Ubuntu is a popular distribution of the Linux operating system, mainly for desktops and laptops. It takes its calling from the South African philosophy of ubuntu, which literally means “humanity”, although it translates as “humanity towards others”. Ubuntu, the philosophy, is deeply rooted and is a concept beyond the success of much of today’s society. We seem to get stuck in our busy everyday lives, and even though we live in one of the peak periods of “connection” in history, we are connected to networks and devices, and we lose that connection with other people.
Ubuntu, the operating formula, tries to convey the same philosophy to our computing experiences. From my point of view, this is a logical step. Our network is moving more and more to tech villages as the day goes by. You have to wonder if a component of our humanity is too. Trying to instill the ubuntu philosophy into an ecoformula operating formula would possibly be too ambitious a goal, but that hasn’t stopped countless developers from trying. His last attempt? It brings the same philosophy to smartphones and tablets.
Let’s start by getting rid of some vocabulary. Ubuntu Mobile, more officially known as “Ubuntu Mobile Internet Device Edition”, an Ubuntu distribution intended to run on Intel Atom x86 processors.At the heart of this operational formula, “an uncompromising Web 2.0 experience”.It was suspended in 2009 and subsequently replaced by ‘Ubuntu for Phones’, which was later renamed ‘Ubuntu Touch’ (probably because it would be so smart at home on phablets and tablets).The transfer was announced in January 2013.
Later that year, Canonical Ltd. announced Ubuntu Edge, a “high-concept” smartphone with deep ties not only to the Ubuntu operating system, but also to the ubuntu philosophy. Canonical sought to fund a production of roughly 40,000 phones through crowdfunding site Indiegogo. The embers of the crusade were noble: raising $ 32 million in one month.
Failure.
At the end of the campaign, Canonical did not fulfill its purpose: to raise $12,814,196.
Let this soak in for a minute.
A niche company on a niche site, looking to raise money, not from bankers or investment firms, but from us passionate technophiles who common sites like this, capable of raising just under $ 13 million in a month. More than 25,000 people have joined the project, which in itself is impressive.
(In case you’re concerned, all of this money has been returned to the other people who donated it.)
With the disappearance of Ubuntu Edge, many think Ubuntu Touch is also dead, taking the option of an Ubuntu phone with.Fortunately, this is not the case.
With Ubuntu 13.10 at its core, other people with a Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, or Galaxy S4 Google Edition can download and install the existing edition of Ubuntu Touch. The next release is scheduled for April 2014, coinciding with Ubuntu 14.04, with optimization for tablets and the host experience.
While that means users will have to provide their own hardware and take the dangers of unlocking, rooting, and updating traditional firmware, it’s nothing new to the Ubuntu crowd. They have been doing things like this for years with the desktop edition of the operating system. And thanks to ubuntu, the philosophy, anything tells me that there will be many other qualified people who will be more than willing to help those who need to try.
Sounds pretty ubuntu to me, don’t you agree?
Update: Michael of PhoneArena contacted me with the following information.Thank you Michael!
“I got in touch with Canonical’s Pat McGowan and he confided in me that Ubuntu 13.10 edition has finished the job for phones. The software has been shipped to brands that are starting to paint on phones that are expected to launch early. next year. Release 14.04 is scheduled for April and will offer optimization for tablets and the dock experience. “