"We’re saying let’s expose less of the interface," said Shuttleworth

[Troodon]

There is a revolution in the making on the Ubuntu platform: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/372385/ubuntu-rips-up-drop-down-menus

"Running desktop apps on a tablet will be a frustrating experience." -- hopefully Lazarus/FPC will be ready to meet the challenge.

[felipemdc]

Ubuntu has been on the wrong track for quite some time now. In the end they will end up alienating those which previously liked the platform (not me, I never liked it) and will also not gain the new consumers because those are already using iPad and Android. There are already news of Ubuntu loosing popularity: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2127579/ubuntu-popularity-falls-linux-mint-flourishes

Touch screen devices have been around for ages and Lazarus supports them for ages via Windows CE, and more recently via Android. It is not at all a big deal nor are the differences so great as proclaimed.

The issue with complex applications not running well in tablets is just this: Tablets are not productive. If you want to do productive work use a desktop or notebook, because they have a better ergonomy and provide higher productivity at work. That's why Android and iOS are well fit for those devices, they are also not optimized for productivity, they are optimized for entertainment / internet / mail / reading books.

[jwdietrich]

Thank you for your contribution. It is excellent background information in the debate about general computation. See also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUEvRyemKSg .

[sfeinst]

The issue with complex applications not running well in tablets is just this: Tablets are not productive. If you want to do productive work use a desktop or notebook, because they have a better ergonomy and provide higher productivity at work. That's why Android and iOS are well fit for those devices, they are also not optimized for productivity, they are optimized for entertainment / internet / mail / reading books.

Couldn't have said it better.  People need to stop thinking that just because something is a computer it is supposed to be used for the same purposes as another computer.  I would go nuts trying to write code on a tablet.

[Troodon]

Most of us seem to agree that tablets are not for general purpose computing, and certainly not for software development. But neither are servers, or Android smartphones, or Arduino microcontrollers. There is no reason not to develop applications for these devices. Ubuntu 12 will include the classic desktop as an option, so developers are safe. This is similar to what Windows 8 aims for with the classic desktop as an option to the new Metro user interface. Ubuntu will lose some, possible most, of its long time fans in the process but it may be a good choice for them in the end.

As a side note, sometimes I find myself to be reluctant to change for no solid reason. But then I notice that my boss, who is 75 years old, is a lot more open to change and adaptable than I am, has a brilliant mind, and she runs up the stairs in our office building like a twentysomething. So I try to learn something from her.

[felipemdc]

Well, sometimes people do something totally different and it turns out to be revolutionary, sells a lot, is very popular, etc. But we can't forget that more often then that, we can see someone do something different and end up ... bankrupt, dead, irrelevant.

That was Windows Phone 7. They did their bold move. Killed native apps and restarted with a crippled interface without even copy+paste. What happened? Microsoft went from a confortable 3rd place in the market place into absolute irrelevance in less then 1 year =) In their marketing offensive in Dezember 2010 they spent 2 billion dollars no results at all. If they didn't have Windows, Office and XBox as cash cows to be able to absorve losses, if Windows Phone was a single company, it would be bankrupt.

So just like Windows Phone 7 "revolution" was a disaster, other "revolutions" can end up just as bad. And Ubuntu's "revolution" is not going very well. I wonder how well the Windows 8 "revolution" will turn out for them. At least Microsoft has a very confortable position, as they have very strong OEM agreements, most companies are still loyal to them, Linux still truggles in the desktop and Macs are not trying to compete at all in the low end of the market because they demand a premium price. But it would be funny if they achieve the impossible and end up with a strong loss at desktop market share.

[marcov]

There is a revolution in the making on the Ubuntu platform: http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/372385/ubuntu-rips-up-drop-down-menus

"Running desktop apps on a tablet will be a frustrating experience." -- hopefully Lazarus/FPC will be ready to meet the challenge.

You mean providing mint packages?

[marcov]

This is similar to what Windows 8 aims for with the classic desktop as an option to the new Metro user interface. Ubuntu will lose some, possible most, of its long time fans in the process but it may be a good choice for them in the end.

Note that this is all talk based on a beta. In the same phase of the Vista cycle they argued that the filesystem would be replaced by a database, and we all know how that turned out.

I would be very,very careful with conclusions about Windows8 till RTM, when the major OEMs start shipping and comments are actually based on functionality shipped, and not spin

[Troodon]

You mean providing mint packages?

Tried Linux Mint, didn't like it. I believe Lazarus/FPC has a future in application development for GUI-based Linux and, as the desktop does not seem to take off, then mobile it is. That leaves Android and Ubuntu as targets, I think.

[Sternas Stefanos]

Well, sometimes people do something totally different and it turns out to be revolutionary, sells a lot, is very popular, etc. But we can't forget that more often then that, we can see someone do something different and end up ... bankrupt, dead, irrelevant.

That was Windows Phone 7. They did their bold move. Killed native apps and restarted with a crippled interface without even copy+paste. What happened? Microsoft went from a confortable 3rd place in the market place into absolute irrelevance in less then 1 year =) In their marketing offensive in Dezember 2010 they spent 2 billion dollars no results at all. If they didn't have Windows, Office and XBox as cash cows to be able to absorve losses, if Windows Phone was a single company, it would be bankrupt.

So just like Windows Phone 7 "revolution" was a disaster, other "revolutions" can end up just as bad. And Ubuntu's "revolution" is not going very well. I wonder how well the Windows 8 "revolution" will turn out for them. At least Microsoft has a very confortable position, as they have very strong OEM agreements, most companies are still loyal to them, Linux still truggles in the desktop and Macs are not trying to compete at all in the low end of the market because they demand a premium price. But it would be funny if they achieve the impossible and end up with a strong loss at desktop market share.

++1
I totally agree

MS lost the way... from WM 6.5.5 ROM chief point of view http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=612580

soon, Ubuntu, if Canonical continue the same strategy, will be a comet  to Linux world

Mint with Cinnamon http://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=1910
is the solution to Gnome 3.x BIG desktop problem...

[TurboRascal]

The issue with complex applications not running well in tablets is just this: Tablets are not productive. If you want to do productive work use a desktop or notebook, because they have a better ergonomy and provide higher productivity at work. That's why Android and iOS are well fit for those devices, they are also not optimized for productivity, they are optimized for entertainment / internet / mail / reading books.

But, some predictions say tablets might replace laptops if their hardware is powerful enough and if they have docking capabilities to add keyboards, larger screens and other peripherals (something quite possible even now with bluetooth keyboards and HDMI outputs on tablets). And of course, the appropriate software should follow...

You never know... What would people say 30 years ago if you told them everybody would have a PC at home? Or 40 years ago that microcomputer servers would humble even the mightiest of minis?

[Phil]

But, some predictions say tablets might replace laptops if their hardware is powerful enough and if they have docking capabilities to add keyboards, larger screens and other peripherals (something quite possible even now with bluetooth keyboards and HDMI outputs on tablets). And of course, the appropriate software should follow...

You never know... What would people say 30 years ago if you told them everybody would have a PC at home? Or 40 years ago that microcomputer servers would humble even the mightiest of minis?

Well, clearly something big is happening. Apple just announced that they sold 62 million iOS devices in the last 3 months of 2011.

Take a look at this article and don't miss the graph further down where they've included iOS and Android devices in with PCs since those mobile devices can be "potential substitutions for personal computing".

http://www.asymco.com/2012/01/17/the-rise-and-fall-of-personal-computing/

The question this raises for me is: "If you're only going to develop for two platforms, what's the second platform after Windows that you target?" Previously I would have thought OS X, but I would suggest that iOS is now that second platform.

Thanks.

-Phil

[CaptBill]

It's a control/power issue.

The PTB need to place all the power in the operating system when it makes much more sense to empower the programmer.

They cannot keep their power if the programmer (us geeks) can chunk out the OS and easily go with another on a whim.

They can't have you deciding on a development language FIRST and formost.

And hey, fellas, they know that Lazarus...

IS A GIANT KILLER

Just that sim

[marcov]

Well, sometimes people do something totally different and it turns out to be revolutionary, sells a lot, is very popular, etc. But we can't forget that more often then that, we can see someone do something different and end up ... bankrupt, dead, irrelevant.

Or, even if it succeeds, and such devices becomes popular, sometimes it doesn't create a lively 3rd party software market.

Being a revolutionary, or a revolutionary follower are two different things.