
Ubuntu ported to the Nexus 7 - onosendai
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTIxMTA
======
mtgx
This is my problem with Ubuntu and Unity, and why I much prefer Linux Mint as
a "Windows replacement" OS. They say they made that side bar to "work well
with touchscreen devices, too", but as we can see Unity on a touchscreen
devices offers a pretty poor experience, and the sidebar is just about the
only thing that is meant for touchscreens in Ubuntu. The global menu and
everything else is clearly meant for a PC and a mouse.

So why annoy the PC users with the sidebar, when it's not even that good of a
UI for tablets? They're much better off designing a tablet-first UI for
tablets, if they want to get into that, and stick with designing a well
optimized PC UI for PC's.

I've never been a believer of one UI for all form factors and sizes, because
you usually end up with the UI being optimized just for one form factor and
size, and mediocre or downright terrible for others. You need to optimize the
UI for its own form factor and size. It's the only way to make it work well.

~~~
jiggy2011
Unity is a long way from perfect on tablet or PC. Having said that the sidebar
has grown on me. Since almost every monitor out there is 16:9; vertical space
is precious and another 50 pixels gives me another 2-3 lines of code on the
screen.

The best way to use the sidebar is to put your most commonly used program at
the top and then launch them with Logo+<Number>.

If you spend some time setting up your shortcut keys you can actually use much
of your system mouse free.

So I'm not really sure that it is targeted towards tablets. It could however
be adapted to be tablet friendly a lot more easily than the MS Windows
interface or older Window managers could be.

So rather than having this jarring difference between Metro and Desktop like
you do in Windows 8 they could have a much more subtle transition of the same
interface depending on whether a mouse/keyboard was plugged in or not.

~~~
seanl
I just wish that Logo+<Number> didn't require you to hold the Logo key for a
second or so before you press the number. I want quicker switching between
apps than that.

~~~
jiggy2011
You need to wait if you want the numbers to pop up on the icons, if you just
want to switch programs you can do it instantly.

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achiang
The people making comments about Unity on this device have some valid points,
but are missing the forest for the trees. One of the major themes of 13.04 and
the entire point of this demo is to fix the _core_ of Ubuntu, as was
referenced in Mark's blog:

"I think it’s time to look at the core of Ubuntu and review it through a
mobile lens: let’s measure our core platform by mobile metrics, things like
battery life, number of running processes, memory footprint, and polish the
rough edges that we find when we do that."

Don't expect the Unity UI experience to be optimized for this device in the
13.04 time frame. That's not the goal.

Not speaking officially here, just trying to help people connect the dots of
what Canonical have publicly revealed thus far.

~~~
keithpeter
If the core includes sound drivers and a sensible _structure_ to sound then
bring it on...

...I know this is a niche area but the application of cheap touch tablets to
sound synthesis software could open up a huge realm of activity.

Then there is the use of a stylus for accurate work...

~~~
achiang
I wouldn't expect any huge departure from the existing sound architecture
(PulseAudio, ALSA).

~~~
rdtsc
achiang,

Unfortunately (and, conversely, fortunately for Ubuntu) Android audio on
tablets sucks. Especially when we talk low latency audio. It is bad, in the
100s of milliseconds of latency, which is laughable really for anyone who
tries to do audio synthesis or any realtime audio features. So frankly, just
bringing ALSA or PulseAudio to the table will hugely improve the situation.

Google is aware of the issue
(<http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3434>) it was starred
about 2000 times with 400+ comments. Again, this is a niche area for some and
most don't care, but those who do would love have an alternative to iPad for
example, when it comes to audio latency performance.

~~~
keithpeter
So Ubuntu could deliver a useful gain in audio performance over Android on a
tablet such as the Nexus?

As _input_ appears to be limited to on board microphone in the particular
tablet we are discussing, it is unlikely that real time processing will be a
major use unless the micro-usb socket can be used with an audio interface.

I certainly would drop £160 or so to try _synthesis_ if pd/jack/effects-loops
are available. Just a single cable out, not too restrictive, perhaps even
streamed audio over wifi.

puredata allows you to set up your own controls for a sound synthesis program
- and you can have chunky buttons and big sliders for touch I'm hoping.

~~~
rdtsc
> So Ubuntu could deliver a useful gain in audio performance over Android on a
> tablet such as the Nexus?

It could if using USB audio input and output. The DAC in the Nexus 7 is not
very good. Also, as you pointed out, Nexus 7 doesn't have headset jack, just a
headphone jack. So that's lacking. However, there are some compiled kernels
that added USB audio out support (but then simultaneously charging the device
doesn't work, sigh...).

> puredata allows you to set up your own controls for a sound synthesis
> program - and you can have chunky buttons and big sliders for touch I'm
> hoping.

Have you heard of <http://libpd.cc/> ?

~~~
keithpeter
_"Have you heard of<http://libpd.cc/> ?"_

I was aware of android and iPad builds of pd, but this looks more
comprehensive although it would mean rather more 'proper' coding than I'm used
to. I'd rather see how Ubuntu on tablets goes over the next cycle or so.

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napoleoncomplex
Hopefully this means Ubuntu for Android[0] is getting ready for primetime. I'm
stoked about the future with this. A phone which boots into Ubuntu when
docked, and allows me to get rid of all other devices is the stuff of dreams
for me.

[0]<http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android>

~~~
achiang
Ubuntu for Android is a separate, but related effort.

Again, quoting Mark: "We have two short cycles before we’re into the LTS, and
by then we want to have the phone, tablet and TV all lined up."

[speaking individually, not representing Canonical]

~~~
napoleoncomplex
So there will be Ubuntu for Android and a separate Ubuntu Mobile? You probably
can't answer that, but doesn't hurt to try :).

Are you able to say anything about Ubuntu for Android? It's been pretty quiet
ever since it got announced, though there was a video in August showing it
off.

~~~
achiang
I will simply say that we've got a broad portfolio of current and future
products, spanning the entire range from the data center down to your personal
devices, and we are working hard at commercializing all of them.

Sorry for the platitudes; I'm not authorized to speak on behalf of anyone
other than myself.

~~~
napoleoncomplex
Completely understandable. Good luck in bringing those products to market,
hopefully it's not too long before you'll be able to discuss them openly.

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james-skemp
For what it is, I personally think the Nexus 7's OS is perfect for the device.
It's been years since I've played with Ubuntu, and this potential announcement
probably isn't going to change that.

And is Ubuntu now going into touch devices? Honest question: How is this
different than throwing Windows onto something like this?

~~~
Breakthrough
I love how you say "the Nexus 7's OS" when clearly, Android is used on a wide
variety of devices (who calls the software on their phone the Droid Razr's OS
or the Galaxy SII's OS? just saying...).

Oh, and honest answer: It's a full-suited desktop OS, so you're right - it's
not different than throwing Windows on it (aside from the obvious differences
in the Windows/Linux software architecture and distribution models). You still
get all the benefits of a full desktop OS :)

~~~
lloeki
I bet he meant the "Nexus 7's OS" as opposed to TouchWiz or Sense or whatever
UI has been bolted on top of the Android innards.

> You still get all the benefits of a full desktop OS

like hunt-and-pecking in the smallish menus on a 7" screen? this is just
ridiculous, and (given their UI plans) way too early to be useful.

~~~
Breakthrough
"... as opposed to TouchWiz or Sense or whatever UI has been bolted on top of
the Android innards."

Uh, what? This is a Google/ASUS device, you won't find any of that stuff here.
I'm pretty sure the Nexus 7 is as close to AOSP as you can get...

~~~
ChrisClark
That's exactly what he said... I think you misunderstood and thought he said
the exact opposite.

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georgemcbay
I've got no interest in Ubuntu on a Nexus 7 but this gives me some hope they
might do a semi-official port to those new $250 Chromebooks (assuming they are
as open to hacking as the old chromebooks).

ARM based Linux ultrabook-alike on a high powered chip for $250? Now _that_
would get me using Ubuntu again.

~~~
steevdave
They probably won't _officially_ support it because it is a consumer device.
If you want Ubuntu on it, it will be community supported, or ask Samsung to do
the work/pay them to port and support it.

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mariusmg
OK...but why ? It's not like Unity is a good fit for a 7" tablet.

~~~
densh
Very simple use case: connect keyboard and mouse and you'll get portable linux
workstation. It's a pity that there is no hdmi out but you shouldn't expect a
lot from $200 tablet. As a bonus you'll have lots of open source packages
(including various development tools) that will run just fine on this
relatively powerful hardware. Most of the user-friendly ubuntu apps won't be
usable without a mouse. There are also lots of keyboard-oriented applications
that might be fine with just a keyboard.

~~~
ovi256
You mention HDMI out. $100 chinese tablets have it [1]. Arguably they don't
have the same screen and quality battery as the Nexus 7.

1\. [http://www.ainolstore.com/ainol-novo-7-mars-
cortex-a9-androi...](http://www.ainolstore.com/ainol-novo-7-mars-
cortex-a9-android-hd-display-tablets.html)

~~~
6ren
That's single core (not quad) and 1GHz (not 1.3GHz). But $87.99 is a great
price if that's fast enough.

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dewiz
when I access that page I can't help but being distracted by animated ads to
cut down my belly.

~~~
keithpeter
<http://www.readability.com/articles/hlfovpcf>

using the readability bookmarklet or simply add noscript to your Firefox
instance.

PS: I know what you mean.

