Re: [tlug] shopping for a 7" tablet; non-Android linux on tablets...

[Kalin KOZHUHAROV <me.kalin@example.com>]

On Fri, Jun 7, 2013 at 10:44 AM, Nikolay Elenkov <nick@example.com> wrote:
>> The other day I won iPad mini out of the blue which was properly
>> bought with a gift receipt and so I dully returned it to the other
>> church (they call it the Apple store) and got money back after some
>> "work".
>>
>
> Well, Windows Surface Pro just launched in Japan, so it's not like there
> is no alternative :)
>
That is another NOP for me.

>> I think that a 1280x800 7" display will do it (while waiting for A3
>> size / 4K to be available).
>> And the obvious choice is Nexus 7. Actually there seems to be a better
>> choice: iRiver ITQ701 (has uSD card slot). Anything else?
>>
>
> What do you want to use it for? If you don't care for Google services
> (Play Store, Gmail sync etc.) almost any cheap tablet will probably do.
>
Hmm, I can definitely live without sync and I guess using a browser on
a tablet will be easier than on a small-screen phone, so gmail can be
a web-browser app.

My short list:
	temrinal
	ssh
	on-screen kbd + ime
	browser
	media-player
	running remote X apps
	may be nfs-client
	...
	gcc toolchain :-)

> The advantage of the Nexus 7 is that (almost) all of the OS is open source
> and drivers and firmware blobs are available. Those are notoriously hard
> to come by and if you want to get 'vanilla' Linux or anything else running
> you will need to know how they are wired together (without having to
> reverse the whole thing). Usual suspects: HW-accelerated video, GPS, WiFi,
> NFC.
>
Yeah, driver problems are not my favorite drills...

> I'd say your best bet is to stay with Android, root it and install
> whatever you need. There are even some project that let you run X server
> on top of the surface flinger so you can get some regular X apps too. This
> might also be helpful:
>
> http://www.slideshare.net/opersys/leveraging-linux-heritage-at-andevcon3
>
I have been reading a bit about Android way of doing things, but so
far I cannot see a reason to have it on a tablet.
And I am still puzzled as to why isn't standard linux suited for tablets...

> There is always Ubuntu, but it's not quite usable yet. They do have
> support for the Nexus 7 and 10:
>
> http://www.ubuntu.com/tablet
>
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/Install
>
Yep, I also had some look at MultiROM, may be I'll end up hacking
another linux (Gentoo flavored).

Will grab a Nexus 7 from Akihabara, tomorrow before TLUG

Kalin.