Ubuntu For Tablets Announced

oh canonical by liamevo · 2013-02-19 05:07 · Score: -1, Troll

Canonical is no longer a linux company, it's a company that uses linux.

Re:oh canonical by crazyjj · 2013-02-19 05:09 · Score: 5, Insightful

Canonical is no longer a linux company, it's a company that uses linux.
Being that Linux can never really be "owned" by any one company, isn't that a given?

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What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
Re:oh canonical by liamevo · 2013-02-19 05:13 · Score: -1, Redundant

You know what I meant Mr Pedant.
Re:oh canonical by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:19 · Score: 1

Actually, no we don't know what you mean. You're attempting to draw some distinction where there is none.
Re:oh canonical by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:20 · Score: -1

So many people put their faith in a company founded by a wigger from Africa. What the hell were they thinking?
Re:oh canonical by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:21 · Score: -1

Linux can not be owned by an company.
But a company can hire all named developers and have it turn into a muppet show. Even GKH is being influenced by GNyoME developers and those systemd mungos. Turning Linux into some gay ass GnomeOS type of cancer.
Re:oh canonical by drankr · 2013-02-19 05:35 · Score: 1

Forgive my ignorance, I'm continental - is a wigger a person who wears wigs? I don't think he does, though.
Re:oh canonical by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:36 · Score: 4, Insightful

No, I don't think we do. What exactly *is* a 'linux company'? Is Redhat a linux company? What about Oracle? Intel?
I think perhaps the distinction is, for example, Microsoft is a company that uses linux. They have to in order to test and develop Hyper-V, since its advertised to work with Linux. They use it.
A linux company is a company that makes money off of selling a distribution or application or services for Linux, making active changes back into the community. By that standard, all the companies I listed above, *including Ubuntu*, are 'linux companies'.
You don't have to like Ubuntu, but you can't deny they've done some really great things for the community. Nothing they do is 'closed source', and you can like or hate their development and future planning methods (I think you have an issue with Unity, thats where most of the Ubuntu haters come from), but they are open and friendly to the community.
Re:oh canonical by interkin3tic · 2013-02-19 06:22 · Score: 1

I think so: you mean "I HATE NEW THINGS AND LOVE COMPLAINING AND BEING AN ELITIST ABOUT MY OPERATING SYSTEM!!!!!"

That about sum it up? Really, that's about all I got from your post. Reminds me of people who talk about "true americans."
Re:oh canonical by citizenr · 2013-02-19 06:23 · Score: 2, Funny

Canonical is no longer a linux company, it's a company that uses linux.
Nah, they are a company that uses Linux users.

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Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
Re:oh canonical by liamevo · 2013-02-19 06:24 · Score: 0

Well, it seems I misjudged to simpleness of my sentence.
I meant canonical used to be a great part of the linux ecosystem, fitted in with the open source culture and understood the os community and what sort of "features" would be hated. Now, not so much.
Re:oh canonical by liamevo · 2013-02-19 06:26 · Score: 1

Elitist about my operating system? Couldn't be more wrong, running Win8 at home and win7 + ubuntu at work and I'm actually quite excited about the ubuntu phone.
Re:oh canonical by liamevo · 2013-02-19 06:30 · Score: 1

Urgh... are we ever going to have an edit feature?
Re:oh canonical by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 06:31 · Score: 0, Informative

You didn't misjudge anything. You just didn't say ANYTHING related to that in your original sentence, there was absolutely no correlation to be made and anyone could've made up their own perfectly valid interpretation that had nothing to do with the ecosystem.
If you want to say something, say it. It's not fucking hard.
Re:oh canonical by tepples · 2013-02-19 06:41 · Score: 1

To put it as nicely as I can: A "wigger" is a fair-skinned fan of hip-hop culture.
Re:oh canonical by liamevo · 2013-02-19 06:44 · Score: 1

I thought what I inferred was obvious. Therefore, I misjudged.
Re:oh canonical by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 08:00 · Score: 0

*cough* Ubuntu One *cough*
Re:oh canonical by QRDeNameland · 2013-02-19 08:16 · Score: 1

To put it as nicely as I can: A "wigger" is a fair-skinned fan of hip-hop culture.
I think this clip from The Wire accurately illustrates that particular social phenomenon.

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Momentarily, the need for the construction of new light will no longer exist.
Re:oh canonical by konaya · 2013-02-19 11:01 · Score: 1

No one's being pedantic. Being pedantic would mean pointing out how you just used the word "inferred" when you meant "implied".
Re:oh canonical by jones_supa · 2013-02-19 15:30 · Score: 1

There can be distinction: a company that actively develops Linux, versus one that just picks it up as a module and does not contribute.
Re:oh canonical by socceroos · 2013-02-19 15:31 · Score: 1

I thought what you inferred was obvious too. Don't feed the trolls. =)
Re:oh canonical by SteveFoerster · 2013-02-20 00:14 · Score: 1

Sadly, no, we're not.
That is all.

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Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
Re:oh canonical by Jerslan · 2013-02-20 07:26 · Score: 1

one that just picks it up as a module and does not necessarily contribute
FTFY

So, they're a Distro? Wow... [sarcasm]That's news to me[/sarcasm]

Last time I checked Distro's weren't required to be active members of the Kernel development community. The point of a Distro is *exactly* to pick up the Kernel like it's a module and throw some stuff on top of it. Some of them, though not all of them, have a few developers actively contributing back to the Kernel. Though this isn't exactly out of the kindness of their hearts... Usually it's because they want to use something that's broken/buggy or add some new feature.

Ehhh by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:08 · Score: 2, Insightful

And still no OEM partners like with the Ubuntu TV that we were going to be able to buy by the end of last year. This is going fail and fail hard. Maybe Canonical will then just go away and stop trying to push spyware on people.

Who cares ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:10 · Score: -1, Troll

Does anyone actually care ? If the Tablet won't run either iOS or Android then no one will ever buy it. It's an dead investment - no matter if Linux or not.

Re:Who cares ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:18 · Score: 5, Insightful

I don't want either iOS or Android, but I might get a tablet with KDE Plasma Active.
Re:Who cares ? by nametaken · 2013-02-19 05:18 · Score: 4, Interesting

I have a Kindle Fire around here somewhere that runs aftermarket android roms. I see no reason why I should turn my nose up at a linux distro, if it works well. That part, of course, remains to be seen.
Re:Who cares ? by Albanach · 2013-02-19 05:19 · Score: 4, Insightful

Only a year or so ago, you could have said "If the Tablet won't run iOS then no one will ever buy it. It's an dead investment."
Today we have plenty of Android tablets gaining a footprint. Microsoft aren't going to let go of the market segment easily either, even after their late start and poor initial showing. I'm not sure why you think an Ubuntu tablet is doomed to failure.
What's going to be important is showing it can do things the others can't or won't. Some of the multi-tasking on their video looks impressive and may offer that differentiation.
Re:Who cares ? by tylikcat · 2013-02-19 05:33 · Score: 5, Interesting

My tablet-ish thing is an Asus transformer, and while I'm happy enough with Cyanogenmod, I have it set up to run linux in user space because sometimes I want it to be just a bit more of a real computer.
If Ubuntu for tablet could give me a reasonable front end and still let me write code (we're not talking serious compiling here, just hacking together a bit of python here and there, mostly) and give me cleaner access to system underpinnings, I'd be happy to switch. Well, okay, and reasonable functionality in other ways - power management, etc. I've yet to meet an Android distro that really lets me do what I'd like.
Re:Who cares ? by slim · 2013-02-19 05:44 · Score: 4, Interesting

In the demo of Ubuntu for phones, a Samsung S3 is running Android and Ubuntu *at the same time*.
I don't know whether Android is hosting Ubuntu, or Ubuntu is hosting Android, or some third piece of software is hosting both. But the end result is that you plug your phone into an HDMI monitor, operate an Ubuntu desktop on the monitor using a bluetooth keyboard/mouse, and use Android on the handset at the same time. The Ubuntu stuff had hooks into Android so there were desktop apps that interacted with your Android contacts etc.
Fairly neat. I got the impression that it wasn't all as open-source as I'd like it to be -- ain't that the Android way?
Re:Who cares ? by GIL_Dude · 2013-02-19 05:50 · Score: 4, Insightful

Doomed to failure? No, not completely. But when you are this late to market and your competitors have entrenched and solid ecosystems, your stuff better kick some serious ass and be available on some seriously nice hardware and have a thriving app ecosystem ready to go. Otherwise? Yes, pretty much doomed. You end up struggling mightily like Microsoft is with Windows 8 Phone. It is actually a decent OS and the hardware is pretty much on par with other phones. But it doesn't come out and just blow the others in the market away and the app ecosystem is not really "there" yet (which is why I have an Android phone). So they languish unsold. A tablet competitor like Ubuntu would be the same way. Make it really rock out of the box and get some devs on it right now or it won't go very far very fast.
Re:Who cares ? by saihung · 2013-02-19 06:00 · Score: 3, Insightful

iOS has existed since 2007. The iPad has been in existence for less than 3 years as a freestanding product. Don't fool yourself. However entrenched you think one operating system or manufacturer may be in this sector, all it takes is a little bit of rot and a solid kick to turn the entire thing onto its head.
Re:Who cares ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 07:14 · Score: 0

Ubuntu runs on ASUS Transformer quite well. You might want to try it.
Re:Who cares ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 07:39 · Score: 0

Or just make into a owners tablet instead of a rental as every other one out there is right now. You may have purchased it but you don't own it.
Re:Who cares ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 07:55 · Score: 0

iOS (and app stores in general) is perfect example of vendor lock-in. My GF has an iPhone that she'd love to get rid of but she's spent the last 5 years buying apps for it. That's hundreds of dollars of apps. She'd rather get something non-Apple - especially in light of the fragility of the recent iPhone models, the majority of people I know who have one have broken theirs - but she feels this is too much of an 'investment' to walk away from.
Getting an iPad would be a no-brainer for anyone who already has an iPhone for the same reasons.
Re:Who cares ? by admdrew · 2013-02-19 08:04 · Score: 2

Agreed. I *just* tried out Ubuntu on my Nexus 7, and I promptly went back to cyanogen 10.1; it was very cool to be able to run basically full blown Ubuntu (and it's relatively speedy), but it's definitely not tablet-optimized, and there are too many little annoyances for me to want to keep it at the moment.
In its current iteration, Ubuntu on tablets seems geared more towards those who prefer using some sort of physical keyboard with their tablet. In that case, I can already see the usefulness. For those who want a tablet they can use while on the livingroom couch, or on their commute to work, Ubuntu isn't yet ready for tablet consumption.

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LegendMUD
Re:Who cares ? by Master+Moose · 2013-02-19 08:39 · Score: 3, Interesting

I think that the tablet space is the same as the home computing space in the 80's. You had your C64s, your Amigas, Ataris, Apples, IBMs, Acorns and various other vendors machines. People's choices were not made about the OS, but if the machine met their needs by having the right games, the correct applications, compatibility with work, friends and family etc. People also expected that if they bought a different vendors machine, that they would have a different experience.
If I am half right, then there is room for other vendors to come in with products and be quite successful. . Of course, we didn't have the litigation and patent trolling so bad back then (although I do admit it exsisted)

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. . .gone when the morning comes
Re:Who cares ? by MichaelSmith · 2013-02-19 09:27 · Score: 2

Kernel and userland are android. The skin is from ubuntu.

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http://michaelsmith.id.au
Re:Who cares ? by exomondo · 2013-02-19 09:40 · Score: 1

I don't want either iOS or Android, but I might get a tablet with KDE Plasma Active.
Well most likely you'll get a tablet with Android which you'll have to wipe and then install KDE Plasma Active on, that's fine for you - and probably most of the readers of this site - but I see that as the major stumbling block when it comes to mainstream adoption.
Re:Who cares ? by exomondo · 2013-02-19 09:46 · Score: 1

iOS (and app stores in general) is perfect example of vendor lock-in.
That's the case with all platforms, Windows, OSX, desktop Linux distros, Android, etc... It would be great if app developers decided that if you purchase their app on one platform you got access to it on all platforms where it was available, obviously it's less financially viable for the developers and certainly less attractive to platform vendors but it would be nice ;)
Re:Who cares ? by sfcrazy · 2013-02-19 10:35 · Score: 1

I don't want either iOS or Android, but I might get a tablet with KDE Plasma Active.
There already is KDE running on Nexus 7 http://youtu.be/Bb7isMAmwW0
Re:Who cares ? by tylikcat · 2013-02-19 10:41 · Score: 1

What I've been doing recently is running it in user space, and yeah, that's great.
Is it possible to run it directly while preserving screen use, power management, and so on? It's been a while since I looked, but I seem to recall it being more than a little dodgy.
Re:Who cares ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 10:58 · Score: 0

The things she "owns" aren't really there. They don't exist. It's the equivalent of a 1 or a 0 on a computer. She will never hold those things in her hand. She can walk away at any time. I love my Kindle, but I'm not buying Amazon everything for the rest of my life because I own the girl with the dragon tattoo. That's retarded.
Is she a game addict? are these "coin" investments? If they are, I wouldn't know whether to laugh or cry. I don't understand how you could possibly have hundreds of dollars worth of real apps. Does she always do a search for something and click on every one of them?
How do you even manage hundreds of dollars worth of apps on her phone? I've run through free apps and have about 100 in my phone now it looks go-awful and eats up an awful lot of space.
Re:Who cares ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 12:55 · Score: 0

The things she "owns" aren't really there. They don't exist. It's the equivalent of a 1 or a 0 on a computer. She will never hold those things in her hand.
This just in, we're redefining the concept of existence! Linux doesn't exist because it's the equivalent of a 1 or a 0 on a computer and you will never hold it in your hand.
Re:Who cares ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 14:33 · Score: 0

The Samsung S3 can operate as a USB host (alas, it has a micro-B, not micro-AB connector; non-standard cable time). Might well have a USB keyboard, plus powering the phone.
Re:Who cares ? by hendrikboom · 2013-02-19 15:27 · Score: 1

Will Ubuntu dual-boot with Android on the Transformer (I have a TF101). Or will its user-space coexists with Androids on a shared kernel? Endless questions about interoperability ensue.
Re:Who cares ? by socceroos · 2013-02-19 15:34 · Score: 1

At the moment it is a little dodgy. I'm waiting until at least 13.04 or 13.10 before installing it on my prime.
Re:Who cares ? by Patch86 · 2013-02-22 06:47 · Score: 1

Not true, to a given definition of "userland". The Android kernel is installed, as is the full Android userland (UI, Dalvik, Google Play, you name it). When you plug it into a docking station, the Android userland goes away and the Ubuntu userland (Unity, GTK+, Nautilus, etc.) appear. The kernel is the only shared resource.
Re:Who cares ? by MichaelSmith · 2013-02-22 08:25 · Score: 1

So two userlands are installed in parallel. They don't "go away" and "appear". Its just a matter of fiddling with PATH and loader paths.

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http://michaelsmith.id.au
Re:Who cares ? by Patch86 · 2013-02-24 08:57 · Score: 1

Very true; I was putting it whimsically for comic effect.
The point is that, excluding the kernel (which is the Android kernel, as opposed to the mainstream Linux kernel), Ubuntu On Android is proper, full Ubuntu- not just a Unity-themed Android skin.

How is this different then nomal ubuntu by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:10 · Score: 3, Funny

Considering it's CLEARLY not for desktops anymore.

Re:How is this different then nomal ubuntu by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:47 · Score: 0

The difference is that this version could be for tablets. What regular Ubuntu is for remains to be figured out.

but does it run by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:11 · Score: 0

advertisements?

Nokia Tablet by Paul+Pierce · 2013-02-19 05:17 · Score: 1

Could Nokia have a tablet in the works? If so could they release them with Ubuntu or would their Microsoft agreement limit them to Windows on those as well?

Re:Nokia Tablet by marcello_dl · 2013-02-19 05:22 · Score: 1

Not holding my breath, considering that Nokia had a real linux smartphone and failed to market/properly develop it, all before the deadly embrace with MS (Ok it might not be deadly but most microsoft partners ended up screwed at one point, yes?).

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---- MISSING MISCELLANEOUS DATA SEGMENT --- [sigdash] trolololol
Re:Nokia Tablet by dwater · 2013-02-19 05:33 · Score: 4, Informative

...real linux smartphone
Two, in fact (three if you count the n950)...not to mention their predecessors which were Internet *tablets*.

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Max.
Re:Nokia Tablet by citizenr · 2013-02-19 06:26 · Score: 2

Nokia is forced (by retarded agreement) to buy more M$ licenses that they are currently able to use. Why would they use another os when they are already sitting on unused M$ ones (and M$ will do marketing for them).

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Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
Re:Nokia Tablet by fatphil · 2013-02-19 06:30 · Score: 1

Nokia had an internet tablet (a real one, not a PDA-sized one) about a decade ago. It was alas way ahead of the market. (Microsoft did too which has similar "success".)

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Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Re:Nokia Tablet by gmuslera · 2013-02-19 06:32 · Score: 2

Nokia had back to 2005 a good Linux tablet already, and kept releasing improved versions of it till 2009. Then went into suicidal mode.
The next one releasing a native linux tablet with WebOS was HP with the Touchpad, and then they got crazy too.
Probably the best strategy for tablet manufacturers regarding Linux is to release them under some base, useful enough OS (i.e. Android) and let all drivers/boot/etc open enough to enable users to install on them the Linux flavor they want if need something better, be this Ubuntu, openWebOS, Mer, KDE Plasma Active or another.
Re:Nokia Tablet by dwater · 2013-02-19 07:12 · Score: 1

I think that's what I was saying...but they had not one internet tablet, but a few...iirc 770, n800, n810, then the n900 which took a sim card so was a phone.

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Max.
Re:Nokia Tablet by Belial6 · 2013-02-19 07:28 · Score: 2

Because they want to sell the tablets?
Re:Nokia Tablet by ChunderDownunder · 2013-02-19 15:06 · Score: 1

Probably the best strategy for tablet manufacturers regarding Linux is to release them under some base, useful enough OS (i.e. Android) and let all drivers/boot/etc open enough to enable users to install on them the Linux flavor they want if need something better, be this Ubuntu, openWebOS, Mer, KDE Plasma Active or another.

Ubuntu tablet edition, openWebOS, Nemo (formerly-known-as Meego Handset Ux), Plasma Active are all Qt-on-Linux solutions. So since the basic libraries are common, installing a 'flavor' ought to be as simple installing a package from an ubuntu mirror - accessed much in the same way that a user can select a desktop environment from LightDM's login screen.
Re:Nokia Tablet by gmuslera · 2013-02-19 22:07 · Score: 1

Should be that way, but could be specific things even at the very bottom that could be different too, i.e. if something on the upper layer depends on certain kernel compile options, or not sure if the rest will support android device drivers directly as seem that Ubuntu will support (and if those are something more/different than usual linux device drivers/modules).
And not forget that will be a lot of desktop environment specific programs, installing 2 will mean that you will be able to select from your installed apps a lot that won't work because are specific or part of the other desktop that will require more than just the libraries available.
Re:Nokia Tablet by fatphil · 2013-02-20 00:53 · Score: 1

No, way before the n770. And no, a proper tabled, not a PDA-format one.

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Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Re:Nokia Tablet by dwater · 2013-02-20 01:47 · Score: 1

there was no 'n770' - it was just '770', but do tell more about the one you're talking about :)

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Max.
Re:Nokia Tablet by fatphil · 2013-02-20 07:12 · Score: 1

I hate to do this, but I have to point you in the direction of Tomi Ahonen's god-awful blog. During the height of his ranting about a year or two ago, whilst focussed on showing how Nokia was so far advanced compared to Apple, he mentioned such things. (You can tell, I'm not prepared to wade through his gibbering to find it.)

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Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Re:Nokia Tablet by dwater · 2013-02-20 19:07 · Score: 1

I don't see any mention of a Nokia tablet. He mentions MeeGo tablets, but, iinm, those aren't Nokia ones - the N9 (and N950) were the only MeeGo branded devices "made available" my Nokia. Everything prior to that was Maemo. The MeeGo running on the tablets was the effort of Intel (though, I suppose there was some Nokia effort included from the attempt to merge Maemo and MeeGo).
Was it some other tablet reference you mean?

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Max.
Re:Nokia Tablet by fatphil · 2013-02-20 21:56 · Score: 1

The 770 wasn't even "maemo", it was "osso" IIRC. It's entirely possible the early 2000s tablet never reached the market I know that Nokia was discussing such devices with its partners back at the time, and that instances of it have been seen (and touched).

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Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Re:Nokia Tablet by dwater · 2013-02-20 22:13 · Score: 1

Osso, indeed :) I'd forgotten that (before my time there)...I did have a baseball cap, but lost it during a visit to Sachsenhausen :(
Interesting about the 'big' tablet...never saw or heard anything of it.

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Max.

They forgot one small tid bit... by bogaboga · 2013-02-19 05:20 · Score: 1

Advertised to work on both entry level tablets as well as high-end tablets with enterprise specifications, the operating system offers multitasking, safer sharing, instant launch of applications through the menu bar on the left, effortless switching between applications among other features."

I would modify the above piece to read...

Advertised to work on both entry level tablets as well as high-end tablets with enterprise specifications, the operating system offers multitasking, safer sharing, instant launch of applications through the menu bar on the left, effortless switching between applications among other features just like Linux does. "

And we all know how Linux is [generally] doing, right?

Re:They forgot one small tid bit... by Dr_Barnowl · 2013-02-19 06:10 · Score: 1

Linux is doing freaking fantastic - it's under the bonnet in every Android phone and tablet, every Smart TV, many set top boxes, virtually every domestic piece of network gear, the majority of web servers, a large number of application servers, etc, etc, etc.
It's not doing so well on the desktop, but the desktop, as we are constantly reminded, is becoming a niche item.
A user environment that manages to offer a coherent - but not stupidly consistent [1] - experience on the three big devices - phone, tablet, desktop - will have what it needs to do well.
[1] Stupid consistency would be keeping the same swipe UI for the desktop as well as the tablet, like I'm told Windows 8 does. Tablets have a touch screen. Even if you're plugging a tablet into a keyboard and mouse, you don't want to have to gorilla arm the screen to use the UI, or worse, have to use a touch UI with a mouse.
Re:They forgot one small tid bit... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 06:21 · Score: 0

virtually every domestic piece of network gear
No, that would be VxWorks or QNX.
Re:They forgot one small tid bit... by Desler · 2013-02-19 06:28 · Score: 1

In what world are a Cortex A-15 and 2GB of RAM considered "entry-level?
Re:They forgot one small tid bit... by ChunderDownunder · 2013-02-19 15:32 · Score: 1

Planet Earth, circa the first stable release in April 2014.
This week is only a preview launch, followed by a 13.10 general release with many of the kinks worked out and 14.04 being rock solid, including mature reverse-engineered FOSS drivers for adreno and mali. (with TI and Nvidia producing vendor supported drivers for OMAP 5 and Tegra 4 respectively)
By which time Apple will have had 2 hardware refreshes of the iPad.
FWIW, the Nexus 10 already ships with such specs at $US399. Expect that to be commonplace in 6-12 months at lower price points, though probably not on a 'junk' $100 Chinese Android tablet...
Re:They forgot one small tid bit... by libv · 2013-02-19 17:37 · Score: 1

Good to know that canonical is going to provide reverse engineered drivers for us. Now... Either i am missing something, and canonical is secretly paying for my and Rob Clarks work on a to us unknown swiss bankaccount, or we should stop working on the lima and freedreno drivers, as canonical is going NIH on us. Or maybe your supposed fact is absolute news to us, and we are the ones doing it without any support from canonical?
Re:They forgot one small tid bit... by ChunderDownunder · 2013-02-19 18:15 · Score: 1

Sorry I didn't mean to imply that Canonical was going to take over driver development, merely that things might (conveniently for Canonical) fall into place in terms of your timeframes, appreciating that you both do this unpaid in your spare time (and kudos for doing this!) Though it would be a nice gesture on Shuttleworth's part were he to fund such things essential for hardware support, rather than piggybacking on the efforts of volunteers.
Do either of you have a paypal or similar? Were I to purchase compatible hardware in order to run X11/Wayland then I'd strongly consider a small contribution in appreciation, even if the paltry sum total of donations enables one to buy better beer at fosdem :-)
p.s. I have no affiliation with Canonical! just a curious observer of the regular updates on Phoronix.

dad, what is linux ? by cinnamon+colbert · 2013-02-19 05:21 · Score: -1, Troll

well, once upon a time, this arrogant guy, RMS, did a lot of work that didn't pay off..so another guy LT, created a nice OS called linux. Dad, how do you know RMS is arrogant ? look at it is gnu/linux, not linux: hundreds of words where a single paragraph, well written, would have done the job nicely (and, rms , despite being the uber uber programmer, doesn't seem to realize that people are lazy and don't like to type, and that / characters are hard to index, and therefore no one ever was gonna type gnu/linux when the they could type linux, not to mention, people don't like products that are hard to pronounce But dad, why doesn't anyone use linux? Son, that is the fascinating thing: you see, everyone thought there was a lot of money in linux, so all the companies rushed out not very good non compatible versions. meanwhile, the hackers, who don't understand basic human psychology (choice is not good) made hundreds of non compatible forks; in the end, no one system had enough critical mass: not everyone can be a leader; it takes a lot of followers to make something big and complex.

Re:dad, what is linux ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:27 · Score: 0

Can I have some of that crack you're smoking? Oh, you smoked it al already.
Re:dad, what is linux ? by Gordonjcp · 2013-02-19 05:34 · Score: 4, Insightful

Everyone uses Linux. You're using it right now. Even Microsoft uses Linux extensively.
The simple fact of the matter is that Linux became *the* mainstream OS a decade ago, and you never even noticed.
Re:dad, what is linux ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:51 · Score: 0, Interesting

cinnamon colbert, did anyone bother to inform you that you're a retard, or did they give it up as a lost cause?
Linux is just a kernel, and it happens to be by far the most popular kernel on the planet. The kernel gets coupled with many different kinds of user space to create an operating system. The GNU user space is just one of these, and Android is another, both extraordinarily popular.
You missed just one line from your narrative:
"Dad, why are you a retard compared to all my friends' dads?"
Re:dad, what is linux ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 07:21 · Score: 0

Linux is just a kernel, and it happens to be by far the most popular kernel on the planet.
Linux is just a monolithic kernel and as it happens, because monolithic kernels are operating systems, so is the Linux.

The kernel gets coupled with many different kinds of user space to create an operating system.

You are wrong, Monolithic kernel is a OS architecture what builds whole operating system in single address space and works like a single binary (can be modular with modules but at architecture level it is like single binary and modules needs to be attached to main binary to use them). For monolithic operating systems (like Linux aka Linux kernel) there is no other software involved. Monolithic architecture is the first one and oldest one for software what for decade(s) later were started to call as "operating system".
The story is totally different when it comes to much newer architecture what were promote to make older monolithic architecture obsolete, the Server-Client architecture whats basic idea is to slice monolithic operating system to multiple independent parts called as servers and all servers are controlled by very small microkernel what only implements critical functions of the monolithic operating system, while resto of needed OS functions are in servers. Every server implements specific OS function as independent program and can be ported and updated separately from other servers and microkernel.
Most people talk about Linux (and RMS as well) as it would be a Server-Client by its architecture but they don't have a clue about two different main OS architecture (nor they want to admit it as their lies would be called).
Re:dad, what is linux ? by Belial6 · 2013-02-19 07:42 · Score: 1

I don't know about you, but I don't think I know a single person who isn't running Linux a at this point. Sure a lot of them also run other OSes, but they all run Linux.
Re:dad, what is linux ? by SnappyTech · 2013-02-19 09:51 · Score: 1

Everyone viewing this web page is using Linux: The web host is probably using Linux, as well as the ISPs delivering the bandwidth.
Re:dad, what is linux ? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 10:38 · Score: 0

And who exactly just runs the linux kernel? nobody, dumbass.
Re:dad, what is linux ? by exomondo · 2013-02-19 11:06 · Score: 1

I don't know about you, but I don't think I know a single person who isn't running Linux a at this point. Sure a lot of them also run other OSes, but they all run Linux.
You're right, but certainly RMS's vision has failed thus far, the idea was control of the system and freedom for the user, but in virtually all the places we use GNU/Linux we, as users, don't have that control or freedom - though on some smartphones we do have total control and freedom.
Re:dad, what is linux ? by exomondo · 2013-02-19 11:34 · Score: 1

I don't know about you, but I don't think I know a single person who isn't running Linux a at this point. Sure a lot of them also run other OSes, but they all run Linux.
Sure, but the RMS vision for GNU/Linux has largely failed, almost all the places - excluding some smartphones of course - that people use GNU/Linux they have no more freedom than if they used Windows or OSX, they don't have the freedoms or the control of the system that RMS professes is necessary. The place it really grants those freedoms is and control is on the desktop, which is where comparatively very few people actually use it.
Re:dad, what is linux ? by exomondo · 2013-02-19 13:07 · Score: 1

wtf is with /.? why didn't that post come through before? :S
Re:dad, what is linux ? by Gordonjcp · 2013-02-19 21:40 · Score: 1

Yes, and all the DSL routers, a bunch of the DSLAMs, probably not the core routers so much (they're more likely to be Cisco, or Juniper - but Juniper uses FreeBSD), any wifi bridges. Maybe someone is reading this on a modernish digital TV rather than a monitor - oh look, Linux, right there in the TV!
Year of Linux on the desktop? Don't make me laugh. It's been the *decade* of Linux in devices though.

Video by benjfowler · 2013-02-19 05:25 · Score: 1

In the video on their website, Mark Shuttleworth bears a striking resemblance to Steve Jobs.

I thought that was pretty amazing.

Re:Video by rasmusbr · 2013-02-19 05:33 · Score: 1

Well, I guess there is a a little bit of resemblance.
Now that I think about it he looks like someone sawed Steve's and Linus's heads in halves and attached Linus's top half on top of Steve's bottom half.
Re:Video by dwater · 2013-02-19 05:38 · Score: 1

I didn't think so, though it did occur to me to make the comparison, so perhaps there's something there.

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Max.
Re:Video by dwater · 2013-02-19 06:07 · Score: 1

I noticed he waves his hands about too much - a pet peeve of mine :)

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Max.
Re:Video by admdrew · 2013-02-19 07:59 · Score: 1

...I was thinking Denholm from The IT Crowd.

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LegendMUD
Re:Video by fatphil · 2013-02-20 00:41 · Score: 1

And you'd be right. The hair and ebullience may be different, but there's something that they unmistakably share.

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Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863

Shuttleworth by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:29 · Score: 0

Shuttleworth seems to be inhabiting an alternate reality these days. Unfortunately, it's one with a Unity dock running down the left hand side.

FINALLY!! the year of Linux by ganjadude · 2013-02-19 05:37 · Score: 0

on the desktop is here!! oh wait

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have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same

Available as user-installe distributions? by DdJ · 2013-02-19 05:38 · Score: 2

I've got a Nook Color tablet, in part because its boot loader is not locked. I can pop in a microSD card with an arbitrary OS (that supports the hardware) on it, and no DRM or cryptography or "secure boot" stuff is there to prevent it from just loading up.

Today, I use this with a stack of microSD cards with different versions of CyanogenMod installed, to be able to rapidly test code on completely different versions of Android.

Anyone know if I'll ever (or soon) be able to boot up Ubuntu on this device the same way? (If so, I'm in, but I'm not buying new hardware just for this OS.)

Re:Available as user-installe distributions? by DdJ · 2013-02-19 05:39 · Score: 2

Never mind -- the minimum specs are so far beyond what the Nook Color offers that device driver support and the like would be a moot question.
How many tablets meet the minimum specs and don't have locked bootloaders in firmware?
Re:Available as user-installe distributions? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 06:12 · Score: 1

You can dualboot Android and Ubuntu (13.04) on Nexus 7, and also this "real" tablet version of 13.04 will be available for Nexus 7 and 10 soon.
Ars technica has more info: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/02/ubuntu-for-tablets-arriving-on-nexus-7-nexus-10-this-week/
Also Ubuntu's Nexus 7 wiki is worth checking: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Nexus7/Installation
Re:Available as user-installe distributions? by squiggleslash · 2013-02-19 06:45 · Score: 1

All depends on how important that minimum spec really is. I have a Kindle Fire that runs Jellybean. Supposedly the Fire's spec is too poor to run anything of the sort. Yet the OS feels as smooth as it does on my Galaxy Nexus (and that's very, very, smooth.)

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You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Re:Available as user-installe distributions? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 07:14 · Score: 0

I see what you mean, their idea of entry-level seems a bit confused at the moment, i suppose it's quite convenient to forget about the existing tablet userbase and expect everyone to go out and spend money on a tablet for ubuntu, this seems like a mistake, considering how many users there are out there who are stuck with reasonably capable hardware and an outdated android version with no hope of updates, that includes me, i'd love a usable meego-alike for my Hannspad, then again, to make any money out of this arrangement they'll have to convince me to consume content through their store, which is sadly never likely to happen, i don't touch google's offerings at present and i can't see ubuntu's being more compelling.

how does this play with existing Android accounts? by cellocgw · 2013-02-19 05:43 · Score: 1

The Canonical website wasn't very clear on this, so can someone comment: given that I have an Android tablet w/ a stack of GooglePlay apps, what happens if I install UbuntuTablet on my hardware? Can I log into GooglePlay & get my apps and credentials (what's paid for and so on) back?

I suppose I really should be asking what will happen if I try to put Ubuntu on my actual tablet-- Onda, A10 based :-( .

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https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw

Good! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:44 · Score: 0, Interesting

Now all someone needs to do is fork it into a version that doesn't send my every keystroke somewhere.

I no longer care. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:49 · Score: 0, Interesting

Did they fix the keylogging yet?

If not, I don't care about anything they come up with.

Re:I no longer care. by chill · 2013-02-19 05:54 · Score: 4, Funny

Yes. The tablet has no keyboard.

--
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
Re:I no longer care. by horza · 2013-02-19 06:07 · Score: 2

Commenting to undo wrong mod by mistake. Agreed, this is a sticking point for many of us.
Phillip.

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Property for sale in Nice, France
Re:I no longer care. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 08:04 · Score: 0

Rhetorical question, I understand. In case somebody else doesn't, no they did not fix it but admitted it and said it will not be changed... http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/02/18/1652242/mark-shuttleworth-addresses-ubuntu-privacy-issues
Ubuntu is a big brown turd.

crazy requirements by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 05:52 · Score: 1

Good grief, Mark! Those minimum specs are mad!

And here I was thinking that I could try it on my HTC Inspire 4G. Then again, I'm not sure if I'd be even able to boot something arbitrary from an SD card there.

Re:crazy requirements by Desler · 2013-02-19 06:25 · Score: 2

Yeah it's hilarious that they define "entry-level" as a Cortex A-15 and 2GB of RAM. Their OS must be pretty bloated and slow to need all that.
Re:crazy requirements by Psyborgue · 2013-02-19 07:54 · Score: 1

I suspect it's more to do with not wanting to rape the tablet's flash memory with a swap partition, and wanting users to be able to run more than a few apps at a time. I wouldn't worry too much about it, though. I'm sure in time there will be custom Ubuntu roms built for all sorts of other devices. Personally, i'm hoping for Nexus 7, which has 1GB of ram.
Re:crazy requirements by admdrew · 2013-02-19 08:19 · Score: 1

Meh, "minimum specs" have been lies since the beginning of time. The Nexus 7 technically doesn't meet those requirements, and yet Ubuntu runs pretty well on it (incidentally, it runs better than ChrUbuntu does on my ARM Chromebook, although that's assumed to be more hacky than Canonical's "official" release for the Nexus 7).

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LegendMUD

Android app compatability? by Psyborgue · 2013-02-19 06:05 · Score: 2, Insightful

Without this, I can't see much adoption. Who wants to buy a tablet if it has no apps? Linux has plenty, sure, but are they optimized for a tablet interface? Given that it's already a linux kernel, wouldn't it be possible to add the dalvik VM and run android apps? So far as I undrestand, this was the case with the previous Nexus 7 iteration of Ubuntu. Why was this changed? If they release this for Nexus 7, i'll probably run it off a USB stick if possible, but I won't flash it over android unless there is some compatibility there. Simply put, I've purchased Android apps, and I don't want to lose those.

Re:Android app compatability? by ShieldW0lf · 2013-02-19 06:34 · Score: 2

Without this, I can't see much adoption. Who wants to buy a tablet if it has no apps? Linux has plenty, sure, but are they optimized for a tablet interface? Given that it's already a linux kernel, wouldn't it be possible to add the dalvik VM and run android apps? So far as I undrestand, this was the case with the previous Nexus 7 iteration of Ubuntu. Why was this changed? If they release this for Nexus 7, i'll probably run it off a USB stick if possible, but I won't flash it over android unless there is some compatibility there. Simply put, I've purchased Android apps, and I don't want to lose those.
Debian had a boatload of apps available via apt-get before Ubuntu existed. It will run all of them. And all the apps that were added to the Ubuntu ecosystem since then should also run.
Being that all the "legacy" apps are open source, they should be relatively easily ported across architectures, as opposed to Win8 which won't run legacy code on ARM.
Ubuntu is far better poised than you give them credit for

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-1 Uncomfortable Truth
Re:Android app compatability? by squiggleslash · 2013-02-19 06:52 · Score: 3, Insightful

Tablet apps require their own UIs. I don't think the availability of ordinary desktop GNOME apps can really be considered part of the pile when evaluating software support for a tablet running Ubuntu.

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You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
Re:Android app compatability? by Psyborgue · 2013-02-19 07:00 · Score: 3, Insightful

You miss my point, which is that while plenty of linux apps already exist, few have table compatible UIs. You're also leaving out the fact that many commercial apps and games, such as Steam and World of Goo, for example, are for the moment x86 only, and are likely to remain that way unless there is enough adoption of Ubuntu Tablet to justify a port (assuming it requires more than just a recompile, which is likely). My prediction is without Android compatibility, no tablet manufacturer will adopt Ubuntu, and without significant adoption, no developers of existing Linux apps will bother writing new UIs for Ubuntu Tablet. You absolutely need to start off a new mobile OS with a rich selection of appropriate (eg. Tablet UI) apps or you're dead in the water.
Re:Android app compatability? by Zigurd · 2013-02-19 07:06 · Score: 1

Android app compatibility is available for Linux in several forms: You can install an Android distro in a virtualization container, Canonical's "Ubuntu for Android," Open Mobile's ACL (disclosure, I used to be CTO there), and others.
My view of the best way to do this (and not surprising that this is how Open Mobile does it) is that Android can be integrated into "foreign" desktop environments as if it were a Java SE-like runtime environment.
As for how I would want to use Ubuntu on a tablet, I would put it on a powerful tablet such as those Windows 8 will be shipping on. Then I can have my Android development tools in a tablet form factor, and I can run an x86 Android build in a VM or QEMU for testing/debugging.

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I wrote parts of this stuff
Re:Android app compatability? by Psyborgue · 2013-02-19 07:38 · Score: 1

None of those solutions, so far as has been said, will be set up or bundled with Ubuntu Desktop. I get there is almost always a way to do something in Linux, but that won't matter if it isn't already set up when a person buys a tablet. They want to click on the Google Play store (or perhaps search these through a lens, which I find very cool) and download apps. If there is going to be any significant adoption of Ubuntu desktop, this needs to be bundled in, even if means paying the "Google Tax". Even Amazon's android app store would work. At the absolute minimum, it needs to be able to run .apks out of the box so a person can install a market and those apps need to be treated as equal citizens. Otherwise it'll be a niche rom that nobody outside of a very small technical circle will ever flash and will likely stagnate and die, which I would hate to see as from the video, the interface looks like a nice mix of some of the best tablet UIs so far, with some very creative additions.
Re:Android app compatability? by mcrbids · 2013-02-19 07:42 · Score: 1

Simply put, I've purchased Android apps, and I don't want to lose those.
I have several Android devices all linked to the same google account. I'm able to access apps I've purchased interchangeably on all of them. I have
1) a Droid 2 Razr Maxx HD (that I LOVE),
2) a Samsung Stratosphere that I was happy to replace,
3) an Acer Iconia 7" tablet.
With the exception that the Stratosphere won't play the 3D games, I'm able to share my stuff between them.

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I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
Re:Android app compatability? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 08:24 · Score: 0

I run world of goo in my android phone, and I'm pretty sure it's not x86 based.
Re:Android app compatability? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 08:57 · Score: 0

Definitely not, I run WoG on my Wii, which has a PowerPC chip.
Re:Android app compatability? by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 11:02 · Score: 0

inconceivable!
Re:Android app compatability? by Psyborgue · 2013-02-19 11:08 · Score: 1

Will the publisher of WoG release a Unity optimized arm *Linux* version to satisfy all of the 10 people who will use Ubuntu Tablet? To get those users there first, you need apps. So you need Android compatibility.
Re:Android app compatability? by ShieldW0lf · 2013-02-20 07:06 · Score: 1

The ability to run Windows apps is a selling feature for Win8 tablets, and not a small one.
Ubuntu could run Windows apps in Wine on ARM, where Win8 does not.
And, it can run every single app they inherited from Debian.
I disagree with your assessment.

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-1 Uncomfortable Truth
Re:Android app compatability? by squiggleslash · 2013-02-20 14:06 · Score: 1

The ability to run Windows apps is a selling feature for Win8 tablets, and not a small one.

Yes, it is a feature, and very useful when you have a keyboard and mouse available.
However, these are still not Windows 8 tablet apps. If they were, they'd work when there is no keyboard or mouse available.

I disagree with your assessment.

That's, apparently, because you don't know the difference between a tablet and a laptop.

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You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.

Re:how does this play with existing Android accoun by squiggleslash · 2013-02-19 06:54 · Score: 1

Ubuntu is not Android, so no. Not that it's impossible for Ubuntu to have an Android compatibility layer, but even if it did, it's unlikely Google would support it (ie the Play Store wouldn't be available.)

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You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.

he's a mop-boy at the peepshow downtown by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 06:59 · Score: 0

true story, I know his dad.

I love Linux, I want Linux, but this isnt Linux by updatelee · 2013-02-19 07:23 · Score: 3, Interesting

This is as Linux as Android is. Hell Android is probably more Linux this this.

I just dont understand why these mobile OS's keep wanting to force developers into a specific language. Android push's Java hard (ewe) sure you can use the NDK but from my perspective its not as straight forward as youd think. iOS push's Objective-C. and now Ubuntu mobile OS is pushing QML/Javascript/HTML5.

Sure you can make a webpage that does basic calculations or simple animations. But real raw data crunching within JS? seriously ? thats such a joke its not even funny. If all I wanted was a notepad, calender app, and a webbrowser then Id just continue using Android.

Show me a FFT JS implementation thats anywhere near as fast as C/C++. I write only in C/C++ and have zero interest in JS or Java, zero. Im not going to waste my time learning a new language that just anoy me.

Id love to see how JS interacts with low level stuff like gpio's, serial, usb etc. Oh there's a lib for that? what if there isnt... then what? wait out? thats not the point of open source, your supposed to be able todo whatever you want.

Linux imo is popular with developers because we can write whatever we want in whatever language we choose. Linux isnt supposed to force you into anything, why do all these linux mobile OS's feel the need todo so.

UDL

Re:I love Linux, I want Linux, but this isnt Linux by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 08:25 · Score: 3, Informative

The developer info on the Ubuntu website says that you can use C/C++ for apps that need performance and QML/JS/HTML5 for lightweight, website wrapper type stuff.
Re:I love Linux, I want Linux, but this isnt Linux by exomondo · 2013-02-19 12:11 · Score: 1

This is as Linux as Android is. Hell Android is probably more Linux this this.
What do you mean 'Linux'? When you say that it seems you're referring to the userland and platform specific tools, the stuff in a Linux distro that isn't Linux?

I just dont understand why these mobile OS's keep wanting to force developers into a specific language.
They generally provide APIs for the language native to the platform, if you wanted to write in a different language you could always write your own bindings for that language, an example of this is PyWin32 that provides Python bindings for Win32, or OpenTK that provides .Net bindings for OpenGL functions, or JOGL that allows you to use OpenGL in Java.
Re:I love Linux, I want Linux, but this isnt Linux by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 18:53 · Score: 0

push's ... youd ... Id ... Im ... isnt... todo ....
Im not going to waste my time learning a new language that just anoy me.
So does English just annoy you too?
Re:I love Linux, I want Linux, but this isnt Linux by dfries · 2013-02-20 14:32 · Score: 1

This is as Linux as Android is. Hell Android is probably more Linux this this.
I just dont understand why these mobile OS's keep wanting to force developers into a specific language. ... and now Ubuntu mobile OS is pushing QML/Javascript/HTML5.

I agree with your Android assessment, and even your JavaScript assessment for anything of a descent size complexity or efficiency demand, but I don't agree with your Ubuntu QML/Javascript/HTML5 assessment. QML is the 'new' (going on three maybe four years), GUI system for Qt. Qt is written in C++, you can write something only in QML, but I wouldn't and I haven't. The last large program I worked on from scratch was most all C++ using Qt, and used QML/JavaScript for the GUI. Even then for such as a QML button you use JavaScript for trivial stuff, because each QML property is assigned with a line of JavaScript such as the following.
width: height*3.0/4
color: global_background
So in those kinds of cases JavaScript is almost transparent, in other cases it is more of a glue between the C++ layer to modify properties or get feedback from the GUI by calling a routine in C++. QML isn't a programming language, it uses JavaScript for that, and the use of JavaScript can be kept to an absolute minimal assignments, so if you already know C/C++ then you wouldn't even have to know it was JavaScript.
In summary from my experience with C++/Qt/QML, it isn't going to be the pure C++ you are asking about, but if you are doing something with a GUI then this is going to let you do all the stuff you care about in C++ (and on Linux).

And nothing of value was lost by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 07:50 · Score: 0

Canonical has had enough opportunities to learn from hardware mistakes that it might not make a bad Linux hardware company...

Re:how does this play with existing Android accoun by Psyborgue · 2013-02-19 08:00 · Score: 1

Google hasn't interfered with the Play Store running on things like Cyanogen Mod, as long as it's not bundled. Why would they do it here? Besides: Amazon has an android app store. What's preventing them from selling apps directly to Ubuntu users? It would benefit both Ubuntu and Amazon by having such a compatibility layer. It would be even nicer if Google could partner with Canonical so searching for an app through the lenses would yield results for both stores. Users could choose the cheaper price.

Ubuntu on tablets, by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 08:04 · Score: 0

now tracking your fingertips...

Re:how does this play with existing Android accoun by admdrew · 2013-02-19 08:14 · Score: 1

I think squiggleslash's comment that Google is unlikely to support it is true; they don't support cyanogenmod, nor do they support any of their apps running on any modded versions of Android. Doesn't mean they're preventing it from happening, just means they're not officially backing it.

What's preventing them from selling apps directly to Ubuntu users?

At this stage, it's probably not worth it for either Amazon or Google to work with Canonical on this type of support.

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LegendMUD

A lost cause by dhaen · 2013-02-19 08:16 · Score: 2

Only Geeks will want to upgrade the OS on their tablet. Ubuntu is now out of the running for us Geeks.

Re:how does this play with existing Android accoun by cellocgw · 2013-02-19 08:27 · Score: 1

I guess the "sensible" thing to do, then, is put UbuntuTablet on an SD card, boot from there, and see how GooglePlay and AmazonStore work out.

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https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw

Re:how does this play with existing Android accoun by squiggleslash · 2013-02-19 08:48 · Score: 1

Google has played nice with CyanogenMod but they don't officially support it, and moreover they consider CyanogenMod a version of Android (because it is, it's AOSP plus some bits that don't affect compatability, not bits of AOSP in something else.) Google has been fairly hostile towards operating systems that have compatability layers but that aren't, essentially, Android systems.

They're right, in fact, to take on this policy. Google runs the Play Store not just for the benefit of users, but also developers who want to sell their apps. Developers do not want to support app sales to users who aren't running predictable versions of the Android operating system. It's bad enough, in many ways, that they have to navigate their way through "ICS + Sense" / "Gingerbread + Motoblur" type crap, actually having a situation where the apis don't necessarily do what they're expected to do adds another layer of awfulness.

The chances of Google supporting the Play Store under Ubuntu is close to zero. Amazon? Slight chance in that they distribute their store's APK to anyone who wants it, but it's notable that the Amazon App Store running under, say, an SDK image, rarely offers anything like the same range that it does on a real phone or tablet. In other words, they may also be uncomfortable supporting app sales to people with non-standard systems.

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You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.

Re:how does this play with existing Android accoun by Patch86 · 2013-02-19 08:56 · Score: 1

The same thing will happen as when you install Ubuntu Desktop on a machine with Windows 7- your Windows programmes will disappear. They are different operating systems- Android apps will almost certainly not run on it, and even if they did it would be very unlikely that you'd be able to simply install Google Play and go. As on a desktop, dual booting may be an option.

It is possible to run Linux (I've seen it done with Debian, but the principal should be universal) on Android in a chroot, using VNC to display the desktop environment. I see no reason you couldn't do this with the potential Ubuntu Tablet edition if you wanted, although obviously that's more technical effort. Google "Debian chroot" if you're interested.

Re:how does this play with existing Android accoun by admdrew · 2013-02-19 09:20 · Score: 1

Keep in mind that Ubuntu and Android are completely and intentionally unrelated OSes. It's like wanting all of your purchased Windows apps to run on OS X (and vice versa), or your Google Play apps on iOS devices. Some technical possibilities exist to do this, but those are hacks or workarounds.

I'm not saying that Android apps on Ubuntu shouldn't ever be possible, I just think it's silly to assume they *should* work just because this flavor of Ubuntu runs on tablets that were originally intended for Android. If you Boot Camp your macbook, there's no expectation that OS X apps will run on your bootcamped Windows install.

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LegendMUD

Looked... by soupbowl · 2013-02-19 09:32 · Score: -1

Looked pretty good to me.

I think this is great! by benmhall · 2013-02-19 10:13 · Score: 3, Interesting

As it happens, I'm writin this on an HP 2760p. A traditional tablet pc. It's currently running Ubuntu 12.10 and everything works reasonably well.

The reality is that we are in the midst of a very significant shift in computing, from desktop PCs to tablets and phones. Laptop and desktop sales are down, tablet sales are skyrocketing. Canonical is the only company focusing on Linux desktop computing. Unity is good and is getting better quickly. I honestly believe that they have the best approach to scaling the UI. Canonical is essentially pushing responsie design for the Linux desktop.

What other Linux distribution do you see pushing the end-user computing envelop? These guys are moving forward and should be celebrated and supported for doing so.

I look forward to Ubuntu for Tablets on my 2760p. Count me in!

Re:I think this is great! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 15:41 · Score: 0

KDE Plasma Active.
YMMV

This is the turning point for Canonical... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 13:01 · Score: 0

This is really the major turning point for Canonical. They have a clear vision the gracefully goes from desktop to tablet and then phone and no other company has this but Apple. Google really screwed up early on by not becoming a majority stakeholder in Canonical and rolling Ubuntu (which they use internally on desktops already and have since it launched) into a Google branded desktop solution as an alternative to Windows. Now they're trying to pull a fast one and do Chrome OS which isn't sufficient for daily desktop use despite their marketing. Today it's about the whole ecosystem not just tablets and phones...

Re:how does this play with existing Android accoun by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 15:35 · Score: 0

AndroWine?

YMMV

Maybe it is by Casandro · 2013-02-19 17:50 · Score: 1

The problem here is that reviewers don't understand it, just like they didn't understand Maemo/Meego.

If we are lucky, you have a full-blown Ubuntu/Debian below the surface, meaning you can do everything with it you can also do with a Debian box. Now _that_ would be a big advantage over the rest. You'd just make it boot into some sane user interface and do everything you want to do.

It would be a real Linux then.

Wintel is dead, long live LinArm by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-19 22:59 · Score: 0

The Wintel duopoly has finally met it's match, and it is LinArm. Or, Android+Arm. Or Android+X. Or XXX. Whatever, wintel it is no longer.

I still don't get this 'Tablet' lark by Anonymous Coward · 2013-02-20 09:33 · Score: 0

I really don't see the point of owning a tablet. There are literally no situations I can think of in which it would be genuinely useful to me to own one.

I suppose in five or ten years time, die-hard CLI users will be laughing at die-hard WIMP GUI users who once sneered at the CLI and called it outdated or saw it as overly geeky. Newly-estranged desktop computing users will struggle to come to terms with the fact that the majority of the general public have started to see their 'traditional' GUI systems as "weird" and "hacker-like", what with their small text, elaborate methods for issuing commands and confusing screens such as one with multiple different panes of information showing at once.

148 comments