Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7 • Hacker News Board

Re: Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7

#41

Post by vondur » Sat, Oct 20, 2012, 7:48 PM UTC

jiggy2011 wrote: post #24

mtgx wrote: post #17

This is my problem with Ubuntu and Unity, and why I much prefer Linux Mint as a "Windows replacement" OS. They say they made that side bar to "work well with touchscreen devices, too", but as we can see Unity on a touchscreen devices offers a pretty poor experience, and the sidebar is just about the only thing that is meant for touchscreens in Ubuntu. The global menu and everything else is clearly meant for a PC and…

Unity is a long way from perfect on tablet or PC. Having said that the sidebar has grown on me. Since almost every monitor out there is 16:9; vertical space is precious and another 50 pixels gives me another 2-3 lines of code on the screen. The best way to use the sidebar is to put your most commonly used program at the top and then launch them with Logo+ . If you spend some time setting up your shortcut keys you can…

I just install Synapse, which is very similar to the Quicksilver app on the Mac. Control+Space and you can type the name of the application that you wish to launch.

Re: Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7

#42

Post by jiggy2011 » Sat, Oct 20, 2012, 7:59 PM UTC

vondur wrote: post #41

jiggy2011 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unity is a long way from perfect on tablet or PC. Having said that the sidebar has grown on me. Since almost every monitor out there is 16:9; vertical space is precious and another 50 pixels gives me another 2-3 lines of code on the screen. The best way to use the sidebar is to put your most commonly used program at the top and then launch them with Logo+ . If you spend some time setting up your shortcut keys you can…

I just install Synapse, which is very similar to the Quicksilver app on the Mac. Control+Space and you can type the name of the application that you wish to launch.

Does Synapse do anything that the regular unity searchbar+lenses doesn't?

Re: Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7

#43

Post by achiang » Sat, Oct 20, 2012, 8:04 PM UTC

keithpeter wrote: post #40

achiang wrote: post #25

The people making comments about Unity on this device have some valid points, but are missing the forest for the trees. One of the major themes of 13.04 and the entire point of this demo is to fix the core of Ubuntu, as was referenced in Mark's blog: "I think it’s time to look at the core of Ubuntu and review it through a mobile lens: let’s measure our core platform by mobile metrics, things like battery life, number…

If the core includes sound drivers and a sensible structure to sound then bring it on... ...I know this is a niche area but the application of cheap touch tablets to sound synthesis software could open up a huge realm of activity. Then there is the use of a stylus for accurate work...

I wouldn't expect any huge departure from the existing sound architecture (PulseAudio, ALSA).

Re: Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7

#44

Post by Riesling » Sat, Oct 20, 2012, 8:05 PM UTC

itry wrote: post #21

mtgx wrote: post #17

This is my problem with Ubuntu and Unity, and why I much prefer Linux Mint as a "Windows replacement" OS. They say they made that side bar to "work well with touchscreen devices, too", but as we can see Unity on a touchscreen devices offers a pretty poor experience, and the sidebar is just about the only thing that is meant for touchscreens in Ubuntu. The global menu and everything else is clearly meant for a PC and…

I was an Ubuntu user for years. When tablets became famous, I was thinking: Wow, if I only could have Ubuntu on these devices. Then they lost me because of Unity. I tried several days, but it was simply not geared toward my workflow. Thank God I discovered Mint. Mint is awesome. Then they introduced this new find-something-thing that sends everything you type to their servers. A privacy nightmare. And a usability nig…

> I was a huge Ubuntu supporter from 2005 to 2012. And now I warn people to not use it.

Wow, this is sad. Especially since it is so easy to install a different window manager on ubuntu.

    sudo aptitude install xubuntu-desktop

will install xfce for example.

Re: Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7

#45

Post by notatoad » Sat, Oct 20, 2012, 8:09 PM UTC

mtgx wrote: post #17

This is my problem with Ubuntu and Unity, and why I much prefer Linux Mint as a "Windows replacement" OS. They say they made that side bar to "work well with touchscreen devices, too", but as we can see Unity on a touchscreen devices offers a pretty poor experience, and the sidebar is just about the only thing that is meant for touchscreens in Ubuntu. The global menu and everything else is clearly meant for a PC and…

>They say they made that side bar to "work well with touchscreen devices, too"

did they say that? People said that when ubuntu released unity, mostly critics, but i don't remember any official statement saying that unity was designed as a touch-friendly interface. Bigger targets are better for mouse users as well.

Re: Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7

#46

Post by achiang » Sat, Oct 20, 2012, 8:09 PM UTC

napoleoncomplex wrote: post #18

Hopefully this means Ubuntu for Android[0] is getting ready for primetime. I'm stoked about the future with this. A phone which boots into Ubuntu when docked, and allows me to get rid of all other devices is the stuff of dreams for me. [0] http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

Ubuntu for Android is a separate, but related effort.

Again, quoting Mark: "We have two short cycles before we’re into the LTS, and by then we want to have the phone, tablet and TV all lined up."

[speaking individually, not representing Canonical]

Re: Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7

#47

Post by achiang » Sat, Oct 20, 2012, 8:16 PM UTC

keithpeter wrote: post #31

napoleoncomplex wrote: post #18

Hopefully this means Ubuntu for Android[0] is getting ready for primetime. I'm stoked about the future with this. A phone which boots into Ubuntu when docked, and allows me to get rid of all other devices is the stuff of dreams for me. [0] http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

Yes, I could use that approach as well, especially if rdp was supported when docked.

freerdp runs well in Ubuntu today. Additionally, we've baked thin client support into Ubuntu Desktop starting with the most recent release (12.10).

Ubuntu for Android is positioned as a fully functional desktop on your phone. I'll leave it up to you to connect the rest of the dots.

For some more details, my blog:

http://www.chizang.net/alex/blog/2012/09/27/ubuntu-12-10-rem...

[speaking individually, not for Canonical]

Re: Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7

#48

Post by keithpeter » Sat, Oct 20, 2012, 8:37 PM UTC

achiang wrote: post #43

keithpeter wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the core includes sound drivers and a sensible structure to sound then bring it on... ...I know this is a niche area but the application of cheap touch tablets to sound synthesis software could open up a huge realm of activity. Then there is the use of a stylus for accurate work...

I wouldn't expect any huge departure from the existing sound architecture (PulseAudio, ALSA).

Fair enough, exciting project!

Re: Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7

#49

Post by s_baby » Sat, Oct 20, 2012, 9:07 PM UTC

mtgx wrote: post #17

This is my problem with Ubuntu and Unity, and why I much prefer Linux Mint as a "Windows replacement" OS. They say they made that side bar to "work well with touchscreen devices, too", but as we can see Unity on a touchscreen devices offers a pretty poor experience, and the sidebar is just about the only thing that is meant for touchscreens in Ubuntu. The global menu and everything else is clearly meant for a PC and…

The sidebar is meant to work with keyboard shortcuts.

Super + position of sidebar icon: launch application

Super + W: layout all applications in workspace

Super + S: layout all workspaces

Unity is still quirky but the productivity I gain from the shortcuts is worth it.

Re: Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7

#50

Post by napoleoncomplex » Sat, Oct 20, 2012, 9:12 PM UTC

achiang wrote: post #46

napoleoncomplex wrote: post #18

Hopefully this means Ubuntu for Android[0] is getting ready for primetime. I'm stoked about the future with this. A phone which boots into Ubuntu when docked, and allows me to get rid of all other devices is the stuff of dreams for me. [0] http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

Ubuntu for Android is a separate, but related effort. Again, quoting Mark: "We have two short cycles before we’re into the LTS, and by then we want to have the phone, tablet and TV all lined up." [speaking individually, not representing Canonical]

So there will be Ubuntu for Android and a separate Ubuntu Mobile? You probably can't answer that, but doesn't hurt to try :).

Are you able to say anything about Ubuntu for Android? It's been pretty quiet ever since it got announced, though there was a video in August showing it off.