Should The Pandora Become An Ubuntu Partner?

[socket]

From a geek perspective, sure, I can see some benefit in vanilla Debian or something like that... But still, I definitely prefer Ubuntu for something like this - even if only for the popularity reasons... and anyway, I thought this discussion came about because of Ubuntu's recent ARM announcement and not which is the nerdiest choice. (Keep in mind, I'm using geek and nerd as terms of endearment.) Also, as a future Pandora user I don't have anything to gain from a marketing perspective by using Ubuntu but as a creator I think it would really help the device's exposure.

 

[yosh64]

hey

I think when is an interesting question.

If you contacted them now would they demand the delay of the device to get Ubunto ready and have the Pandora ship with it? maybe they would, but maybe they are also willing to compromise and work something out.

I guess you need to figure if they have any care for your own consumers, as (and you must have care for their consumers also), or will they try hijack the device for their own purposes. Obviously there needs to be something in it for them, so I think you need to work something out without them running all over you.

Will delaying time to contact them change any of this? even if you do contact them later to avoid such things, will they not try todo the same with the next batch?

I think the longer ya wait, the more chance that you will have to loose the opportunity, so if you want to take it on, then I say contact them now. I think there is no dordalling around the what ifs, cause even if you do delay contacting to avoid certain what ifs, you are still going to have to face them later.

Anyhows I think you should contact them, don't be scared of what they might demand, the Pandora is your thing. I would try to make it clear of your vision, and that you have an established community, and that you want to get the first batch over and done with, and what you want and what you are willing to compromise and what not (I think this will also give them time to investigate whether the Pandora is the best option for them). Maybe you are open to, or your vision includes a new broader community, and so broadening the appeal of the Pandora. Thus, you may consider splitting the product, that is have an option to have it ship with Ubunto, or just ship the retail version with Ubunto and nothing else, which I think would be wise if it's accessible to the general community, still keeping an option to purchase the thing online without Ubunto. Then again, maybe this is something you do not want to do, either way I don't think it matters, personally I just hope you can get out of it what you want. I think it's likely that the Ubunto folks might be interested in making it available in retail stores.

But yea, I think you should at least contact them to let them know the Pandora is just around the corner from shipping, and that you would be interested in a future partnership or some other deal.

cyas

 

[Svartalf]

Make no mistake, this is something that we are going to pursue. Craig and I are just trying to determine exactly how to go about the pursuit.

Indeed. As it stands, let's get the project flying fully first, folks.

 

[closetwam]

Who would want to waste an SD slot on a small storage SD card with ubuntu? And why are you so eager to pay for ubuntu version if we may get it anyway?

I'm not eager to pay for an Ubuntu version, I'm looking forward to the faster, lighter Angstrom version
I just put forth a silly suggestion targeted toward the mass of users that have heard about the magical "Ubuntu" and will only consider a Pandora with mystical powers that only Ubuntu endows, or who have only used Ubuntu and no other distro and can't bring themselves to try anything else because it might be too "technical" or whatever. I know, I know...

 

[Svartalf]

Ubuntu NO!

Debian YES!! I could care less about some PR crap give me a real easy to use fast lightweight customisable OS and Debian wins on all points Ubuntu not so much and as far as that goes from my experience lenny is WAY better than etch

Given that Angstrom brings everything that Debian does, while being designed from the get-go to be for an embedded/handheld platform (go look up Angstrom as a distro...), if you're not gunning for PR, why bother?

 

[qwerty15]

I would much rather stick with Angstrom rather than a full blown Ubuntu as it is lightweight and faster. I don't hate Ubuntu but it is bloated and I don't really think it works well with the Pandora's specs. A full desktop system would be great but Ubuntu would not be ideal.

 

[Svartalf]

That is great news!!! Theres so many reasons to have ubuntu on pandora with all its power. If someone wants something liter it shouldn't be much or a problem with debs.

Considering that Angstrom has the same scope of power and is designed with mobile/embedded devices in mind (Ubuntu is not. Debian is not. They're trimming it down to fit on MIDs and Netbooks...), the ONLY thing Ubuntu brings to the table is PR. Seriously.

Please note, folks, I'm not saying "no", I'm questioning WHY you're all so gung-ho on this to the point that the discussion keeps coming up time and time again that we HAVE to have it... It won't "doom" us if we don't have it. It won't impair what we've already got planned to be done here in the next 1-2 months. It won't "improve" things by all that much if we got it in progress right now.

I don't get it gang- and I'm a very heavy Ubuntu user and reccomender to other people. Honest.

 

[greendots]

Ubuntu will make a better installed-by-default OS then a vanilla debian could with out too much effort. A lot of the "bloat" will be removed with pandora's kernel. The rest are luxury functions that many people enjoy

Ubuntu is something that will sell units...


Edit:

I agree it wont be bad to use angstrom or debian. One of the best things about ubuntu is how easy it is to set up when you first install it. For the pandora this will not matter. All three will probably be very similar from first impressions. All are based on debian and use .debs. Also pandora probably would not do well with only security updates in package management (ubuntu). But, partnering with ubuntu should give pandora the advantages of more users and more development. Hildon desktop would be perfect with some tweeking for pandora. etc

 

[moxie]

I really, really, really don't get the Ubuntu fervor, either. Why? It's another linux distro, this time with pretty bows on, and suddenly loads of people go "OOhh, Its like omyf-ingodMARVELLLLLLLOUS, I'm sooo gonna have its babies!!1!!1" Why? It's a distro. A debian-based distro. There's loads of them out there. I've tried Ubuntu. I still don't get it. Not to mention that you can not mention it - Well, at least I couldn't, with a straight face, go "Well, you know, on the desktop machines I have the Gloating Goat, but the laptop is more on the edge - it's currently running the Happy Fapper" or whatever the version names are. And the version numbers are borked.

I'm not knocking Ubuntu, mind. It's a distro. It works. (Like so many other distros) And Craig, Chip &co seems to have a good grip on how and where to go about something like this. I just dont get the cult part of it.

 

[yosh64]

hey

Hah, I think alot of folks here would rather it without Ubunto, including myself (although I have no problem if there was an option with Ubunto), but there are a whole bunch of others not part of this community who might be interested in the Pandora with Ubunto. As I've already mentioned in my previous post, if it was available in retail stores to the general community then I think it would be wise to ship it with Ubunto, and have an option to buy online without Ubunto or something like this. Hmm, well as long as it stays open then you could just remove Ubunto, hehe.

So yea, this is not only about what "we", or "I" want, we must look outside the box, or Pandora's Box, hehe. edit: Maybe I should say we must not be scared to OpenPandora's Box, hehe.

edit
Again, I would like to mention that if you are sure you are interested then I think you should make contact regardless, that is sooner rather than later, as for reasons I mentioned in my previous post on page 3.

cyas

 

[.Gogeta§§J4BR.]

the angstrom choice is a smart one, and I'm really happy with it (and so should everyone here, it's the best for the pandora at the moment)

but it sure is tempting to have all the publicity from the ubuntu-crazy media

if the pandora team has aimed this high at the moment, why not aim higher into the commercial UMPC market?
after all, it's a product that is as good or better than the others out there!

 

[socket]

I really, really, really don't get the Ubuntu fervor, either. Why? It's another linux distro, this time with pretty bows on, and suddenly loads of people go "OOhh, Its like omyf-ingodMARVELLLLLLLOUS, I'm sooo gonna have its babies!!1!!1" Why? It's a distro. A debian-based distro. There's loads of them out there. I've tried Ubuntu. I still don't get it. Not to mention that you can not mention it - Well, at least I couldn't, with a straight face, go "Well, you know, on the desktop machines I have the Gloating Goat, but the laptop is more on the edge - it's currently running the Happy Fapper" or whatever the version names are. And the version numbers are borked.

I'm not knocking Ubuntu, mind. It's a distro. It works. (Like so many other distros) And Craig, Chip &co seems to have a good grip on how and where to go about something like this. I just dont get the cult part of it.

I think you kind of help the point here. I mean you basically admit that people like it, and I kind of agree that there's no real reason, it has a lot to do with hype. You have to think of this as a marketing thing to a degree I think. I don't care which full blown linux OS it gets. Ubuntu is fine with me. Why would they not pick one that Win and Mac users are more likely to have heard of?

 

[jakewastaken]

Anyone who doesn't want to use it doesn't have to. What is the problem here?

If you think it's too bloated, then don't use it.

There's no point in arguing that we should limit options. All sorts of "silly" things will be attempted on the Pandora that are far from practical. Stop pissing on other people's parade. It won't be the default OS and absolutely no one is forcing you to have anything to do with it if you don't want to.

Just ignore Ubuntu threads if it bothers you so much.

 

[BenTolputt]

My thoughts:

When to approach Canonical:
Honestly, do it now. Strike while the iron is hot. If they were going to have issues with the way you do things for the first batch, it is likely that they were going to be a hassle to work with anyway.

And think, while you're waiting for the bank to catch up with you on the refunds, you'll have something to update the community on either way (there's news there if Canonical want to help and news if they don't).

Why Ubuntu?:
I agree with those that state Angstrom (& company) are likely to always be faster, smarter, leaner on the Pandora than Ubuntu. The best thing about Ubuntu will be PR, pure and simple.

This is important to Craig(ix), EvilDragon, etc. as they aren't making the Pandora purely out of the goodness of their hearts. I am assuming that, like most normal humans, they would like to see some form of kickback from this project and the PR Canonical can bring to bear for Pandora is considerable. The more PR there is, the higher the likelihood of selling more units. And as far as I am concerned that is a good thing.

At the very least, it will bring a few more developers into the fold. If Pandora becomes the default "Ubuntu gaming handheld" - there is even the possibility of some big name (proprietary) games being ported. Hell, I am a game developer myself and the concept of the Pandora being a financially viable platform for porting/distributing my projects is exciting.

 

[mali]

Anyone who doesn't want to use it doesn't have to. What is the problem here?

If you think it's too bloated, then don't use it.

There's no point in arguing that we should limit options. All sorts of "silly" things will be attempted on the Pandora that are far from practical. Stop pissing on other people's parade. It won't be the default OS and absolutely no one is forcing you to have anything to do with it if you don't want to.

Just ignore Ubuntu threads if it bothers you so much.

+1

To sum it up further:

OS wars-> Go, read the dozens of previous discussions scattered in the forums, no need to be repetitive.

PR-> Go for it, you have nothing to lose, but much to win.

Case closed. It's as simple as that.

[off topic]

I don't think, it's enough info to start a new topic about and this particular thread is mostly spam now anyway, so I post it here. Fresh from the German board:

Also, hab heute mein MK2 Board bekommen und mal schnell Angström draufgeschmissen.
Bootet brav
Allerdings hat notaz im aktuellsten Kernel für das Board wohl den console= Bootargs entfernt, so dass ich mit dem neuen Kernel die Konsole auf der LCD sehe, nicht den X-Login Schirm.
Mit dem alten Kernel sehe ich den X-Login-Schirm, aber da läuft USB und Touchscreen nicht auf dem MK2, so dass ich mich nicht einloggen kann

Aber das ist wohl leicht behoben, kann Euch dann also bald Angström Boot-Videos machen

I've received my MK2 board today and have installed Angström. It boots dutifully .
But Notaz has removed console=bootargs, so that the new kernel displays the console instead of the X-login.
With the old kernel I see the X-login, but USB and touchscreen don't work on the MK2, so I can't login
But it will be solved easily, so I can show you some Angström boot-videos, soon

For people, who understand German or want to translate for themselves:
http://forum.gp2x.de/search.php?author_id=2&sr=posts
ED's youtube account:
http://www.youtube.com/user/EvilDragon1717


[/off topic]

 

[gruso]

+2.

Naysayers need to look at the bigger picture.

 

[mazza558]

I agree that Ubuntu offers little on other distros, but as others have said, the publicity this would bring would be enormous.

 

[moxie]

I'm not knocking Ubuntu, mind. It's a distro. It works. (Like so many other distros) And Craig, Chip &co seems to have a good grip on how and where to go about something like this. I just dont get the cult part of it.

I think you kind of help the point here. I mean you basically admit that people like it, and I kind of agree that there's no real reason, it has a lot to do with hype. You have to think of this as a marketing thing to a degree I think. I don't care which full blown linux OS it gets. Ubuntu is fine with me. Why would they not pick one that Win and Mac users are more likely to have heard of?


As I said, I have no problem with Ubuntu, and it seems to me that Craig and Chips idea (to try to be a part of this, and to deal with it as soon as we actually have hardware to propose with) is the proper way to go about things. I understand that in some circles, at least, this will be excellent PR, and I fully understand the need for excellent PR.

I just don't understand why. Why do people go all gaga over Ubuntu? If they do - around here, I must say Linux, in itself, has a lot more "name" to it than Ubuntu - But, given that they do, it would be stupid not to cash in on it. Still confuses me no end, though.

 

[darkowl]

I'm not knocking Ubuntu, mind. It's a distro. It works. (Like so many other distros) And Craig, Chip &co seems to have a good grip on how and where to go about something like this. I just dont get the cult part of it.

I think you kind of help the point here. I mean you basically admit that people like it, and I kind of agree that there's no real reason, it has a lot to do with hype. You have to think of this as a marketing thing to a degree I think. I don't care which full blown linux OS it gets. Ubuntu is fine with me. Why would they not pick one that Win and Mac users are more likely to have heard of?


As I said, I have no problem with Ubuntu, and it seems to me that Craig and Chips idea (to try to be a part of this, and to deal with it as soon as we actually have hardware to propose with) is the proper way to go about things. I understand that in some circles, at least, this will be excellent PR, and I fully understand the need for excellent PR.

I just don't understand why. Why do people go all gaga over Ubuntu? If they do - around here, I must say Linux, in itself, has a lot more "name" to it than Ubuntu - But, given that they do, it would be stupid not to cash in on it. Still confuses me no end, though.


The reason that people seem to like ubuntu so much, is probably due to the fact that it generally supports their hardware without editing files and the fact that they can install it or run it from live CD (something that knoppix has offered for alot longer). Factor in the fact that it's most peoples first distro and the size of the ubuntu userbase (relative to other distros). The more users you have the more people talk about it, the more people talk about it, the more hype it gets. I didn't really like ubuntu that much at first, but it's large userbase has had a positive effect on drivers, etc. Hardware manufacturers and software developers are finding it harder to ignore linux these days.

On the pandora side of things, it's good PR so why not.

 

[hells_dark]

i agree with darkowl.
Actually, i wouldn't use ubuntu on the pandora, because i really want something light.
But i enjoy using ubuntu on my desktop, it's a good distro, and the community is huge.