Beyond The Desktop - Mobile & Other Devices

[werewulf75]

With hindsight - after all, that's always 20/20 vision - does anyone here think that it's a great pity that Canonical abandoned developing Ubuntu for mobile devices and more? (Yes, I am aware of community projects etc.)

With the ever rising tide of the interest in online privacy, and the rise in the adoption of privacy-focused apps of all kinds whether for desktop or mobile and other devices (just look at the almost meteoric rise of Proton https://proton.me over the last ten years!), it seems to me that if Canonical could have sustained their efforts wrt mobile and other devices they might well have been onto another (profitable?) winner by now. I grant that the initial mistake of thinking that Unity could serve as a universal UI was perhaps a fatal flaw in the ointment that would have been difficult if not impossible to overcome.

[TheFu]

Nope.

I owe a Nokia N800 internet tablet that uses Debian and Maemo. The screen makes it very restricted for many uses, though I loved having a device that used GNU programs and allowed remote ssh access just like from a desktop. The only things I added, from a usability standpoint, were a tiny portable keyboard, an external GPS receiver, and extra batteries because battery life sucked in 2008 (2-4 hrs).

Unity was/is a huge mistake on a desktop. Getting 99% of what Unity did was possible with LXDE at the time. I know, I setup Mom's PC with it providing a left-bar with quick-launch icons to the 5 things she used all the time.

I don't trust the 2 major mobile OSes for privacy or security today. Since I don't trust them, they aren't tied into google for most apps. My tablet has never been connected to any Google stuff at all - not even a gmail account. I do connect both these devices to services that I run which replace almost everything that google provides. Access when I'm away uses a self-hosted Wireguard VPN server.

It is possible to have most of your privacy, limit how much personal data is being sent to outside companies, and take some control over where your data is sent. Could it be better? Definitely. I'd prefer Debian over Ubuntu. I've been disappointed a few times with some choices made by Canonical's management and marketing. They do 1000 right, then they do 20 things really wrong. Everyone has different levels of concern for these things, but corporations will watch out for themselves before they do anything else. We all want Canonical to be profitable so it can be self-sustaining. How that profitability is gained is my concern at this point. Give me the option to disable all external data sharing and charge me $20/yr. I'd sign that contract in a second.

[werewulf75]

Nope.

I owe a Nokia N800 internet tablet that uses Debian and Maemo. The screen makes it very restricted for many uses, though I loved having a device that used GNU programs and allowed remote ssh access just like from a desktop. The only things I added, from a usability standpoint, were a tiny portable keyboard, an external GPS receiver, and extra batteries because battery life sucked in 2008 (2-4 hrs).

'Vote' noted.

Amazing it's still working. Wow! Sounds great.

Unity was/is a huge mistake on a desktop. Getting 99% of what Unity did was possible with LXDE at the time. I know, I setup Mom's PC with it providing a left-bar with quick-launch icons to the 5 things she used all the time.

Well, even the current Gnome is around 90+% like Unity in look and feel, a bit less so in functionality but I can live with that. Happily.

I don't trust the 2 major mobile OSes for privacy or security today. Since I don't trust them, they aren't tied into google for most apps. My tablet has never been connected to any Google stuff at all - not even a gmail account. I do connect both these devices to services that I run which replace almost everything that google provides. Access when I'm away uses a self-hosted Wireguard VPN server.

Very wise. Don't trust either of them myself, not as far as I could spit them out. So I don't use a smartypants phone. Not even with all the privacy software available and other measures. I use Proton software on my machines so could use it on a mobile but really, no, don't really need it.

It is possible to have most of your privacy, limit how much personal data is being sent to outside companies, and take some control over where your data is sent. Could it be better? Definitely. I'd prefer Debian over Ubuntu. I've been disappointed a few times with some choices made by Canonical's management and marketing. They do 1000 right, then they do 20 things really wrong. Everyone has different levels of concern for these things, but corporations will watch out for themselves before they do anything else. We all want Canonical to be profitable so it can be self-sustaining. How that profitability is gained is my concern at this point. Give me the option to disable all external data sharing and charge me $20/yr. I'd sign that contract in a second.

On my PCs I have fairly good privacy, with both Linux and Windows. Much of it is taken care of by the Proton apps - VPN, email, Sentinel, and more. ( https://proton.me ) Windows is stripped of almost all its carp that gathers and sends data, and I suspect that Proton may at some point come up with an addition to its VPN that will disable all external data sharing.

Agreed re: Canonical and corporations also. Oh, and also like Debian, which I multi-boot on one of my machines. (And also use a couple of TAILS sticks when away with a laptop.)