Archive for: ubuntu
If one word could sum up Android, it would be this: Unlimited. It’s literally unlimited what end users can *willingly* do with it. I mean, ports of ROMS traverse hardware boundaries and limitations, features added in after the fact bring about a more functional device, and then of course, completely different operating systems show perhaps the ultimate form of user customization. Take for instance the N1 you see ‘splayed above running Ubuntu. Yes, a full blown desktop OS on a phone.
Yeah, such hackery has been done many times before, and desktop OS’s aren’t really all that great on mobile devices anyway — The whole touch thing, ya know?. But that doesn’t mean we’re any less thrilled. As geeks, anything is fair game. Yup, even you you ubuntu running Nexus One.
For the full rundown and instructions (if you so choose to do this yourself), jump on over to NexusOneHacks.net and get to it. **Be sure to clear your calendar for the afternoon. Have fun…
Most who are in the computer mindset know that there is a small disconnect between computer file units and how we humans count the same thing. For us, base-10 is how we live and get around day to day. For computers, it’s all base-2 baby. It may not seem like a big deal, but when you’re talking about multi-terabyte drives, the size differences can actually be surprising. But we’ll stay small for the sake of an early Sunday morning and still asleep minds.
Take for example 1MB in base-2 terms: 1024kB — base-10: 1000kB. See the difference? Again, these are small differences that will grow as storage space grows. If you think about it too hard, you may begin to wonder why it’s that big of a deal at all. In reality, it’s not. Unless of course you’re one of the more geeky type of following that generally have an affinity to Linux.
Apple made the same move with 10.6 Snow Leopard. But OS X is a much more mass consumer oriented OS. Ubuntu try as they might, is still a nerds OS. Even with Ubuntu’s more “mainstream” base-10 approach, there are still plenty of inconsistencies in the computer world in regards to file sizes and names varying between kB, MB, MiB, GB and so on. Will changing the way the OS represents file size units from base-2 to base-10 put off any of those more tech literate users?
Let us know.
Slashdot > Neowin
[Image Source
So yesterday a member of the ubuntuforums posted about what he found out after he installed the latest Alpha release of Ubuntu 10.04. Not only did the release support his graphics card straight away, and hop into full screen mode (something that has always pissed me off in the past) but it also recognized his iPhone, right away without any configuration on his end! He can access all of the music, play lists, apps on the iPhone using Nautilus, and RhythmBox works with it as if it were iTunes.
This latest distro, titled Lucid Lynx is due out this April, and with this newly added feature, I am sure will draw in a huge audience and hopefully really drop a Google pin on the Linux family. It is stated also that this works with the soon to be released Fedora distro, Fedora 13, in May and should be working on all distros upcoming releases. I will for sure be testing this in April when I get my hands on the final Lucid release.
Web Upd8
- February 17, 2010 6:43 am
One of the greatest things about a more open platform for smartphones I believe, is the ability to (if you choose) customize it until you’re hearts content. From personal experience, I swap ROM’s every couple of days on my DROID trying out the updates and newcomers to the custom DROID ROM scene alike. But porting various ROM’s developed for your phone, or at the very least, the phone’s operating system, are rather easy all things considered. Especially so when comparing a simple ROM port from one Android device to the next against porting a full blown desktop OS to a Sony Xperia X1. Oh yeah, it’s real.
As is usually true with all feats of smartphone hackery and digital strength, xda-forums is yet again home to the clever minds behind the Sony Xperia X1 Hardy Heron Edition. A quick glance above clearly shows the Linux OS up and running on the Xperia X1, bringing instant drool to many a geek. With such crazy ports and the obvious differences in each systems supporting hardware, the X1 Hardy Heron is at this point pretty limited in what it can do. But getting it to actually boot and run is the hard part.
Now all this project needs is a few more people that are either unemployed, on vacation, or a combination of the two to bring the functionality up to speed. Feelin’ a little crafty?
Enadget > XDA
- September 8, 2009 12:04 pm
Lately I’ve been trying to tone down criticism on the OS front as I actually run 3 different OS’s at home, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. I obviously have a favorite and some not so favorites. One OS in particular that is garnering more of my attention is that of Ubuntu 9.04. Right now I have it set up on a server at home giving me access to a few external hard drives. For me, using Ubuntu is a cinch, though for those less technically inclined who have grown up using Windows, switching to something different such as Linux is life altering. Perhaps that is the person they are catering to in their latest marketing material pushed out to Best Buy employees nation wide. Looking at the slide above, one can quickly and easily see the approach Microsoft is taking — that is, the same approach they have used over and over again for avoiding Linux: Microsoft’s superior support and vast application library.
Now, I won’t argue that for the mainstream, Windows may be a more efficient choice due to the simple fact that more people use and and know how to instruct others to use it. However, if you and your community grew up using Linux, that same feeling of ease and efficiency would be equally felt. I also won’t argue that Microsoft has a massive array of applications. However, it’s the way that they are going about “educating” Best Buy employees about the positives of Redmond’s finest that has me a bit irked. Looking above at the training document as well as a few more slides inside, many of the “negatives” directed at Linux are in fact deviations from the truth. Truths such as lack of apps (growing daily), lack of support (several distros have dedicated support), and the boasting of Microsoft’s vast library of free programs (ignoring the fact Windows costs hundreds of dollars and Linux is….free). The list goes on. These childish attempts are sadly not going to “inform” anyone. Instead, Microsoft’s marketing tactics in conjunction with Best Buy’s ever intelligent employees will foster a generation of misled shoppers. ‘Tis sad indeed. Let’s hope that you, the informed techie can spread the good word, or at least an honest word about the pro’s and con’s of Linux vs. Microsoft vs. Apple.
For a few pics of the so called training, feel free to hop on in.
For all of you linux users out there, particularly Ubuntu users, some screenshots of Ubuntu 9.04, “Jaunty Jackalope” which was released last week with a spiffy new beta tag. The Lope has finally reached beta stage meaning it is a tad bit more stable so if you’re curious as to what the new features are and how it works, more normal non-computer literate people could try it out. So, what exactly is new about Jaunty Jackalope? All the information you could ever need is just inside.
- January 21, 2009 11:23 pm
When the founder of one of the worlds largest growing open source operating systems compliments Windows 7 and basically praises it, you know the world is soon coming to an end. Mark Shuttleworth, the founder and head MF of Ubuntu recently had many positive things to say about Redmond’s latest and greatest. Increased competition was one of the statements that was uttered from his mouth. With Windows 7 coming, Shuttleworth mentioned that Microsoft would be faced to raise the price OEM’s pay for 7 as opposed to their almost free giveaways of XP. Once the price goes up, will more defect to Ubuntu? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Source: Crunch Gear, The Register
