Am I the only one...
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| caitlyn Apr 23, 2009 12:11 AM EDT |
...who thinks that Android is just another Linux distro? If the first netbook with Zenwalk preinstalled was spotted would anyone write about it? Would anyone care? |
| tracyanne Apr 23, 2009 1:54 AM EDT |
No caitlyn, you are not. |
| TxtEdMacs Apr 23, 2009 7:19 AM EDT |
Nonetheless, (uncharacteristically serious) there is some additional significance worthy of note and as discussed at length on various sites and forums. That is, the lessened price point and the difficulties such devices pose to MS. Yes it is Linux, but with a twist ... |
| jdixon Apr 23, 2009 9:39 AM EDT |
The only reason Android is getting the press it's getting is the Google tie-in. Otherwise you're correct, it's just another Linux distro. |
| Sander_Marechal Apr 23, 2009 9:56 AM EDT |
Well, Android really isn't "just" another Linux distro. If it was, you'd be getting the root password and you'd be able to change stuff :-) |
| gus3 Apr 23, 2009 10:52 AM EDT |
Do you suppose we could get Matt Hartley and SJVN on the "Android==Linux" bandwagon? Sander: "sudo bash" has worked on every distro I've needed it for, so far. Disclaimer: I haven't tried Android. |
| Sander_Marechal Apr 23, 2009 2:07 PM EDT |
You don't get sudo either on Android. At least not on their phones. You have to get a special developer edition if you want root, but that edition doesn't have access to half the Android store. I really wonder how they're going to do that with the netbooks. |
| gus3 Apr 23, 2009 2:16 PM EDT |
I remember now, Android got hit with that "every keystroke to an invisible command line" bug. |
| Steven_Rosenber Apr 23, 2009 8:24 PM EDT |
I think the Google brand will go a long way toward bringing Linux use on the deskop (or at least the "netbook desktop") further into the mainstream. Even though a significant number of netbooks are being sold with either Ubuntu, Xandros or "other," if I ask 50 non-geeks what Ubuntu is, I bet none of them will have a clue. While Ubuntu is better than most at going beyond the proverbial "preaching to the choir," I bet 99 percent of the heat generated by Ubuntu in terms of marketing and gushing fanboy-ism is only felt by the faithful. On the other hand, Ask 1,000 people on the street what Google is, and I bet most of them know. So a Google OS, even one based on Linux, will reach an entirely different audience. Maybe I'm missing it, but I don't see any big campaign by, say Dell, telling potential users what's so great about Ubuntu and how it differs from Windows. That's what we need, and I bet Google does a good job if it goes down that road (from appliances such as cell phones to traditional laptop/desktop computers) with Android. |
| bigg Apr 23, 2009 10:19 PM EDT |
The ARM netbooks are supposed to be pretty cheap. In this economy, cheap is king. For the right price, a lot of folks will learn Linux. As the price falls, being nothing more than an internet browser, email client, and word processing machine is sufficient to justify the purchase. The average Windows user can figure that out by him/herself in 10 minutes. |
| hkwint Apr 23, 2009 10:50 PM EDT |
Quoting:The only reason Android is getting the press it's getting is the Google tie-in. Otherwise you're correct, it's just another Linux distro. Here's something interesting I noted as of lately, -There are ~32 models of mobile phones running LiMo Linux. Raise your hands, who heard of LiMo before? And if you do, have your geek friends heard of it? -There's 1 model running Android Linux at the moment. Why didn't LiMo receive 32 times as much news-articles as Android, someone might ask. It is what I asked myself. The answer is simple, LiMo has a different philosophy. People shouldn't be noting they are using Linux. They just should be noting they are using a cool phone which just works. Both Linux and LiMo are no selling points or advertising stamps. Android is different: "Make as much noise, because for the iPhone it worked" I guess. I really hope in two years from now we can see what worked better. To be honestly, I don't have an idea. Both might work and both might fail I guess, but the same goes for about anything. |
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