Canonical recently announced that they are developing a tablet version of their popular Ubuntu operating system, slated to be released in 2011. This comes hot on the heels of the release of the Apple iPad, and the rumors that HP plans to release a WebOS-based tablet sometime late 2010. However, Canonical’s foray into the tablet arena is fundamentally different from both the iPad and a WebOS tablet, and unfortunately reeks of a company failing to learn from their competitors successes and failures.
“1. Canoncial is only a software company”
Hmm, Microsoft is also only a software company (yes, they have some hardware, but in comparison is nothing), they are doing fine in the desktop market.
“4. Canonical who?”
Some companies are just chip-designers like ARM, but many products get sold based on such chips.
Apple doesn’t create the whole iPad, they use ARM too.
Canonical has to create good products and find good partners.
Mark Shuttleworth already denied it:
http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/No-Ubuntu-for-tablets-102119…
Exactly.
Video here:
http://video.golem.de/desktop-applikationen/3312/mark-shuttleworth-…
YEPHENAS reported…
Thanks for that update. See, this is why we need a thumbs down button for articles to prevent silliness like this type of “reporting” getting spread around… I’m glad that at least the posters on OSNews.com are able to catch these things and tell the rest of us about them–I just wish that there were a way to get such embarrassments off the front page!
–bornagainpenguin
This isn’t on the front page so why raise that point?
It *is* on the front page. Look twice :
http://yfrog.com/5mfrontpagemp
You mean home page?
It’s not on the front page section – it’s on the section formally known as page 2
Wow, this article is pointless. Where do I start?
“It’s only a software company”
So what, Canonical does not need to become Apple and enjoy Apple-like levels of success in order to still be successful.
“They shouldn’t scale down, just look at Ubuntu netbook remix”
Uh, last time I checked, Ubuntu netbook remix was a huge hit.
“Where are the applications?”
So, apparently it’s a terrible idea to create a new platform that’s essentially the same as the old one except for the screen size, and that allows existing applications to very easily be adjusted to fit? Hmm, you’ll have to scold Apple for that iPad thing, then.
“Canonical who”
So apparently you already ran out of steam but three items didn’t look like enough. Oh well, it happens.
EDIT: I see that the Ubuntu tablet edition is not happening after all. Still I wouldn’t be surprised if a tablet remix of Ubuntu were to come out from an unofficial source. As long as they keep the buttons everywhere big and finger friendly (or ship with a stylus) I’d be game.
Edited 2010-06-16 19:35 UTC
No, but Canonical needs actual operating system developers.
Depending on Novell and Red Hat for bug fixing is not a proper business model.
Where? I know only of a single vendor that ships computers with Ubuntu and that’s Dell. Dell doesn’t use Canonical’s official Netbook Edition, but instead Moblin with an Ubuntu core.
That computers don’t come bundled with it does not mean it isn’t used…
Oh come on, it’s Ubuntu. We all knoiw that because Canonical/ubuntu has actually been suiccessful in making the average Joe aware of Linux they have to be bad. Jealousy is ugly like that.
Sorry, I didn’t expressed what I meant well enough.
If I understood well, the OP said that Linux was (almost) not sold on computers. I said that it did not mean it wasn’t widespread (implicitly that it just restricted its audience). This has nothing to do with Ubuntu in particular, which has managed to convice a lot of people (even though I personally don’t like it because of the tendency to break things at each release like Fedora).
Actually, I was referring to you guy you replied to.
Not much to say, the linked article is a pile of crap. Doubt anyone will think opposite. Sure Ubuntu tablet might not work, but not for the reasons given.
The reasons given are just 1 reason “you’re not Apple it cannot work”, that’s just laughable
A tablet can sell without applications, there is a large enough market for people like me that would buy one for browsing in bed or on the toilet. If I’m going to play games I will use my entertainment system.
The new MeeGo tablet looks very competitive, I’d much rather buy it over the ipad.
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/01/meego-moorestown-powered-tablet-…
Edited 2010-06-16 23:02 UTC
Yeah, i agree with you 100%. apple developers are creating thousands of apps for us, but most of them are paid. Correspondingly, many third-party software companies are developing apps to us too, like one of the best video converter and dvd ripper providers for mac, ifunia. cool stuff!
http://www.ifunia.com/products.html
Edited 2010-06-17 02:34 UTC
… and there’s no reason (apart from NIH) why Ubuntu couldn’t integrate the Tablet UX that will be created in context of MeeGo.
You mean like how Canonical adopted MeeGo’s current netbook UI instead of developing its own Unity shell?
I’ve used two of Nokia’s Maemo pocket tablets (N770 and N800), and currently use their tablet smartphone (N900). Very nice devices, and I have enjoyed them all, but Maemo never quite achieved the polish needed for the mainstream (although N900 was *almost* there).
Meego looks promising, if Intel and Nokia can execute. They have the advantage of an exceptionally mature framework in QT 4, and a wide target market in “pocketables” (smartphones and tablets), netbooks, in-vehicle, smart TVs, and media phones – with dozens of corporate partners to provide the hardware and marketing muscle.
Creating targeted experiences for each device class, while maintaining application portability, is a worthy goal as well.
It’s always easier to fail than to succeed, but I believe they have a shot. Meego 1.0 met my expectations. Keep pressing.
…from the linked pile of textual ignorance: “Am I completely wrong?”
Well… yeah.
I beleive tablets will be dominated by Android. However smartbooks can be Ubuntu’s realm. I wouldn’t buy a chromeOs one.
How about a ChromeOS tablet?
For me, I would never buy a ChromeOS anything (it would be completely useless for me). Android would be great for a phone. I would probably want something like MeeGo for a tablet or netbook, and Ubuntu or Fedora for desktops/laptops.
Apart from the fact that for now Canonical is not considering a Tabletbuntu, the author assumes that everybody on this planet loves Apple’s Computing-as-a-toaster approach. Which simply isn’t true.
There will always be that category of people who want to muck about with the hard- and software. A tablet Linux by the nature of its underpinnings would offer that.
I’m not saying Apple’s approach isn’t valid. For less technically minded people a device that prevents them from shooting themselves in the foot is a good thing. For techies, this handholding is mostly anathema.
The other assumption seems to be that success should be defined as everybody and their dog has one. While the techie market is much smaller, wouldn’t “Every techie and their dog has one.” be a sign of success for Linux tablets?
heh. That makes Apple’s core products (OSX, desktops and laptops) monumental failures.
I’d buy it and then install Arch on it.
Resume:
You won’t succeed because you’re not Apple.
The writer of the article should show us how much he was payed from Apple to inject rumors and FUD in the scene.
an ubuntu tablet will succeed, because it won’t be a you-dont-do-whatever-you-want tablet or you-pay-but-SJobs-still-own-it like iPad,
Maybe the writer was drunk when writing…
But I already have an Ubuntu Tablet. Actually it’s technically a Fujitsu Stylistic tablet, and isn’t touch screen, but has a stylus and normal Ubuntu on it. It rocks!
I also have a HP Touchsmart TX2z which is running Arch Linux. I’ll probably be putting Arch on the tablet soon enough as well.
iPad comes out and everyone thinks that Apple innovated it all… Tablets have been out forever.
I still think Apple innovated it because they were first to do it well.
I have a Dell tablet, and the Windows tablet edition OS is absolutely terrible. A few months ago I installed Debian, and it’s okay… Just a lot of hoops to jump through on both platforms. The iPad is a better end-user experience for 90% of the population IMO.
Personally, I’m looking forward to both a tablet and phone using MeeGo, it has a lot of potential.
[[[ They’re scaling down instead of building up ]]]
About this comment, I’d like only to point out that Ubuntu is NOT Gnome, nor KDE, nor anything like that.
Ubuntu is a Linux distribution that has shown it’s potential by creating on top of a known and proven architecture different kinds of DE’s.
Actually, if there is one OS which can be more easily and more successfully brought to tablet-computing maturity it’s linux because of it’s non-binding structure.
I am nothing more than a medium user as far as kernel and deep system knowledge, yet I’m able to build my own Ubuntu box starting from a CLI only system based on the hardware i’m installing it on (be it an old imac G3 I decide to install with an IceWM, or a full-powered machine with gnome and all sorts of goodies, or an old HTC Universal that I use as a portable evolution+firefox+documents+messaging device…)
And I know I’ll have system-tools and general behaviour I know pretty well since it’s consistent accross all the pc’s I use.
If I can do it… I think Canonical might do it also…
Ubuntu is version 10.04 now, and the first screen in the installer still looks like some cheap dodgy shareware. Seriously… i wrote a small note about it, plus an example screenshot here (plus a fixed version):
http://sbeam.dk/blog/?p=88
Basically the collaborative open source model is just not optimized for streamlining stuff as design.
Edited 2010-06-21 08:12 UTC