Can't wait for a BSD phone
Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
11–20 of 62 posts
Re: Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
#12"Shuttleworth founded Canonical in 2004, back in the day when Linux on the desktop was, if not exactly a contender, at least a more widely discussed alternative to Windows PCs than it is today." I feel like Linux is a better contender now then it was in 2004. Or am I just in a "developers tech savvy world" and viewing linux as a viable contender now compared to the typical layman?
It was discussed (in tech media) much more back then ("This is the year of Linux on the desktop!" used in a non-sarcastic manner), but you're right in that it is actually more viable today than it was then, mostly due to Microsoft shooting itself in both feet in the interim. It is still unlikely Linux will achieve any sort of mainstream adoption (for a few reasons, including Ubuntu following a very Microsoft-like pol…
I wouldn't be surprised if Linux achieved a majority-share in the Desktop PC market... caused by the Desktop PC becoming completely irrelevant to consumers. (If only developers own PCs, and the majority of developers use Linux, then the majority of PCs will run Linux.)
Re: Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
#13I can't bring myself to get too excited; with so many details unknown, this smells strongly of the vapors.
That said... I'm still holding out for the Ubuntu One, or something like it.
Re: Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
#14"Shuttleworth founded Canonical in 2004, back in the day when Linux on the desktop was, if not exactly a contender, at least a more widely discussed alternative to Windows PCs than it is today." I feel like Linux is a better contender now then it was in 2004. Or am I just in a "developers tech savvy world" and viewing linux as a viable contender now compared to the typical layman?
They are simply wrong on this.
Nope, they are very right.
In fact, it was even earlier too, e.g all around 1999/2004, when Linux was discussed to win the Desktop "any day now".
There were even desktop targeted Linux distros backed by companies such as Corel, startups working on Linux desktop/office desktop stuff (like the Evolution email client or the Nautilus file browser), and skyrocketing Linux IPOs (VA Linux anyone). Plus several attempts at releasing pre-installed Linux PCs at places like Walmarts (that most people bought for cheap and converted to Windows).
Re: Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
It was discussed (in tech media) much more back then ("This is the year of Linux on the desktop!" used in a non-sarcastic manner), but you're right in that it is actually more viable today than it was then, mostly due to Microsoft shooting itself in both feet in the interim. It is still unlikely Linux will achieve any sort of mainstream adoption (for a few reasons, including Ubuntu following a very Microsoft-like pol…
I wouldn't be surprised if Linux achieved a majority-share in the Desktop PC market... caused by the Desktop PC becoming completely irrelevant to consumers. (If only developers own PCs, and the majority of developers use Linux, then the majority of PCs will run Linux.)
In polls here, more respondents report running OS X than report running Linux on their desktops and laptops.
So, it is uncertain whether it will ever be the case that the majority of devs use Linux although I guess there's a good chance of it happening if Apple ever decides to abandon the desktop / laptop market.
Re: Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
#16This could really turn into a messy war versus the crippled but strangely compelling ChromeOS, which once croutoned becomes radically more useful. Something that doesn't have those restrictions out of the box is going to have a clear advantage.
The problem from a dev point of view is just what security model for apps are they going to go with? I haven't seen any discussion about the exact details for how they plan on managing the app packaging, separation and permissions fun that exists on mobile today.
Re: Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wouldn't be surprised if Linux achieved a majority-share in the Desktop PC market... caused by the Desktop PC becoming completely irrelevant to consumers. (If only developers own PCs, and the majority of developers use Linux, then the majority of PCs will run Linux.)
In polls here, more respondents report running OS X than report running Linux on their desktops and laptops. So, it is uncertain whether it will ever be the case that the majority of devs use Linux although I guess there's a good chance of it happening if Apple ever decides to abandon the desktop / laptop market.
Not "if" but "when" (on a long enough time horizon)
Re: Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, it is a manufacturing partner, since they've already announced network partners. I do wonder which manufacturer it could be...
This might be far-fetched, but I wonder whether it is Lenovo. Just saying because Lenovo's PCs and Servers have excellent Ubuntu support.
My wild card guesses would be Lenovo and Dell (which, out of nowhere, made a pretty solid piece of hardware with the WP7 Venue Pro)
Re: Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
It was discussed (in tech media) much more back then ("This is the year of Linux on the desktop!" used in a non-sarcastic manner), but you're right in that it is actually more viable today than it was then, mostly due to Microsoft shooting itself in both feet in the interim. It is still unlikely Linux will achieve any sort of mainstream adoption (for a few reasons, including Ubuntu following a very Microsoft-like pol…
I wouldn't be surprised if Linux achieved a majority-share in the Desktop PC market... caused by the Desktop PC becoming completely irrelevant to consumers. (If only developers own PCs, and the majority of developers use Linux, then the majority of PCs will run Linux.)
Even developers may not need PCs for much longer...with the emergence of browser IDEs (my startup is working on one), especially for web development, PC becomes unnecessary...Even Microsoft has taken a baby step in bringing visual studio to the browser.
Re: Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
#20This would be amazing on a device like the Moto G or something similar. If they get this in the sub $200 or sub $100 price point with reasonable performance, it could be a real big deal.
Buy it used on Ebay and save a lot. But I think that Ubuntu touch has some qualities that make cost irrelevant.