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Ubuntu Mobile Internet Device (MID) Edition????

There is a new ver of Ubuntu http://www.ubuntu.com/products/mobile. Could we possibly turn this into a workable ver for the G1?

hmmm, interesting
it looks nice, the g1 seems to fit the vauge specs they listed for MIDs (thats a new one for me wtf?)
hmm, OS companies fighting over market share on the G1.... IMAGINE
bhang

I hope we can do it.

I think that is geared more at netbook-esque products.

that would be an interesting project to get that running off the sd card in the same manor that people are running debian and connecting to a x windows session via vnc.

The new release (Jaunty) should work with some tweaking - there is a build for ARM processors.

Nickedynick said:
The new release (Jaunty) should work with some tweaking - there is a build for ARM processors.
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ARM processor is one thing, but will you be able to make a call from within Ubuntu?

Well, it doesnt really matter right now anyways; it's not even out with a stable ARM version yet.

bornmw said:
ARM processor is one thing, but will you be able to make a call from within Ubuntu?
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Why would that matter? You aren't going to make a call within Debian either, remember you'd be running Ubuntu on top of Android and tunneling into the GUI with VNC, it's not booting into Ubuntu or anything else. It's more virtualization than it is replacement.
If you get a call, it'll just interrupt your VNC session to let you answer it.

multiboot?
it would be great to have multiboot then. I've seen videos, of Iphone having multiboot, maybe it would be possible to have it on Gphone too?
it would be great to boot from MUbuntu. and, as Android is based on linux, maybe it would be possible to copy some of it's setting to make things easier?

carmelos said:
it would be great to have multiboot then. I've seen videos, of Iphone having multiboot, maybe it would be possible to have it on Gphone too?
it would be great to boot from MUbuntu. and, as Android is based on linux, maybe it would be possible to copy some of it's setting to make things easier?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is possible to have this on a MID as I have seen it done (and held it in my hand) in a group that I work with at my job. We are currently working on putting Ubuntu as the standalone OS on MID's that match the specs listed. There are still a lot of "kinks" to work out around this, but it IS possible to get it going

ubuntu MID edition is geared towards ARMv7 devices, while the G1 is ARMv6. =(

andonnguyen said:
ubuntu MID edition is geared towards ARMv7 devices, while the G1 is ARMv6. =(
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Click to collapse
darn, i would have loved to multi-boot into this... looks awesome!
Hopefully there might be some chance of doing it??? lol

the phone stuff could happen
Who's to say that enough is known about the phone side of the dream to do it but if that part is "open source" or not, that phrase is getting thrown around a lot these days, it seems this and things like the nokia n800/810 are only open to things that don't matter much (gui, network,etc) while things like the phone side or the displays multi touch abilities.
Which sucks and looks like it could do exactly what htc/android/tmob wants, it willl keep us from complete OS replacements but who knows with enough time things can be reversed, so I can still hope.
Bhang

[Q] Dual boot Ubuntu and Android?

The dual-form nature of this item would fit a dual-boot scenario perfectly. Boot into Android when used as a tablet, boot into Ubuntu when docked. Just curious as to the possibility of this.
As far as I know, Ubuntu supports ARM architecture, so the Tegra 2 chip should work well with it. I'm not familiar with the touch screen driver support in Ubuntu, but I remember when I modded my old EeePC netbook with a touch screen, I was able to install third party touch screen drivers without any problem. Then again, even if the touchscreen won't work, when docked it has the mouse and keyboard anyway.
Are there any devs working on this, or know what the feasibility of such an endeavor would be?
Thanks!

Let me know when I can dual boot into Linux Mint.

I'm wondering if the webtop from atrix can be ported to work here.
Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk

PGibbons999 said:
Let me know when I can dual boot into Linux Mint.
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Linux Mint is based off of Ubuntu, so if you can get one working, you can get the other. However, vanilla Ubuntu has three times the user base, so I feel that would be the best bet, considering the much larger community support.

Definitely should be a project someone works on

Should be very easy to boot ubuntu alongside android. Got a lot of spare ram on these systems.
This of course means running ubuntu with a vnc server, and connecting to localhost. Which is far from optimal. But it works atleast. That's what I plan to do when I get the tablet.
Hell with wireless adb there's a decent chance I'll be able to run up eclipse and build apps directly to and from the tablet

nurre said:
Hell with wireless adb there's a decent chance I'll be able to run up eclipse and build apps directly to and from the tablet
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Click to collapse
Not unless we get an ARM SDK. There is nothing I would like more than to be able to develop for my tablet on my tablet, but right now it is not possible, even with Ubuntu.

Ubuntu 11.04 was just released with the new Unity interface standardized. I'm not sure how well the Tegra 2 can handle it, but there's also Unity 2D, which looks great.
And the touchscreen interface looks lovely:
http://unity.ubuntu.com/projects/utouch/
I'm getting excited, I really hope we can get this working!

nurre said:
Should be very easy to boot ubuntu alongside android. Got a lot of spare ram on these systems.
This of course means running ubuntu with a vnc server, and connecting to localhost. Which is far from optimal. But it works atleast. That's what I plan to do when I get the tablet.
Hell with wireless adb there's a decent chance I'll be able to run up eclipse and build apps directly to and from the tablet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was already done on the Xoom I believe.

ZaelFaroe said:
Not unless we get an ARM SDK. There is nothing I would like more than to be able to develop for my tablet on my tablet, but right now it is not possible, even with Ubuntu.
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A very good point :/, oh well. I can still do my normal development

nurre said:
A very good point :/, oh well. I can still do my normal development
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Click to collapse
From what I understand, Eclipse is actually built entirely on Java. Is anyone aware of a full java environment for ARM Linux?

The problem isn't eclipse being based on Java, the problem is the Android SDK plug-in (which specifies x86). It could be that you only need x86 for the emulator or for the USB drivers (I don't know), but it could also be something else where none of the plug-in will work on ARM. You could probably do development (write code), but you probably couldn't compile to apk or test at all. People on PPC Macs already have this issue. It appears that the source code for the SDK is publicly available so maybe we could get it working, but I think that might be more effort than it is worth at this point in time.
But this is getting off topic. We need Ubuntu (or other full linux distro) before the rest of this is even remotely possible.

They have Ubuntu working on some of the old Windows Mobile phones (check out the HTC Touch Pro 2 / Rhodium). Isn't that an ARM based CPU?

Yes, Ubuntu should have no problem working on ARM. The only questions on Ubuntu are the drivers and bootloader.

Getting linux up and running shouldn't be hard. It's done on most modern cell phones already. And the cut down versions are normally due to limitations in hardware.
The only part that sucks is the vnc localhost solution which is generally being deployed, it's not exactly optimal performance wise.

nurre said:
The only part that sucks is the vnc localhost solution which is generally being deployed, it's not exactly optimal performance wise.
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The best way to deal with this problem would probably to get X11 working with Android's graphics stack (mostly OpenGL) as a backend- sort of like Xephyr, or Wayland's embedding of X11 (basing the work on Wayland's work might be the easiest, since they already use OpenGL ES).
That should deliver near-native performance, with full hardware acceleration.
I'd think the best way to structure it would be to have an app you launch within Android that connects to the X11 server and just pushes the final image to the screen (akin to what Wayland does). That should make it reasonable practical to move between Android and Unity (/Gnome/KDE/etc) without too much weirdities.
---
For doing Android development on Android, until there's a native SDK, you could use X11's network transparency to be running Eclipse on a remote machine via SSH, using port forwarding to allow the remote machine to connect back over the tunnel for ADB. It's ugly, but it should work (assuming you have a network connection... and a working x11!).

Initially thought this would be a huge reverse enginering job, but look and behold : http://developer.nvidia.com/tegra/news/linux-tegra-released !

Did anyone actually tried to run any Linux distro on it?

Is there any dev working on the question ?
Having a Android/Ubuntu tablet with an actual removable keyboard good me a huge advantage in terms of productivity/entertainment share... !!

nordicfastware said:
Is there any dev working on the question ?
Having a Android/Ubuntu tablet with an actual removable keyboard good me a huge advantage in terms of productivity/entertainment share... !!
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Click to collapse
+1 for that

[Q] Dual booting Ubuntu 11.04 and Android 3.0?

The dual-form nature of this item would fit a dual-boot scenario perfectly. Boot into Android when used as a tablet, boot into Ubuntu when docked. Just curious as to the possibility of this.
As far as I know, Ubuntu supports ARM architecture, so the Tegra 2 chip should work well with it. Ubuntu 11.04 was just released with the integrated Unity interface, which looks wonderful with the touchscreen: http://unity.ubuntu.com/projects/utouch/
The Unity 2D interface should fly on the Tegra 2, even if the Unity 3D mode lags.
Now I know that on the Xoom, we were able to run Ubuntu on a VNC server and connect to it locally, but that is obviously not an ideal solution, due to VNC's weakness, and the general inefficiency of it.
Are there any devs working on something like this so far? I am sure there would be a very sizable audience for something like this. I'd be happy to do any necessary testing, and I'm sure more will as well. I also wouldn't mind taking this as an opportunity to get involved with the dev community (I have a thorough background in CS, just no experience with this specifically), I'd be happy if anyone were to take me under their wing. =)

You're not the only one hoping for this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1053641

I was just thinking about this yesterday. Dual booting Ubuntu and Android would make this the perfect device for me.

i would also love the ability to run linux on mine

I'm tempted to wait until this is guaranteed to happen before buying this thing. I need a new portable device for developing on the go, and I also want and need a Honeycomb device for testing apps and casual content consumption.
At the same time though, if anyone knows of a site or thread dedicated to making this dual-boot happen (similar to the dedicated Toshiba AC100 page here http://tosh-ac100.wetpaint.com/page/Ubuntu ), I wouldn't mind learning all about it and potentially help if I can, so please share.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA App

There are some devs who definitely pulled this off on the Atrix and I had Ubuntu on my phone so I'm sure we can get it on the transformer. I'll try to find them and see if similar methods can be used.

It'll take years but I don't see why it wouldn't work. If I can do this on my old ass wm6.5 phone then it's possible on the TF!

Maybe it wont take years, but more of these tablets have to hit the market. Still so many people waiting on their preorders, me included.
I think that there might be quite the interest in making this happen. I remember reading somewhere that Ubuntu allready runs on the Tegra2, so why should it be far into the future before we see it running on the Transformer?
Sorry for any typos. I have fat fingers, a 4" screen, a small child and a dictionary gone wild...

here's to hoping
So far i'm quite impressed with this little tablet. It crunches bytes as fast as i can throw them, and customizing it was easy enough. Although with the dock station and Tegra 2 it does feel more like a netbook than a tablet.
Android 3.0 IMO is the best compromise between a desktop and mobile phone OS. Although it's expandability is not quite what i would wish it to be. Possibly once more developers gear their programs for the higher resolutions and more powerful CPUs this will change. For now dual booting Ubuntu and Android would be perfect.
I'm on board with any project coming about to make this happen, and would offer up my hardware and feedback for beta testing. Hope to see a dedication in this direction soon!

Has anyone tried the method in the xoom development forums?
Sent from HTC Inspire 4G via XDA Premium.

gordec said:
Has anyone tried the method in the xoom development forums?
Sent from HTC Inspire 4G via XDA Premium.
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I haven't seen the post, but I'm assuming you mean VNC?

Zach Alt said:
I haven't seen the post, but I'm assuming you mean VNC?
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Click to collapse
Yeah, it's VNC. That's not that hard, we're talking about straight booting INTO Ubuntu.

i have this image from my desire, which boots linux xlde (or something) i cant get it to connect to that image. Pockecloud just get Server disconnected.... maybe another image.. actually that was loading it from removable MicroSD, im now going to try copying to the internal memory "SDCARD" as that would be what the script would have orignally been setup for. I will post results as soon as this has finished pasting the files...
EDIT: still cant get this to work, seems like terminal is ending too quickly which i think means the loopback memory doesnt work, i think thats how it works anyway.
No lock with WYSE pocket cloud or android vnc, i think we need another build for honeycomb, well not so much the OS but the Tegra chip instead.

ubuntuforums.org
There is a thread over at ubuntuforums.org regarding this matter, though they have a different take on it.
One of the posts state:
Re: Asus Eee Pad Transformer
I plan to get one (not available in my region yet, plus I hear there'll be a 3G version next quarter) and install Ubuntu on it, albeit with KDE/Gnome instead of Unity.
There's not technical reason it can't run Ubuntu, it's just a matter of getting the boot loader working. The instructions seem simple enough, although dual booting with Android might be a little more challenging.
If anyone does get one and install Ubuntu on it, please let us know how it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe it's not all that farfetched getting Ubuntu to run on this device, or any other Tegra2 base tablet.
The original thread can be found at:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1741103&highlight=eee+pad+transformer&page=1

looks like dual booting may be fairly difficult; I wouldn't mind soloing ubuntu touch os on mine...

I think dual booting may be difficult, but I think chain booting (right terminology?) from Android first and then into Ubuntu would probably be possible.

I don't think many people understand how hard it will be to create a bootable version of Ubuntu. VNCing is easy for the most part.

Would it be possible to use the motorola xoom guide to get ubuntu running with vnc on the eee transformer?
Sorry for any typos. I have fat fingers, a 4" screen, a small child and a dictionary gone wild...

Is the VNC version that bad? Is it very slow or the picture is not full color? I'd like to use it maybe for Open Office (or something lighter) and some programming in text editor.

Looks like there has been significant progress on this. backtrack has been released for arm.. its a security-centric distro, but its built on an ubuntu base.
I'm downloading the img now.. dont know about dual boot though. guess someone needs to port grub over first =)
I cant post links....but a search for 'backtrack5 xoom' should get you there.

Why can't Android replace Desktop OSes?

Android x86 works fine on my notebook PC. And, I can do almost everything with it: Ranging from web surfing to programming.
But still, nobody cares about it. Why?
What's really the advantages of desktop OSes over Android? Why don't OEMs ship computers with Android as primary OS? Why don't people think Android when PC comes in mind?

I'll tell you why, Windows sells and people buy! Microsoft has the consumer market all tied up with the PC. Most consumers couldn't care less about programming, hacking, developing, etc... web surfing and Facebook and emailing? Yeah, that's what they want. Now, another question: why would people who purchase a PC want to pay additionally or inclusively to the price of a PC for Windows OS, when most distros of Linux are absolutely free? I'm running an Ubuntu 12.04 LTS/Win7 setup on my laptop. I'm getting closer and closer each day to wiping Win7 completely off, but have some reservations in doing so. Anyhow, my two cents worth...
Sent from my MB865 using xda's premium carrier pigeon service

Windows comes first for game developers. That is why I dual boot. if Linux got love from from game devs it would have a better chance at success. The other issue would be driver compatibility, although this has gotten a lot better.
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muddflap said:
Windows comes first for game developers. That is why I dual boot. if Linux got love from from game devs it would have a better chance at success.
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Click to collapse
I am talking about Android, not normal Linux. I think, Android does have nice games..

Well, when the time comes for a full fledged OS, Android is still lacking in apps for that. One step in the right direction will be to multiply the current variety of tablet apps.
Make more apps have tablet optimisation and then we can talk about desktop apps.
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Well, once I can root any Android from an Android, Sign me up. Meanwhile I gotta bow to the all mighty glass structure.
Sent from my EVO using xda premium

It wont happen for another 100 years.

I like my skateboard. But, I wouldn't go highway on it.
Same thing.

IceBean said:
I like my skateboard. But, I wouldn't go highway on it.
Same thing.
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What most people do: Facebook, Email, Chat, Casual Gaming
Do you think, Android isn't suitable for that?
It's not the same thing!

SachinShekhar said:
What most people do: Facebook, Email, Chat, Casual Gaming
Do you think, Android isn't suitable for that?
It's not the same thing!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your answer is also a point against android as a viable desktop, by that I mean a desktop should be able to do more than just "what most people do".
That and you can't just download and install hardware drivers for android so it renders a lot of peripherals only useable with pc mac or linux.
Android can be a desktop if you don't tax your pc with more demanding tasks such as audio or video editing. Once you want to do anything more specific than gaming or browsing android does not yet offer the ability to.
I think it is viable but because it is not designed to be anything more than a mobile operating system it would struggle to be a desktop replacement.
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk 2

mistermentality said:
Your answer is also a point against android as a viable desktop, by that I mean a desktop should be able to do more than just "what most people do".
That and you can't just download and install hardware drivers for android so it renders a lot of peripherals only useable with pc mac or linux.
Android can be a desktop if you don't tax your pc with more demanding tasks such as audio or video editing. Once you want to do anything more specific than gaming or browsing android does not yet offer the ability to.
I think it is viable but because it is not designed to be anything more than a mobile operating system it would struggle to be a desktop replacement.
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Click to collapse
Initially, even Windows didn't have such high-end apps. After bringing Android to mainstream, those types of apps will appear on Android, for sure.

SachinShekhar said:
Initially, even Windows didn't have such high-end apps. After bringing Android to mainstream, those types of apps will appear on Android, for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As soon as windows came out it was not long before the programs were available, android works differently to windows (for example in its use of user installable drivers) and is, unlike windows, not designed to be a desktop so the apps don't or perhaps cannot in some cases (such as adobe type video editing software) be made that will enable android to meet all pc desktop needs.
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk 2

The future android versions may change depending on the team's direction though.
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Markuzy said:
The future android versions may change depending on the team's direction though.
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Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's true, I think ics was more desktop friendly than say gingerbread and I would love an android desktop
Dave
( http://www.google.com/producer/editions/CAownKXmAQ/bigfatuniverse )
Sent from my LG P920 using Tapatalk 2

Markuzy said:
The future android versions may change depending on the team's direction though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree..

Let me correct myself.
I actually don't think Android is as low performing as a skateboard.
At best, I think it's more like a scooter. It gets a job done if it's about taking you to point A to B. And, that's pretty much it at this point.
A car, on the other hand, can do many more things. It is far more versatile. It stands against the weather. It can carry all your family members. It is far more powerful...etc.
Remember old days of laptops? In those days, people with a laptop also had to have desktops although same OS was being used. It was because laptops weren't just powerful enough to suit higher end tasks. The situation is similar in that regard.
For you, Android and supporting hardware and apps might be good enough to replace desktop. However, it isn't so for majority of people and that's the point. A desktop OS needs ability to support all types of usage scenarios, not to mention hardware.
Can current Android do it? No.

Android isn't a desktop OS. Its built for touch and feels pretty limited when being controlled via mouse/kb. Ubuntu would be a better choice since its a decent well established desktop OS, especially when the Ubuntu on Android project is out allowing android apps to run on Ubuntu and vice versa. I'd love to see the popularity of Android help Ubuntu.

IceBean said:
Let me correct myself.
I actually don't think Android is as low performing as a skateboard.
At best, I think it's more like a scooter. It gets a job done if it's about taking you to point A to B. And, that's pretty much it at this point.
A car, on the other hand, can do many more things. It is far more versatile. It stands against the weather. It can carry all your family members. It is far more powerful...etc.
Remember old days of laptops? In those days, people with a laptop also had to have desktops although same OS was being used. It was because laptops weren't just powerful enough to suit higher end tasks. The situation is similar in that regard.
For you, Android and supporting hardware and apps might be good enough to replace desktop. However, it isn't so for majority of people and that's the point. A desktop OS needs ability to support all types of usage scenarios, not to mention hardware.
Can current Android do it? No.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was talking about majority of people (not myself). That's why Google launched Chrome OS.
According to surveys, most of people do those things with Desktop PCs which is possible with Android devices.
Android is more powerful than Chrome OS. If Chrome OS can go to commercial Laptops, why can't Android?

spunker88 said:
Android isn't a desktop OS. Its built for touch and feels pretty limited when being controlled via mouse/kb. Ubuntu would be a better choice since its a decent well established desktop OS, especially when the Ubuntu on Android project is out allowing android apps to run on Ubuntu and vice versa. I'd love to see the popularity of Android help Ubuntu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do have point.
We can use mouse, but it feels pretty limited.
But, what if someone says, you'll become used to after using that continuously. You may not like dragging welcome screen of Windows 8 at this time, but you'll love it once its in your mainstream.

Its actually being worked by one Linux company .
Take off off an app based Linux,Android desktop will happen .
jje
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Install windows 10 on ASUS ZenPad S 8.0 Z580CA Possible?

I really like the hardware offering from Asus on the ZenPad S 8.0.
I can't find any good windows 10 tablets, does anyone know if you can install windows 10 on a ZenPad?
Thanks!

I'm wondering the same thing.

i think you need the replace the bios or something so that the tablet can boot from a usb

+1 for interest, on the concept anyway. If Windows can boot, Linux shouldn't be much harder (might even be easier), and I'd be far more interested in that.
In order to use Windows on this tablet, you'd either have to hope it has drivers built-in for whichever architecture it boots in (good luck if it boots 32-bit UEFI like some Intel devices do), or hope there's drivers available that would be compatible. Linux has a much better shot at working on this tablet as-is.
Can't quite understand why this tablet out-the-box is only locked to Android though... Could have easily offered a dual-boot scenario, or even outright just allowed any x86-compliant OS to be installed. But having just Android on this tablet is overkill in my opinion.

espionage724 said:
+1 for interest, on the concept anyway. If Windows can boot, Linux shouldn't be much harder (might even be easier), and I'd be far more interested in that.
In order to use Windows on this tablet, you'd either have to hope it has drivers built-in for whichever architecture it boots in (good luck if it boots 32-bit UEFI like some Intel devices do), or hope there's drivers available that would be compatible. Linux has a much better shot at working on this tablet as-is.
Can't quite understand why this tablet out-the-box is only locked to Android though... Could have easily offered a dual-boot scenario, or even outright just allowed any x86-compliant OS to be installed. But having just Android on this tablet is overkill in my opinion.
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Click to collapse
Because they would have to charge more if it was native compatible with windows, for the windows licensing.

Ryuhouji said:
Because they would have to charge more if it was native compatible with windows, for the windows licensing.
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Click to collapse
Actually not, since Windows licencing is no longer paid for devices under 10 inches.

Ryuhouji said:
Because they would have to charge more if it was native compatible with windows, for the windows licensing.
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Click to collapse
You don't include Windows, you just simply make it have a generic x86_64-compliant legacy or UEFI bootloader.
Windows licensing doesn't apply to a device that doesn't come with Windows considering the device doesn't ship with Windows (or at least I would think).

I would still love to see a rom of windows 10 i could load. At the moment, I just use splashtop if i really need windows functionality on my tablet, and since I work from home, it's not too bad, lan Splashtop is pretty good, especially with a good router.

I'm interested in this tablet since it's on sale right now, but I don't have the money. Should I ever get one I'd totally install Arch Linux or something. If anyone has one of these and attempts this, please start a dev thread or something to document the project.
Just so we're clear, this is the tablet we're all hoping to install Windows 10/Linux onto, right? http://bit.ly/1kaRhIZ

I just to bump this again, the z580c has been out for over a year now, hoping someone has a custom or aftermarket ROM for this thing. Links will be appreciated!

Ryuhouji said:
I just to bump this again, the z580c has been out for over a year now, hoping someone has a custom or aftermarket ROM for this thing. Links will be appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or at least some way to change to Windows. This is a great tablet, but it comes with the wrong OS.

Bootloader is still locked. Until that's changed, no alternative OS.