The Linux Desktop isn't Dead, it's Pining

I know it sounds crazy but the Linux Desktop isn't dead, it's just pining. It's pining for the correct platform--a tablet computer. And, I'm not referring to some cheap imitation tablet that will merely satisfy a few observers and nerdlets who use Linux. I'm thinking of a tablet computer for hardcore Linux moguls. You know, the kind of Linux person who is so into Linux that he tries to carry an egg on his feet through the winter. The kind of Linux fan who carries a wallet-sized photo of Linus Torvalds in her wallet. Linux pines for a true tablet platform that will do Linux justice and vice versa. Does one exist? Not yet.

It's hard to admit that the Linux Community just doesn't have enough force behind it to create and support a Linux tablet.

Oh, I know that there are a few Linux "pads" out there and a few more in the works but none have the appeal of the Apple iPad. Who do we think we're fooling with the notion that there is a Linux-based product that could compete with the iPad?

Not me.

Don't fret. I'm not buying a damn iPad either. I just don't think I can justify $700+ on something that a) I wouldn't feel good about because it isn't Linux, b) I can't afford, c) will be obsolete in a year, and d) is Apple-based.

But, to the original point, the Linux Desktop needs its own venue. On standard PCs and laptops, it is viewed as a replacement for Windows. On a phone, it seems like a "You're trying too hard" replacement for whatever operating system your phone uses. On these cheap little tablet computer wannabes, it seems like a poor replacement attempt for Apple.

Perhaps what the Linux Community needs is a new device. A new generation device that uses Skype for VOIP calls, has a stylus-writable screen (also does touch), may contain a fully installed Linux OS (not just an Android Linuxette system), is fully connectible via peripherals and has expandable memory. I'm sick of single use and non-upgradeable devices. Normal people just don't have the money to replace their gadgetry every two years. We need something that we can grow with and retrofit with new devices and peripherals.

Someone needs to get to work on that.

Oh? You think that I should do it?

Here's my personal dilemma. If I had the money to do it, I wouldn't. And, since I don't have the money, I can't do it. But, someone needs to. Just not me.

I, too, am pining for a Linux tablet or some as yet uninvented device that would impress the most jaded of curmudgeonly Linux Community observers.

I'll keep dreaming and Linux will keep pining.

[jackg]

Funny you should mention this but I think I might have one of the gizmo's you're pining for.
http://www.partner.com.tw/product/default.asp?prober=86.

[khess]

Funny you should mention this but I think I might have one of the gizmo's you're pining for.
http://www.partner.com.tw/product/default.asp?prober=86.

I want one. Send me one for review.

[rich3800]

I know it sounds crazy but the Linux Desktop isn't dead, it's just pining. It's pining for the correct platform--a tablet computer. And, I'm not referring to some cheap imitation tablet that will merely satisfy a few observers and nerdlets who use Linux. I'm thinking of a tablet computer for hardcore Linux moguls. You know, the kind of Linux person who is so into Linux that he tries to carry an egg on his feet through the winter. The kind of Linux fan who carries a wallet-sized photo of Linus Torvalds in her wallet. Linux pines for a true tablet platform that will do Linux justice and vice versa. Does one exist? Not yet.

It's hard to admit that the Linux Community just doesn't have enough force behind it to create and support a Linux tablet.

Oh, I know that there are a few Linux "pads" out there and a few more in the works but none have the appeal of the Apple iPad. Who do we think we're fooling with the notion that there is a Linux-based product that could compete with the iPad?

Not me.

Don't fret. I'm not buying a damn iPad either. I just don't think I can justify $700+ on something that a) I wouldn't feel good about because it isn't Linux, b) I can't afford, c) will be obsolete in a year, and d) is Apple-based.

But, to the original point, the Linux Desktop needs its own venue. On standard PCs and laptops, it is viewed as a replacement for Windows. On a phone, it seems like a "You're trying too hard" replacement for whatever operating system your phone uses. On these cheap little tablet computer wannabes, it seems like a poor replacement attempt for Apple.

Perhaps what the Linux Community needs is a new device. A new generation device that uses Skype for VOIP calls, has a stylus-writable screen (also does touch), may contain a fully installed Linux OS (not just an Android Linuxette system), is fully connectible via peripherals and has expandable memory. I'm sick of single use and non-upgradeable devices. Normal people just don't have the money to replace their gadgetry every two years. We need something that we can grow with and retrofit with new devices and peripherals.

Someone needs to get to work on that.

Oh? You think that I should do it?

Here's my personal dilemma. If I had the money to do it, I wouldn't. And, since I don't have the money, I can't do it. But, someone needs to. Just not me.

I, too, am pining for a Linux tablet or some as yet uninvented device that would impress the most jaded of curmudgeonly Linux Community observers.

I'll keep dreaming and Linux will keep pining.

What would impress me would be a PC I could wear, that would leave my hands free to do other stuff, like the MIThril http://www.media.mit.edu/wearables/mithril/hardware/index.html . Looking at the picture of the MIThril, you may recoil at the sight of so many components. But remember, this is an MIT project. A "regular" geek may not need so many components. And there's miniaturization coming into play. Many components will someday will end up on the same chip.

[nick.crane]

If its a wearable device you want check this out
http://www.eurotech-ltd.co.uk/en/products.aspx?pg=Zypad%20WL%2011xx&pp=Wrist%20Worn%20Computers&pc=758&pid=10223

[rich3800]

If its a wearable device you want check this out
http://www.eurotech-ltd.co.uk/en/products.aspx?pg=Zypad%20WL%2011xx&pp=Wrist%20Worn%20Computers&pc=758&pid=10223

Ah, the Zypad. I had my eye on it for a while. If I remember well, its price is in the $5000-6000 range. Too much for my taste. If one needs to have local data storage that one can trust then it better be rugged and watertight, commanding top prices, otherwise one can perform many of the same functions with a cloud-connected smartphone.

[nick.crane]

Yes, i agree. I have been hoping for a suitable project so that I can use it as an operator interface and have a play with one. Not received any yet.

As a general use PC, the concept is flawed. It is not realy any different to a smartphone, in that because is it wrist worn you still only have to use one hand for its operation; it might as well be hand held. But it does look good.

True wearability will come from a HUD in sunglasses with 3D projected keyboard and motion sensing to operate it.

[pogson]

Nonsense! GNU/Linux is cross-platform and alive and well on the desktop. Where I work 90% of PCs are running GNU/Linux. Users like it because it is fast, doesn't need a lot of re-re-reboots and I like it because it is easy to maintain. By next year we will only have a few PCs left running that other OS.

[rich3800]

Yes, i agree. I have been hoping for a suitable project so that I can use it as an operator interface and have a play with one. Not received any yet.

As a general use PC, the concept is flawed. It is not realy any different to a smartphone, in that because is it wrist worn you still only have to use one hand for its operation; it might as well be hand held. But it does look good.

True wearability will come from a HUD in sunglasses with 3D projected keyboard and motion sensing to operate it.

I have seen some products that feature printed-on clothes. The one I saw had a keyboard printed on its lap http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/23/keyboard-infused-pants-make-it-okay-to-grab-your-crotch/ .

[DawmIt]

Not the hardware.... Make it run Win apps natively and watch it grow. Until then, nobody in the BUSINESS users are going to use it. Like it or not.

[rich3800]

I, for one, intend to base my BUSINESS on Linux and OSS as no startup in their right mind can afford to run their day to day operations on Windows. That era is long gone. Just too expensive.

[pogson]

Not the hardware.... Make it run Win apps natively and watch it grow. Until then, nobody in the BUSINESS users are going to use it. Like it or not.

You mean like IBM, Novell, Ernie Ball, Banks, Stock Exchanges, Google, Panasonic, Peugeot, Virgin America, Cisco, Amazon, Burlington Coat Factory, ...?

Then, there are all kinds of servers and high-performance clusters.