Should The Pandora Become An Ubuntu Partner?

[mazza558]

BBC News Link

Because Ubuntu supporting ARM netbooks has been big in the news over the past few days, I think it'd be fantastic if Craig and the team contacted Canonical/Ubuntu and became a partner. This could be the absolute best way to get the Pandora out there. ARM were even talking about having Ubuntu + ARM-based netbooks available by next June. It fits perfectly! What's more, the 256mb of RAM upgrade pretty much qualifies the Pandora to be in Netbook territory.

A partnership between OpenPandora and Ubuntu would quite possibly bring:

1. A stable and fully working version of Ubuntu to the Pandora, supported by Canonical themselves
2. Lots and lots of publicity, much more than if the team port Ubuntu themselves
3. A better reputation, as the pioneer and flagship netbook running on ARM
4. More time to focus on other aspects of the device
5. Many more developers and users

I think it's vital to take this opportunity and run with it. Considering at the time Pandora was being designed, such an idea was essentially unheard of, the Pandora could keep its pioneer reputation. It's easier for ARM, Pandora and Canonical, as the companies don't have to manufacture the hardware (as this is already being done).

If we miss this opportunity, we might see a bigger company like HP/Dell making a netbook-like device in a year or so, using similar hardware to the Pandora, and taking all the glory whilst we get forced into obscurity.

 

[mali]

I vote for 'Yes'

 

[Magic Sam]

+1 for publicity, reputation, and developers

 

[chiark]

It would be bloody fantastic, and I'd vote for yes, but conditionally - I don't think anyone would want to delay manufacturing or release of these things , and as long as it didn't delay anything then it would make absolute sense.

 

[mahousaru]

*drools*
I vote for yes too

 

[mindlord]

While it sounds like a great idea. Getting in bed with huge companies (even Canonical) usually comes with loss of freedom, as they so love to finagle with the spec to suit their needs. They would take one look at the Pandora's small keyboard and either demand the design be changed to something more touch-typable or just take a pass on it. The ones with the money tend to push the others around, that's just business.

Personally, I'd attempt to open a channel of communication none-the-less and see where it goes, but I wouldn't commit to anything without a lawyer.

 

[mazza558]

Canonical aren't really a huge company. All we need to do is present what hardware we have, and I'm sure they'll want to co-operate, especially if they can get their hands on a pre-release pandora board (hint, hint)

 

[cosurgi]

Canonical aren't really a huge company. All we need to do is present what hardware we have, and I'm sure they'll want to co-operate, especially if they can get their hands on a pre-release pandora board (hint, hint)

Devs have more important work now. The idea is great, but the communication should start after 1st batch is finished, sent, and after devs had their long deserved break on hawaii.

 

[likwidoxigen]

Devs have more important work now. The idea is great, but the communication should start after 1st batch is finished, sent, and after devs had their long deserved break on hawaii.

I agree. The Devs need to get batch one finished, take a good break, then start batch two, then maybe look into partnering after they've relaxed and rejuvenated.

 

[VRAndy]

1) Ubuntu while confirmed working, isn't planned as the default OS for the Pandora.
2) Pandora can't really be a "flagship" anything until you can actually buy them.
3) The reason Pandora came out as awesome as it did, is because it was developed free from corporate influence. (Compare Pandora with all the other small electronics on the market.)

QUOTE
If we miss this opportunity, we might see a bigger company like HP/Dell making a netbook-like device in a year or so, using similar hardware to the Pandora, and taking all the glory whilst we get forced into obscurity.

I don't care if Pandora gets 'glory' or not. We always knew that the big companies would build stuff that would outsell Pandora. I small time independent project like this will never get that sort of glory.

What makes Pandora great is that it's designed to pander to the needs/wants of a relatively small group of people, but it (will) pander to them very well. For those of us in this small group, this makes it stand out in an ocean of devices made for "everybody".

 

[mali]

The release is planned for mid 2009. A devboard and some mails may be enough for the task. It doesn't hurt to ask IMO

 

[Etinin]

That would be sad.
Ubuntu has different goals. The Pandora is made for power-users, Ubuntu is focused solely on ease of use, not giving much attention to things such as performance.

 

[VRAndy]

P.S. I don't understand all the nerd-love for Ubuntu. It's a perfectly fine Linux distro, I recommend it for the desktop. But why does it have such a cult? Why does the mere mention of its name get people so hot and bothered?

 

[mali]

*sigh*
I'm out, have to work...

 

[sebt3]

Canonical aren't really a huge company. All we need to do is present what hardware we have, and I'm sure they'll want to co-operate, especially if they can get their hands on a pre-release pandora board (hint, hint)

In fact, as the pandora is the first ARMv7 to date, the ubuntu team is waiting for their pre-ordered pand (link).

back to the topic (I mean strictly).
I'm not sure that I want openpandora to be a partner of Canonical. Having Ubuntu running on the pandora will do enough on the PR side.
Partner mean having a business plan together. Pandora won't help the ubuntu support sales. Being a canonical partner wont bring more customer to the pandora. But the hype having ubuntu running on the pandora will. And, that's done allready.
What we need as a community, is more members. To get more member, we need an other buzz. The next will be :
- pandora in the first-batch users' hands, and pre-order date set for batch 2.
Until then, we should stay calm (& quiet) and wait for the dev to deliver. It's now a matter of weeks before the pandora start shipping. And we should be able to be #1 on digg just after the new year start.

Remember that the annoncement of the partner ship between ARM and Canonical arrive after the video by EvilDragon. Not before. The big company are just tring to capitalise on top of the buzz the devels generated with ubuntu on the Pand.

Craig & co. Continu working as usual And deliver as soon as possible
But If you can get money from shuttlework (canonical owner) with a partneship, go for it else my advise is : forget these damn slow company...

EDIT: readability : I should re-read my post _before_ posting...

 

[VRAndy]

That would be sad.
Ubuntu has different goals. The Pandora is made for power-users, Ubuntu is focused solely on ease of use, not giving much attention to things such as performance.
Yes. Weird thing is, I've noticed that a lot of people will tell you otherwise, but they're mostly people whose only basis for comparison is Windows or MacOS.

We don't have to start a lonely-underground-warrior-ish discussion. It's just an OS and who cares anyway.
Excuse me?
I'm not reveling in underground status like some "indie" music nerd. I'm saying that Pandora is a tool (and toy) built for a specific, small demographic. There is no shame in that.

You're going to assume that what I just said is mindless rhetoric, so here is a concrete example :

Example : C-SPAN could get much better ratings if they stopped broadcasting all that boring senate stuff, and ran Seinfeld reruns like a normal cable channel. But they don't. Because they provide a service to a small demographic that would otherwise not have a cable channel that provided what they want.

All we need to do is present what hardware we have, and I'm sure they'll want to co-operate
"we"?

 

[VRAndy]

Mali Said :
>Who cares about that again? Don't turn this into yet another my penis is longer
>than yours replacement weirdo OS battle.

The OS is the *topic under discussion*. If you can't leave penises out of it that's your issue.

You can't pretend that pretend that a partnership with Canonical wouldn't shift the project's focus away from Angstrom and towards Ubuntu. _At least a little_. Once you've accepted that, arguments based on the OS's merit are completely reasonable.


Mali Said :
>It's about PR, free as in beer advertising on news sites around the world. To get
> those damn devices out to the customers. And I don't care WHO buys them, I'm
> no ELITIST.

I certainly am not either, And I don't see why you continue to insist that I'm arguing in favor of elitism.

If no changes to Pandora or its default load-out are made to accommodate this, then I would not care either way. It wouldn't effect me or Pandora's target demographic at all. But that seems naive. Partnerships are always gives-and-takes. If changes are made to Pandora to do something like this, then I agree with 'Etinin' that it would be sad.

Mali Said :
>> "We?"
>Yes WE. He is a community member as anyone else.

Yes. Yes, he is. But the Pandora is not an opensource hardware project. "We" don't have any hardware until Craigix and friends sells it to us.
The Pandora is "open" in a completely different sense. (Obviously, this is *not* a criticism. I am happy with the way the Pandora project is being handled, and I can't wait to get my unit.)

Unless everyone else got some hardware or schematics while I was at work.

Mali Said :
>As you said, mindless rhetoric!

You've more or less misinterpreted everything I've said. I can't tell if it's an intentional debate technique to try to make me look like a fool, or if you're caught in some evangelical fervor that stops you from reading the plain meaning of the words in front of you, But it's extremely irritating.



P.S. Bah. Whatever screwed up your BBCode screwed up mine too. Please forgive the old-style angle-bracket quotes.

Edit : P.P.S. I see you've fixed your quotes, but you've misattributed Etinin's quote to me.

 

[scarath]

Ubuntu is all about free software some people like to use 'non-free' software on their linux installs.

The pandora will need many codecs (to be what everyone wants it to be) that it would not get 'officially' if it was ubuntu's little pet.

I vote no

An unofficial ubuntu/pandora combo will be great, officially there would be too much dramalama, politics and shouting from many directions. Dont try to drag the poor pandora into the distro wars and gnu/linux politics This machine is going to have such a darkside, it doesnt need a 'humanity to all' sticker on it to sell.

If the pandora stays independent there will be no troubles, the users will have more choice and user choice is everything in open source.

Another thing, its the difference between:
This machine runs linux so it CAN run ubuntu Vs this thing DOES run ubuntu but can run other things

Personally the firs one of those sounds better to me. Its choice over being prescriptive.

 

[likwidoxigen]

The pandora will need many codecs (to be what everyone wants it to be) that it would not get 'officially' if it was ubuntu's little pet.

You've clearly never used ubuntu.

there are multiple codec packages in universe and multiverse. You're wrong. There is also VLC.

 

[nickik]

When Ubuntu makes a distro 4 ARM it will be really good mabey not as fast ängstrom but with a lot of Programms that you can get with apt-get.

I think the dev should give it a try to take to Canonical as long we/everybody is still allowed to install any system he wants. Canonical isnt like Windows or Apple.

If it happen we get more programmer more apps more peopel and i think ED and co. would deserve it.

If it doesnt happen who cares?

so i say: " give it a try"