I love the Nexus 10, it’s a fantastic Android tablet and the Jellybean-based AOKP Rom I’m running on it is swee-eet.
But I’m also a bit of a penguin-lover. Not a full-on “I only run Linux” person, I’ve got plenty of love for my Windows boxes too, and I wouldn’t turn my nose up at an iPad. But I’ve got a special place in my heart for Ubuntu for its ability to breathe life into older kit (through variant distros such as Xubuntu) and one of my daily drivers is running Linux Mint 14 very nicely.
So the question is, will I …
I love the Nexus 10, it’s a fantastic Android tablet and the Jellybean-based AOKP Rom I’m running on it is swee-eet.
But I’m also a bit of a penguin-lover. Not a full-on “I only run Linux” person, I’ve got plenty of love for my Windows boxes too, and I wouldn’t turn my nose up at an iPad. But I’ve got a special place in my heart for Ubuntu for its ability to breathe life into older kit (through variant distros such as Xubuntu) and one of my daily drivers is running Linux Mint 14 very nicely.
So the question is, will I jump on the Ubuntu boat when they release their Tablet version tomorrow (if rumours are to be believed)? Apparently the Developer Preview will be available from Feb 21st.
Watch Ubuntu’s head bod Mark Shuttleworth bang on about how sexy it’s going to be:
That does look pretty sexy.
Ubuntu Phone OS is getting closer…
The Ubuntu bods have just made an announcement about their latest mobile project – Ubuntu: the Phone OS.
Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions, with a relatively large user base and a mature ecosystem.
Canonical, the chaps behind Ubuntu, have been eyeing the mobile market for a while now, with overtures in partnership with the likes of Motorola to bring smartphones and desktop computing together (“WebTop” hasn’t really exploded yet but I reckon it’s only a matter of time before people expect to be able to plug monitors, mice and keyboards into their phones).
The Ubuntu bods have just made an announcement about their latest mobile project – Ubuntu: the Phone OS.
While it’s still early days, the tech specs are being bandied about the interent, and essentially Ubuntu will ride somewhat on the coat tails of that other Linux-based OS, Android, by borrowing drivers and suchlike in order to reach current hardware compatibility. Canonical have said though that they won’t be using a Virtual Machine like Android’s Dalvik VM, but allowing code to run directly on the hardware which could potentially give an extra kick of speed.
While Android apps won’t natively run on Ubuntu for Phones, word is that it should be relatively painless to create for existing Linux software using QML which could give the new phone platform a huge wealth of apps, right out the gates.
I’m certainly looking forward to giving this a whirl once flashable ROMs appear, and it will be very interesting to see which phone manufacturors partner up with Canonical to produce brand new handsets designed to make the most of Ubuntu’s capabilities.
Scribbled by Tom
Titanium Backup just got Titaniumer…Update.zip FTW!
My joint-first favourite Android App Titanium Backup (the other being Tasker) was updated with a hugely powerful new feature – you can now create an update.zip containing apps+data, apps only or data only.
My joint-first favourite Android App Titanium Backup (the other being Tasker) was updated with a hugely powerful new feature – you can now create an update.zip containing apps+data, apps only or data only.
If you’re not an obsessive Rom flasher (like me), what this means is you can try out a brand-new version or flavour of the Android operating system on your phone, and before you’ve even loaded up the new ROM for the first time, pretty much all your data can be restored with an absolute minimum of fuss.
Other PRO-version features include:
- User & System apps supported
- Files >150 MB can be uploaded to Dropbox.
- Improved “Overview of app storage use” screen, shows app location & supports refresh / click / long-click.
- Improved fault tolerance for Dropbox upload.
- Fixed failure to un-protect backups on ext2/3/4.
- Winning all the things.
Great update…get it now!
Scribbled by Tom
Android Jelly Beans on the Galaxy Nexus
Fear not, robotic confections aren’t storming the galactic hub. But Galaxy Nexus owners have had the chance to play with the latest increment of Google’s Smartphone OS, Jelly Bean for a week or so.
Fear not, robotic confections aren’t storming the galactic hub. But Galaxy Nexus owners have had the chance to play with the latest increment of Google’s Smartphone OS, Jelly Bean for a week or so.
The system dump is already on XDA if you fancy getting your hacking hat on – it’ll be interesting to see which phone gets a workable port first.
Some of the new features and improvements you’ll find in Android 4.1 include smoother scrolling, Google Now (more in a mo), and something that will keep musicians and app developers happy – much lower latency audio. The “GNex” can play audio almost ten times faster than it could on Ice Cream Sandwich – reportedly 12ms down from a very noticeable 100ms. Hopefully as a result we’ll start to see some really decent musical apps (I’m thinking soft synths, samplers, e-drums) to rival those found on iOS.
Google Now is interesting. It’s like iOS’s Siri has been strapped down and pumped full of chemicals, like the pre-cogs from Minority Report. It knows things before you do, and tells you about them.
But rather than warn you about pre-meditated murder, it’ll wake you with the weather you’ll encounter during the day, what the traffic’s like (and update your commute route automatically), and all sorts of realtime stuff like sports results, train times, and geo-location-related things like local restaurant reviews and how to get there.
Scribbled by Tom
Windows 8 Editions revealed
Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc has lifted the lid on the official naming scheme for the Windows 8 versions which should be hitting the streets in the near future. And they shall be known as Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, and Windows RT.
Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc has lifted the lid on the official naming scheme for the Windows 8 versions which should be hitting the streets in the near future.
Compared to the somewhat overwhelming options available for Vista and Windows 7, good ol’ x86 architecture boxes (desktops, tablets etc) will get a refreshingly simple choice of Windows 8, and Windows 8 Pro.
Regular Windows 8 should suffice for most home users, although if you want features like Hyper-V, booting from VHD, and Remote Desktop cooked in, you’ll need to go Pro.
ARMed to the teeth
Evidently aimed at going toe-to-toe with Android (and perhaps to a lesser extent iOS), Microsoft will also be releasing Windows RT, which is essentially the Windows 8 runtime for ARM based chipsets (or WOA as it is referred to internally). ARM have a pretty strong hold on mobile computing as it currently stands, and their licensed small-footprint chip technology to pretty much all the major tablet and smartphone manufacturers.
In his blog post, Brandon says it will only be supplied pre-installed on new systems, presumably to ensure proper hardware support and compatibility, and perhaps as a more controlled approach than the olden days of the proliferation of Windows CE / Windows Mobile 6.X.
It will be interesting to see if Windows Phone and Windows RT converge at some point in the future, as at least from a superficial point of view, they both seem to be aimed at performing pretty similar roles.
Edit: Just noticed a small footnote on Brandon’s blog mentioning Windows 8 Enterprise edition as well, which will essentially be Windows 8 Pro with Group Policy and other remote administration tools . So it’s all just a tiny bit less simple than originally meets the eye.
Scribbled by Tom
Raspberry Pi – release date tomorrow?
Here at Framework Towers we’ve been keeping a keen eye on developments on the Raspberry Pi project – and according to the teaser posted yesterday on the landing page at www.raspberrypi.org it looks like we are about to see the release of this fantastic piece of kit into the wild. Announcement will happen at 0600h GMT on Wednesday 29 February 2012.
Update, 17 May:
Yay – we’ve finally received an invitation to order a Raspberry Pi!
Update, 02 May:
Still no Raspberry Pi :(
I thought we were pretty quick with getting our orders in, but clearly not as quick as the 700 who have already received their kit.
“Our second batch of Raspberry Pi’s is currently being put together, and we’re expecting it in next week. We’ll be inviting the next 4,000 people in our queue to come into the Raspberry Pi store and place their order very soon.”
Will we be one of the 4,000? Let’s hope so….
Update, 23 March:
RS Online have sent out an update to registered parties – good to know they’re taking a measured approach and keeping people informed as to why. No complaints from us that their main concern is quality over quantity!
Welcome to the latest Raspberry Pi update from RS Components!
Much has been happening behind the scenes since you received our last update, not least the start of compliance testing on the Raspberry Pi.
Why are we doing this? Compliance testing is an essential part of bringing any electronic product to market. The Raspberry Pi is being tested to make sure it conforms to all the regulations that apply to electronic devices around the world. This means that we can be sure the Raspberry Pi we deliver to you meets the correct standards and is as safe as you would expect any electronic device you purchase to be.
We’re working with the Raspberry Pi Foundation to manage the testing process as quickly as possible, while ensuring all tests are carried out to guarantee safety. More information is being posted on the Raspberry Pi website , as well as on our own FAQ pages rswww.com or DesignSpark. We’re also regularly tweeting updates on progress. Follow @RSElectronics on twitter to catch the latest news.
Alongside this, we’ve also been contacting the first group of people who registered for a Raspberry Pi from RS, to help us plan delivery of the initial batch of boards. In next week’s update, we’ll provide more information on how we’re managing the queue and the order process.
Update, 9 March:
Aaargh – looks like we’ll be waiting a while longer yet – manufacturing mistake delays shipping of first batch of Raspberry Pi’s.
http://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/781
Update, 6 March:
Looks like we’re on a waiting list… Had the following email from RS Components over the weekend.. (more…)
Mozilla “Boot to Gecko” – load your OS from the web…
We’re big Firefox & Thunderbird fans here at Framework Towers, so when Mozilla announces a grand new project we like to keep an eye on things.
So what’s the Mozilla Foundation up to now?
They’re talking about booting your desktop or mobile device from an OS that sits on the web.
The idea isn’t completely new – the capability of booting your desktop OS from a network resource has been around for a while (perhaps not exactly widespread in use, but still), and there are other similarities to be drawn with “thin client” architecture which has been around for decades, …
We’re big Firefox & Thunderbird fans here at Framework Towers, so when Mozilla announces a grand new project we like to keep an eye on things.
So what’s the Mozilla Foundation up to now?
They’re talking about booting your desktop or mobile device from an OS that sits on the web.
The idea isn’t completely new – the capability of booting your desktop OS from a network resource has been around for a while (perhaps not exactly widespread in use, but still), and there are other similarities to be drawn with “thin client” architecture which has been around for decades, and current virtualisation technology.
I guess it all depends on how the project pans out, and as long as security is at the top of the developers’ priority list, we rather like the idea. It would certainly make losing your phone a less daunting prospect.
Scribbled by Tom
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