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Ubuntu Phone will include a Terminal application

wiki.ubuntu.com

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Re: Ubuntu Phone will include a Terminal application

#101

Post by Nursie »

tree_of_item wrote: post #96
Nursie wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, so including features that don't immediately appeal to the average user necessarily means there will be nothing that appeals to the average user? Your logic is broken there somewhere.

I think it's pretty clear the OP's point was only in reference to the Terminal app, not Ubuntu in general. It's a valid point and doesn't really deserve the snark in your last sentence.

I think it's pretty clear that the OPs point was that there was a terminal app on the phone and therefore it was a geek phone that's never going to take off, and that my snark was absolutely appropriate.

In fact he specifically said "I fail to see how this will make the Ubuntu Phone more appealing to the average user." shortly followed by "my point was that this will remain a niche phone."

-Edit to remove somewhat unnecessary snark-

I don't think 'your logic is broken there somewhere' is all that snarky in the grand scheme of things, in fact it's a pretty clear statement of fact. The two things "terminal apps are not appealing to average users" and "this phone will remain niche" are absolutely not logically connected.

Re: Ubuntu Phone will include a Terminal application

#102

Post by andor »

hackmiester wrote: post #91
icebraining wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Facebook Chat is just their private server of an open protocol (XMPP). Unless the client specifically prevents you from doing so, you should be able to use your own server just like you can with e.g. Pidgin.

Well, I have some unfortunate news for you: to my knowledge, not one single Facebook Chat app allows this. There is no market. It is beyond wishful thinking to expect Ubuntu to turn this around.

Exactly, there is no market for real privacy and openness, and it certainly is not in Google's or Apple's interests.

That's why I count on free software to close the gap. Free as in: free of corporate interests, no need to make money, no need to provide access to intelligence agencies. I pay for the hardware, and I pay to transmit data. But the data stays mine.

Re: Ubuntu Phone will include a Terminal application

#103

Post by jiggy2011 »

Nursie wrote: post #101
tree_of_item wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's pretty clear the OP's point was only in reference to the Terminal app, not Ubuntu in general. It's a valid point and doesn't really deserve the snark in your last sentence.

I think it's pretty clear that the OPs point was that there was a terminal app on the phone and therefore it was a geek phone that's never going to take off, and that my snark was absolutely appropriate. In fact he specifically said "I fail to see how this will make the Ubuntu Phone more appealing to the average user." shortly followed by "my point was that this will remain a niche phone." -Edit to remove somewhat un…

I would argue that a good terminal app can help make something easier to use for both technical and average users alike.

Since you can assume that the terminal will be never or very rarely used by average users you can make the advanced functionality available as command line applications and leave the most basic/common options in the GUI.

A naive user is far more likely to check a box and click apply by accident than they are to type "rm -rf /".

A good example is a modern version of Windows, the control panel is full of options,tabs,checkboxes etc that can do weird stuff to your system and consequently make it harder to use because (until recently with powershell) windows has never had a useful commandline.

Re: Ubuntu Phone will include a Terminal application

#104

Post by calinet6 »

buu700 wrote: post #92
calinet6 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a keyboard is important to you, the Droid 4 actually has a great one. Using it with the Terminal android app is a breeze. However, the rest of the phone sucks, so I can't recommend it.

Honestly, I prefer my Droid 4 keyboard to the vast majority of laptop keyboards. I can't begin to describe how convenient it is to have an SSH client with a genuinely good keyboard right in my pocket at all times.

Yeah, the MBP keyboard is not really a fair comparison, but I definitely think the little D4 keyboard is far superior to most PC laptop keyboards, especially the compact ones.

Re: Ubuntu Phone will include a Terminal application

#105

Post by dllthomas »

dllthomas wrote: post #95
calinet6 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a keyboard is important to you, the Droid 4 actually has a great one. Using it with the Terminal android app is a breeze. However, the rest of the phone sucks, so I can't recommend it.

Haven't tried the Droid 4, but the Droid 3 is fine, and the keyboard perfectly serviceable in a pinch.

Note that, for terminals, it benefits hugely from knowledge of escape sequences.

Re: Ubuntu Phone will include a Terminal application

#106

Post by hackmiester »

andor wrote: post #102
hackmiester wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I have some unfortunate news for you: to my knowledge, not one single Facebook Chat app allows this. There is no market. It is beyond wishful thinking to expect Ubuntu to turn this around.

Exactly, there is no market for real privacy and openness, and it certainly is not in Google's or Apple's interests. That's why I count on free software to close the gap. Free as in: free of corporate interests, no need to make money, no need to provide access to intelligence agencies. I pay for the hardware, and I pay to transmit data. But the data stays mine.

Maybe I am pessimistic but I think that Ubuntu definitely has enough corporate interests to ruin this idea.
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