Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ubuntu on tablets

ubuntu.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

171–180 of 266 posts

Re: Ubuntu on tablets

#171

Post by forgottenpaswrd »

forgottenpaswrd wrote: post #169
bitsoda wrote: post #42

I 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…

I still don't understand the laptop factor. You are supposed to stay in the same place because the computer can't move, you can't either. Because the computer can't jump, you can't jump. I use to go outside and work on the go on the field or lab, standing up, with a laptop you must sit down for working, non sense for me(we are bipeds, we designed for standing up a big part of the time, when we sit our bodies metaboli…

PD:When I say that a laptop does not move I mean 95% of the time the table surface of the person I am talking with is already filled with things, is highly inconvenient so I do not ask unless it is very important and we make a mess.

Re: Ubuntu on tablets

#172

Post by spyder »

potatolicious wrote: post #43
chx wrote: post #25

I still don't get it. This emphasises on "productivity". Tablets, lacking any efficient ways of input are not productivity devices. They are great at consuming content, of course. There is a reason the iPad and the Kindle Fire rules the field.

There is more to productivity than fast, accurate text input. Touch is inferior for text input, but superior for other types of input. I know many designers who are salivating at the prospect of being able to do their work with a stylus that's also a screen (as opposed to the Wacom way of doing it).

Some tablets already have built-in Wacom pen display, like the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, the Microsoft Surface Pro and the ASUS Slate.

Re: Ubuntu on tablets

#174

Post by chimeracoder »

ajross wrote: post #168
mtgx wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

It's an open source OS. How is "carriers should be powerless" compatible with "users should have all the power?". The carriers are downstream users... Now, I'm all in favor of interoperability requirements and limits on redistribution that infringes on freedom (c.f. automatic patent grants, antitivoization, etc...). But for branding? I just don't see it. If I, personally, am allowed to reskin my Ubuntu device, surely…

> If I, personally, am allowed to reskin my Ubuntu device, surely Verizon must be also, no?

That depends on whether or not they distribute it with any of Canonical's trademarks (I'm assuming they have a trademark on Ubuntu, not to mention their own name).

Trademarks are completely independent from (and compatible with) open-source - look at 10Gen, which preserves the rights to the MongoDB name while releasing a product under the GPL.

Re: Ubuntu on tablets

#175

Post by ajross »

chimeracoder wrote: post #174
ajross wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's an open source OS. How is "carriers should be powerless" compatible with "users should have all the power?". The carriers are downstream users... Now, I'm all in favor of interoperability requirements and limits on redistribution that infringes on freedom (c.f. automatic patent grants, antitivoization, etc...). But for branding? I just don't see it. If I, personally, am allowed to reskin my Ubuntu device, surely…

> If I, personally, am allowed to reskin my Ubuntu device, surely Verizon must be also, no? That depends on whether or not they distribute it with any of Canonical's trademarks (I'm assuming they have a trademark on Ubuntu, not to mention their own name). Trademarks are completely independent from (and compatible with) open-source - look at 10Gen, which preserves the rights to the MongoDB name while releasing a produ…

Well, of course. But that's the point. Verizon can reskin it in exactly the way that CentOS does RHEL. And I have no problem with that. My interpretation was that mtgx thought this freedom (shared by me, Verizon, and whoever else wants to use it) was a bad thing ("the carriers should be powerless"), and I disagree.

Re: Ubuntu on tablets

#176

Post by mtgx »

newishuser wrote: post #139

Heres why this is awesome: - The name Unity finally makes perfect sense - Phone can expand into a tablet can expand into a desktop - larger form factor can run smaller form factor apps - app switcher is slick - Canonical finally learned how to use all the bull shit motivational words that apple uses to inspire people - OS level tie ins to social services - Still open source I'm excited to use it, and I'm excited to h…

Yes, it's great for all the reasons you said and more. But I wouldn't say it's a big win for user rights yet. It might end up even more locked down by carriers and OEM's because it's open source (and of course because Canonical will allow that to happen to gain some market share):

http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/19/4005514/ubuntu-phones-2014...

Plus, don't forget all the deep Amazon integration, and who knows what else in the future, so they can monetize it. It might be that the whole OS will watch your behavior to target better content at you or something. I don't know how that will end up versus privacy there, so we'll see.

I hope Google implements Samsung dual-view idea in stock Android, though, as it would solve 90% of Android's "tablet app problem", as you can use two "phone apps" side by side, so scalability is not such a problem anymore as it looks like the app on a 6" or 7" device, which isn't too bad, and it also gives you the ability to use 2 apps at once, which should be better than just using one in most cases.

Re: Ubuntu on tablets

#177

Post by MatthewPhillips »

marssaxman wrote: post #128
MatthewPhillips wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Apps that exist are better than apps that don't exist. Ask WebOS users, the few that still are out there. The only way to make web apps as nice is to put the engineering effort into making them as nice (something only Mozilla is seriously doing at this time). Another proprietary mobile ecosystem isn't going to be adopted.

Re: Ubuntu on tablets

#178

Post by espadrine »

Ubuntu people, I have but one question:

can I open a terminal window from that tablet? a text editor? get to Firefox' developer tools?

Do you see where I'm going with this?

(That must be possible, they demo Gimp in the video. Yet, that's what I hated in tablets: I couldn't use them.)

Re: Ubuntu on tablets

#179

Post by vacri »

themstheones wrote: post #159
naner wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've moved to Cinnamon, too. I tried Gnome 3 for a few weeks, went back to a simple window manager for awhile (I had used Openbox for years), and also tried Unity and KDE4. Turns out I'm used to a certain kind of workflow based on "traditional" desktops. I prefer having resizable floating windows to maximized windows, I rely on too much desktop infrastructure to just use a window manager anymore, and KDE has extremel…

Can you install cinnamon on ubuntu? Or do you have to migrate to Mint?

Cinnamon is even in the Debian repos now.

Re: Ubuntu on tablets

#180

Post by polshaw »

That a quad core A15 is required to run the desktop convergence is a bit disappointing to me, although with the rate of progress in the ARM world i suppose it won't be an issue for long (ie. requiring expensive cutting edge devices with poor battery life), and no doubt lower devices will be 'hacked' to allow it being open source.

I really have to congratulate ubuntu on staying strong for so long on their unity vision; this is clearly the realisation of that. I hope that they manage to get some OEM support (hello Asus?), the momentum does seem to be there now IMO.

Post reply on HN