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Ubuntu for Android

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Re: Ubuntu for Android

#131

Post by r00fus »

Lewisham wrote: post #53
hollerith wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get it: what advantage do they have over Apple here?

Because Apple had said multiple times that they fundamentally don't believe in a one device world. Tablets are tablets, desktops are desktops. Mixing the two bastardizes both. Microsoft doesn't agree, and Win8 is a hybrid that supports both interactions. Ubuntu is showing it will do the same. Personally, I think Apple are seriously short-sighted in their approach. The other possibility I they are being very long sigh…

> Microsoft doesn't agree, and Win8 is a hybrid that supports both interactions. Ubuntu is showing it will do the same.

Yes, why do one thing well when you can do two things adequately?

I think this fundamental difference separates Apple from nearly everyone else in the markets in which they compete.

Apple's vision is similar to Sun's: one ID that allows you to transport your data (incl. apps for appropriate platform) to all your Apple devices... Have you ever used a Sun-Ray[1]? It's like that, except for apps/data, not sessions.

Personally, I don't think Win8 is anything like Ubuntu for Android. Microsoft has the same problem as Apple: they don't want you to stop buying desktops, as both companies make a lot of money on continued sales of traditional computers. Whereas Apple created a whole new device platform in the iPad and iPhone, Microsoft is trying to merge the two markets back together... while at the same time relying on the computing profits to keep their overall margins up. Meanwhile Google and Canonical would happily cannibalize any revenue from desktops for the much greater potential in mobile.

Re: Ubuntu for Android

#132

Post by lmm »

glhaynes wrote: post #101
planb wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't use your smartphone to capture HD video, do you?

I do from time to time. Even they can be transferred over today's WiFi in a matter of seconds. My point is that keeping local devices in sync for all but a very few uses is already today easily solvable. So I wonder why we'd want to move to an architecture where our computers are reliant on our phones... there seem to be some significant tradeoffs to that model and it's not clear to me what real gains there would be.

>keeping local devices in sync for all but a very few uses is already today easily solvable.

No, it really isn't. Manual file transfer is... doable, but still more problematic than it should be. But there is absolutely nothing that will seamlessly keep my phone in sync with my tablet when I don't have network access (i.e. I take a photo on my phone and it's on my tablet, without me doing anything). If you have a solution, link please.

Re: Ubuntu for Android

#134

Post by tmzt »

This is pretty cool, but it's an OEM-driven product, dependent on the phone maker to enable it. For over a year I 've been working on a port of X to Android as an application, running as a non-privileged user, displaying to a surface allocated through the Android Java API. The port is at http://github.com/tmzt/androix along with build instructions. (see the readme)

Re: Ubuntu for Android

#135

Post by charlieok »

So it doesn't seem like I can actually run this right now. Am I missing the link to actually get it and set it up? If there isn't one, why are they making an announcement?

Re: Ubuntu for Android

#136

Post by polshaw »

glhaynes wrote: post #62
bguthrie wrote: post #17

This, or something like it, is the future: the computing device is portable, and adapts itself to the forms of input available. There's no reason why your display should have to be permanently attached to the device that drives it, and increasingly, it won't be. I don't know what the implications are for Ubuntu or Android. But genuine support for a first-class computing experience is one of the few things that would…

I don't see why this would be the future. I'm going to want to carry a "phone" for sure. Most people who've ever had a smartphone expect to have one the rest of their life. I'm also going to want (at least) a machine with a keyboard and bigger display than my phone. Why in the future would I want to tie one to the other? I wouldn't want that today — my computer works just fine without having to do some weird sync/plu…

Why? To have all your computing stuff with you all the time. That is not just your documents, but your programs and settings. And to only maintain one system. They way i see it, the only rival to this vision is the cloud, and there are a lot of issues there[1]

Battery isn't going to be a problem either. With today's solutions you could just plug in one cable which connects to the monitor and charges the phone. Tomorrow- your desktop will have a surface to put your phone on that will charge it (like your toothbrush charges), perhaps authenticate with NFC, and then connect to your display with WiDi or similar, and your keyboard.. yes, seamlessly. Another thing you will have gained is you won't have to buy a second device. Of course, we here are likely to be the last to give up a computer-proper.

[1]: other than the obvious trust, reliability and privacy issues-- there is currently no solution for most applications-- licencing issues? many companies are likely to drag their heels here. And when there finally is a technically perfect and complete solution; how are you going to pay for this? advertising, $, or selling your data. Or, you could just keep it in your pocket, yourself.

Re: Ubuntu for Android

#137

Post by rodolphoarruda »

Look at the place I live:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvUXFav7aDk

You do not want to "have everything" with you in your mobile while you are in a public place. I have a notebook and an iPad, and, of course, my 4 year old shitty Compaq laptop I take outside when I have meetings. I keep my files inside a truecrypt file vault just in case.

Re: Ubuntu for Android

#138

Post by Lewisham »

nodemaker wrote: post #119
Lewisham wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Backup device manufaturers are really missing out on big bucks by not making a small NAS that downloads all you cloud data. Give it access to Google/Dropbox/Flickr etc an have it silently back everything up. I hope they've thought of this and I've just missed it. They won't be able to sell USB based backup drives for much longer.

The device 'Time Machine' by Apple does exactly that.

No it doesn't, it backsup your Macs over wifi, and that's all it does. It won't access web services, which is they key point I was trying to make. The Time Capsule, and all home backup devices I can name, make the soon-to-be-outdated assumption that your data exists on a hard drive you own.

Re: Ubuntu for Android

#139

Post by Lewisham »

r00fus wrote: post #131
Lewisham wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because Apple had said multiple times that they fundamentally don't believe in a one device world. Tablets are tablets, desktops are desktops. Mixing the two bastardizes both. Microsoft doesn't agree, and Win8 is a hybrid that supports both interactions. Ubuntu is showing it will do the same. Personally, I think Apple are seriously short-sighted in their approach. The other possibility I they are being very long sigh…

> Microsoft doesn't agree, and Win8 is a hybrid that supports both interactions. Ubuntu is showing it will do the same. Yes, why do one thing well when you can do two things adequately ? I think this fundamental difference separates Apple from nearly everyone else in the markets in which they compete. Apple's vision is similar to Sun's: one ID that allows you to transport your data (incl. apps for appropriate platfor…

I think it's a little early to say that Windows 8 will only make for an adequate tablet interface. Windows Phone shows they know what they're doing when they put their heart into it.

I don't think Apple wants to sell desktops at all. I think they'd like OS X gone in 5-10 years.

Re: Ubuntu for Android

#140

Post by ajasmin »

Can I only use Ubuntu when the phone is connected to a large monitor?

Even having access to some command line packages on the phone would be a big improvement over the minimal busybox stuff that comes with Android.

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