Ubuntu Linux for phones and tablets is dead

[froggyboy604]

Ars Technica reports that Canonical is ending all work on phones, tablets, and “convergence,” which was a project to make the same operating system run across those platforms as well as desktop and notebook computers.

In other words, if you want to buy a phone that can also work as a desktop computer, you’re going to have to look elsewhere. Interestingly, while Canonical was one of the first companies to focus on bringing that vision to life, several other companies have made progress in recent years.

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This is unfortunate. But, it is sometimes better to know when to stop working on an mobile operating system like Ubuntu Mobile, Blackberry OS, Windows Phone, and Symbian which is not getting many new users, and the existing users are switching to Android and iOS.

I wonder if the Ubuntu desktop operating system is endangered of being dead in the future when users rather use Alternative Desktop operating systems based on Android like Remix OS which is compatible with thousands of Android apps, and games which can be used on a large monitor where apps are opened in resizeble, and movable windows.

Android has a lot more apps, games, and services which people want to use compared to Ubuntu Linux where there is only a few online game and software stores like Steam for Linux, GOG for Linux, SourceForge, and the Ubuntu Software center. Linux game and software store don't have a huge selection of software and games to choose from unlike Windows, Apple Mac and iOS, and Android which has many thousands of software and game titles to choose from.

Windows 10 is also free for tablet makers, and maybe some mini-PC makers, so most people may not buy a Linux-based desktop computer when they can buy a cheap Windows 10 PC which comes with a free version of Windows 10.

 

[Demon_Skeith]

Given how every time I go to work and have to deal with people who don't know the difference between a android or ios charging cable, pretty sure that linux had no chance of wide spread success.

But much like the PC linux support, I'm sure there is a small core group that will keep linux mobile going.

 

[froggyboy604]

Given how every time I go to work and have to deal with people who don't know the difference between a android or ios charging cable, pretty sure that linux had no chance of wide spread success.

But much like the PC linux support, I'm sure there is a small core group that will keep linux mobile going.

I agree, there are a lot of less tech savvy users who would have difficulty of knowing about Linux, and learning the basics of Linux, so they stick to what they know like Windows, Android, iOS, and Apple.

I think there would always be a small core fanbase who use Linux on a mobile device. But, I think non-Android Linux OS will be mainly be used on tablets because tablets usually come with Intel CPU which work better with Linux than lesser known mobile phone-CPU which sometimes have poor technical support and drivers for Linux.

 

[Grungie]

I had a feeling years ago when I found out about Ubuntu on phones that it wasn't going to catch on. Linux distributions cater to a small demographic on PC's, and even less are interested in using it on a phone.

Maybe I'm a tad bit old school, but I always felt that tablets and smartphones were for simple things, and if you wanted to use a computer, just get an actual computer. Though I'm an Apple slave, so what do I know?

 

[froggyboy604]

I had a feeling years ago when I found out about Ubuntu on phones that it wasn't going to catch on. Linux distributions cater to a small demographic on PC's, and even less are interested in using it on a phone.

Maybe I'm a tad bit old school, but I always felt that tablets and smartphones were for simple things, and if you wanted to use a computer, just get an actual computer. Though I'm an Apple slave, so what do I know?

To be fair, Ubuntu and other Linux based operating system don't have the money to buy advertising to advertise their Linux based operating system compared to Microsoft Windows, and Apple Mac which bought a lot of advertising for their operating systems, and computers and devices which uses their operating systems.

I feel most people don't know Linux Operating Systems like Ubuntu exist as an alternative to Windows and Mac because Linux does not has advertisements on TV, online, newspaper, magazines, and other places compared to Windows and Mac OS X where there are a lot of advertisements for their operating system, or devices like smartphone, pc, and tablet with their operating system installed on it.

Smartphones and tablets can be useful for making small edits like fixing spelling errors on text files, and recording video, and making small video edits like adding text like subtitles to a video you recorded a few minutes ago.

 

[Grungie]

I feel most people don't know Linux Operating Systems like Ubuntu exist as an alternative to Windows and Mac because Linux does not has advertisements on TV, online, newspaper, magazines, and other places compared to Windows and Mac OS X where there are a lot of advertisements for their operating system, or devices like smartphone, pc, and tablet with their operating system installed on it.

You also have to consider that Linux isn't exactly as user friendly as Windows and OSX, especially for the average person. Tell someone they have to look up terminal commands to do functions, and it'll go over their heads. Installing various Linux distros on VMware is annoying if you want to share host files, because it's slightly different depending on which distro you're using.

 

[erich]

As a Linux server operator....I had no idea they even had a Linux based mobile version

 

[froggyboy604]

You also have to consider that Linux isn't exactly as user friendly as Windows and OSX, especially for the average person. Tell someone they have to look up terminal commands to do functions, and it'll go over their heads. Installing various Linux distros on VMware is annoying if you want to share host files, because it's slightly different depending on which distro you're using.

There are a few user friendly Linux Operating Systems like Linux Mint, Puppy Linux, and Ubuntu Linux which have user interfaces which is similar to Windows, and Mac OS X. Some Linux OS like Linux Mint come pre-installed with Firefox web browser, LibreOffice, and video and audio players, so a lot of basic users don't need to install a lot of software on their own.

It is possible to use some Linux based operating systems like Linux Mint without knowing any command lines if you just plan on using Linux Mint to do basic tasks like browse the web, watch video, and listen to music.

I think Linux Mint and other Linux operating systems can be more user friendly than Windows when it comes to Computer Security and Privacy since there is less of a risk of getting infected by a virus, malware, or ransomware like Windows where you need to be very careful not to open an unsafe file or visit an unsafe website which may contain a virus. Windows users also need a lot of security software like antivirus, and firewall, and trust/hope that their Windows security software is good enough to stop most of the many thousands of viruses designed to infect Windows PC operating systems. Windows 10 and other Windows OS and software sometimes has a lot of privacy settings, and it is sometimes hard or impossible to turn-off data tracking and advertisements on programs and apps which can make using Windows less private for its users.

 

[Grungie]

Couldn't you also say the same thing for OSX regarding viruses and privacy?

 

[froggyboy604]

Couldn't you also say the same thing for OSX regarding viruses and privacy?

I'm not sure. I never used Mac OS X.

There were fewer viruses for Mac in the past because fewer people used it compared to Windows. But, there are now many viruses for Mac these days, so it is important to use computer security software on Mac to prevent virus infection.

I'm not sure what info does Apple collect from users PC when they connect their Mac to the internet. But, Apple may collect more or less info compared to Windows.