Lycoris unveiled its new OS for the tablet PC, Desktop/LX Tablet Edition, into the hands of tablet manufacturers and resellers this week. Seen as a giant step into a new market for the Linux software company. Tablet Edition gives OEMs and vertical markets access to an inexpensive operating system capable of running on the Tablet PC platform. Read the rest of the press release here.
Lycoris Unveils OS For Tablet PC Platform
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
woot woot!!
whatever happened to the Lindows tablet pc edition?
Hopefully the new Lycoris tablet PCs will be priced a lot lesser than the corresponding WinXP-tablets…but… you know…
I wonder if I can shoehorn that onto a ProGear?
Does anyone know if there is a international version of the keyboard? See I’m from sweden and we got 3 characters which isn’t found in English.
Wow GREAT JOB LYCORIS ON THE R&D FRONT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But i dont think they will be able to market it or sell it much. Cmon anyone who has the cash to buy a tablet PC will not go so far and then compromise on the OS. Why should a guy who has the cash to buy a tablet choose some relatively unknown Linux distro and and compromise the whole purchase. I mean 90% of the apps in the market wont work on it and secondly there are chances that Lycoris’s tablet PC os may not be that good to use to a MS user. In terms of time and resource management i feel Lycoris has made a great blunder,they should have put the same resources to improve their desktop standing(an award does not equal revenues). Tablet PC market is still very niche and Lycoris wont even come close making money there.
“Wow GREAT JOB LYCORIS ON THE R&D FRONT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ”
Yeah pretty cool! :^)
“90% of the apps in the market wont work ”
The fact is that Lycoris can’t even run more than 30% of the Linux-apps, thanks to the fact that it’s based on Caldera. I did run Lycoris for a month and it a very very great Linux-experience, but I had to remove it because I failed to install to many applications. And ofcourse I had installed the DEV-cd.
I really can’t see there being much of a difference in price between the same hardware with Windows as with Lycoris. There might be a small <$100 difference but not enough to be a serious consideration to go Linux over Windows for most.
whatever happened to the Lindows tablet pc edition?
They are still working on it. They were having problems with the touchscreen drivers. That was the last they told us insiders anyway.
Kreek
Lindows Insider
Anyone see a download to try before I buy?
See, inspite of Lycoris being great u had to remove it, similarly the tablet pc edition may be great but as long as it is not practical it wont sell.
re: download?
Last time I checked you couldn’t download hardware. Go to lycoris.com and follow the links to download the distro.
re: re: waste of resources
Why wouldn’t it be practical? For you maybe, but I could certianly make use of it. Lack of apps? Hey, I can use mozilla, open office, cdbakeoven…..I can run all the progs i wnat.
u may be able to run all progs but avg msft users may not have the time and patience to search and then use.
there’s no need for me to search for programs. all the ones i need are either pre-installed or i can just download them from iris or off the community site. works great for me! 😀
thanks to the fact that it’s based on Caldera.
—
Well, that was sometime ago, we have moved on from then, just like MDK has moved on from RH
I did run Lycoris for a month and it a very very great Linux-experience, but I had to remove it because I failed to install to many applications.
—
like?? I have been using lycoris for almost a year and I am certainly not a newbie (a developer), so I fail to see your point. Oh, I am glad you liked it too
And of course I had installed the DEV-cd.
—
Lycoris isnt targeted at developers… its targeting end user who want to be able to us a Linux OS out of the box. Lycoris does this very well.
So, basically, what you get is a big PDA OS, right?
I mean, where is the natural write recognition or something like Apple’s Inkwell? Lycoris seems to only have a virtual keyboard in there (which defeats the purpose of a tabletPC in the first place).
Also, can it read/write WindowsXP Tablet Edition Journal files, which is very important for interoperability between tablet PCs in a company. I believe that the answer is “no”.
I like Lycoris. But I see absolutely no reason to run this handicapped version on an expensive TabletPC instead of Windows XP…
So I take it you have used one first hand or are those just random stabs in the dark after looking at the product tour?
Excuse me, but if natural writting was supported as it does on Apples or WindowsXP, it would have being mentioned, as it is a MAJOR feature. I can only conclude that Lycoris does NOT have such a feature, it only has a virtual keyboard and that’s it.
i agree that if it is infact implemented into the os, it should definitely be mentioned. it may also be one of those “understood” features. for example, tablet brings the assumption of natural writing support.
I was just wondering, I havent used it yet so I wont comment, just you post very authoritive, so I figured you had used it. Sorry if I came across rude :/
The Lycoris guys should focus on Desktop/Lx, considering they’re still on KDE2 and looking soooo 2001. Looking into my crystal ball I don’t see this product as a huge success. Good luck to them though, it’s a bold move.
Speaking of tablet PCs, with Inkwell in place, where are Apple already?
Linux 2.6 kernel and the latest KDE in the next Desktop/LX update.
Their existing customers will really feel the difference.
“Linux 2.6 kernel”
Dude, i don’t know why your “complaining” about that. Its not even released (stable).
“latest KDE in the next Desktop/LX update”
Yes, thats what most people want, but I’ll just say its scheduled.
———
About Tablet PC OS, it don’t sound like it has anything similar to Apple’s Inkwell or microsofts handwriting-to-ink….but this is still a huge leap for linux i think. Great Job Lycoris.
Non off the linux distr. supports (easy!?) wireless Lan Card… so how the fuck do they think those linux shit, will work on a tablet pc?
LOL
well….mine worked just fine upon first boot. no config or anything. i would call that easy.
>So, basically, what you get is a big PDA OS, right?
No, you get a Linux TabletPC. I know that I would have a use for one.
>I mean, where is the natural write recognition
>or something like Apple’s Inkwell? Lycoris seems
>to only have a virtual keyboard in there (which
>defeats the purpose of a tabletPC in the first place).
*SEEMS* to. If they do not support handwriting, I will completely agree with you.
>Also, can it read/write WindowsXP Tablet Edition
>Journal files, which is very important for
>interoperability between tablet PCs in a company.
>I believe that the answer is “no”.
Who cares? The world does not revolve around Microsoft compatability. I for example
would have no need for Journal interoperability. I would need a sketch pad, and a notepad
a Journal like product would suit me fine.
>I like Lycoris. But I see absolutely no reason to run
>this handicapped version on an expensive TabletPC
>instead of Windows XP…
Do you have proof that it is a handicapped OS? To me XP would have a handicap. That doesn’t mean XP is not useful to anyone else.
“I like Lycoris. But I see absolutely no reason to run this handicapped version on an expensive TabletPC instead of Windows XP…”
And here comes Eugenia one more time rising like a tiger to defend Windows. how new.
I do not defend Windows. I just state that if Lycoris (and I am sure it doesn’t) does not support handwriting, it is *usless* to run it on a $2000 tabletPC. Come on, doen’t need much intelligence to understand that.
>Who cares? The world does not revolve around Microsoft compatability.
If that was the case, people wouldn’t dance like monkeys up and down just to get their MS Office to work on Linux via wine or vmware.
>I for example would have no need for Journal interoperability. I would need a sketch pad, and a notepad
a Journal like product would suit me fine.
Do YOU have a TabletPC then? Because if you don’t, then I will just say that the TabletPC market TODAY is not the casual home user or the geek next door. It is the BUSINESSES. And in the business environment, you NEED MS interoperability. You like it or not, Aitvo.
I know you are a big Linux supported, but please ->think<- before you post. Post sensible comments, think the situation, don’t just support Linux blindly just for the heck of it.
Eugenia
>I know you are a big Linux supported, but please ->think<-
>before you post. Post sensible comments, think the situation,
>don’t just support Linux blindly just for the heck of it.
And as always you are right and the rest needs to think before they write. They need to post more sensible comments like you. What are those people thinking?
This is starting to get out off control its seems that some of these posters here have a mind of there own..mmmmm how can we brainwash them? Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft…
>It is the BUSINESSES. And in the business environment, you
>NEED MS interoperability. You like it or not, Aitvo.
Right! lets close our company because we not have MS interoperability. What a nonsens, you do not NEED MS interoperability, like it or not Eugenia in our company
we have no MS interoperability. We use Apples, Unix (HP/SUN/Linux/BSD) and none of these machines have any need for MS interoperability.
But as always i am wrong just because you say so..
>If that was the case, people wouldn’t dance like monkeys up
>and down just to get their MS Office to work on Linux via
>wine or vmware.
The only one i ever seen dancing like a monkey up and down was Steve Balmer.
>get their MS Office to work on Linux via
>wine or vmware
MS office runs fine under Crossover no need for monkeys.
Just put in the cd and install it like you would have done under MS Windows.
But again what is your point? Because there are people who are installing MS Office under Linux means the world is build around MS?
So because there are people who dance like monkeys up and down just to get their Unix Services running under Windows, means the world is build around Unix? Yeah! i agree.
>Who cares? The world does not revolve around Microsoft compatability.
>If that was the case, people wouldn’t dance like monkeys up and down
>just to get their MS Office to work on Linux via wine or vmware.
Riight, again not everyone needs compatability. I for example have no problem with open office. If I needed MS compatability I would find a way to get it. I represent a large percentage of the market as (I’d guess) the majority of MS users don’t need it either.
>I for example would have no need for Journal interoperability. I would need a sketch pad, and a notepad
a Journal like product would suit me fine.
>Do YOU have a TabletPC then? Because if you don’t,
We have a Compaq, a Toshiba, an Acer, and a Fujitsu here to play with so I’d say that yes I do. I have not loaded any Linux on any of them yet but my time spent playing with XP I immediately needed Linux on it to be productive. That is my situation, everyone’s is different. EVERYONE doesn’t necessarily need XP. 😉
>then I will just say that the TabletPC market TODAY is not the casual home user
>or the geek next door. It is the BUSINESSES. And in the business environment, you NEED MS
>interoperability. You like it or not, Aitvo.
I do not NEED MS interoperability the way you have defined it, so Linux would best suit ME on a TabletPC, that’s just how it is.
>I know you are a big Linux supported, but please
I support the best tool for the job, in many cases Linux fits the bill best. There are scenarios where MS solutions are better tools.
>->think<- before you post. Post sensible comments,
Uhh, I did think before I post. I was posting my personal experience.
>think the situation, don’t just support Linux blindly
>just for the heck of it.
Riight, I don’t just support Linux blindly, and my post wasn’t made blindly.
Uses for a TabletPC for *ME*
VPN Capability – Connect remotely to my corporate network.
Unix / Windows compatability (IE: Run exported applications from a Big Iron server on my TabletPC)
Lotus Notes – Wined for 2 years and counting.
Basic documentation – gedit suits me just fine
Spreadsheets – OOo <-> MSOffice for 2 years and counting.
Web browsing – Galeon fits the bill
Server monitoring – (Big Iron applications such as perfview and glance)
Shell Scripting – My biggest responsibility, while a tablet would make it painful A Windows tablet would really hurt.
Windows server management – rdesktop, and Avocent software in Win4Lin, plus Compaq Rib in web browser.
Where in any of the above examples would I gain anything from running XP on my tablet? I wouldn’t have to worry about not using windows form controls in my spreadsheets? Who cares, I don’t use them anyway. I would lose more than I gain, there are XP solutions for all of the above, but many are hokey at best when it comes to managing multiple platforms.
Tablet PCs are *NOT* aimed at the geek market.
Only the geek market buys Linux.
So, very few Linux-based tablet PCs will be sold.
Dumb.
But then why do you need a tablet PC. Just so that you can talk about it… All your requirement can be fulfilled with just an ordinary Laptop, may be a cheap Lindows based laptop would fit the bill.. I can’t see you making any use of Tablet PC features like ink input, taking notes and stuff like that. Just don’t see any point going for a Tablet PC
There are a lot of reasons, #1: You can draw on the screen. #2: I can take notes in a meeting. #3: I can sketch flowcharts, diagram networks, and save concepts. #4: I can use it on my sofa, and not burn my legs. 😉 These reasons alone are enough for me. Yes, it can be done with an ordinary laptop (it is today) but a GOOD tablet would do it better.
>But then why do you need a tablet PC. Just so that you can
>talk about it… All your requirement can be fulfilled with
>just an ordinary Laptop, may be a cheap Lindows based laptop
>would fit the bill.. I can’t see you making any use of Tablet
>PC features like ink input, taking notes and stuff like that.
>Just don’t see any point going for a Tablet PC
Same goes for a car, why would anybody want to drive a honda
you could do the same in a mazda.
Stop jurking around, if he wants a TabletPC fine, who cares why, how, when…This tread is about Lycoris building a TabletPC compatible OS and find it very brave of them.
If you not want to buy it because you can olnty work with MS Office and MS Paint fine do not buy it but please stop pretending like the world cannot be without MS software.
and how does linux do that better then XP. Is it just an idealogical decision or is it backed up by some facts. All your requirement can be fulfilled by Window XP Tablet PC edition which ships with the hardware itself. I see no point in removing it and installing Linux to accomplish the same tasks. Kindly enlighten us how Linux adds anything to what is already available… May be i am missing out something. you make a point earlier that you need your computer to fulfill your requirment and would go with a solution which does it in the best possible manner. Now you want to accomplish everything the default OS will do by installing an another inferior (Not linux as such but current version of Linux on Tablet PC ) OS. How does it add value it except from satisfying your Linux Ego.. i find it so irritating when people just keep making comments that Linux runs on everything does everything… seriously currently Linux is not a match for XP on Tablet PC. In future it might be, but not now. And MS will ensure that TabletPC is a moving target and Linux will always play catch up..
Why not for a moment go ahead and do something innovative and stop apeing MS on everything. If XP runs on Tablet PC people have to move Linux on TabletPC just so that they can say it runs on it and then move on there. I see same thing happening for the XBox. Linux runs on XBox with Mod chips and satisfies my itch and my ego. thats it they move on.. How many are using it.. is it usable.. nobody cares.. now tomorrow MS comes out with something else Linux apes it, says i can do it, i can do it better, i am do it all hardware, i am better then you, i am great, move on…. Guys give us a break.. I love Linux. have tried it right from RH 5.2 days… its good as a Server OS.. make it the best there first before making it Jack of all arts. Its sickeing to see only apeing in Linux world rather then any true innovation…..
Have you ever worked in an environment where you are using Unix applications on a Windows client? If you have, you’d quickly realize there is nothing like the real thing. My netbackup administrative console alone justifies my decision. I have provided all the facts that I need to. I’m glad you like XP better. If I was in a windows only environment I would probably choose it too. There is a TON of innovation in a Linux based TabletPC just as there is a ton in a Windows XP based tablet. Look past your opinion and you will find it.
What does Linux do better than XP?
Unix
And MS will ensure that TabletPC is a moving target and Linux will always play catch up..
Who cares if it’s a moving target, that just creates headaches for people that use that platform. If you think it really causes a problem for the majority of people that have not settled on an alternate platform, then you do not understand computer platforms as well as you believe you do.
I said “have not settled”
I meant to say “have settled”
I re-read the page and it does clearly say they have an OS for tablets for sale. I have two that run win98 and some limited beos. Is there a download for this in a try before you buy it sort of deal?
Please don’t say you can’t download hardware.
Thank you Lycoris for bringing our favorite toy on a tablet pc! I sure want to buy one its a nice thing to have, i cannot wait to hack a Windows server on a tablet pc!
btw handwriting recon is available for Linux, off course, google it and open your M$ mind for once!