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The surface support sounds interesting. Has anyone here tried that?


I'm a longtime Surface user; you don't really need 17.04 though - all you need on older Ubuntu version is to install a more recent mainline kernel, and install the artful version of the `linux-firmware` package (in such conditions, the installation process will require an external keyboard and the pre-downloaded package).

Arguably, a Surface device can work well as double device:

  - windows as tablet
  - linux for work, with minimalist hardware usage (no hw button, no pen, the SP4/SB have no camera support)
The Linux Surface community is mostly made of script kiddies, so it's very unreliable (there are a variety of reasons for this judgment).

My personal favourite options for this mixed use are:

  - Surface Pro 3: better compatibility, and cheaper
  - Surface Book i5: fantastic tablet
SB laptops above the i5 are expensive, and it's a waste of money for a laptop that is not completely supported (if I have to spend 2000$ on something, I expect sleep to work).


Same here, 2017 unity is fast, stable and beautiful.

I hope this move results in the same improvements coming to gnome. but I'm not upgrading for now.


People should know that Ubuntu-mate with mutiny layout is an alternative for some. Unlike 17.10, it keeps the global menus and HUD, but not the launcher (uses synapse instead).


I'd say that Ubuntu MATE (16.04) with the redmond layout and advanced menu enabled is the best alternative to Windows 7 I've yet seen in a Linux distro.


Tizen on smartwatch is pretty awesome.

Imho its miles ahead of the other watch OSes


I guess you never bother to actually program on it.

Tizen already went through these reboots:

1 - Replaced Meego SDK with Bada OS SDK

2 - Replaced Bada OS SDK with EFL + C++ SDK

3 - Dropped C++ SDK and replaced a new pure C API alongside EFL

4 - Currently adopting .NET Core + Xamarin.Forms

Then there is the whole issue of code quality.

https://what.thedailywtf.com/topic/15001/enlightened

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/07/12/samsungs_tizen_no_l...


I never understood why Samsung didn't stick with Qt for Tizen. Was it because it was owned by Nokia back then?

Everything they've tried to do on the UI layer is something I wouldn't touch with an eleven-foot pole.


I have, it has is quirks.

With that said, use their smartwatches. The UI is so much better than the competition it's not even funny.

And then you have Samsung pay card emulation magic....


Samsung also has a webkit-Javascript based SDK as well. It's actually pretty good as it exposes a lot of OS functionality in the JavaScript API. It might be the best option right now.


Another vote for termux!

It's specially useful on chromeos


It’s more useful to have standard Linux installed, unless you’re incredibly sensitive about security. I treat Chromebooks as cheap Linux machines. You can buy a brand new netbook, and you know Linux will run on it with no driver issues. It’s still chroot, but you get everything you need to do development.


You can install GalliumOS distribution and get full Linux on most Chromebooks. You can flash firmware and get a proper laptop too


Please don't. It's a tablet, it needs some bezels.


In particular as Windows 10 in tablet mode makes use of gestures that involve swiping in from outside the screen edge.


But if that is all your care about you can by a generic PC with similar specs for 1/3 of the price of the MBP.

see, that argument goes both ways.


Define success.

Btw, Linux on desktop is used by many large tech companies...


Used by a significant portion of computer users, ie Windows Phone is not a successful platform, Android is, and if Microsoft can't make a successful phone platform, what chance does this go fund me campaign have.

'Many large tech companies' is pretty insignificant when you look at the number of people who use desktop computers, and then even more insignificant when you look at the number of people who use phones, and is a very poor metric as it doesn't really consider people actually choosing to purchase the system when others are on offer.

There is just no value in their proposition to consumers... Have an expensive old phone, made by a company that can in no way support your purchase should the hardware fail...

And I don't believe for a second that it will be more secure than iOS or even Android. Small team, custom operating system, the user can install their own OS, sounds like a recipe for disaster.


I don't think your definition of success matches theirs. People have different values, some value openness above market share.

---

Speaking of openness, and since you mentioned ios: apple recently unpublished a company's entire catalog of apps without any explanations. The word on the street is malware (well technically fraudulent adware) but do you think you will ever get apple to admit that?


I think it will match their version of success when they run out of money and are no longer able to support their users.

I don't know about the case you mention. I do not think that Apple manage their developer community well, but most issues like the one you highlight are generally edge cases - users doing something that isn't clearly defined by Apple rules. What was the company and what did its apps specifically do? If it was fraudulent adware do you not agree that they should be removed?


But can it replace mg?


Emacs has a GUI with icons and menus and tooltips and all that.

Isn't that what a true beginner would use anyway instead of the terminal version?


>Emacs has a GUI with icons and menus and tooltips and all that.

Which is still nearly useless without knowing of lots of Emacs arcana.


We're talking terminal (not GUI) editors here. If I fire emacs on macOS there's no menu displayed by default. If I connect remotely on a Debian machine, the menu is there but mouse reporting is not working. The help, if started by itself, vanishes at the first keypress (on macOS), which makes it really easy to skip the C-x C-c part, and uses the emacs-only convention of C- instead of the well known ^ for control (although it's explained right there), thus doubly easy to miss. I can see how newcomers would be turned away from it.


vi(m) is usually included by default and is no easier to use for a beginner, so why not emacs?


`apt-get install emacs-nox` pulls in 83MB on jessie. The installed-by-default one is vim-tiny (clocking in at 27MB), not vim-nox (which pulls in an additional 21MB), for which there is no similar emacs package. Turns out nano is ~370kB, that makes for a small non-modal beginner editor, the modal one being covered by vim-tiny.


Fair, but I don't think 20MB vs 80MB should be a problem in 2017, people are downloading ~60GB games off Steam, downloading a ~5GB ISO every 6-24 months is not that much in comparison.


For some people on the move data transfers are expensive, even if 80MB isn't much that adds up very fast.


Because modal editing is where it's at!


I was once a "true beginner", having been forced to use basic terminal commands in school and having decided to get a raspberry pi and shove Raspbian on it for laughs. There is no GUI over ssh from Windows unless you already know what you're doing. In that context, accidentally opening emacs is bewildering :)


That's basically my question. What's the market for people who want a terminal based programmers editor in late 2017 who don't already use Vim or Emacs?


Telia is paying billions to US for conducting business in Uzbekistan in the only way it can be done.

please remember this next time EU fines Google.


If that is the only way business can be done in Uzbekistan then Telia had no business case in Uzbekistan. It's a no-brainer.

And if you are going to argue with China taking the business, well, let China do the bribery and take the business. The free, open economy will outperform closed corrupted systems in the long run.


With the minor caveat that the "free, open economy" (which is really neither free nor open, but I digress) contains strong incentives to prioritize growth and short term profits over other considerations. From the perspective of most shareholders, the only thing Telia did wrong was getting caught. I'm sure they'll do better next time.


Agreed. Add to that fines for any company / executives involved in US / countries that don't ignore corruption.


how are the situations at all comparable, and is anyone even trying to defend Telia here except you?


Google is being fined by EU for their business practices in EU.

Telia is being fined for their business practices in a third country.

Not defending anyone, but can't you see this is a dangerous path? What would happen if Saudi Arabia fined Coca Cola for an "indecent" commercial they televised in Delaware?


That's probably one of the risks of doing business in Saudi Arabia.

Doing business in EU or US is not risk-free either.


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