulness. I used it to help teach a few dozen rural African kids letter recognition. Not quite reading, but an important step nonetheless.

      --
      You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
    7. Re:it's the software, stupid by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

      Yeah, or you could just use a book and help your kid read instead of letting a computer do your job as a parent...

      Or you could do both and give your kid practical experience in the modern age of technology.

      --

      "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

    8. Re:it's the software, stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some of my favorite apps:
      Dicenomican (die roller for tabletop RPGs)
      Good Reader (PDF reader/annotation)
      Numbers (spreadsheets)
      Notebooks (iPad version of the Mac OS program that's something of an IDE for written documents)
      Civilization
      Battle for Wesnoth
      Monopoly
      Fabulous Contraption
      Various general purpus and single purpus RSS agrigators
      Where to? (location and category based search for restraunts/storefronts)
      Sound Hound (search engine and audio recognition for music with links to iTunes store)

      There are also a wide range of games beyond those mentioned here (both high and low production value), several variations of database utilities, dedicated apps for web services like Facebook and Twitter, various productivity apps (including an ssh utility), and countless stupid diversions that are amuzing and "fun" for a bit even if they aren't "high culture" (fart apps and their ilk). there are apps for drawing, mind mapping, and creating mockups of user interfaces. Apps for taking notes, apps for remote desktop access, graphing calculator, and CAS apps. Apps that act as refferecne librarys for a whole manner of subjects. Apps for writing HTML and Javascript.

      If you can't find something interesting in the App store you're either not looking, or probably not going to have any use of a computer weather it be an iPad or a Desktop.

    9. Re:it's the software, stupid by underqualified · · Score: 1

      or he could buy both and give the book to his kid and the iPad to me! :D

  18. Boot time? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

    boot time reported to be almost instant.

    "Boot time"? On a tablet? Is this thing following the failed Windows Tablet paradigm rather than the iOS/Android model?

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:Boot time? by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      My android phone takes many seconds to boot. What are you on about?

    2. Re:Boot time? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      My android phone takes many seconds to boot. What are you on about?

      While the network connections can take time for a phone, the OS should be ready to go instantly. My iPod Touch is ready as soon as I hit the home button - I don't have to turn it off and then boot it in between uses. The only time it has to boot is when there's been a problem - and those are months apart. Boot time is basically irrelevant.

      Isn't Android the same?

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    3. Re:Boot time? by mdm-adph · · Score: 1

      Yes, Android is the same. However, comparing your iPod Touch to an Android phone isn't exactly accurate -- it would be more accurate to compare it to an iPhone, which has restarts that happen far more often than "months apart." It also takes a similiar amount of time to start up.

      --
      It is by my will alone my thoughts acquire motion; it is by the juice of the coffee bean that the thoughts acquire speed
    4. Re:Boot time? by kenshin33 · · Score: 1

      in layman terms that's called taking a nap. it is not booting.
      and the iphone (or any phone, except may be dumbphones) takes forever to boot if you shut it down.

    5. Re:Boot time? by nxtw · · Score: 1

      it would be more accurate to compare it to an iPhone, which has restarts that happen far more often than "months apart." It also takes a similiar amount of time to start up.

      I haven't restarted my iPhone since applying the last software update, over a month ago.

    6. Re:Boot time? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      in layman terms that's called taking a nap. it is not booting.

      and the iphone (or any phone, except may be dumbphones) takes forever to boot if you shut it down.

      You're missing the point. If you just about never have to shut it down, the time it takes to start it back up is irrelevant.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    7. Re:Boot time? by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      I update the OS far more than that. I not running a vendor supplied OS.

    8. Re:Boot time? by h4rr4r · · Score: 1

      You have to restart for updates, which in my case is about every couple weeks.

    9. Re:Boot time? by mdm-adph · · Score: 1

      That's your own personal experience. I know a few iPhone owners, ones who tinker with their phones (non-jailbraking) as much as I'm guessing an Android owner would, who restart their phones every few days, if not every day.

      --
      It is by my will alone my thoughts acquire motion; it is by the juice of the coffee bean that the thoughts acquire speed
    10. Re:Boot time? by nxtw · · Score: 1

      That's your own personal experience. I know a few iPhone owners, ones who tinker with their phones (non-jailbraking) as much as I'm guessing an Android owner would, who restart their phones every few days, if not every day.

      What are they doing wrong? My phone is jailbroken and does not need to be rebooted at all, and I know of no one who has to reboot their iPhone with any frequency.

    11. Re:Boot time? by mdm-adph · · Score: 1

      All depends on the apps -- there's buggy apps out there that, even though they work, tend to slow down things over time. We already know that Apple does _not_ vet the code of apps (only how they work upon inspection), so it's not too surprising.

      --
      It is by my will alone my thoughts acquire motion; it is by the juice of the coffee bean that the thoughts acquire speed
  19. Re:Obligatory by LingNoi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    There will never be a "year of linux desktop" same as how there was never a "year of firefox web browser". You'll know it has happened when everyone has it.

  20. Instantly ... well by foobsr · · Score: 1

    TFS: The device is said to be running Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition and the boot time reported to be almost instant.

    The question is whether it will crash instantly after a kernel update (due to a GRUB issue). This will instantly please all users.

    CC.

    --
    TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
  21. Re:Obligatory by initdeep · · Score: 1

    Were you promised flying cars last year?
    Or were you promised them 50-60 years ago?

    I'm pretty sure your analogy sucks.

  22. Already others on the market by Rozzin · · Score: 1

    Sharp introduced an Ubuntu tablet 6 months ago, as part of their `Netwalker' line.

    I think Always Innovating was supporting Ubuntu on their tablets before that.

    Maybe there are others, also; still, each new one is nice to see.

    --
    -rozzin.
    1. Re:Already others on the market by Randwulf · · Score: 1

      I have an Always Innovating Touch Book. It currently boots (a stripped down) Ubuntu Desktop 10.10, Android Froyo, and AIOS. It's expected to be able to run Chrome OS in the future, too. The software is still half-baked, however. Ubuntu wasn't actually running on it until a few months ago. I'm a little surprised they didn't use Ubuntu Netbook, but I suspect that may change in the future.

    2. Re:Already others on the market by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh huh. Go talk to a hundred random people. Mention the iPad. Their eyes will light up and they'll say they want one.

      Then mention the "Netwalker". Mention the "always innovating". You'll get nothing but a blank look. Nobody has the first damned idea what those are. They're a non-factor.

      That's why Apple succeeds: it makes the things people WANT, that work great for ordinary people, not just for the one in fifty thousand who are geeky enough to want to recompile their kernel. Linux people don't seem to understand this. They didn't understand why everyone chose Windows over Linux, and now they aren't seeing why people are choosing iOS over Linux. There are perfectly valid reasons, but they refuse to listen.

    3. Re:Already others on the market by BobMcD · · Score: 1

      That's why Apple succeeds: it makes the things people WANT

      Incomplete. Better put:

      That's why Apple succeeds: it makes people WANT the things they make

      Mom got an ipad from the oldest bro for Christmas. She doesn't want it. Doesn't even have the slightest idea what she'd so with such a thing, and upon learning that it costs $500 (she had estimated less than $100) she's fighting like hell to find a way to justify her son spending so much money on it.

  23. Re:Obligatory by AndGodSed · · Score: 1

    It will be the year of the Linux desktop when Duke Nukem Forever comes out. On Linux. With a chance to win a flying car for every copy you buy.

  24. almost instant on SI chart by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "almost instant" is equivalent to three finger snaps

  25. This is the biggestscientific breakthrough of all by multipartmixed · · Score: 1

    No more pollution, no more hunger, and no more wars.

    The Ubuntu-powered Tablet shows off the first real-world application of Ubuntu power, which is the world's first free-as-in-beer AND free-as-in-freedom power source. No longer will we rely on arcane power storage devices such as Lithium-Polymer batteries, or dangerous power generation methods like coal-fired generators.

    I, for one, welcome our new Ubuntu Overlords!

    --

    Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
  26. Quite now other wise it could be by future+assassin · · Score: 1

    Forbidden by the powers that be...

    You don't have permission to access /index.php on this server.

    Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

    --
    by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
  27. Re:Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You forgot at least:
    - Year of the Linux supercomputer
    - Year of the Linux render farm

  28. How do I feel? by roc97007 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The article has apparently been slashdotted, so I can only guess how it's been implemented.

    Please bear with me, I have to take a run-up to this.

    I've used the Galaxy tablet, an iPad, and a tablet running Windows 7.

    The iPad is very stable intuitive and usable. The Android tablet works much the same as the iPad with the additional features of a higher degree of customization, widgets, flash, and so forth.

    The Windows 7 tablet sucks.

    The main reason the Windows 7 tablet sucks is that the GUI doesn't seem to like living on a tablet. Too many operations assume keyboard and two button mouse, and tablet support consists of clumsy work-arounds to simulate a two button mouse on a tablet, when what is sorely needed is a new, mouseless paradigm, as the iPad and Android already have.

    An additional problem I'm having with the Win7 tablet is that the virtual keyboard is not accurate enough to type in yer damned password. I have to resort to a physical keyboard to log into the damned thing. Part of the problem is probably hardware, but it does not help that the keys do not light up or do anything to indicate what key it thinks you've pressed, and you can't see what you're typing. If this really was designed to be a touch interface, instead of something cobbled together to have a presence in the tablet market, it'd work better than that.

    Parenthetically, Microsoft already has a killer touch interface in Surface, so at least some people in Redmond know how a touch GUI is supposed to work. Given that, it totally baffles me that they'd try to push off this Windows 7 kludge as a serious contender in the tablet marketplace. I mean, what the hell?

    Which brings us to Ubuntu. I've used past versions, and am very impressed. It's a tight little OS with a fast, well integrated, and at times amusing GUI. (I still get a kick out of shaking the rubber windows.) I think putting Ubuntu on a tablet is a very exciting idea.

    But

    Ubuntu out of the box is just as mousey as Winders. If all they're going to do is paste on work-around gestures to simulate a multi-button mouse and throw up a virtual keyboard, I'm not interested. I've already been down that road, and don't want to go through that frustration again. If that's what they're planning to offer, I'll stick with Android.

    However, if Ubuntu produces a really truly designed-from-ground-up-to-be-mouseless interface, and it works well, then I'm all over that.

    This is going to be interesting. Apple did the transition correctly to touch devices -- they came up with a brand new set of GUI rules instead of trying to reuse the paradigms in OSX. Android was designed from the start to be a touch interface. Winders has flubbed it so far, for their consumer devices at least. It'll be fascinating to see what Ubuntu does.

    --
    Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    1. Re:How do I feel? by Merk42 · · Score: 1

      If you've used the default Ubuntu Desktop installation, then you've used GNOME (panels). Unity, the interface for this tablet (and default desktop interface in the version coming in April), is built with touch in mind.

    2. Re:How do I feel? by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Thanks. So I could get a run-up on how Ubuntu tablets will work by looking at Unity on my current Ubuntu box when Unity becomes available. Thanks, will look into that. This really is exciting, but I'm trying not to get too worked up. Windows 7 Pro on the tablet my daughter got for Christmas was a crushing disappointment. I hope Ubuntu is better.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  29. due to a GRUB issue by Ismellpoop · · Score: 1

    Grub2 that ubuntu/mint use works very well I usually keep my kernels latest release and have never had problems with Grub2. I've had lots of problems however with Alsa/PulseAudio doing kernel updates. I use Grub2 for booting 4/os and its awesome when I install a new distro don't install the new distro's Grub/Lilo. Boot to Mint go to terminal type "update grub2" works every time.
    Also with a tablet I doubt you would even see the boot loader on the screen. How many people will install 2 os on a tablet? Why give people boot options when it is completely unnecessary.
    Imagine starting up your new Mac/Win machine and it gives you an option to boot into OSX/Win7 respectively wouldn't you just be thinking WTF is wrong with the people that made this thing? It would actually look kind of amateurish if there was a visible Grub2 during boot.

    1. Re:due to a GRUB issue by foobsr · · Score: 1

      As you have realized, I was struck by the flaw that especially hurts WUBI-installs (this on a laptop that should just work - after knowing that GRUB2 would help).

      Additionally, I had the pleasure to get a DWA-140 wireless adaptor to work in 10.04 (actually MINT 9; with a terratec cinergy T2 that worked for years still not performing).

      To sum up: at the time, I am extremely pissed as I see that the quality of Ubuntu is rapidly degrading (bugs are not fixed, devices that worked cease to function with upgrades); I attribute this to fixed release cycles (and I am watching this for years).

      On top of it, I meanwhile think that it is more of a burdon than fun to fix things that should work in the first place.

      CC.

      --
      TaijiQuan (Huang, 5 loosenings)
  30. Re:Obligatory by SirDrinksAlot · · Score: 1, Funny

    I'm pretty sure your reading comprehension and math sucks, not so much with my statement.

    "by the year 2000" would be less than 2000 so yes it could be 1999 or 1940, and since I at no point said 2009 or 2010 then I'm entirely lost where you got "last year" from.

  31. Re:Obligatory by blackraven14250 · · Score: 1

    undoing bad mod.

  32. one in fifty thousand by Ismellpoop · · Score: 1

    Really that many people recompile their kernel amazing. I think your being optimistic about the number of geeky enough people.

    1. Re:one in fifty thousand by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmm, yeah, you're probably right.

      It's gotta be more than one in a million though: that would make it only 300 people in the entire united states. Maybe it's on the order of one in some hundreds of thousands.

      Anyway, point is, if your device can't do things common people want such as play Netflix streaming video, it's dead in the water to the Common Joe.

  33. Re:Obligatory by MobileTatsu-NJG · · Score: 1

    So when you used both the phrases 'obligatory' and 'sorry, it had to be done', you chose to ignore two big clues that it wasn't going to be funny?

    --

    "I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)

  34. MOD PARENT UP by Yuioup · · Score: 1

    Yup. I was thinking the same thing, but I'm out of mod points. I wanted to grab a tablet PC, put a desktop or screensaver with a single image from Ubuntu, and take a picture of it. That'll learn everybody.

  35. Synergy! by coldmist · · Score: 1

    Why don't tablet makers that want to use a full desktop OS think about using it with Synergy (on sourceforge)???

    It's a perfect complement.

    If the tablet is running Win7 or x86 Linux, then when it's docked next to my monitor, it fires up synergy and the mouse and keyboard control it just like an extra screen. When I pull it off the cradle, Synergy shuts down, and now it's a distinct computer. If running Ubuntu, it can still run Windows apps via Wine (critical for how I want to use a tablet).

    I don't know why these companies don't see this option!!!

    --
    Don't steal. The government hates competition.
  36. Re:Obligatory by Mr_Silver · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There will never be a "year of linux desktop" same as how there was never a "year of firefox web browser". You'll know it has happened when everyone has it.

    The year of the Linux desktop could have been 2009 around the time of netbooks. However OEM's mucked it up by picking less than stellar variants of Linux and customers appeared only too happy to desert when Microsoft finally got their act together.

    As a result, Linux netbook sales tanked and it's almost impossible to buy one in a major retail outlet these days as customers aren't interested.

    I don't believe Linux will ever have such a good chance again and, personally, I blame this on the OEM's who could have escaped the grasp of Microsoft but, in their haste, failed to ensure that the customer experience was a good one.

    --
    Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
  37. Re:Obligatory by corbettw · · Score: 1

    Yep. And that should happen next year.

    --
    God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.
  38. Re:Obligatory by tuppe666 · · Score: 1

    2011: Year of the Linux Tablet

    Analogous to "Year of the linux desktop every year, next year!"

    Sorry, it had to be done.

    Two words Galaxy Tab 2010 was the year of the Linux Tablet!?

    I think you meant was "Year of the Windows Tablet"

    Sorry had to tell the truth

  39. Re:Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I was promised flying cars by the year 2000.

    Yeah, well, you got the PT Cruiser so stop yer bitchin'!

  40. Re:Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Really? You complain about his reading comprehension when you completely failed at comprehending his post?

  41. Re:Obligatory by Kjella · · Score: 1

    I would say there was a "Year of Firefox web browser" and it was 2005. From NetApplication's quarterly numbers it went from 3.66% in 2004 Q4 to 9.00% in 2005 Q4. Of course it did hit 1.0 in november 2004 so it's not surprising it jumped, but really they did manage to make the 1.0 push matter.

    Linux has never had a year with 150% growth or even anything close to it. At least on the web browsing desktop it's been very stable at around 1% for years now, some data even suggests it's regressing a bit after the netbook wave that Microsoft quite effectively killed and even that only got the numbers up to 1.1-1.2%. Of course you shouldn't expect people to switch OS as easily as they'd install an alternate browser, but at this rate it's never happening.

    Firefox has barely been keeping its market share this year with Chrome taking all the growth, even though Chromium is open source Chrome isn't. It's highly questionable how much Oracle will continue to push and support the OSS solutions they took over from Sun. I'm sure Linux and OSS will continue its success on servers, cell phones and supercomputers but on the desktop I'd say it's highly on the defensive, not the offensive at the moment.

    --
    Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  42. Re:Obligatory by jace_d · · Score: 1

    Squeeze theorem?

  43. Re:Obligatory by w0mprat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The year of Firefox was missed because Chrome burst on the scene, and honestly Firefox had long lost the lead in innovation. The situation is similar with Desktop Linux.

    Linux on the desktop has missed it's chance, the PC desktop is no longer the bleeding edge of development (at least as far as media and community buzz is concerned) in the face of new platforms. Hardware gets faster but it isn't really needed. Windows 7 and Linux run pretty fast. I haven't updated my hardware since 2008 and would see no benefit. SSDs have come of age, so I picked one up. I essientially experience no delay for anything. I see little point in sinking my yearly $1500 into hardware update, and little advantage in speed brought in software updates. (All the lag from a bloated Windows install was due to disk footprint and usage - lots of random reads over a big install footprint. Linux would do the same if you really went nuts with it. This is totally gone with a SSD, your Windows install remains as fast as the day it was new)

    People are less interested in their desktop computing experience and keeping it up to date. With less interest, any radical change in the way people do computing is going to be harder.

    To me, Linux has missed it's chance. All these years we battled with crappy Windows XP and Vista, when it would have been nice to hand a live CD to someone and solve all their computer problems. Installing Linux would most often give you a new set of exciting and deliberately difficult problems to solve, which was great, if (to use an analogy) you'd prefer a tough rubix cube to having sex. Getting the best out of Linux as a desktop took time and effort, because it came pre-broken to some extent, it was fun for some torture for others who were no doubt looking to escape toture. Now you can have 100% functional Ubuntu in 20 minutes, when back in the day that was luck of the draw. It's actually rather boring having nothing to fix to be honest. But for many people, tinkering is not the point of technology, technology is a tool not a toy.

    It's kind of like that now, you take a oldish computer, boot Ubuntu live, install, a few commands and it's a revived fully capable useful and fast machine. It's a free download and burn away, and there's tons of software available for free.

    So why isn't it taking off? What's the problem? Well, we needed that about five years ago. Back then you were lucky if you could pull this off with linux, and then you'd have to do without flash, or properly working graphics drivers.

    I had an epiphany when I wiped a old machine I'd installed Ubuntu 6.06 on and fogotten about, with Ubuntu 10.10. It was MUCH faster, and booted in 40 seconds to the desktop rather than more than a minute.

    Problem is, Windows 7 was a leap ahead, I remember seeing Cannonical rush to make Ubuntu take less than a minute and a half to boot as soon as Windows 7 Beta's started showing massively improved boot performance.

    Why couldn't that have been done sooner?

    Why did it take until 2006 for compiz to go 1.0, when windows Vista? We saw 3D desktop effects demo'd by Microsoft in early longhorn in August 2003.

    Theres not many more lines of code in a 2010 linux distro than a 2006, so why does it all run so much faster now on 2006 hardware? It's all been re-written ten times over in the process, re-written only to be incrementally better.

    I guess there are lots of problems that can't be solved at a programmers desk, and decisions that can only be made from data gathered in a lab. Microsoft and Apple spend millions, billions even on R&D, labs, on UI studies etc for good reason.

    Linux more than ever needs truly excellent UI design. Or it's just too late.

    Android on the other hand is linux done really well.

    --
    After logging in slashdot still does not take you back to the page you were on. It's been that way for 20 years.
  44. Re:Obligatory by jace_d · · Score: 1

    i'm fine with chasing the desktop dream, it gives purpose. As long as linux keeps dominating on new platforms as they arrive. It'll be quite the situation when the desktop becomes obsolete (somehow ) . so keep trying to catch the wind ,linux. Lord knows it keeps you motivated.

  45. Just in time! by rnturn · · Score: 1

    Like I hadn't seen enough "Ubuntu conquers the World!" news this month. I was pretty much saturated with that already after perusing the magazines at the local Borders and saw almost nothing but magazines containing DVDs of the newest Ubuntu distribution or some beta copy of it. I doubt I would have been surprised to find one stuck in the latest Tiger Beat or Cosmo.

    "dkd903"

    Heh. Alpha user? Just kidding. (I guess I've spent way too much time at P00>>> prompts in recent months.)

    "... the boot time reported to be almost instant."

    Surely you meant "instantaneous". (Sorry 'bout that.)

    --
    CUR ALLOC 20195.....5804M
  46. Pigs in a Blanket by Hassman · · Score: 1

    Yes, but does it play Angry Birds?

    --
    -Mark
    Dovie'andi se tovya sagain.
  47. Re:Obligatory by larppaxyz · · Score: 1

    I agree with you. You should write a book. Really.

  48. No missed opportunities by mpapet · · Score: 1

    I blame this on the OEM's who could have escaped the grasp of Microsoft but, in their haste, failed to ensure that the customer experience was a good one.

    On the OEM side, the urgent need is to build a rapidly sale-able product. Microsoft is a good way to sell product for an OEM. Brands like Dell and HP sell lots of boxes with Windows on them. OEM's know this and tailor product accordingly. End users know Microsoft's Windows and are comfortable with it. Add to that the strong likelihood there are Marketing dollars committed by Microsoft to help sell the device.

    If an OEM takes a huge chance and has an alternative OS, the business climate inside an OEM is as obsessed with capturing as much value as possible, so building their own distro seems like the best choice. Weird, but true. Look at the OEM that shipped Linux to Walmart. Their own distro.

    What about Ubuntu? They can't possibly make a viable deal with an OEM. No money, no market penetration. Very little money in end-user sales like Ubuntu's so they will scrape along until the patriarch is tired of funding the project and fires most employees to get it breaking even.

    It takes quite a bit to line up a deal where an OEM is shipping Linux. Especially with Microsoft discouraging the presence of Linux distro-equipped end-user devices like notebooks, tablets, phones, etc.

    --
    http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
  49. See Too the Kno... by LibRT · · Score: 1

    I believe the Kno's underlying OS is Ubuntu 9.10 - (it's a single or dual screen 14.1" tablet intended for students, which allows annotations/notes/etc. - see here: http://www.kno.com/the-kno/specs (altho a Web Kit layer runs everything and the user doesn't have direct access to Ubuntu)).

  50. Re:Obligatory by Desler · · Score: 1

    You seem to fail to realize that the only reason why Asus put Linux on their first eee pcs was as a way to bargain Microsoft into giving them cheap Windows XP licenses. It was never about trying to increase the adoption of Linux or even caring about Linux at all. This is why you found Windows XP driver CDs being shipped with the original Linux-only eee pcs.

  51. In True Chinese Dogma by LifesABeach · · Score: 1

    When I tried to access the sight, I was "Forbidden" - 403 error LOL :-D

  52. Re:Obligatory by westlake · · Score: 1

    The year of the Linux desktop could have been 2009 around the time of netbooks. However OEM's mucked it up by picking less than stellar variants of Linux and customers appeared only too happy to desert when Microsoft finally got their act together

    The Linux netbook was a bottom feeder.

    The Atom netbook running XP had far more credible hardware specs - a bigger screen, a better keyboard, a more muscular CPU, more RAM, a bigger hard drive and so on.

    It sold at a very competitive price.

       

  53. Re:This is the biggestscientific breakthrough of a by hot+soldering+iron · · Score: 1

    Your sarcasm is old. And broken. Please get some new sarcasm. In the fresh, minty flavor!

    --
    When you want something built, come see me. If you want correct grammar and spelling, get a F*ing liberal arts student.
  54. Re:Obligatory by km_2_go · · Score: 1

    wow, "entirely lost" says it all!

  55. Re:Obligatory by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The problems still exist with MS Windows. You don't work with users apparently. No major player is selling desktop GNU/Linux to the masses. Dell isn't. Not really. HP isn't. Nope. No major player is. Sure everybody has it available in some form. Everybody "supports" it to some degree. However you need to go to a company like ThinkPenguin for a complete solution. At least if you aren't a techy. Even a techy who wants a working solutions can't get that from Dell or HP. At least if you want a system and solution that really works. A complete stack, support, and something that won't end up irritating you or the average user it has to be free, it has to work, it has to have support. Otherwise you end up with horrendous battery life, graphics issues, modem problems, printer issues, wifi, not to mention the MS tax etc. Dell, HP, and even just about every minor player in the GNU/Linux market such as LinuxCertified and System76 don't take the measures necessary to fully support the products they sell. They can't. They sell hardware dependent on non-free components and chipsets. Check out http://www.open-pc.org/, http://www.thinkpenguin.com/, and http://www.inatux.com/.

  56. Re:Obligatory by arisvega · · Score: 1

    .. and to "Year of Fusion"! Don't forget fusion!

    --
    The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
  57. Re:Obligatory by Dr+Max · · Score: 1

    Yeah, I guess it's natural for the tablet to come after the phone.

    Not really we expect mobile technology to get smaller not bigger and if it is bigger its usually more powerful not the same speed. Have these people heard of the KNO tablet powered by ubuntu and tegra 2, www.kno.com?

    --
    Rocket Surgeon.
  58. Canonical licensees codecs. by westlake · · Score: 1

    You check the button in the install process, Canoncial doesn't. With preinstalls it would be the OEM installing it for you, which makes the OEM a lawsuit target

    Canonical licenses mp3 and H.264 for its OEM distributions:

    Licensed Companies, Licensees - PC Applications
      AVC/H.264 Licensees

    Walmart.com had 212 flavors of the Win 7 laptop and 95 Win 7 desktops on sale this holiday season - and all sold with licensed mp3 audio and DVD video play out of the box.

  59. Re:Obligatory by WorBlux · · Score: 1

    -Year of the Linux e-reader

    -Year of the Linux home router

    Comming soon

    -Year of the Linux microwave (2015)

    -Year of the Linux Swiss Army knife (2019)

  60. Tablet vs Tablet 'PC' by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You're comparing what's essentially a laptop with what's essentially a netbook..

    The 'tablet' you have has more features than a normal laptop, TFA's tablet has less features than a normal netbook.

    In short, "so"?

  61. The Kno Tablet uses Ubuntu by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://www.kno.com/ uses Ubuntu:

    "The Kno system runs on an Ubuntu Linux (32 bit) operating system, and all Kno software is powered by the WebKit browser engine. As a result, the Kno supports standard web technologies such as JavaScript, HTML, and CSS."

  62. Re:Obligatory by oodaloop · · Score: 1

    I was just referring to Android becoming popular on the phone before the tablet (with my sig part of the punchline), not computing in general. In addition to Moore's law driving sizes down, there's also been a convergence, where not too long ago you had a phone, MP3 player, digital camera, and GPS, and the iPhone/Android merged those for most people. I foresee another convergence coming soon, with the smart phone and tablet merging to something in between, perhaps something like the Streak, though perhaps just a little lighter and smaller.

    --
    Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
  63. hairyfeet got BLOWN AWAY 4 times in 1 day? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1916240&cid=34612834

    http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1916240&cid=34647708

    http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1922942&cid=34665368

    http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1924664&cid=34669668

    ROTFLMAO!

    I wouldn't listen to "professor hairyfeet" guys, he's only an ITT Tech student.

  64. MeeGo by snookiex · · Score: 1

    I'd bet for a distro based on MeeGo (or MeeGo itself). In general, the conventional Linux distributions are still stuck in the desktop/laptop interface and that's clear if you look at the picture shown in TFA. I'll spend a couple days playing around with the Nokia MeeGo image for the N900 to see how it goes, but the screenshots look promising. That could be the future of Linux (non-Android) GUIs for mobile devices.

    --
    Open Source Network Inventory for the masses! Kuwaiba
    1. Re:MeeGo by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      Wow, I recognize that! It's very similar to the interface on my daughter's ASUS T101 tablet PC in "fastboot" mode. I wonder if it was based on MeeGo.

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.