Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

headkase · 2013-02-19 16:34:53

Check out the video:

http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/tablet

Ubuntu is getting into the phone and tablet interface. It will support a Nexus 7 and I happen to have one of those. It is a developer preview at the moment so I will wait, but once it is an official release I may just end up re-flashing my Nexus 7 with it and give it a spin.

Ars Technica gives another overview and mentions the Nexus devices support.

Now, at the same time there is a KDE Plasma Active project going on too - and I am predisposed towards KDE so that is also a future possible OS to put on my Nexus 7!

blackout23 · 2013-02-19 18:28:46

Yep images for Nexus 7 and 10 on Thursday aswell as Source Code release.
Looks pretty cool. Now they have to switch to Qt 5 on Unity. Otherwise all things use Qt but the Desktop which would make it hard to have full convergence of all devices.

headkase · 2013-02-19 18:34:41

I like the look of Plasma Active better. There is one deal-breaker for me: whichever one comes with a Netflix app will be the one I seriously look at.

KCE · 2013-03-04 09:21:43

Linux on a popular mainstream consumer device...it's the start we need!

oboedad55 · 2013-03-04 15:38:25

KCE wrote:

Linux on a popular mainstream consumer device...it's the start we need!

I just got my first Android "smart" phone and if I'm not mistaken, it appears to be running a Linux kernel. It's an older version of the OS so the kernel is 2.6.35.

FlyingHappy · 2013-03-04 16:31:41

All android phones run a Linux kernel. It's been pretty well hacked away at, but it is a Linux kernel none the less, the newest versions are 3.0.x kernels as far as I have ever seen.

blackout23 · 2013-03-04 18:19:57

https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubunt … 36776.html

This is interesting.

1. Ubuntu is developing their own display server, because Wayland doesn't meet their requirements
2. They move Unity to Qt/QML

Quite a lot of information available on the Wiki.

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MirSpec
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UnityNextSpec
http://www.olli-ries.com/mir-unity-qml- … pis-unity/

Yeah more fragmentation.

And their Mir Display server doesn't even run on desktops with closed source drivers ... but of course they are talking to GPU vendors to make them support their display server. Right that's going to happen...

At the same time they are now seriously considering moving to a rolling release model. Everything at once! New update model. New display server. New widget toolkit. Sounds like it's going to be a nice and smooth transition..

Last edited by blackout23 (2013-03-04 18:41:54)

KCE · 2013-03-04 23:12:06

oboedad55 wrote:

KCE wrote:
Linux on a popular mainstream consumer device...it's the start we need!
I just got my first Android "smart" phone and if I'm not mistaken, it appears to be running a Linux kernel. It's an older version of the OS so the kernel is 2.6.35.

Eh I'm mixed on Android. It's great that it's Linux but it's never marketed as Linux. I'm skeptical about Google's open-source ventures, unless they're moving in the direction of Red Hat.

ANOKNUSA · 2013-03-04 23:20:43

[educated guess]
They're moving Unity to QML because Canonical is still operating under the delusion that they can mimic all of Apple's development and branding decisions while trying to be superior to Apple. In this case, they want to unify Unity and the Ubuntu mobile platform. They apparently came to the realization after the fact that having Ubuntu on one's phone is meaningless if one can't use the same apps one does on a desktop or laptop system.
[/educated guess]

And paying people to do all this work without charging users a dime--while contributing little to Linux kernel and desktop development at large--has worked out great in the past, so why change? Let 'em do what they want; I just don't understand any of it anymore (if Nvidia and AMD already seem iffy about support for Wayland on every other distribution, why would they support Mir on just one?).

ngoonee · 2013-03-04 23:53:42

KCE wrote:

It's great that it's Linux but it's never marketed as Linux.

Why should it be? Linux is not a brand (and frankly Galaxy is more recognizable than Android nowadays I'd think) nor a company.

Brand wars (and marketing) are for companies. Like Ubuntu. 'Linux' needs no marketing.

KCE · 2013-03-05 04:54:31

Yeah, that's true. I guess what I mean is Google seems to market it solely as their product, so I wonder if in the future, Google will become synonymous with Linux to the unknowing consumer?

Last edited by KCE (2013-03-05 04:55:39)

ngoonee · 2013-03-05 06:01:09

Well, Android IS their product. It just happens to use the Linux kernel.

For another example of that, a large proportion of music equipment actually uses the Linux kernel internally (I've heard), but no music company would advertise the fact. It has nothing to do with their branding, their product, or their market. That, plus leaving room for doubt means protection against potential patent/GPL violation etc.

Arch Linux

#1 2013-02-19 16:34:53

Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#2 2013-02-19 18:28:46

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#3 2013-02-19 18:34:41

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#4 2013-03-04 09:21:43

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#5 2013-03-04 15:38:25

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#6 2013-03-04 16:31:41

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#7 2013-03-04 18:19:57

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#8 2013-03-04 23:12:06

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#9 2013-03-04 23:20:43

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#10 2013-03-04 23:53:42

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#11 2013-03-05 04:54:31

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

#12 2013-03-05 06:01:09

Re: Ubuntu coming to Tablets and Phones like the Nexus series

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