Tablet vs Laptop

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Alessandro
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Iscritto: 05/08/2015

Hi all,
i would like to know what do you think about the future of computers. My doubts about it were originated by two considerations :

1) the hardware companies are profit driven multinationals

2) the common users, like me, only use pc for ordinary tasks that tablet-like configurations are pratically capable doing the same way.

So, with the increasing of tablets performances, the decrease of their price (compared to laptops' costs), will the tablets kill pcs in the future ? For example i use a laptop, but i could do the same things on a tablet with triple battery life and 4 times portability.

and ... if tablets will win ... does it mean the end of Trisquel-like OSs ?

what do you think about ?

cantor
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Iscritto: 04/08/2015

I think that notebook are better and, in my opinion, it's impossible to do the same things I do with a laptop on a tablet. Yes I can navigate, I've a browser, I can read my mails but... what about programming, graphic editing and audio, and many others things?! Tablet are closed and dangerous for users, (are programmed for this), they force users to use their dangerous services, and it's difficult to control how they do, (for me, I'm not expert). On pc/notebook with gnu/linux I can control better my operations, the programs that I use, (not all of course!), I haven't a stupid social and cloud programs integrated... I think that computers will never die for people that studying informatics and create programs... but there is a risk that in the future, for the major number of people that used standard funcionality, tablet will be a standard yes. There is the same relationship between pc and console/smartphone on gaming: for create a game programmers needs a computer, but users without experience can simply use a console or smartphone. For now I don't see the same freedom on tablet... and I love the phisical approach that I've on notebook, like books respect ebooks, for example: it's inimitable, different: it's another world. I use both, I want to stay updated with technology of course.
Sorry for my english, I'm italian ;-)

tomlukeywood
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Iscritto: 12/05/2014

"Tablet are closed and dangerous for users,"
it still uses a non-free bootloader but you can run replicant on a tablet

http://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/ReplicantStatus

cantor
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Iscritto: 04/08/2015

I mean by default. We must think to normal users that don't know this things. Anyway thank you for the link ;-)

onpon4
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Iscritto: 05/30/2012

Note that GNOME Shell is designed such that it should work quite well on a tablet. (For the record, it does run on tablets; I only say "should" because I haven't personally experienced it. But I've heard that the experience is great.)

I kind of think tablets are silly. Depending on your perspective, they're either a less capable laptop, or a less portable phone. They might even be considered a less capable and less portable version of something like the OpenPandora, depending on your perspective. The only advantage I can think of for tablets is the combination of a large screen and little weight, and the only application I can think of for that is watching videos or reading things on the go.

But then again, maybe I'm just not the target audience for tablets, and there's something about their design that makes them more convenient than laptops in some other way. I reserve judgment on practical grounds for the time being.

Ethically, tablets are far, far behind laptops and desktop computers. There is only one specific (modern) tablet model that works with Replicant, and as far as I understand many of the others come with Restricted Boot. Additionally, the only working tablet doesn't have working wireless without non-libre firmware.

JadedCtrl
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Iscritto: 08/11/2014

I don't see work being done on them in the near future, but I do think that it will inevitably move to them, or another, new medium, eventually.
I can easily see the average user on a tablet and not having a laptop, as most people pretty much only web-browse, play games, and watch videos, however.
That's why Replicant is important.

davidnotcoulthard (non verificato)
davidnotcoulthard

x86 tablets and modifiable laptops would be nice.

Legimet
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Iscritto: 12/10/2013

I don't think tomlukeywood is working on Replicant.
Last time I checked, there was only one active developer, Paul Kocialkowski.

tomlukeywood
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Iscritto: 12/05/2014

yeah i do not work on replicant

but i am working on a graphical libreboot flashing utility in gtk 2.0 and c

so i will transfer the appretiation to that

pizzaiolo
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Iscritto: 03/12/2015

Awesome! Is it in an online repository?

tomlukeywood
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Iscritto: 12/05/2014

when i was doing it i overestimated my gtk skills and made some messy bad code so i will try to rewrite it soon
(probably 3am tomorrow!)

but if you want the messy code here it is:
http://92.19.232.58:60000/owncloud/index.php/s/ZhNOfDtaKv5BFJl/download

its under a MIT license because it was easier to copy and paste
and i would not imagen it would be used in any serious projects

pizzaiolo
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Iscritto: 03/12/2015

You should show this to Francis Rowe, the maintainer of Libreboot. Maybe it gets accepted into the code itself :)

Huge thanks for this important work!

tomlukeywood
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Iscritto: 12/05/2014

"You should show this to Francis Rowe, the maintainer of Libreboot. Maybe it gets accepted into the code itself :)"

i talked to fchmmr(i think he is Francis Rowe) on the libreboot irc channel a few while ago
and he said that it would work best as a separate project
as it would be too much extra work to maintain.

continuing to work on the program though

pizzaiolo
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Iscritto: 03/12/2015

All right. I suggest you add it to a repository like GNU Savannah or Gna!, to ensure people can follow development, file bugs and possibly help out too :)

tomlukeywood
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Iscritto: 12/05/2014

ok should i wait until i get a working version first?

pizzaiolo
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Iscritto: 03/12/2015

Well, it's up to you :)

tomlukeywood
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Iscritto: 12/05/2014

ok heres a preview:

Screenshot from 2015-06-18 15:02:55.png
pizzaiolo
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Iscritto: 03/12/2015

Nice! By the way, I might be wrong but I think some people on Coreboot are working on a similar idea: http://blogs.coreboot.org/blog/2015/06/18/gsoc-end-user-flash-tool-week-3/

SuperTramp83

I am a translator!

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Iscritto: 10/31/2014

keep it up Tom! your work is highly appreciated!

tomlukeywood
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Iscritto: 12/05/2014

sorry about the delay but due to my misuse of gtk 2
its taking a while...
for instance this is a sample of my code.. -.-:
http://pastebin.com/KTUzjGdy

i have nearly done however and i only have to implement another 128 functions!!!(mostly identical)

so i should have the first working version of the program within the next few days at most

but my first priority after i have a working version will be to clean up the code
and then add support for changing the grub2 background etc

pizzaiolo
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Iscritto: 03/12/2015

That's awesome! Excited for this :)

tomlukeywood
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Iscritto: 12/05/2014

i have finished the gui and i now just have to write the functions that run the scripts that install libreboot for the chosen platform!

pizzaiolo
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Iscritto: 03/12/2015

Awesome! Please create a thread for it, announcing your program so that we can stop hijacking this thread :P

Legimet
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Iscritto: 12/10/2013

Sounds good! Just make sure to add warning/confirmation messages because flashing the bios is a potentially risky thing.

tomlukeywood
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Iscritto: 12/05/2014

i already have

a problem now is the program needs to be run as root for the install to work

do you think most users of this program would know how to run a program as root?

JadedCtrl
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Iscritto: 08/11/2014

Couldn't you utilize gksudo for root access?

tomlukeywood
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Iscritto: 12/05/2014

dont know why i didn’t think of that before thanks!

Legimet
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Iscritto: 12/10/2013

First check that the user is root, if that's the case, you don't need to do anything. If the user isn't root, then try su-to-root first, then try gksu, kdesu, kdesudo, gksudo, etc.

Alij
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Iscritto: 05/07/2012

Ar' you kidding mate? give me 4 laptops and burn your tablets.

techgnuponey69
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Iscritto: 06/02/2015

Tablets are for light weight use like browsing and playing games
but laptop pc's on the other hand are for work and all the other good stuff
you get the idea.

davidnotcoulthard (non verificato)
davidnotcoulthard

A tablet if AND ONLY IF it's a Compaq TC1000(-esque thing) with up-to-date internals ,(which then have to lead to) decent performance, and AGES of battery life.

pizzaiolo
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Iscritto: 03/12/2015

Honestly I think what might kill PCs is the Internet of Things. Their self-professed goal is to make general-purpose computers obsolete by having everything become a small computer (toaster, fridge, driverless cars etc).

Which is all pretty scary I think...

danieru
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Iscritto: 01/06/2013

+1 on the "Which is all pretty scary".

But honestly I don't think PCs will be murdered by toasters. At least not for the people that wants to make real computation/work, like: Scientists, 3D Modelers, most Designers and Programmers, Etc...

Alij
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Iscritto: 05/07/2012

"I don't think PCs will be murdered by toasters"

cool name for an indie rock band.