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#21
Originally Posted by theonelaw View Post
The part about the cpu says it all:
Code:
MediaTek MT8163 chipset
means it runs closed-shop Android firmware Gussied up in Ubuntu-flavored lipstick,
with virtually zero hope
for changing it out with some kind of functional OS.
From the source code itself:
Code:
/* Modified for Android.  */
How well will this frankenstein hardware run ?
I predict it will instantly disappoint millions hundreds of buyers.
Why ? this is a quote I found
which perfectly describes Ubuntu Android:

(just replace Chrome web and Google with Ubuntu.
Ooops - Google's Android provides the foundation for Ubuntu.)
Why can there be no native linux on a Mediatek device ?
http://www.gizchina.com/2014/03/24/m...e-source-code/
That's why
[disclaimer - I really dislike being the source of horribly
gone-wrong news, but until I see something decent
I will simply tell it like I see it.
[URL="http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=1487009&postcount=4"]
I thank you, but now I need to see if I can cancel my pre-order.
 

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#22
"Traditional Xorg-based software runs on the tablet in a confined, secure container...."
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/02/b...u-need-to-know

All that quote is missing is a man-in-black saying "for your protection"
 

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#23
For good or for bad, confinement is a feature of UT for both Mir- and X11-based applications.

Last edited by handaxe; 2016-03-29 at 22:20.
 

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#24
Originally Posted by theonelaw View Post
The part about the cpu says it all:
instantly disappoint millions hundreds of buyers.
Why ? this is a quote I found
which perfectly describes Ubuntu Android:

(just replace Chrome web and Google with Ubuntu.
Ooops - Google's Android provides the foundation for Ubuntu.)
I kind of agree with your sentiment. I also find Ubuntu Touch iCripplified for no good reason other than mimicking what Apple has done (and the often given reasons being that Apple has been so successfull, so obviously these design/architectural decisions must be good. What?).

But I also think the sentiment you come across gives wrong impression. At the base of it, Ubuntu Touch is no different than Sailfish OS. They use a layer between so that Android's device drivers can be used on linux distros - because none of these hardware manufacturers are willing to write native drivers to some fringe OSs. That's unfortunately the reality.

Ubuntu's failings are not because they use Android drivers. It's their own decisions how they're crippling the OS on mobiles, IMO.
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#25
Originally Posted by ajalkane View Post
But I also think the sentiment you come across gives wrong impression. At the base of it, Ubuntu Touch is no different than Sailfish OS. They use a layer between so that Android's device drivers can be used on linux distros - because none of these hardware manufacturers are willing to write native drivers to some fringe OSs. That's unfortunately the reality.
How hard would it for those hardware manufacturers to compile using glibc instead of bionic? What more is needed than that to use the drivers on normal Linux systems?

Ugh, stupid google with stupid bionic. To me it seems like the hole reason of bionic is gone. According to wikipedia, it was designed for speed and size, both are hardly an issue on even low end devices. Same goes for that JVM of theirs. The only reason left is control, which is a pure economical reason.
 

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#26
Originally Posted by Fuzzillogic View Post
How hard would it for those hardware manufacturers to compile using glibc instead of bionic? What more is needed than that to use the drivers on normal Linux systems?
I don't have any expertise in that stuff. But clearly it's much more than just compiling against glibc instead of bionic or else it wouldn't be such a big issue. On the top of my head I'd guess it's about graphics drivers, modem drivers, GPS drivers etc...
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#27
Originally Posted by ajalkane View Post
On the top of my head I'd guess it's about graphics drivers, modem drivers, GPS drivers etc...
Yep, closed source, binary blobs. Mobile Chip makers could compile drivers for linux if they wished, but they don't.

I read somewhere that the divergence between the Android Linux kernel and the Linux kernel proper was closing. Perhaps at some stage 2nd class OS citizens might be able to dispense with an Android h/w enabling layer and just use the kernel for which Android has released device drivers.
 

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#28
Originally Posted by ajalkane View Post
I don't have any expertise in that stuff. But clearly it's much more than just compiling against glibc instead of bionic or else it wouldn't be such a big issue. On the top of my head I'd guess it's about graphics drivers, modem drivers, GPS drivers etc...
All of those can be complied with one or the other.

I have not looked into it either but my educated guess would be that the main issue is the API. Which is why things like libhybris work: they just make a thin shim to translate one API into another.

The HW manufacturers, OTOH, would have to maintain two or more different code bases with different APIs which is an additional strain on their resources, especially if they churn new chips every three months. I would not blame them if they could not be bothered.
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#29
Tablet shipping date - in a move familiar to everyone here - has been pushed back.

http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/04/b...u-tablet-delay
 

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#30
I got a notice my tablet is shipping today.

I decided not to cancel. I want a tablet, and the Dell Android tablet I bought died after a week, and they "replaced" it under "warranty" with a Windows tablet--which I refuse to even turn on. Never buying a Dell again after this.
 

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