Ubuntu For Cortex A8

[pseudomind]

I am quite excited about the idea of arm based linux netbooks. My only hope is that they don't make them look and feel like a cheep toy, which seems to be the norm. If they play their cards correctly it could be a major blow to the nuts of both the current state of x86 domination of desktop/laptop setups and microsoft. As far as I'm concerned good riddence to the both of them.

 

[bawjaws]

Over on http://planet.ubuntu.com there's at least two people mentioned that they're waiting for Pandora's to get this working.

Also of interest, there's someone claiming that this Ubuntu release is primarily intended for Nokia's next-gen Maemo platform which has been announced to run on some of the same OMAP 3 hardware as Pandora:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080...-tablet-os.html

This also means, if true, that it'll be intended to be used with small, high DPI touchscreens. Interesting Times.

 

[mali]

Over on http://planet.ubuntu.com there's at least two people mentioned that they're waiting for Pandora's to get this working.

Also of interest, there's someone claiming that this Ubuntu release is primarily intended for Nokia's next-gen Maemo platform which has been announced to run on some of the same OMAP 3 hardware as Pandora:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080...-tablet-os.html

This also means, if true, that it'll be intended to be used with small, high DPI touchscreens. Interesting Times.


Actually Nokia started an own Ubuntu project some time ago, that isn't related to the ARM/Canonical announcement.

 

[bawjaws]

This also means, if true, that it'll be intended to be used with small, high DPI touchscreens. Interesting Times.

Actually Nokia started an own Ubuntu project some time ago, that isn't related to the ARM/Canonical announcement.


Well, no-one has yet stated that it's related, and this latest announcement doesn't mention Nokia at all, but, now that someone has brought up the possibility that Nokia is working on this too in an as-yet unnanounced collaboration with Canonical, it makes a lot of sense to me.

Some random things that tie together:

* Nokia open sourcing their HSPA and Wifi drivers for Maemo
* Nokia bundling a bunch of previously "desktop" technologies in Maemo5
* Nokia announcing a move to OMAP 3
* Nokia adopting Upstart, the Ubuntu startup script
* ARM and Canonical's focus on OMAP 3
* Canonical/Ubuntu's MID remix (originally done with Intel devices in mind) http://www.ubuntu.com/products/mobile
* Release date of ARMbunutu and Maemo5 being very similar

Could be something, could be nothing. I'm guessing it's good news for Pandora owners whether they're officially working together or not, but having Ubuntu specifically targetting such a similar device, yet not only that device (as is the case with Maemo) could be very good indeed.

A quick Google suggests some Maemo folks are thinking the same way:
http://linuxuk.org/ubuntu_on_maemo

 

[Sphinxter]

Not only does ubuntu bring absolutely nothing to the party besides their usual load of hype, they're late.

 

[closetwam]

Yes, but at least someone is bringing the hype

Hype (in some form) is part of most (maybe all) marketing strategies. And Ubuntu has received more hype than any other distro. I think that probably makes them a more valuable team member than the next distro, in terms of marketing.

 

[mali]

Not only does ubuntu bring absolutely nothing to the party besides their usual load of hype , they're late.

I've highlighted the important part. The whole ARM netbook/ Ubuntu thing will be free advertising

 

[quadomatic]

OMG this is going to be fantastic.

 

[Wootson]

Sounds exciting! One of the main reasons I ordered a Pandora was the hope that one day there would be a full Linux distribution with all bells and whistles. It would be great to use the Pandora as a PDA-like gadget.

It seems that one day we can have two good Linux distributions on the Pandora.

I wonder what the Pandora devs are going to do from here on. I guess the best thing to do would be to partly ban the Ubuntu project till after the release and until that time work a little more on the default Pandora distribution.

 

[mali]

I guess the best thing to do would be to partly ban the Ubuntu project till after the release and until that time work a little more on the default Pandora distribution.

+1
I want a real handheld linux, so Angström is the way to go IMO.
Why do the work to get Ubuntu ready when others with much more resources do it for you for free

 

[Consequence_9]

Even though I'm not the biggest fan of Ubuntu, the way I see it this is good for everyone. This might spark other distros to put out their own ARM-tailored version. Here's hoping for Pandora Fedora =D

 

[Epoch]

For a small handheld I would prefer as minimal a footprint for the OS as possible both system resources and display area. GMenu looks fine to me for launching any apps I would need, I don't see a huge advantage to a full desktop environment.

I can see why some might want it but it seems less practical than what has been shown so far.

 

[bawjaws]

For a small handheld I would prefer as minimal a footprint for the OS as possible both system resources and display area. GMenu looks fine to me for launching any apps I would need, I don't see a huge advantage to a full desktop environment.

I don't think anyone's suggesting replacing the basic launcher, but rather adding the ability to boot Ubuntu (and/or other distros) from an SD card. It'll only increase options, and since it's all linux at the end of the day, any Pandora specific fixes from Ubuntu will find their way into other distros such as Angstrom that'll underly the main Pandora OS (and vice-versa).

In case anyone cares, my speculation above about Nokia/Maemo being part of this deal has been squashed by one of the Maemo guys.

 

[javaJake]

Some minor news on this topic:

QUOTE
We've also been spending some time getting the new ARM port
up and running (http://www.ubuntu.com/news/arm-linux), although its
build daemons are still catching up so installable images will have to
wait for a future Alpha release.
Source

As far as I can tell, they're looking to get Jaunty available in ARM form in April (earlier if you don't mind alpha/beta stuff).

 

[Svartalf]

I don't think anyone's suggesting replacing the basic launcher, but rather adding the ability to boot Ubuntu (and/or other distros) from an SD card. It'll only increase options, and since it's all linux at the end of the day, any Pandora specific fixes from Ubuntu will find their way into other distros such as Angstrom that'll underly the main Pandora OS (and vice-versa).

Considering the remarks made in the "Alternate OS Poll", that doesn't come across that way.

Everyone seems to be conveying the impression that their pet distro would be the best on the NAND, even to the point of them "hoping that we'll check them out once they get the distro built up for Cortex-A8 for install there..."

Some minor news on this topic:

QUOTE
We've also been spending some time getting the new ARM port
up and running (http://www.ubuntu.com/news/arm-linux), although its
build daemons are still catching up so installable images will have to
wait for a future Alpha release.
Source

As far as I can tell, they're looking to get Jaunty available in ARM form in April (earlier if you don't mind alpha/beta stuff).

Nice, I might just do an SD spin from off of that stuff, then...

 

[Brockway]

You wouldn't want to replace the nand OS though, what would be the point of trying to install a desktop type OS on 512mb of space? Isn't it what allows you to dual boot from SD anyways?