- Hopefully they will work with Gnome too, because right now Gnome Shell is only DE that is usable on x86 tablets (while it's usable, it's need a lot of love too: https://wiki.gnome.org/Design/OS/Touchscreen) and I think Gnome can only win from standardisation and serious discussion among Gnome developers about current tablet issues.Originally posted by phoronixView Post
- The key is still in standardized package management, imo. I say let distro's do whatever the hell they want to do, but adhere to a standardized filesystem layout, as most already do, and a common application delivery system.....
- Will they support android apks? I think this is key for the success of a android competitor.
Doesn't matter how its done but it needs to be possible in some way.
Otherwise this will be a lim(x->0) market - I see an opportunity here for canonical with their snaps for package delivery.Originally posted by duby229View Post
- I would have to say no.
It's not clear what "succeed" means, but the market has already sent a strong signal it doesn't need yet another mobile OS.
Windows Phone 7 (and later) were generally reviewed favourably and still tanked. Joola is supposed to be pretty good and still going nowhere.
So what's the proposition here? Common platform? That's what AOSP is supposed to be. Don't like Google's approach of closing as much as possible? There's intel's Yoctos project. But neither has yielded any groundbreaking mobile OS so far.
For a new mobile OS to succeed, it needs to do two (and only two) things:
1. Enable users to do something no other mobile OS can do.
2. Convince hardware manufacturers to write drivers for the new OS.
Sadly, neither is a task an open source team can see through. Maybe if they get lucky the can solve #1, but no way they can approach #2. - Isn't Mer already doing this? Why re-invent the wheel?
- Actually, it's the reverse. Unless I'm totally mistaken, the base is still a Linux kernel for Android so the drivers are out already.Originally posted by bug77View Post
What is wildly unlikely is that this OS can get any traction in the mainstream market, but I'd be very happy if this becomes a Linux-Desktop-Of-Mobile. - On 2: The linux kernels hardware support gets better every single day. Plus it's been common knowledge for decades now that if you want a linux system you must choose hardware that is already supported. Basically if you take even just 2 seconds to think about it you will realize that hardware support for linux is the very best hardware support in the world, Period. Just choose supported hardware. It really is that simple.Originally posted by bug77View Post
- Unless you standardize also libraries and other system stuff, or you ship applications and their own libs together, it's not gonna work.Originally posted by duby229View Post
That's what they are doing here. Making a standard base OS
- Good point, but version control solves that completely. A pretty basic version controlled runtime would do it.Originally posted by starshipelevenView Post
- The end of convergence and the Unity Desktop along with MIR on Ubuntu should make it CRYSTAL clear.....that the answer is an unqualified NO.
Shuttleworth sank 10's of millions, perhaps more, on this dream. But everyone including him forgot this bit of computing history and fact.
We have been collectively computing with 2 computing platforms for the last 35 years. Windows and Mac. And recently Android
Now....the three companies ( Microsoft, Apple, Google ) that produce these OS's and computing experiences are the 3 richest corporations that the world has ever seen. They have MORE resources and MORE money than all of humanity has been able to hoard for the last 25,000 years.
People have used both these desktop OS's and their mobile counterparts for decades. They are used to their paradigms. Because of this one simple fact. One GUI experience per OS and one GUI experience for their mobile counterpart.
People SAY they want choice.....but they are made to be LIARS. We have known this for DECADES from brand loyalty studies and what is seen in the real world. We as a species have SOOoooo much to think about on any given day that we really don't WANT all this choice if it means having to make yet ONE MORE DECISION. And to learn something new....since everyday brings something new for us to overcome is a hard thing. We really don't WANT to do it. And when we have a chance to NOT learn something new...( like a new OS and/or GUI paradigm ) we JUMP at the chance to NOT learn something new.
Linux fragmentation will FOREVER keep it marginalized. Do I use Fedora or Suse or Ubuntu or Debian or Xubuntu or Mate or Cinnamon or Budgie or Elementary or Arch or Gentoo or Slack or GNOME or KDE or Unity forks.....etc...etc...etc....ad infinitum.....ad nauseum.
Between Apple and Google ( Android ) 95% of the mobile world ( tablets and phones ) has been conquered. You will not break this....even with a FREE OS.....if you do not have...
1: ONE SINGLE GUI and UX. Period....end of story.
2: iOS and Android apps that have been perfectly ported to this mythical Linux stack based mobile OS. You quite LITERALLY have to have 1 billion Linux ready apps based on their iOS and Android versions at system launch when this OS is rolled out on DAY 1.
Apart from this.....forget about it. I would say go ahead with this project if for only the experiance that is gained on proper package management which we STILL don't have on Linux after 25+ years. And even there you have useless and needless choice. AppImage.....Snaps....Flatpak. This is bullshit. And this is why Linux will FOREVER be marginalized to the phreaks and geeks.
And I consider myself one. But....this phreak and geek is tired of the immaturity of a lot of the Linux and FOSS community. Which is why I am VERY happy that the CORPORATE Linux world has decided to standardize on ONE Linux GUI and UX. Namely GNOME. This is a BIG step forward into lessening the Linux fragmentation that is HARMING the acceptance and adoption of Linux into the wider computing public.
This is a baby step to be sure. But perhaps with the work on this new mobile stack people will realize that having one unified and standardized stack and packaging system is CRUCIAL to extending Linux's marketshare in both the desktop and mobile world. - The should choose snaps for package format and make it convergent, as for UI I dont care too much whether its Unity 8 on Wayland, some KDE UI or something else, just DONT make it a clone of Android visually, Unity 8 was very nice on the phone, slick and intuitive, and didnt look like a clone of other operating systems. Running Android applications would be a bonus, but not absolutely necessary for me, if they can provide at least native Telegram I am okay with that. Common platform doesn't make much sense if they are all going to slap wildly different UIs etc on it. They should pool resources and work on a single project, then it might have a chance of gaining users at least among Linux users. I would buy a convergent phone, but I dont want five different projects doing the same thing.
- They are not planning to take on Google and Apple in any way, they are attempting to create a niche mobile OS alternative.Originally posted by JumbotronView Post
- Originally posted by JumbotronView PostWindows is actually a very sad case. Before iOS, they had the defacto mobile OS in Windows Mobile and Windows Pocket PC. Even Nokia's attempt at a smartphone could not unseat Windows Mobile back then.Originally posted by bug77View Post
And if Microsoft with all its cash in the bank could not turn Windows Phone 7, 8, and Windows Mobile 10 into a success, there is no chance an unheard-of vendor can do so.
And as someone has already mentioned, consumers are actually idiot liars. They demand and insist on choice, but back down and complain when they need to make a decision. That's why the world can only accommodate no more than two of anything (especially global / defacto standards), with the rest being nothing more than fringe options for the adventurous. The mobile OS has already been set with Android being the clear winner and iOS the runner up, and Windows Mobile at a very distant third that is close to disappearing to irrelevancy.
And even within the Android space, the only real vendor is still Samsung, with Sony, LG and HTC playing catchup. Only in Asiapac do other brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Oneplus and Lenovo have a sporting chance in the market as well.
It does not matter if the new mobile OS is better, superior, more beautiful or more user-friendly than Android; the world has already chosen to reject it simply because it cannot get the traction needed to stay relevant. And you can bet the OEMs and vendors will not hedge their bets and waste money on supporting a new OS when they see their profits slipping year after year despite their futures are tied to Android. - You don't have the luxury of choosing hardware for mobile. You get to pick from Qualcomm which is open source hostile and MediaTek and others which are worse.Originally posted by duby229View Post
I'm not sure why anyone thinks in 2017 closed drivers are a competitive advantage, but that's how it is
- In a limited sense that is true, but practically it's wrong. There are so many drivers being developed without the manufacturers support. Qualcomm is a perfect example, they are actively hostile to open source development, but regardless of that a good proportion of their hardware works surprisingly well with open source drivers. Although, I personally don't like Mediatek, the same thing is true for the majority of their hardware too.Originally posted by bug77View Post
You don't have the luxury of choosing hardware for mobile. You get to pick from Qualcomm which is open source hostile and MediaTek and others which are worse.
I'm not sure why anyone thinks in 2017 closed drivers are a competitive advantage, but that's how it is
I say screw them, they may not want you to use open source drivers, but there is nothing that can stop you from doing so. - Heh, pretty basic my ass. You need to run applications with specific library versions without other applications conflicting AND without having to change all the applications you take from upstream to work in your own system, that's not trivial.Originally posted by duby229View Post
NixOS does that (also Guix), for example, but it is not exactly mainstream.
Most seem to have gone the easier route, shipping apps + libs in the same package. - Please note: the studies tell us how the average (fucking dumbass) Joe acts, not how EVERYONE acts.Originally posted by JumbotronView Post
The entire existence of Linux Desktop does show that there is people that want choice.Yeah, as it caters a market niche that is different from the one of Windows or Apple users.Linux fragmentation will FOREVER keep it marginalized.
Is that even wrong? Linux does not need to dominate, only to get recognized enough. Apple is recognized enough and it is at like 3% at most of marketshare (PC).They don't want to compete with Android, they just want to cater to the same kind of niche market that is using Linux Desktop.Between Apple and Google ( Android ) 95% of the mobile world ( tablets and phones ) has been conquered. You will not break this....even with a FREE OS.....if you do not have...Nope. See above. The idea is to provide the same base for 2-3 different UIs.1: ONE SINGLE GUI and UX. Period....end of story.Anbox will deal with this for Android apps, I assume this will be enough.2: iOS and Android apps that have been perfectly ported to this mythical Linux stack based mobile OS. You quite LITERALLY have to have 1 billion Linux ready apps based on their iOS and Android versions at system launch when this OS is rolled out on DAY 1.Unifying the stacks is not possible on Desktop as each distro has its own agenda and values and so on. If you unify stacks you basically kill them all and make a single OS.But perhaps with the work on this new mobile stack people will realize that having one unified and standardized stack and packaging system is CRUCIAL to extending Linux's marketshare in both the desktop and mobile world.
Quite frankly, it's not better, and it won't help Linux adoption. What would help Linux adoption is some company that starts selling PCs with their Linux distro on it. - That's true only because a version controlled runtime hasn't already been made standard. Somebody is going to have to bootstrap the process. That starts by version controlling a runtime and then getting developers to standardize on it.Originally posted by starshipelevenView Post
- Android is based on linux already and the differences are being worked out.
I think we do not need a third player in this mobile OS field.
Android needs to open up and force the hardware manufacturers to do the same.
You can choose between AOSP and the Google Services already and either pay or get your apps from a free opensource store like f-droid.
If ambitious coders and Google work together on the base system it would benefit all. - So many drivers? You must be thinking CPUs and GPUs only.Originally posted by duby229View Post
Show me "so many drivers" for integrated cameras, touch sensors, NFC, modems you find in a modern smartphone. Even Google was forced to end support for Nexus devices a couple of times when manufacturers flat out refused to provide drivers for newer Android iterations.
On top of that, if you wait for open source support, you'll only be supporting hardware that's at least a year old. - It's not that bad, don't forget about libhybris for those circumstances that you need it. It actually works. And like I said it's getting better almost day by day.Originally posted by bug77View Post
- I can run a very recent Linux-distro on a 15 year old PC. Show me a very recent Android-version running on a rather old phone... Google does not care, believe me...Originally posted by bemerkView Post
- What about Samsung? I know they don't make their own GPU, but we've seen their soc in Chromebooks and on the odroid-ux4 and they are somewhat opensource friendly
- Sounds like a task for our saviour Lennart.Originally posted by duby229View Post
Are you ready for "runtimed" to hit your favourite distro?
Only on Systemd-enabled Linux, of course. Non-Systemd Linuxes and BSDs will have an even harder time to deal with the new Linux application standard, FreeBSD will make yet another compatibility layer.
(I'm kidding, but this is to show that any such activity will be met with massive flaming and hate and all that) - Something I always wondered about is why they can't they keep using the same kernel and just keep updating the userspace on top.Originally posted by bug77View Post
I mean ok something may not be easily updated, but block everything? - You can install Linux, any distro, on an x86 PC. When you can do the same on "smartphone" hardware, everything is solved. Qualcomm (and other) have to be forced to upstream their kernel drivers and stop this ridiculous behavior. You should be able to upgrade the kernel on any phone to the latest vanilla version. When this happens, you can have any mobile distro you want.
- If it was LP I'd probably be the first one. Let's face the facts here, most of the code enveloped with systemd actually in fact not only deserve, but -need-, their own specialized project. A standardized runtime would be one of them, another one is logind, another one is udev, etc, etc......Originally posted by starshipelevenView Post
- I don't know about competing with Android/iOS - but we could make it as popular as Linux distribution for sure.
1. Forget usual tablets/smartphones - trying to get desktop Linux working with libhybris and other workarounds is a waste of time. That should come later. Either get actual drivers that work with the current DRM infrastructure, or use properly supported hardware like Intel Baytrail/Cherrytrail tablets, and hardware with AMD GPU. Adreno with Freedreno is a possibility, and anything powered by VC4 GPU (since you have proper support there). Otherwise Intel/AMD hardware is the least painful path.
2. Need to develop actual touchscreen apps - Gnome Maps, Geary and 1-2 games were the only ones I knew of that had some kind of touchscreen support. Need to build touchscreen interfaces for existing apps.
- It's all about the apps. They need to provide a way for famous apps to be run or converted to the new platform. Without apps, is just a fancy tech toy. That's why even Windows 10 mobile has barely made a dent in the mobile market.
- As someone responding on his Asus T100 undocked from the keyboard running KDE on Debian Stretch I disagree. Its actually easier to use KDE in desktop mode via a touchscreen than Unity 7 as the controls shrink too much in Unity 7, never bothered to try Gnome.Originally posted by RussianNeuroMancerView Post
To me this idea makes sense, if I had the opportunity I'd love to take Debian and produce a distribution based on each Debian release but with the KDE packages taken from testing at regular intervals and put through release..Using a stable fixed base helps reduce the various complexities. - There's to many projects so lets start a new one to rule them all.
I think Mer does the job just fine and Jolla contributes to Mer.
Sailfish OS builds on top of Merproject.
https://git.merproject.org/groups/mer-core/activityLast edited by Nille_kungen; 04-16-2017, 03:45 PM. - Hm, interesting, this is quite relevant to my question on what's the best option for using Linux on a touch-based device: https://www.phoronix.com/forums/foru...st-for-tablets
Though their idea, like Michael stated, sounds just like Mer. So, why not just use Mer? It seems like it could use some help (an amd64 port would be nice, for one).
And Michael is also right in pointing out that the current mobile initiatives are stagnating, which is quite unfortunate for those who just want to run an honest GNU/Linux on a mobile device. - There are already plenty of options for GNU/Linux. I've been using gentoo for quite a while on most of my phones. Nowadays I usually wait to buy a phone until I know I can boot a custom kernel on it, even if it may not be a stock vanilla kernel.Originally posted by GreatEmeraldView Post
- That's why I created the thread there... If there are indeed plenty of options, I'm not aware of them. Please elaborate.Originally posted by duby229View Post
- What about the intel chip in Asus Zenfone 2? Wasn't that supposed to be an x86 processor? Is this supposed to work out of the box then?Originally posted by sandy8925View Post
- Originally posted by starshipelevenView Post
Ahhh....spoken like a true TALIBAN religious Linux Phreak and Geek. Look....if marginalization is so attractive to you go work on HaikuOS. You'll be "really cool" then.
Linux needs to be adopted by the wider computing audience. The moms and dads and uncles and aunts and grandmas and grandpas and basic folk who don't give a shit about how cool and "unmainstream" they are simply because they use Linux and know the "command line". Linux folk like you are actually a hinderance. - Uhhhh.....you do know that Intel has exited the tablet and phone market ?Originally posted by IreMinMonView Post
ARM has overwhelmingly won the day in the mobile market. Intel is out. AMD has no plans for mobile x86 and they even threw in the towel on their ARM based server systems much less mobile.
This mythical Linux mobile OS is going to HAVE to be ARM based. Period....end of story. And they will have to have full Android app compatibility or perfect Linux ports of Android and iOS apps or the whole thing is just another excercise in futility. - Well, you need a bootloader unlocked device, patched kernel sources for that device, fingers crossed. Usually the kernel sources provided by the manufacturer are gonna have compile errors and/or missing hardware support. So the trick really is buying a phone that other people already have working kernels for.Originally posted by GreatEmeraldView Post
- Time to time chinese vendors do release source code for the phones.Originally posted by bug77View Post
https://forum.xda-developers.com/and...10000-t3341486 - Source code links do not work. And leads only to mega.nz. Doesn't appear very serious.Originally posted by debianxfceView Post
What is most interesting, do they upstream their kernel drivers? - Unfortunately no. x86 as an architecture is one thing, an IBM PC-compatible is quite something else. The Zenfone 2 is quite an Android device, it has an Android kernel, partitioning, fastboot, and drivers. The Atom chips used have PowerVR GPUs on them, and the Android is actually running a 64-bit kernel (to support the amount of RAM), but a 32-bit userspace on top of it, presumably because they could only get 32-bit drivers for the hardware within userspace.Originally posted by IreMinMonView Post
There is no BIOS/UEFI to these because they are handled by the fastboot bootloader and the changes baked into the Linux kernel for this particular device (in Android the manufacturer takes Google's base for that version of Android's kernel, then modifies it with their drivers and if they're proper rereleases the source for each device, then they never update it again).
So, like all other Android devices, the device is locked to its device-specific. android-version-specific, kernel. A vanilla kernel just doesn't know where the devices are or how to access them to even attempt to use drivers on them, if it can boot. And ARM chips are in the same mess. - Uh, no, not in my case. It's an amd64 Cherry Trail device that works with vanilla kernels and has UEFI. It also reportedly runs at least Ubuntu with only minor issues (audio and perhaps suspend). I do my research before I buy.Originally posted by duby229View Post
Hence why my question is indeed about what DE would be most suitable to use. All this talk about architectures and kernels do not apply. - Yeah, no doubt that's the sticking point, but truthfully, I boot Android to use it as a phone. I did get gpm working on an older phone, but it just isn't that useful. So no DE really. But it's useful for having full gentoo os that fits in my pocket.Originally posted by GreatEmeraldView Post
- It would be really great to have a successful cross-platform development framework. An analogue to what Unity3D is for games. And I think the closest thing that we have are frameworks based on web technologies. The current state of the art example would probably be Electron, but there is still lots of room for improvements. It needs to work on mobile and have comparable performance to native applications. You probably also shouldn't be required to use JavaScript. WebAssembly, WebGL-Next and Servo are pieces that could be used to enable all of that. Then with a healthy ecosystem of truly universal applications it would be much easier to move to a new OS.
- The thing that's going to render this dream stillborn is the margins.
See, the margins on personal computing devices is so low that nobody makes them for profit any more. The hardware is essentially free, but you can't buy a phone or a tablet or even a PC really, you can only buy a personal consumer tracking device. The whole point of the hardware is to enable the financial backers to track your personal habits and meta-information on everything you do so they can analyze it, crunch the numbers, and sell it. That's where the money is, and they're going to insist the devices be locked up tight and use a fully-integrated, controlled stack so they can leverage every last drop of revenue.
The real market is Asia, where device penetration is higher, data is cheaper, the consumer market is growing incredible rapidly, regulatory restrictions are non-existent, and a quarter of the world's population lives, losing the US market in the noise.
Trainspotting hobbyists might be able to hack their favourite OS on to a handful of devices for lulz, but the personal device market is lost already. The next battlefield is IoT, and the same market forces (commodity hardware, zero margins, levarging your personal information for revenue) are at play in that arena. - Right now i have an Andorid 6.0 Smartphone
I want to buy a linux based smartphone/tabled if it has this criteria :
64bit RISC-V CPU based system with full open-source drivers (FSF-definition)
with free boot-loader without branding or looked bood-loader.
we should make it a user choice what style the user want KDE/Gnome/Unity.
because of the monopole of andorid the device with linux should have compatibility ability to tun andorid apps and run google playstore.Phantom circuit Sequence Reducer Dyslexia - I think what you meant is "Can a GNU base for tablets/smartphones Succeed in 2017".
There already is a Linux based cellphone OS, and that is android.
The answer is "No" by the way. Tablets, especially hybrids mabey. Laptops that can also make cellphone calls/handle SIM cards, mabey. Phones no.
The more I use android, the more I see android open source project as the base for future mobile OSes. There is really no need for GNU in the phone space. You can, by the way, already run a lot of GNU on top of android with termux, and the myriad of debian installers that install debian in a chroot. I am really not sure why you'd really want a full distro based on GNU for your phone. Android makes more sense for mobile, especially its security model takes into account how phones are actually used. The need for me running desktop and server apps on a phone is at best a novelty 99% of the time. The rest of the time, termux suffices. if anything, we should help make a community OS revolving around ASOP. Perhaps putting some work into the Lineage OS, the successor to Cyanogenmod - If you don't like the community, then leave. I do believe there is a train with your name on it waiting for you to jump in front of.Originally posted by JumbotronView Post
- Except for the Nokia 3310, currently enjoying a comeback, I believe.Originally posted by SonadowView Post
Except for the Nokia Asha, which was actually selling well enough to make a profit, until Microsoft took it over and killed it.
Except for the Hiptop from Danger, until Microsoft took it over and killed it. - It was never about the apps. Android came out from behind IOS, without the benefit of the apps. IOS long had the overwhelming advantage in apps and in developer support--some might claim it still does. Yet that didn’t stop Android from taking over.Originally posted by darkcoderView Post
- Try s/Linux/Photoshop/ and s/command line/ability to manipulate images/:Originally posted by JumbotronView PostPhotoshop may be an irrelevance to 99% of PC users, yet it is still a powerful tool for those who know how to harness it.Photoshop needs to be adopted by the wider computing audience. The moms and dads and uncles and aunts and grandmas and grandpas and basic folk who don't give a shit about how cool and "unmainstream" they are simply because they use Photoshop and know the "ability to manipulate images". Photoshop folk like you are actually a [hindrance].
What Photoshop is to manipulation of still images, the Linux command line is to the whole of computing power. - Not sure if there is a need for another base OS/ABI. There's already Mer, and it's doing its job quite well. IMO resources should be better spent on improving it and porting to new hardware.
Regarding chances for a new phone OS- I think it's possible to create a usable OS with decent Android app compatibility. Jolla does it quite well, even though both UI and android APP compatibility layer are both closed source. Of course I doubt it's going to become mainstream, but there is a niche in this market for professionals/tinkerers/hackers.
And we absolutely should not give up on making this real. The freedom of computing and future of the world is at stake here. - That gets at the REAL issue here. What do people want from their devices?Originally posted by shmerlView Post
It is an empirical fact that a primary thing they want is hassle-free operation. You buy the thing, you configure a few prefs, and then it works from that point on. It automatically handles OS update, automatically handles app updates, automatically blocks security threats, etc.
Note what's MISSING from this list of desires. There's no mass desire to run unusual software, to utilize unusual hardware, to have "control".
Yet this squabbling ("we don't want EXACTLY what that group over there is doing, so we'll start our own distro") reveals that pretty much the only thing a "pure Linux" distribution brings to the table is exactly what most people don't care about and don't want --- an obsessive degree of control, along with the necessary obsessive tracking of changes and updates.
We've had these claims of standardization for years now, since before the 2000s. Back in the day, any moment now, Linux was going to standardize on a single desktop variant and then it would be unstoppable. And how has that played out?
You can't solve social problems with technological fixes. And you ESPECIALLY can't solve the problem of "I'm not INTERESTED in dealing with 500 different variants and options" by saying "no problem, here's one MORE variant and option that specifically deals with your lack of interest in variety" --- no when there is no way to force your one true simplified Linux to be the one that actually attains critical mass, and not when you're willing to add "just one more slight option and variant" to increase the pool of people who might be interested in your one true Linux over some rival one true Linux.
But every year there's a new crop of bright-eyed 18 year-old, utterly convinced that the world begins anew with their generation, that history is bunk, and that by doing the exact same thing as has been done every year since, hell, when BSD was the new kid on the block and the face of open-source, they will nonetheless generate a different outcome. - For the nth time: this project like also others are meant to cater to the same kind of people that like Linux, NOT to compete in the mass market.Originally posted by name99View PostPlease learn to fucking read, they are trying to join forces with other similar projects to do what other Linux distros do already: share a common base and pool resources on that while the end product is different.Yet this squabbling ("we don't want EXACTLY what that group over there is doing, so we'll start our own distro") reveals that pretty much the only thing a "pure Linux" distribution brings to the table is exactly what most people don't care about and don't want --- an obsessive degree of control, along with the necessary obsessive tracking of changes and updates.Random nonsense rant that only shows you didn't understand the point of Linux.We've had these claims of standardization for years now, since before the 2000s. Back in the day, any moment now, Linux was going to standardize on a single desktop variant and then it would be unstoppable. And how has that played out?
You can't solve social problems with technological fixes. And you ESPECIALLY can't solve the problem of "I'm not INTERESTED in dealing with 500 different variants and options" by saying "no problem, here's one MORE variant and option that specifically deals with your lack of interest in variety" --- no when there is no way to force your one true simplified Linux to be the one that actually attains critical mass, and not when you're willing to add "just one more slight option and variant" to increase the pool of people who might be interested in your one true Linux over some rival one true Linux.
But every year there's a new crop of bright-eyed 18 year-old, utterly convinced that the world begins anew with their generation, that history is bunk, and that by doing the exact same thing as has been done every year since, hell, when BSD was the new kid on the block and the face of open-source, they will nonetheless generate a different outcome. - The title of the thread is "Could A New Linux Base For Tablets/Smartphones Succeed In 2017?"Originally posted by starshipelevenView Post
What do you define as SUCCEED?
If your definition is "boot on some piece of hardware somewhere, and get adopted by .01% of the worlds population", OK, sure, it can succeed.
If your threshold of success is slightly more demanding than that, then I stand by what I wrote. - I define it as "go as planned by the ones wanting it", as that's the only definition of "success" that can be used in these cases.Originally posted by name99View Post
They are not aiming at mass domination, only to pool resources to reach Linux Desktop levels of marketshare so they can offer some choice instead of languishing and not offering a damn. They never claimed they wanted to replace Android and take over mass market, which is what you were implying.Note that linux is on 1% (and somewhat rising a little in more recent times), and Apple is on like 4% tops on PC (15% for phones/tablets in EU/USA). And neither is on the brink of extinction, on the contrary.If your definition is "boot on some piece of hardware somewhere, and get adopted by .01% of the worlds population", OK, sure, it can succeed.
Android custom ROM scene is also pretty damn live, I don't have numbers but XDA and similar sites about that are full of people form all over the world, and I'm ignoring russian-only and asian-only sites about that.
There is also F-Droid, a repo full of various FOSS Android apps and it's growing too.
So again, I don't see why you think anything MUST aim for world domination or crawl up and die.
Remember that only Sith deal by absolutes.
Market niches exist and can be strong enough to run successful projects even if they are a few % of the global market.Last edited by starshipeleven; 04-25-2017, 09:25 AM. - There Are So Many Different Versions Of Linux Available, It Can Be Hard To Decide Which One That’s Right For You.
Those Live Trial Options Make It Perfect For Anyone Wanting To Experiment Without Committing To A Hard Drive Installation.
A Smartphone Is A Mobile Personal Computer With A Mobile Operating System With Features Useful For Mobile Or Handheld Use.
The Linux Kernel Is A Monolithic Unix Like Computer Operating System Kernel.