Touch - An Evolutionary Start by Ubuntu

[gcmartin]

In case members in this community weren't looking, Microsoft has been making slates available at ridiculous prices. The latest available at 10AM today in US to the fast and furious.

And, in case we have been missing the projections that have been pouring in from Industry Leaders, here's good one of an expected unintended consequence.

FYI

[gcmartin]

I have to applaud him, others on their vision and assistance with the Crowd-Funding and support of Ubuntu's direction.

I can also see why/where BK is heading into the New Year. The low power usage, the adaptability, the personalization aspects, and most importantly, the flexibility is changing everything around us.

On the following 2 items, members should try to understand both what the items represent and how many, including BK, envision directions.

Enjoy these 2
Ubuntu 2014 --and-- 64bit ARM

Time for us to try to understand and adjust ever so slightly what we do so that we are instrumental in items which can grow this community of PUP members who stop to look at where we are.

No one developer, as of yet, has taken a step to do even the simple thing that TaZoC did for touch in his Puppy Linux distro. Maybe the developers will adopt Ubuntu's approach.

Here to help
Edited to clarify a sentence missing punctuations..

[jpeps]

Enjoy these 2
Ubuntu 2014 --and-- 64bit ARM

I recall speculation that the EDGE technology would ultimately be sold off to a Chinese cellphone manufacturer. Looks like the 64 bit capability is being offered by Qualcomm in China.

"Nevertheless, the 64-bit chipset is not new in the industry. Apple Inc. (AAPL - Analyst Report) has already introduced a iPhone with a 64-bit processor. Intel Corp. (INTC - Analyst Report) is the market leader in 64-bit chipset designed for PCs and laptops. Nvidia Corp. (NVDA - Analyst Report) is likely to offer 64-bit mobile chipsets in 2014."

http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/116519/ ... it-chipset

[gcmartin]

We are on the verge of a major tidal-wave of technology shift that is occurring RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES!.

My LAST 2 posts and add this one to those 2 should be all that helps us craft a view that of what's occurring. (We can no longer behave with our "heads buried in the sand' hoping that when we pull our heads out, we will be back in the technology year of 2001. That is NEVER going to happen.

This community is a membership community and we must focus on those things which will "ATTRACT" members to come, use, and join what we offer them. Most EVERY new member coming to this community comes here with a 2007 PC or later, looking to be able to get a good base of applications that are NOT nearly as slow as what is currently on their PCs.

Thus Puppy, like Knoppix did, brings a simple easy way to run a "new" operating system which is responsive, can access their files, and provides applications to manipulate and generate information in the vein that they are accustomed. (The Internet is just one of those subsystems allowing this)

If we have our head out, take a look at this and try to understand its implecations. Then envision what a Linux Platform could do on this. Then, I think, no matter whether you "like" what you see or NOT, an idea forms on how this community can leap-frog into a position of power, while becoming attractive to many, many people outside of this community.

[jpeps]

If we have our head out, take a look at this and try to understand its implecations.

Probably not a great example, since I can do far more on my Dell Latitude with 1gig ram currently going for $80.00.

'With only 2GB of RAM users won’t be able to keep many tabs open at once before the machine starts to slow down."

"All of them run Chrome OS, and are great options for those who only need a web browser, or who can live entirely within web apps."

[gcmartin]

[quote="jpeps"]Probably not a great example, ... Dell Latitude with 1gig ram currently going for $80.00... /quote]A touch PC for $80 (US)? Where can I get one of those?

But, if I also understand you correctly, that this Acer PC is RAM limited. I wonder if RAM can be added? And, I wonder if a PUP like LightHouse64 can boot thru the PC's bios?

Maybe, Christmas will be good to me and I get one...maybe.

Hey SANTA. I've been good ...

[jpeps]

Hey SANTA. I've been good ...

If you're going to lug around a 3 lb laptop, you might as well pack a mouse that will be far superior to a touch screen.

"The touch screen, is still difficult for small objects and doesn't always respond to double touching to enable a link."

 "It has pretty bad viewing angles and it has to be angled perfectly or the screen washes out."

I have a quality bluetooth keyboard, but rarely use it. Web Apps? I don't think so.

[gcmartin]

Yeah, I saw that. But, before I got my HP TX2, a touch-screen laptop, I saw same comments from a user/2.

But, in my use over the year, I have NOT found problems with either Windows or Lighthouse or ChromeOS (tested couple weeks ago). The TX2 has a 12.1" screen. I wonder if the ACER will be similarly responsive. If not, I'll just return it.

On my view of the ACER, I think I would find good use even with ChromeOS. It will allow me to use my Google ID to full capacity in the cloud with all of the free stuff I use when collaborating with colleagues and teams we have participated. My internet use has risen so much over the years that if I dont have internet access, I find myself walking away and only coming back when the net is up. This is very true with my use of Puppy Linux over the years as well as any other OS i've used.

So, I am finding others like me who have/are gravitated to more and more use of the internet as well as "expecting" touch to be the path to all of my system use.

Some will get a laugh from this. In helping a patron she commented that she noticed that I would occasionally reached up to touch her screen (my laptop was sitting right next to hers). In my case, its so easy to have the feeling that when I want to do something, now, I'm suppose to touch it. Here's the funny part. I explained it to her just that way. Now imagine the look on her face as I was "nose to chest "to her. ... I immediate began trying to get my foot out of my mouth.

[jpeps]

So, I am finding others like me who have/are gravitated to more and more use of the internet as well as "expecting" touch to be the path to all of my system use.

"- A survey of 240 companies questioned about the relation between their Web applications and security found about half experienced at least one Web application security incident since last year, sometimes with "severe negative financial consequences."

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2012/0 ... 62520.html

This article was written before awareness of NSA exploits. There are plenty of other reasons to avoid Web applications besides security. I'd opt for off-line computing whenever possible.

Touch is great on mobile devices with small screens and a virtual keyboard. It becomes self-defeating on laptops and desktops that have a physical keyboard. One of the most important touch functions is to resize columns/fonts to the screen, completely useless for large screens.

[gcmartin]

But, i have had some very good experience in using touch of 21"/24"/27" desktop PCs at various workplaces. They work fine. And, I have run Lighthouse64 of couple of HP all-in-one 24" from 2 different people on 2 different occasions who came to me to assist their Windows problems. When they went home, they had both their Windows OS working and a bootable Lighthouse (LH64) distro. Their choice.

In each's case, I have not heard back from either. Maybe a testament of sorts.

Touch offers no such disadvantage in operation or use....excepting that in LH64, the distro ONLY offers mouse button1 support which is acceptable to much of what I do.

I am expecting the plethora of application changes we are about to see in Linux as Canonical and Fedora move forward on this front.

Aslo, I am expecting Microsoft and Samsung/LG to announce reasonable cost Touch Tabletops which may be called "Touch Walltops" in the future to show up at upcoming CES.

People's reactions may be same as is traditional, but, this wont stop the directionals. So, more and more affordable 4K TVs will grace our presence. And, just maybe a Touch 4K system in the coming year.

[gcmartin]

Announcing Ubuntu and Android dual boot developer preview
Looks like they are going to market in 2014. Wonder if many of us Linux followers with support this effort. Not many of us were willing to support them when they asked for our help.

But, I fear that MS, who is already delivering this, as well as APPLE who has already tested an iOS Tabletop/desktop/smartTablet will drown this Linux movement. Fingers are crossed that this gains traction. It has great potential in spurning new interest in Linux as a easy to use platform.

FYI

[mcewanw]

If you're going to lug around a 3 lb laptop, you might as well pack a mouse that will be far superior to a touch screen.

Touch screens may (currently) be the only reasonable UI for a smartphone or similar-sized device, but imagine if touch screen had come first for computers more generally, and then someone clever had invented the mouse, which is such a revolution in user-friendliness compared to the greasy, over large, touch of the finger on the screen you are trying to look at and control! Give me the mouse any day!! Revolution will perhaps come along properly with voice control coupled with eye-movement detection and control, but seems to me that touch is only great for crude interfaces for the likes of eftpos terminals/supermarket shopping screens and similar environments in industry/warehousing (that's a big market of course). Even voice control is a bit of a pain to be honest, I'd rather silently click a mouse button than say "click"...!

What would be good is some kind of user-wearable mouse interface (like the wristwatch). Could use that to control any device (mobile, laptop, desktop, whatever is around). As for voice control: imagine everyone shouting at their smartphones on the subway every morning on the way to work (painful) - but a wearable mouse of some kind or other, letting them silently control their devices (and use voice only when useful or necessary) - forget having to touch the computer... surely unnecessary in this wireless world?

[Q5sys]

Touch screens may (currently) be the only reasonable UI for a smartphone or similar-sized device, but imagine if touch screen had come first for computers more generally, and then someone clever had invented the mouse, which is such a revolution in user-friendliness compared to the greasy, over large, touch of the finger on the screen you are trying to look at and control! Give me the mouse any day!!

I guess I'll be the voice of reality here and say that Touch Screens DID come before the mouse. Touch Screen Technology actually dates back to the 1960s, it shipped on Machines in the early 80s, but was never widely adopted. Why? Because it was impractical based on how computing worked at the time. 'Multi-touch' isnt anything new either... it dates back to the 80s as well. Touch is NOT new technology. It's just been ignored because for the most part its not superior to other methods.
The only reason it took off was that Phone Manufactures wanted to ditch physical keyboards so they could make larger screens and smaller phones. So they had to force a new user Input paradigm on people. Touch input has been tried many many times by the industry with varying levels of failure every time. Does it have a place in computing overall, yes I believe it doesl; but it will not replace the mouse or keyboard.

[Laie]

... Wonder if many of us Linux followers with support this effort. ...

I am no developer so there will be no great amount of support contributetd by me. But I am waiting for a Tablet with the abilitiy of a dual boot. And I am willing to do tests, if someone develops something.

[gcmartin]

... Wonder if many of us Linux followers will (<=== a correction) support this effort. ...

.... But I am waiting for a Tablet with the abilitiy of a dual boot. And I am willing to do tests ...

CES is showing off new version of these. Some vendors ARE referring to them as "tablets", while others are using similar kinds of references, as well.

There's several technologies that are announced. One is this by the MAJOR CPU developers. This is a comibination hardware and Operating Systems integration.

But, here's something of note from Today's CES showings. <=== This is what Gartner and others have already reported as businesses are adapting the UI's use. This is already playing out in your hand, your home security, your home comfort and management systems, your car, your purchasing, all the way to how work elements for corporates/businesses will be accomplished not to mention how we will travel. Yes, this will be met with all kinds of reactions from young and not-so-young. ... forget the old, they will be left unable to catch on or up.

Then there's Canonical's approach.

This is going to be an exciting year! It will be a clash of old and new...NOT old versus new, but "old and new" where, IMHO, there will be several approaches to "smoothe" the transistion with some MASSIVE integration occurring.

FYI

[jpeps]

Yes, this will be met with all kinds of reactions from young and not-so-young. ... forget the old, they will be left unable to catch on or up.

Then there's Canonical's approach.

I think you're talking about trivial technology, like new social networking apps and toys that people with more life experience hopefully know to avoid. The important changes in technology are affecting manufacturing, medicine, engineering, etc., or basically back-end technologies that change life for everyone. Using a mouse vs a touch device really doesn't mean much in terms of practical usefulness. Don't get overly excited about marketing hype.

Gadgets around the house, new entertainment devices, etc., add nothing to quality of life. Cure's for cancer, stem cell research, etc, do. Young people will be most affected, because existing jobs will be closing out, and they will have to develop entirely new skill sets to earn a living.

[mavrothal]

I think you're talking about trivial technology, like new social networking apps and toys that people with more life experience hopefully know to avoid. The important changes in technology are affecting manufacturing, medicine, engineering, etc., or basically back-end technologies that change life for everyone.

Indeed, like IBM's $1 billion investment inWatson

[gcmartin]

Agreed! The idea is that, as the President of Yahoo echo'ed in her speech, "mobile technology is ..."

We are, indeed, seeing across the board change that is occurring in platforms in industry, education, research, and the people who use this.

An extension to things that we touch is the expected rise in 3D holographic devices which senses your movement in a field of scope translating that to some action on a screened device(s).

Sci-Fi
"Are we integrating the smart-system under our control for events or is the system integrating us, using us to initiate event(s)?"

Its exciting to think how far we have come, since 1961. ... with technology.

Anyone remember the LED-watches?

[jpeps]

Its exciting to think how far we have come, since 1961. ... with technology.

Great innovations like coffee cups that tell you when they're empty and wrist bands that let you know when you're tired; garbage cans that let you know when they're full. I'm just so excited

I'm almost completely into text browsing now, after being bombarded with floating social media buttons, etc. It's increasingly difficult to understand anyone via a cell phone. There's a zillion ways to lose your personal identity, also waste your time.

re LED watches. That's probably a great example of technology that exchanges quality for cheap availability.

Edit: Here's an alternative technological project to chips for coffee cups. Nothing exciting, however, and of unknown retail value.

"Our research focuses on application of high-performance computational methods to biomolecular computing, with a special interest on parallel, multiscale algorithms for molecular dynamics. Simulations of biomolecules are an area of great potential, both to understand cellular processes at an atomic level, and to drive important applications such as drug design. One difficulty is the size of the simulations needed (hundreds of thousands of atoms) and the fact that stability of the numerical algorithms severely limits the step size used to solve the systems of ordinary differential equations that arise in these simulations. We attempt to construct both better algorithms that are able to take longer time steps and efficient parallel implementations that exploit the multiple time and space scales present present in biological systems. These methods are driven by specific applications, such as limb formation, protein folding, and drug design."

(Current folding@home project running on my XP)

[anikin]

Its exciting to think how far we have come, since 1961. ... with technology.

Great innovations like coffee cups that tell you when they're empty and wrist bands that let you know when you're tired; garbage cans that let you know when they're full. I'm just so excited

Little things amuse little minds, as the old saying goes.
I find it odd, that a grown-up person, obsessed with triviality, needs to continuously dump his joy on the forum.