Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 2nd Jan 2013 19:05 UTC
Expected, but still insanely cool: Canonical has just announced Ubuntu for phones. This is a new mobile phone operating system, with its own user interface and development platform. It's built around Qt5 and QML, and the interface reminds me of MeeGo on the N9. It's supposed to be on the shelves in early 2014, but the developer preview is out today.
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Member since:2009-06-20
Google is still developing apps for iOS, and core experience ones no less, such as Gmail and Maps. The iOS Maps app is even nicer than the Android one. How would that fit with your view that Android is so important to Google?
I think Google could easily live in a world with Ubuntu dominating. They would just port their apps. What about Google Play, you say? Well, Appstore do not bring much money, even to Apple. Check their financial results.
Member since:2005-11-29
Because Google wants to control their own destiny from end to end. For too long they were just a Windows software vendor.
This explains a lot: The Java bastardization with Dalvik, Chrome, Android, Google Go, Docs, etc.
They want to be in as much as your life as possible, and the only reason Android even exists is to further this goal.
Ubuntu OS clearly threatens this, and as such, Google should be worried about someone taking Android + the improvements they've made, but cutting Google out of the equation by not shipping with Google's Apps or Marketplace.
And if you think Google isn't also worried about a future without Google on iOS you're kidding yourself. iOS Maps (while poorly done) was a shot across the bow that Apple isn't playing nice with Google anymore.
Google needs Android (and Chrome OS) to be the stage for Google services. Similar to Microsoft using Windows and Windows Phone (and Xbox) to prop up their other brands.
Member since:2008-06-03
Google isn't scared of an Android off-shoot taking eyeballs off of their Android OS? Or getting along completely without their ecosystem? That's nonsensical.
But is it really an off-shoot, though? Thom seems to think it is based on Android, but I can't recall hearing anything in the video that says so, nor did I read anything on the Ubuntu webpage that indicated that.
Is it possible that Thom confused this Ubuntu Phone OS* with the old (dead?) Ubuntu-for-Android**? The former was built on Android, but this seems to be running on top of the standard GNU/Linux stack. Or am I mistaken?
* http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone
** http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android
See. They even have separate pages for the two. For Ubuntu Phone OS, I only see a sentence containing "yet it uses the same drivers as Android", which doesn't quite equate to "built/forked from Android". Colour me confused.
Edited 2013-01-03 01:27 UTC
Member since:2005-11-29
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 22:23 UTC
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:38 UTC
"The Verge has learned that HTC's Chief Product Officer, Kouji Kodera, left the company last week. Kodera was responsible for HTC's overall product strategy, which makes the departure especially notable on the heels of the global launch of the make-or-break One. It's not just Kodera. In the past three-odd months, HTC has lost a number of employees in rapid succession." I really hope HTC pulls it together.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/22/13 13:30 UTC, submitted by JRepin
"It is with huge pleasure that the Debian GNU/Hurd team announces the release of Debian GNU/Hurd 2013. This is a snapshot of Debian 'sid' at the time of the Debian 'wheezy' release (May 2013), so it is mostly based on the same sources. It is not an official Debian release, but it is an official Debian GNU/Hurd port release." Important note: 75% of Debian packages are supported bu Debian GNU/Hurd. Impressive.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 22:06 UTC
"The first killer app was VisiCalc. This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same. On May 14, IBM quietly announced the end of the road for 1-2-3, along with Lotus Organizer and the Lotus SmartSuite office suite. Lotus 1-2-3's day is done." Impressive 30 year run.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:45 UTC
"There's a disconnect between how Apple CEO Tim Cook sees his company's tax strategies and how some members of the US Senate view it. That became clearer than ever today after Cook and two other Apple executives testified before Congress, explaining why they're holding most of their international income in Irish subsidiaries like Apple Operations International, which declare no tax residency anywhere in the world. AOI hasn't filed a tax return anywhere in the world for the last five years, yet it earned $30 billion in income from 2009 to 2012, according to a Senate report released yesterday." Just because something is legal, doesn't mean it's just. Apple, Google, Microsoft, and many more - these companies might not be breaking any laws, but it's obvious to anyone that what they are doing is scummy.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 15:53 UTC
The new WebKit Opera for Android has been released. "Opera 14 for Android is built on top of Chromium 26, with a total overhaul of the UI in native code, making it fit well with the latest Android design guidelines. Go get the build from Google Play or point your browser to m.opera.com, and give it a spin!"
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 22:43 UTC
The Verge pointed me to a blog post by Leap Motion - which reveals how their Kinect-like motion control works with Windows 8. "From the second you plug in your Leap Motion Controller, you'll be able to browse the web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can do everything that's possible with multi-touch inputs - without actually touching anything. This also means that existing applications in Windows 7 and 8 will respond to your natural hand and finger movements. Soon, we'll show you how Leap Motion will work with Mac OS X." Quite cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 21:50 UTC
PocketNow interviews Marc Dillon, and there's an interesting note about why Jolla is keeping the display properties under wraps: "We're leaving some of those details out because we do understand that there are a lot of really big players in the market and they tend to take certain components in the market and dominate them. We created the ability to actually be able to run Sailfish on multiple hardware displays and be able to swap components, so this is part of the demand and supply planning phase. We are committed to this industrial design which is a 4.5-inch display, an 8 megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera at the front, and the exact specs of the display we'll provide when we're close to delivery." Something you rarely hear anything about.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:15 UTC
"This is my NeXTstation Turbo Color booting the Mac System 7.1 Operating System using a hardware add-on called 'Daydream'. The Daydream has a Mac ROM and a few custom ICs in it and hooked up to the NeXTs DSP port. Turns your NeXT into a full fledged 68k powered Mac." So cool.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/19/13 23:11 UTC, submitted by Drumhellar
"The NetBSD Project is pleased to announce NetBSD 6.1, the first feature update of the NetBSD 6 release branch. It represents a selected subset of fixes deemed important for security or stability reasons, as well as new features and enhancements. Please note that all fixes in the prior security/bugfix updates (NetBSD 6.0.1 and 6.0.2) are also in 6.1."More News »
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Member since:
2005-11-29
Google isn't scared of an Android off-shoot taking eyeballs off of their Android OS? Or getting along completely without their ecosystem? That's nonsensical.
If this gains any sort of traction, and it is increasingly obvious OEMs are looking to pivot away from Google's Android (though not necessarily Android per-say see Amazon) to their own solutions. And it makes sense, there's little additional revenue streams coming from Android for OEMs making it harder to match the likes of Apple on price at the same specs.
But of course, you're welcome to enlighten me. I always saw Android as a means to an end for Google, and a very shaky one at that, it's very easy to make Android not worth it for Google.