Comments on: Ubuntu comes to Android for a full desktop experience

By: OlavN

OlavN — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:35:00 +0000

I think this is a good idea – provided normal Linux applications can be used. And provided a suitably large display is used. I prefer pen input which is equivalent to mouse input.
(My 10″ Android tablet is unsatisfactory, as few Android programs look ok on such a big display.)
I hope this new Linux can revive the Personal Computer by getting rid of that frustrating multiuser environment, with messages like: This file doesn´t belong to you.

By: gmaninvan

gmaninvan — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:15:00 +0000

This is true, I believe most apps submit multiple apk’s to the market. Some apps do have fragments built in for a one stop shop app though. I wish more would do this, it would make uses like this more friendly and open the door for things such as the padfone to be just as usable as a regular tablet.

By: sola

sola — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:46:00 +0000

As I see from the videos, they will run in the resolution of the phone (in a window).

They will not be scaled up because phone apps are usually not designed for variable resolutions.

By: sola

sola — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:46:00 +0000

As I see from the videos, they will run in the resolution of the phone (in a window).

They will not be scaled up because phone apps are usually not designed for variable resolutions.

By: gmaninvan

gmaninvan — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:24:00 +0000

My question is that, when in ubuntu mode, are the android apps like chrome displayed in the phone form or their larger more usable tablet interface due to the resolution

By: companyemails

companyemails — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:51:00 +0000

Correct me if I’m wrong, But I could have sworn that motorola’s desktop interface for Android was built on a Ubuntu base (by motorola – using an older version of ubuntu).

While I applaud ubuntu for thinking differently, I still have to wonder about where their exploration of a touch style interface is headed, especially since the overwhelming majority of linux apps are designed to work on traditional desktop environments, not touch enabled ones (forget about being optimized for a tablet or phone form factor). What is the use of being able to run ubuntu on a tablet or phone if you can’t run any Linux apps in a form that is truly usable? Is Ubuntu planning on running an emulator and porting over android apps? Are they planning on sponsoring the development of mobile versions of linux apps? I really can’t help but feel that Ubuntu’s experiment on a new desktop environment is headed into a very interesting dead end.