On Thu, Apr 8, 2010 at 7:39 AM, Bryan Smith <[email protected]> wrote:
> Kari,

And list...  :)

> Amazon's Kindle runs Linux, BUT it was almost stifled by Microsoft
> unless they signed a big fat hairy cross licensing agreement and paid
> Microsoft $$$ to run Linux. The ipad killer is literally here already.

BSD is just as capable an OS without the licensing issues.  They're
similar enough that you could deploy BSD now, and then switch to a
Linux kernel later under the radar.

> We have magnitudes more software available than the iphone OS can
> imagine.

No.  33,333 packages in Debian does not mean there are literally
33,333 bits of software for you to use.  Your average tablet computer
user doesn't care about SQL, libboost, or many of the other little
bits of software that glue Linux together.

iPhone platform has literally 100,000 actual apps for users to use.
Granted, 95,000 of them are total garbage (probably closer to 99,000
of them) but that's still 1,000 or so fantastic apps for people to
use.

In terms of realizing a dream of a better user experience, Apple is
far ahead of Linux.  Technically Linux is more open and more capable.
Practically Apple is more advanced and more usable.

> We just need someone to produce the thing, make nice pretty software
> packages for the consumer to click and install, restrict the gui for
> the average consumer yet allow developers and other hackers full
> access to it. If not, people will hack it and squeeze Linux on it

Some kind of store for services to allow developers to have a means of
getting paid for their services would be nice, too.  If a developer
builds a game that sends high scores to a server, it'd be nice to have
an easy unified payment system in the store to allow the user to pay
the developer for keeping that scores server running.

> anyway, thus the hackers create a niche buying frenzy. Why not open it
> in the first place!
>
> No one said anything about this CRAZY Amazon+Microsoft deal here in
> the lug so I figured this topic was a good segue for it. Kari, here is

I had never heard of it before, so it's news to me.

> your Linux Ebook reader getting muscled by Microsoft. BTW, there are
> also TONS of hacks for the Kindle to do nice things, but by itself the
> Kindle sends your GPS locations, sites, syslog and books read back to
> Amazon(not so nice)!

No colour screen.  Major problem IMHO.  While the screen is more
capable for actual book reading, I think the rich media we're seeing
news move towards is obsoleting the Kindle's technology.

For instance, the Wall Street Journal has an iPad app.  For a
subscription fee, you can have news stories syndicated to your tablet
device in real time.  It's also like a newspaper from Harry Potter
because it gives the journalists the ability to embed video in their
articles, and potentially other rich media based on JavaScript and
HTML5 elements.  Publishing redactions and updates can be instant and
painless, not to mention free.

> Microsoft+Amazon deal news... FUD as usual
> http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10457989-56.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Awesome, I'll bury their ideological credibility next to Novell's
(nobody left flowers, either.  How rude).

-- 
Registered Linux Addict #431495
For Faith and Family! | John 3:16!
http://www.fsdev.net/

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