It's IDF time!

Are you following the coverage?

Why Mobile Linux is Doomed

Would you like to download this mobile software? Please select your operating system:

• iPhone
• Windows Mobile
• Blackberry
  
• Symbian
• Linux

You have selected Linux. Please select your flavor:

• Xandros (Eee)
• moblin 2.0
  
• LiMo
  
• maemo
• Andriod (beta, perpetually)
• Ubuntu Mobile
• etc. etc. etc.

How much extra developer time would be involved in compiling and customizing each application to every potential mobile operating system? How much extra time would be involved in integrating each application with the appropriate distribution channels? Would all that time be worth it to the small target audience of mobile Linux devices?

One thing must happen for mobile Linux to thrive: The distribution sponsors must create a consistent application pool and installation experience. They must provide developers with ease and incentive to create applications for the platform. If this is not done, every mobile Linux device will be relegated to a small pool of hobbyists and dedicated fans.

Windows Mobile and Symbian provide the developers with incentive: There are just so many darn phones of theirs out there and the owners are known to pay for the application. Both platforms are lacking dedicated (and sponsored) application directories with easy on-device browsing and purchasing.

Apple came in with the solution to that: The iPhone application store is easy for users and provides the ability to browse, download, and purchase applications directly from the device. Apple now has enough phones in the marketplace to attract a purchasing audience for the software. However, they punish developers by telling then what can and cannot be sold there. They are also under strict non-disclosure clauses in participating in the iPhone application store.

Linux has the opportunity to learn from these competitors and blow them away. Since Linux systems are fewer and most are newer and more nimble than their competiors, they can rise above the shortcomings and dominate. The problem: It would delay launch of ALL the systems and stock holders would be mad. As a result, manufacturers and mobile Linux sponsors will cave to the stock holders' demands to release early and be the "first to market."

It's a shame. I will miss the excitement of mobile Linux systems. I hope some company is strong (or wealthy) enough to provide developers with the tools, distribution channels, and incentives to provide a rich application directory for their devices. Failing that, mobile Linux is doomed.

Phoenix, Arizona meetup

I met a few offline already, but are there enough tablet junkies, mobile Linux enthusiasts, or other friendly geeks willing to get together for talks on tips, tricks, and experiences with this technology?

Leave comments and I'll see what I can put together.

Moblin shakeup: Intel switches to Fedora

While covering OSCON, The Register has an article outlining Intel's switch from Ubuntu to Fedora as a base Linux distribution for Moblin. For those who had missed it, I covered the Ubuntu Mobile and Moblin relationship previously. It is currently unclear what this decision means to Ubuntu Mobile. I'll have to ask Canonical.

The Register points to an official decision to switch from .deb package management to .rpm package management. From their interview: "Dirk Hohndel, Intel's director of Linux and open-source strategy, told The Reg there was no falling out with Ubuntu, but the move to Fedora was a technical decision based on the desire to adopt RPM for package management."

Later in the article, there is a more telling reply: "The other thing we thought about was Moblin one wasn't successful in creating this community push - having a vibrant community push is the winning factor."

This brought to mind images of Steve Ballmer chanting. It's all about the developers and the community. Ubuntu is my favorite desktop Linux, but apparently the Ubuntu team did not bring that level of excitement to the MID platform. Intel wants more. Could you blame them? This is something that needs a great deal of community drive if it ever intends to get from board rooms to shelves.

If they really want developer and community excitement, they should make a hybrid operating system and cross-compilation toolchain for Nokia's maemo platform which would allow Nokia developers to simply compile their existing source against it. In these comments, it seems Internet Tablet owners are already clamoring for a larger, more powerful version of the same thing.

The Link vs. moblin image above is from ZeldaDungeon.

Congrats to James, Kevin, and Om

I am excited for my friends James Kendrick and Kevin Tofel of JKOnTheRun. They announced that they have joined the Giga Omni (GigaOm) family and will be contributing to that family of information portals.

Good for them!

On a side note: I, too, will be blogging a whole lot more in the near future. ThoughtFix has been acquired by Unemployment and the merge will take place a week from today (when the parent company of the "day job" gets rid of the IT department in Arizona.)

Goodbye, proprietary firmware!

Looking at the coffee machine above, you wouldn't guess it's a computer. It is. In fact, it runs Windows XP and is complete with XP security vulnerabilities as reported by SecurityFocus via Slashdot. While that may be discouraging, it is no less amazing that a coffee machine can operate a standard operating system and have applications written for it's own control.

That's the key, of course. "Standard" operating system. Looking at industry trends recently, it is becoming obvious that electronics makers are abandoning their own proprietary software in favor of established, often open-source systems. Examples:

• Nokia purchased Symbian outright, established the Symbian Foundation, and changed the Symbian structure to a royalty-free, open platform.
• Google's much-touted Android is part of an Open Handset Alliance with nearly three dozen partners.
• GPS maker Dash uses Linux as a base - the same Linux structure as the OpenMoko Linux phone.
• ACCESS Company, the owners of the PalmOS system, is building on the roots of PalmOS on top Linux. I recently interviewed them on this for tabletblog.
  

There are more (like LiMo) in the works as well. With the major names in partnerships and even the smaller companies working together, we can expect (hope for?) an end to the idea of a proprietary, closed firmware.

Consumers' voices have been heard: They want more from their devices than the software included in the box. Developers have been heard: They don't want to write the same software for two dozen platforms to get market penetration. The open-source community has been heard: When the system is open, it can be improved by the worldwide development community.

Apple begrudgingly opened up an application store for the iPhone but still keep it closed and on a tight leash. Microsoft has allowed development on the Windows Mobile platform for quite some time, but the Windows Mobile SDK requires Microsoft Visual Studio ($300 to $800 depending on the version) and uses a proprietary code "style" to interact with the still-closed operating system.

The question for discussion: Is this overall a good thing? How will this impact applications, security, cost, and evolution? What will happen to stodgy handset makers like LG who still stick with their own system? How will Microsoft and Apple react to the increasingly present, increasingly open competition?

Discuss!

When is a netbook not a netbook? When it's just another darn laptop!

Laptopmag has a comprehensive review of the Asus Eee PC 1000H. The problem with the new Eee is not in design, features, or capacity. The flaw is in the dilution of the Eee name.

The original Eee 701 has a distinct feature set that made it unique and successful:

• Low price
• Small size and 2.0 pound weight
  
• SSD
• Linux OS specifically geared for net use.

The Eee 1000H has the following:

• "Normal Laptop" price of US $649
• "Small notebook, but still notebook" size and 3.2 pound weight.
  
• 80 GB HDD
• Windows XP

In other words: It's just another darn laptop. The Eee 701 was revolutionary in that it was designed for internet use from the ground up. The Eee 1000H, while rather cute as a laptop, serves to dilute the Eee brand name and capitalize on the 701's success.

What else can you get for $649? Looking over at a major retailer (Best Buy's site) I see the following:

• A $649 HP with: AMD Turion 64 X2 mobile technology TL-60; 3GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe labeling; 15.4" widescreen; 250GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1
• A $649 Dell with: Intel Pentium Dual-Core mobile processor T2370; 2GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 15.4" widescreen; 160GB hard drive; Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1
• A $599 Compaq with: Intel Pentium Dual-Core mobile processor T2370; 3GB DDR2 memory; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; LightScribe technology; 17" widescreen; 160GB hard drive; built-in Web cam; Windows Vista Home Premium with SP1

Granted, none of these are under 4 pounds. Their weights are 5.2 pounds, 6.2 pounds, and 6.8 pounds respectively. Consumers are given a choice between "two pounds lighter" and "an order of magnitude more powerful" for the same price.

I beg you, Asus: Keep the revolutionary roots of the Eee 701. Don't make the Eee line into just another batch of underpowered subnotebooks destined to fade away into obscurity.

Origami Experience 2.0: More inspiration than value

I was actually excited enough about Origami Experience 2.0 to reinstall Windows Vista on my Samsung Q1 Ultra. The interface is actually rather pretty. The applets are arranged in "tiles" and selecting a tile brings it up front. The addition of "picture passwords" is interesting too.

There are problems, though:

• The RSS reader type thing didn't seem to populate with anything. If there was a button to manually refresh it, I could not find it.
• To configure any given widget, the widget must be selected and the menu item "Main tile options" must be selected. This is just about the opposite of intuitive. How difficult would it have been to put a little gear on the corner of each tile once it's selected?
  
• The software adds value to UMPCs but not enough to justify the Vista overhead.
  

After discussing this with a couple other mobile tech bloggers and reading Kevin Tofel's take on it, I see many of us are of a similar mind: Too little and too late.

If this was incorporated into UMPCs when they were first released, they could have gained traction as a "secondary desktop display" when they weren't mobile. With Vista the exclusive target for UMPCs, CPU and battery capability must rise while costs must fall.

I've said before that Vista killed the UMPC for at least two years. It's now a year and a half into that time. Within the next six months, UMPCs need to pack enough CPU, RAM, and graphics horsepower to run Vista without lag else they will fade into the shadows of MIDs, ULCPCs (that's a new acronym: Ultra-low-cost-PCs like the Eee) and even rich, large-screen smartphones.

Origami Experience 2.0 isn't without merit. It shows Microsoft is still developing for this platform and shows what devices of this type COULD do. However, it should be improved as a feature yet still be a sideline to the function. After all: Why would someone buy a UMPC?

Share your knowledge - Win some money!

Jeff Moriarty at the Intel Software Network posted an announcement on the ISN blogs calling for contributions to an Intel sponsored MID wiki. I'll do what I can to help given my limited understanding of the systems but hope others will hop on this as well.

Here's a quote:

Each week we're offering a $100 US to a random contribution (real content, not just changing punctuation!) So the more content you add, the more chances you have to win. Of course, no fair taking content inappropriately from other sources, and make sure you read the full rules because you need to sign up for the contest in addition to making the wiki edits. Content is not limited to Intel related MIDs, and we've love contributions on Google Android, Apple's iPhone SDK, and other players in the industry.

Since content is not limited to Intel MIDs, I'll add a bunch of stuff about maemo and Nokia Internet Tablets. That should help developers as Moblin and maemo share a lot of code. Even so - I'd rather one of you win the $100!

Speaking of Moblin and such, Steve at UMPC Portal has been posting in a forum thread about his experiences with testing the latest Ubuntu Mobile build. I too downloaded the image and created a USB installer, but am waiting to back up the Q1 Ultra since the installer would wipe XP off the UMPC. Thanks to JKK Mobile for the tip to the thread.

tnkgrl makes me jealous - mods a FlipStart with HSDPA

I've mentioned tnkgrl here before and she's at it again with her hacks. This time, she modded a Vulcan FlipStart with HSDPA. I'm going to follow her advice (once budget allows) and do the same with my Samsung Q1 Ultra. In the meantime, here's a good tip from Jenn at Pocketables on how to get HSDPA from AT&T for only $20 per month!

Combine the two tips from these wonder women of tech and you've got your internet access in your pocket from anywhere. Great work.

So THAT'S a netbook...

While reading my RSS feeds this morning, I saw Jenn at Pocketables write a post that is nearly identical to a post that I had in mind. I haven't been covering all the new product launches and comparisons because I leave news and reporter-style writing to other great bloggers like UMPC Portal.

I'm the Linux guy. I'll hack it, tweak it, tune it, upgrade it, and get all the wonky stuff to work. I haven't been writing on that because I haven't had a new device in my hands for a while. We'll see where the market goes. I'm excited to watch!

Intel gets it - sets up a MID developer community.

When I first thought of Intel and their involvement in the open source device market, I admit I had a hard time accepting that such a big, diverse company would be nimble and open enough to attract Linux developers. My doubts were quickly laid to rest by some conversations I had with MID team members at CES and since then.

More evidence of this showed up today as Jeff Moriarty of Intel Software Network blogs post about a new software development community and wiki presented by Intel. This is in addition to the resources on moblin.org already.

Let's keep this ball rolling. Providing developers with the resources they need is crucial in the success of any platform.

Eee PC - Six months later

Did I really buy this thing six months ago? It seems like only yesterday.

Most of my mobile computing has been taken over by the Samsung Q1U-V but I still believe the Eee PC is worth the $400 spent on it. The primary function of the Eee is now a second household computer - used for recipes and music in the kitchen, chat, light web browsing, and streaming entertainment. The tiny power brick and good battery life away from the desk make it perfect to cart around the house.

I cannot use my Eee, though. The person to whom I loaned it will not give it back.

When her Sony VAIO died, she was without a laptop. Since I have the Q1U, TabletKiosk eo, and Nokia Internet tablets, I felt I could lend out the Eee safely without worry. Sony had her laptop for three weeks and it finally came back last week. Most of the stuff was repaired, but the screen hinge is now wobbly and the screen flicker problem is still there.

She now uses her desktop computer for gaming and the Eee for light web browsing, Email, chat, and last.fm streaming. Even with tiny hands, she feels the keyboard is cramped but still functional. The worst part, according to her, is going back and forth between the desktop and the Eee.

With the Sony laptop back in her hands, I asked if I could have my Eee back. Her response: "Do you want the VAIO instead? It's dead to me."

While I am on the topic of shoddy service (the Sony reminded me of this) I remember sending an Email request through Samsung's support form weeks ago. I asked if it was possible to purchase a copy of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition to downgrade (upgrade?) Vista on my Q1U-V. Still no response. Is this typical for Samsung? Let me know.

MID pricing: You're doing it wrong!

UMPC Portal is reporting an expected US $750 on launch for the Gigabyte M528 MID. This is after his initial discovery where the price actually looked closer to US $1450. Even at $750, this is overpriced. There's no good reason MIDs should outprice budget laptops and compete with UMPCs. The Samsung Q1U-V (800 MHz Intel A110, 1 GB RAM, 60 GB HDD) is currently $782 new on Amazon.com.

MIDs and non-phone, non-computer Internet devices have two challenges to the sale:

1. Convince consumers they need or want one.
2. Convince customers that their solution is the right one.

Gigabyte may be hoping to capture an early adopter crowd or first-to-market hype for their MID, but even as a devout early adopter, I wouldn't spend more than $500 on a new device of this class - especially with the Nokia tablets and Eee PC available. The upcoming Nokia N810 WiMAX Edition price seems to be in the US $440 range so that's the current price to beat.

Hardy Heron on the Q1 Ultra - First notes.

My first attempt to install failed and the USB key said "No bootable partition on device." Apparently the boot loader didn't install properly on the USB key. After deciding to install it on a partition on the hard drive, I rapidly discovered what happened: I tried to boot into Windows to shrink the NTFS partition in order to to make a 10 GB Ubuntu partition on the hard drive. Upon the next boot from the hard drive, I got the following message:

GRUB Loading stage1.5
GRUB loading, please wait...
Error 21

Apparently, the Ubuntu installation - even when installed to the USB drive - attempted to drop the boot loader on the main hard drive. This fouled up Vista booting as well. Time for repair work.

I booted from the Ubuntu disc again, this time going through the installer and selecting "manual" for disk partitioning. I edited my /dev/sda1 ntfs partition to be 50000 MB instead of the default 60008 MB. It said it "may take a long time" to resize. It took 10 minutes. I created a 9000 GB partition for root and used the rest for swap. I know I have more RAM than swap so cannot hibernate my computer, but I am ok with that.

When creating a password for the user account, remember how much of a pain it is to use symbols or numbers on the Q1 Ultra. I made mine in all letters. After that, the installation was smooth.

Upon first boot, the GRUB boot loader came up fine. I decided to first test if I had lost Vista in the installation. Vista's boot loader triggered just fine but then went right into chkdsk. No errors reported in chkdsk and, upon completion and reboot, Vista worked as well as Vista does.


Time to explore Ubuntu!
What works out of the box:

• Thumb keyboard
• Mouse pointer
• Joystick mode on the mouse pointer
• Wired networking
• WiFi networking
• Bluetooth
• Volume buttons
• User buttons on the right (works as a D pad)
• Visual enhancements
• SD card reader
• Power suspend and resume

What doesn't work:

• Cameras and camera button
• Touch

What works but is SLOW:

• Flash and Flash Video

Now it was time to "borrow" some drivers and information from my working Ubuntu Mobile flash boot device. The filesystems are stored in .img files on the flash drive, so I had to run the following:

(first check to make sure the flash drive is mounted as /media/disk as it would by default.)

mkdir /media/flashdisk
mount /media/disk/rootfs.img /media/flashdisk -o loop

That gave me the root filesystem mounted to /media/flashdisk. I wanted to see what Ubuntu Mobile was using for a touchscreen controller, so I poked around in /media/flashdisk/etc/X11/xorg.conf
I wondered how lazy I could possibly be and still make this work. Here's what I did:

• cp /etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/original.xorg.conf
• cp /media/flashdrive/etc/X11/xorg.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf

As luck would have it, /etc/init.d/xserver-xorg-input-wacom was already in the default Ubuntu installation so I hoped that would work out of the box. Time to reboot!
No such luck. Ubuntu restarted into "low graphics mode." I copied the file back and rebooted again, then removed the Synaptics lines from xorg.conf and added the wacom lines in.
While I was in there, I decided to see what else showed up in the Ubuntu Mobile boot. One thing caught my eye:
/media/flashdrive/etc/init.d/samsung-q1-ultra-keycode-setup
Nice! That will get my buttons going! I put that in my /etc/init.d and added the matching symlink from etc/rc3.d to my own rc3.d

Of course, I still didn't have a /dev/input/wacom so I needed to make one:
After some poking, I decided to borrow /etc/udev/rules.d/60-xserver-xorg-input-wacom.rules and put it on the Ubuntu install.

At this point (after a reboot) I discovered that my touchscreen registered mouse clicks and double-clicks, but did not track around the screen. Google led me to this great page, but I was still having difficulty and the calibration tool did not run properly.

I took a break after that and did some other work. I intended to set up the SD card reader as swap space, but made a couple typos and fried my partition table on the hard drive. This experiment is paused for now. I'll return to it next weekend after I settle in to my new apartment. Hope this helps somebody!

Q1 Ultra - The Ubuntu Linux Experiment

With the release of Ubuntu 8.04 "Hardy Heron," I thought it would be a good time to try out an all-Ubuntu installation on my Samsung Q1 Ultra. It's a Q1U-V upgraded with 2GB RAM and the install is temporarily going on a 4GB USB stick. I know darn well that wireless, touch, and other drivers work fine on an Ubuntu Mobile installation so it should be a simple task to figure out how to get the same drivers to work on a "Regular Ubuntu" installation.

It's installing now. I'll post more as I learn more.