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KDE's Plasma Active Ported To Nexus 7

Posted by timothy on from the looking-handy dept.

sfcrazy writes "KDE developers have succeeded in running the touch-optimized Plasma Active Linux Distribution on Nexus 7. Earlier Ubuntu developers managed to create a installer for Nexus 7, but those builds also showed that Unity, in its current form, is not ready for touch-based devices. KDE has an edge here as they have optimized versions for netbooks, desktops and touch-based devices so a user doesn't have to make any compromises as one has to do with other DEs or shells which are focusing more in touch-based devices only." Here are detailed instructions on how to install it.

6 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Unity, in its current form, is not ready for... by BlackPignouf · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Unity, in its current form, is not ready for touch-based devices

    Well, it isn't ready for desktops either! :D

    1. Re:Unity, in its current form, is not ready for... by blackest_k · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I tried it with ubuntu on an archos G9 101 and touch orientated devices need a different interface to a desktop. Scroll bars are very tricky selecting a tool from the toolbox in the gimp for example too small to be usable. Now if you plug in a mouse and keyboard its pretty much the same as a 10 inch netbook. Theres a good number of gui's for linux but maybe kde plasma might be the only workable one. Theres a few things that need rethinking such as arranging text boxes to be visible when you bring up a keyboard even bringing up a keyboard when it is needed also needed.

      In theory it should be possible to get tools such as gtk and qt to respond in a touch friendly way on a touch friendly device but there is a long way to go before you can just run what you want on a touch screen.

      --
      Blarney Quality Restaurant, Plants
  2. Full GNU/Linux distro by TejWC · · Score: 5, Informative

    Just a FYI: this is not like the other "Ubuntu on Android" solutions that exist. Android is actually wiped out of this tablet and replaced with Mer (formally MeeGo) with KDE Plasma running on top. You also get "real" multi-tasking with this distro.

  3. Maybe I should try this. by blind+biker · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've been a KDE fan for a long time (sans the brief periods of horror, but the KDE guys at least can learn from their mistakes). The thing is, the user experience on the Nexus 7 is already downright decadent out of the box. If I install Plasma (which I have seen earlier), my Nexus 7 will be brain-meltingly awesome.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
  4. Well, Windows 8 sucks even more on desktops and... by G3ckoG33k · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "Well, it isn't ready for desktops either! :D"

    Well, Windows 8 sucks even more on desktops. The ENTIRE WORLD KNOWS that...

    KDE is cool with touch-based devices, not perfect, yet better than Win 8! :)

    KDE is probably the best option for anyone using mouse and keyboard.

  5. Re:on an android tablet... by rundgong · · Score: 5, Informative

    on an android tablet... ... all I want to run is Android.

    Why?
    Isn't that like saying "On a Windows PC all I want to run is Windows"? By that logic there would be almost no Linux PCs since most of them come with Windows pre-installed.

    Dual booting Android and a full Linux dist seems like a pretty nice feature on a tablet.