Using Android-Microsoft operating systems with touchscreens

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gcmartin

Using Android-Microsoft operating systems with touchscreens

#1 Post by gcmartin »

Barry mentioned in his blog, the ANDROID operating system.

Many have started to comment, but I thought the subject could be "incited" better here in the General Forum as so many of us "are/have been/will be" using SMART-Phones with the Android OS.

Further, I was also thinking that some members here may provide their insights that would help the community overall in understanding ANDROID and how Puppiers could help steer Puppy LInux into this newer field of User Use on a device with a touch screen. Several months ago, I'm not sure if I reported that I did test Puppy-LIghtHouse64 on an HP Touchsmart system and it worked as perfectly. as Microsoft in its touchscreen management of the desktop and the desktop apps.

Last year, I also tested Android on a tablet PC where it worked as well. These were limited tests on feasibility....not for ongoing day-to-day use.

TOUCHSCREENS are the "wave" of our future. Reports are already afoot and products are already on your doorsteps with "touch" and "gesture" deployed. Most recently, new technology is re-emerging on the addition of Voice to this mix.

Android is a OS that has touch screen as its expected primary UI.

It is the wave of our OS future as this is where the world (Apple/Microsoft,Sony, Samsung, Nokia) have bee heading for several years.

Android has a discrete architecture and is Open source, per se. Even though it has touch-screen as its expected platform, it will run on Intel platforms which have Touchscreen as a display.Further it will also run on several different vendor CPU platforms, thus, because of this, applications are portable. So, it can be used on a Touchscreen PC such as HP's Touchsmart, or on a XPAD device or on many Smartphones (unlocked,of course). But, the OS is tened to be full featured for 5 different antenna's 2G/3G/4G/WiFi/Bluetooth while my test 2 years ago on an Intel platform found that it sued the MB's LAN card as well.

This is an OS of beauty from Google.

HP's WebOS that was purchased when they bought Palm was suppose to extend the Linux development. Cut, they abandoned the UI's development leaving the OS development to Apple and Google to duke it out. Those other than Apple have adopted Android as their base for their screen device.

Many of us "old timers" have a ways to go to get on-board with this approach in Linux. It will require us to look at development from user perspective instead of a "size" to determine if an OS is good of bad.

Please feel free to add ANY ideas and thoughts that can help overall understand of how this community can enhance, contribute or advance in this arena.

Here to help
Last edited by gcmartin on Wed 29 Feb 2012, 21:20, edited 1 time in total.

gcmartin

#2 Post by gcmartin »

Users of Microsoft understand how to get and add applications to Windows systems
Users of Apple understand how to get and add applications to OSX systems
Users of Linux distros understand how to get and add packages thru their package management systems
Users of Puppy understand that to add packages we use its PPM.

For those who have Smartphones/XPads, adding functionality to iPhone/Android is done via the phone packaging system. Although done using a swiping actions it is akin to what we do in Puppyland.

Swiping is one of the newest things that GNOME has taken into account already. And if you read between the lines, we should expect new desktops to begin emerging that provide desktop functionality of any/all touchscreen devices while retaining the look and feel of a smartphone.

This is where OSes are heading as they look to meet the user community which is growing a unpredictable rates never seen before in the world.

It is in the future of all of us. .... whether we like or agree, its in the future of all of us.

I believe we should all be aware of what happening in the public domain and what's happening at the vendor levels.

No one should view this as my releasing any confidential information to the public.

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Lobster
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#3 Post by Lobster »

This is an OS of beauty from Google
Agreed. Puppy is not only steam powered. We have to be ready for future cheap disposable biodegradable computers (not yet available). 8)

One area which works with Puppy, is the on screen icons and devices.
We have to use Underdog to tap into Android (or be aware of this possibility).

The ARM Raspberry adventure begins Feb 20 2012
http://puppylinux.org/wikka/PARM
Details of Broadcom graphics are available

For the first time since Puppeee, we can work on specific hardware
. . . we can then be ready for the cheap tablet device (when available) and transfer to that

Are we having fun yet?
Woof woof
:)
Puppy Raspup 8.2Final 8)
Puppy Links Page http://www.smokey01.com/bruceb/puppy.html :D

keniv
Posts: 583
Joined: Tue 06 Oct 2009, 21:00
Location: Scotland

#4 Post by keniv »

Hello All

I have recently been given a cheap Chinese 7" tablet (Wonder Media WM 8650 700MHz 256MB 4GB on board plus a further 8GB on SD card) These are very cheap. Uses Android 2.2 which I don't like anything like as much as Puppy. Although it is a version of linux the user seems to have very little control. I have thought of "rooting" it to get a bit more user control of the OS but from what I have read this is a bit hit and miss. I did wonder if it had a high enough spec to run a version of Puppy. Is "Underdog", mentioned by Lobster in the above post such a system. I wonder if anybody has had any success in running a version of Puppy on these cheap tablets or if there is a version of Puppy that has been adapted specifically to run on these?

Regards,

Ken.

gcmartin

#5 Post by gcmartin »

keniv wrote:Hello All

I have recently been given a cheap Chinese 7" tablet (Wonder Media WM 8650 700MHz 256MB 4GB on board plus a further 8GB on SD card) These are very cheap. Uses Android 2.2 which I don't like anything like as much as Puppy. Although it is a version of linux the user seems to have very little control. I have thought of "rooting" it to get a bit more user control of the OS but from what I have read this is a bit hit and miss. I did wonder if it had a high enough spec to run a version of Puppy. Is "Underdog", mentioned by Lobster in the above post such a system. I wonder if anybody has had any success in running a version of Puppy on these cheap tablets or if there is a version of Puppy that has been adapted specifically to run on these?

Regards,

Ken.
Hi @Ken,
Puppy distros, currently, are built for the X86 architecture. There is work going on to present a Puppy on some additional platforms similar to your "pad" device.

There are some hurdles of course, being that it is new work. For example what will the keyboard be? Which screens will work? Wifi adapters, etc.

In time, I believe we will see some Puppy adaptations to your type of platform.

Finally, since so many young people are steering to the type of "touching" you alteady have in your Android, we may not see as many taking the giant step to go from your current UI to a PC type-mouse driven UI that is in use on PCs/Laptops today.

Some of us older-timers might consider rooting the devices to do this, but, I fear those of us who do will only do to see if we can.

That where I think we are today.

Hope this helps

gcmartin

#6 Post by gcmartin »

Many of us are already aware of the direction Apple has set ...Google followed with Androit. Microsoft has the Windows Phone technology.

Now, Microsoft offers this will have a significant impact on the Apple OS on Apple PCs. This marks a major move by Microsoft. Stategically suggesting an Industry direction. Remember as you read, this is NOT about ARM processor as its really spelling a UI directional migration.


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