I do wish people would stop with the phrase "post-PC era"... and I thought Canonical would be above that (consider me properly disillusioned.)
Can we at least start calling PCs "workstations" again, to compensate?
Ubuntu on tablets
121–130 of 266 posts
Re: Ubuntu on tablets
#122>> Your Ubuntu tablet has multiple secure user accounts... Thank goodness. The absence of this makes every tablet OS out there today pretty weak sauce. If I can't lock the screen, or inhibit another person in the house from opening my email, Dropbox folder, etc., let alone allow them to 'switch user', then no one else can borrow the device. An-ipad-per-child isn't terribly economical, in my book.
Windos 8/RT has multiple user accounts.
Android 4.2 on tablets also has multiple user accounts.
Re: Ubuntu on tablets
#123They learnt everything from others by launching late, but added most of the good design patterns. Great work all together. Worth mentioning, Ubuntu is emerging as perfect web platform with tight integration with web-services. "And now web applications are first class citizens too, wow. I was waiting for this to happen fast." At this stage they need: 1. More Partners. They must have strong tie-ups with OEM partners, w…
2. The apps will remain compatible, just like on Android, but I fear they will give too much control over to carriers. From what I understand they want to give "total branding power" over a device to carriers. So we'll see how they go about that without pissing off the user. If it's subtle enough it might work. But I still hate the idea of giving even more power (again) to the carriers. The carriers should be powerle…
> The carriers should be powerless when it comes to the devices they sell. They should be no more than retailers. Who has ever heard of retailers messing with the products? No one, because that's a crazy idea.
It's even a doofy idea for car dealers to tack their own logo plaques on the back of your car. Annoying.
Re: Ubuntu on tablets
#124I still don't understand the tablet form factor. I concluded that it's not for me some time ago, but am waiting for the general population to come around to one glaring flaw: you have to hold it. For me, it doesn't matter how light a tablet is. A five pound laptop will always feel lighter since it will effectively weigh nothing because it's always on some kind of platform during use, either my lap or a flat desk/tabl…
> one glaring flaw: you have to hold it. That could also be said to be a flaw in books, but that's an interface that had some staying power. And most people probably use a tablet, like a book, setting on a surface or propped up on something.
Paperback books are generally lighter and more grippy. You can also plant your thumb right in the middle of the spine for a balanced feel. Most tablets can't be held this way since their bezel is too thin to be held by only a thumb. Sure, you could attempt it, but you're going to obstruct the view.
Re: Ubuntu on tablets
#125I still don't understand the tablet form factor. I concluded that it's not for me some time ago, but am waiting for the general population to come around to one glaring flaw: you have to hold it. For me, it doesn't matter how light a tablet is. A five pound laptop will always feel lighter since it will effectively weigh nothing because it's always on some kind of platform during use, either my lap or a flat desk/tabl…
Right now they're pretty useless, I agree. But watch a couple clips for me: http://youtu.be/Jx7VNP5UO2k?t=5m9s (at 5:09) http://youtu.be/5jzAAPccBaU?t=2m27s (at 2:27) That's the future. That's when the tablet becomes extremely useful. Productive-yet-portable in a way a laptop can't be. What I think the Microsoft guys really nailed is that the tablet is ultimately just another tool . The "post-pc" era still has plenty…
> just another tool. The "post-pc" era still has plenty of PC's in it
Exactly. When people cry about PC sales diminishing, I am in no way alarmed, because for some things PCs will always be required, such as CAD, programming, etc...
As for the video, I don't think that sort of future is anywhere near us, especially not as soon as 2019. When you look how far technology has come since 2007, it hasn't really come THAT long of a way. Sure, smartphones have gotten bigger and all-touch, and tablets have increased in popularity and usability, but the general usage of technology is still the same. Especially when businesses are still using 90s technology like fax machines, I don't see it happening soon.
2030, perhaps, but 2019 is too soon.
Re: Ubuntu on tablets
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is not miniscule, it is 0% right now ;) But again, the question is of putting all the eggs in one basket or not. Ubuntu and other non-windows mobile OSes each have different approaches, hard to say which will succeed. It's foolish to bet on just one if you are as big as Nokia.
That's true up to a point, but even Nokia has limited resources and developing, launching and marketing a tablet computer at Nokia's scale is not cheap. So given that, if they were going to put some eggs in another basket, why would they choose Ubuntu over Android, which has an existing application base and at least some user awareness? It seems like we're at the same stage right now in the mobile OS world as we were…
> So given that, if they were going to put some eggs in another basket, why would they choose Ubuntu over Android, which has an existing application base and at least some user awareness?
I agree, Android would be a better second bet. But they don't necessarily need to limit themselves to 2 - look at how many options Samsung is keeping open for example.
Re: Ubuntu on tablets
#127> Ubuntu is predicted to ship on almost 10% of the world’s new branded PCs by 2014
I'm interested to hear more about this.
Re: Ubuntu on tablets
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is not miniscule, it is 0% right now ;) But again, the question is of putting all the eggs in one basket or not. Ubuntu and other non-windows mobile OSes each have different approaches, hard to say which will succeed. It's foolish to bet on just one if you are as big as Nokia.
What I don't understand is why these late-comers continue to try and build their own self-contained ecosystem of apps. Microsoft with all its money still barely has a decent ecosystem and even that has a lot of holes. There's 0 chance that any other is going to be given the time of day. Blackberry hinging on Gingerbread apps is just silly. Instead they should be betting on the web, completely. Ubuntu, being a traditi…
Web apps just aren't as nice as real apps, and all the existing platforms already support them too. If there's nothing your new platform can do that the existing ones can't, and your message is "just deal with the 80% solution that is the web app world", why would anyone use your new system?
Re: Ubuntu on tablets
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why should major vendors take this more seriously than consumers? It's not like they can buy the product either. If I were Google or Apple, I'd be a lot more worried about a cool Kickstarter than a vaporous brochure site. Three kids with passion trying to get funding are worth more to me than a dozen graphic artists at Canonical with no idea how electricity works. I'm happy for them to prove me wrong, but this is wha…
Major vendors have capability to make hardware and not consumers. Consumers are end goal but not where it begins. How preposterous of you! They are going to release images in 2 days. What do you expect them to do come to your house and give you a lecture on electricity. You seem to know everything about manufacturers and Canonical and their internal communication. Of course Canonical is talking to all parties. Do you…
> Consumers are end goal but not where it begins.
That's exactly why I don't understand why they continue to produce marketing material rather than actually getting the work done to make a product.
> Of course Canonical is talking to all parties. Do you want them to include you in the discussion?
No, but they seem to be mainly interested in including me, rather than people who might get it done. Is it so hard for a company to call another company? How many years before there was a Nexus tablet did Google tell us they were going to make one? Did their marketing ever send you the message "hey, we don't know anybody at Asus, but if you do, would you mind sending them by our booth at the next convention? Thanks!"
Re: Ubuntu on tablets
#130As much as it pains me to admit it, I'm now using Cinnamon as a desktop environment. I really, really wanted Unity to work, but I've had continued performance problems which make it ultimately unusable for me. I understand Ubuntu's need to turn a profit, but I really wish they'd focus on making Unity stable and performant before chasing down these other opportunities... Disclaimer: I run three monitors, so I'm probab…
When Unity came out, I reverted to gnome-classic for a while and tried Cinnamon, but found it to be the least stable - my system would occasionally freeze. Now I'm on Unity. It has improved to the point that it meets my needs (granted, I've only got one or two monitors running at a time) and stays out of the way. (I've got Docky running, which I find makes it easier to switch between applications.) I have also come to appreciate the elegance of the HUD as I've learned to use it.