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Nick_Djinn · 06-09-2010, 04:10 AM

Is it possible to dual boot linux, at least on the tablet side if not on the e-reader side? By Linux I mean regular Linux with an X desktop, not Android Linux....Regular Linux

I tell you, if you want to score big points with a niche market, offer support for some of the regular open source distros of Linux. They only have 1.5% of the market of NEW devices, but I think that there is an undocumented 15% who dual boot both Windows and Linux....but its difficult to know for sure. There is no easy way to moniter it, but every techie I know at least has a copy of Knoppix for diagnosing windows problems without booting into Windows, if not a copy of Ubuntu or Open Suse.

I think that an option for dual booting would score you big points and its a pretty loyal niche market that likes to promote and offer free advertisement for companies that offer hardware and software support for their platforms.

Another idea would be to team up with System 76

http://www.system76.com/

They sell computers with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled. I think that if you supplied the hardware and cooperated with them on developing the tools to run the device on Linux with a native X desktop you would see an incredible amount of free development from the hacker community....Ubuntu and its offshoots (Mint, MoonOS, GOS, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Ubuntu Studio, ect). Also, there is already a much richer database of free software for Ubuntu than there is for Android....features that are geared for computers and netbooks and tablets and not just phones. The amount of free software available for Linux boggles the mind. I think it would pair nicely with this device.

I would suggest maybe using a more user friendly Ubuntu based distro like Mint or GOS....there are quirks with Ubuntu that make it appealing to hackers, but the lack of codecs can be an issue for people watching to watch certain video and audio formats.....its easy to install, but people want it out of the box...so either you have to install Medibuntu and use Ubuntu, maybe with a special add-on CD just for the edge, or you can start with Linux Mint or GOS and everything will work out of the box with no additional tinkering.....you wont have to pay off microsoft and the functionality might resemble a notebook a little more so.

I would suggest something that uses the Enlightenment desktop environment....any distro can, but Mint and Ubuntu use Gnome by default. Enlightenment is better for touchscreen IMO. It has more of a Mac OSX feel and the animated icons work great for intuitive touch based interface. It would not be difficult to hire somebody to make a special distro of Linux or Mint or GOS (which already uses Enlightenment) to make a unique distro just for your product, downstream from Ubuntu with free access to the Ubuntu repositories of free software.

Anyway, I feel like a salesman. Im not getting paid for this I am just brainstorming. I would really like to see Linux enter the mainstream and offer some competition for Microsoft. Android is doing it but they chose not to make it compatible with all the linux software that already exists which is unfortunate. There is also less free software for it.

Anyway...any chance of booting Ubuntu/Mint from a flash drive?

06-09-2010, 04:10 AM	#1
Nick_Djinn Edge User	Dual boot Linux? Is it possible to dual boot linux, at least on the tablet side if not on the e-reader side? By Linux I mean regular Linux with an X desktop, not Android Linux....Regular Linux I tell you, if you want to score big points with a niche market, offer support for some of the regular open source distros of Linux. They only have 1.5% of the market of NEW devices, but I think that there is an undocumented 15% who dual boot both Windows and Linux....but its difficult to know for sure. There is no easy way to moniter it, but every techie I know at least has a copy of Knoppix for diagnosing windows problems without booting into Windows, if not a copy of Ubuntu or Open Suse. I think that an option for dual booting would score you big points and its a pretty loyal niche market that likes to promote and offer free advertisement for companies that offer hardware and software support for their platforms. Another idea would be to team up with System 76 http://www.system76.com/ They sell computers with Ubuntu Linux preinstalled. I think that if you supplied the hardware and cooperated with them on developing the tools to run the device on Linux with a native X desktop you would see an incredible amount of free development from the hacker community....Ubuntu and its offshoots (Mint, MoonOS, GOS, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Edubuntu, Ubuntu Studio, ect). Also, there is already a much richer database of free software for Ubuntu than there is for Android....features that are geared for computers and netbooks and tablets and not just phones. The amount of free software available for Linux boggles the mind. I think it would pair nicely with this device. I would suggest maybe using a more user friendly Ubuntu based distro like Mint or GOS....there are quirks with Ubuntu that make it appealing to hackers, but the lack of codecs can be an issue for people watching to watch certain video and audio formats.....its easy to install, but people want it out of the box...so either you have to install Medibuntu and use Ubuntu, maybe with a special add-on CD just for the edge, or you can start with Linux Mint or GOS and everything will work out of the box with no additional tinkering.....you wont have to pay off microsoft and the functionality might resemble a notebook a little more so. I would suggest something that uses the Enlightenment desktop environment....any distro can, but Mint and Ubuntu use Gnome by default. Enlightenment is better for touchscreen IMO. It has more of a Mac OSX feel and the animated icons work great for intuitive touch based interface. It would not be difficult to hire somebody to make a special distro of Linux or Mint or GOS (which already uses Enlightenment) to make a unique distro just for your product, downstream from Ubuntu with free access to the Ubuntu repositories of free software. Anyway, I feel like a salesman. Im not getting paid for this I am just brainstorming. I would really like to see Linux enter the mainstream and offer some competition for Microsoft. Android is doing it but they chose not to make it compatible with all the linux software that already exists which is unfortunate. There is also less free software for it. Anyway...any chance of booting Ubuntu/Mint from a flash drive?