Six Signs Android really isn't Linux

Many people argue that Android has put Linux into the hands of millions of users. While there is no doubting that Android has been a raging success, I would argue that Google has put Android into the hands of millions of people - not Linux. The following are my reasons for claiming such:

1.) Android's kernel is a Fork

Thats right, Android doesn't run on a mainline Linux kernel any longer. Their source code is maintained in a separate git repository because it was not accepted back into the main line kernel in it's current state and Google has not made any action towards improving the code so it can be accepted.

2.) Where is the brand name?

I did a post late last year titled "Keep the 'Linux' out of it Please", which asked whether using Linux in your brand name is deadly. Google seems to think so. Go do some digging on Android's homepage - I challenge you to find the word Linux on there anywhere. Even after digging through their development documents for some time I was unable to locate the word.

3.) Companies that don't support Linux support Android

Be it a game like Plants vs Zombies that Linux users are forced to run via Wine or a product such as Netflix streaming that does not run on Linux machines at all - there are lots of companies that refuse to support the penguin yet still produce Android applications. At the very extreme there is Adobe who has actually dropped support for Linux while continuing to write software for Android.

4.) All Java Applications

Android has piles of applications that are written for it. Unlike applications that are written for Linux though - they are not easily portable to other distributions. For instance applications written for WebOS are able to be run on the Maemo platform. Android applications however are all java based, meaning you need an emulator like Alien Dalvik to get them to run on other platforms.

5.) Microsoft doesn't make money off of Linux pre-installed Machines

There are plenty of vendors that sell systems pre-installed with Linux (such as BluSphere). Dedicated Linux users opt to purchase such systems (or system with no OS on it) in order to avoid the Microsoft Tax. When purchasing an Android handset there is no such avoidance. Up to 15$ per Android handset sold is going to Microsoft. Sure, this is the result of paten trolling - but I don't see anyone rising up to fight it.

6.) Where is the source code?

Yes there are closed source version of Linux. You know what is fairly unique to Android though? Claiming to be open source and then only releasing your source code to a select few hardware makers for a long while. Is it a solid business plan? Sure. Just don't claim to be free and open though and then pull something like this!

In my opinion at this point Android is just as much Linux based as OSX is BSD based. Now - don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Android is a bad operating system. In fact I'm glad it has taken away market share away from extremely closed operating systems such as iOS and Windows Mobile. I'm just saying lets stop calling it what it is not! Yes Android is Linux based it is not however Linux any longer.

~Jeff Hoogland

Read More

Netbook MeeGo a NoGo - Review

Now I am all for trying new distros and netbooks are a place where I feel Linux truly outshines all other operating systems, so when a new netbook focused distro comes to maturity I always like to take it for a test drive. MeeGo, the joint operating system between Nokia's Maemo and Intel's Moblin, has been getting alot of hype recently in the Linux community and the world at large. I can understand why, personally I was very excited when MeeGo was first announced. Nokia and Intel are both very large names that bring substantial financial backing to the table, beyond this they are also allowing the Linux Foundation to manage the MeeGo project.

After having used the 1.0 release of MeeGo that is targeted for netbook devices I really must say: I'm really not impressed.

Late last year I did a review of Intel's Moblin Linux 2.0 and this MeeGo 1.0 release is so similar to Moblin that is really doesn't even feel like a different distro. Don't believe me? Well lets start with the interface, this first screen shot is Moblin 2.0:

This second screen shot is MeeGo 1.0:


See what I mean? Now don't get me wrong, I don't think MeeGo is a poor distro - in fact all the positive things I said about Moblin also still apply here. The only issue is most of the negative things also still apply.

Software:
MeeGo fails to ship with an Office Suite still and the software selection from their package manager is still decently limited. Two things that are improvements in MeeGo are the default webrowser and media player. For all your media needs Banshee is at your service. Banshee is a full featured, matured, media player with plenty of features that should keep most all users happy. In terms of webrowsing, MeeGo ships two different .img files - the first uses the open source Chromium as the stock browser, the second requires you to agree to an EULA as it uses Google's Chrome browser.

Customization:
Another nice addition is the ability to customize the top bar where you switch between your different applications and zones. A piece of customization that is still lacking however is the ability to change which messaging client is integrated with the operating system (empathy is alright, but I am a die hard pidgin user and prefer to use it whenever possible).

Socialization:
MeeGo still integrates well with twitter (just as Moblin did), but unlike the latest Ubuntu release (which has Gwibber), MeeGo still lacks Facebook integration. As I mentioned above empathy is still the default messaging client and it does support facebook chat by default.

Issues:
The only real issue I had with MeeGo was the fact that it's network manager was unable to connect to my WPA encrypted network. It did connect to un-encrypted and WEP encrypted networks without a hitch though.

Usage:
The MeeGo desktop, just like the Moblin desktop, is snappy and responsive (just as much as lightweight desktop environments such as LXDE or E17). The operating system boots slightly faster than Ubuntu 10.04 does on my hardware (7 seconds versus 9 seconds). Over all MeeGo makes for a great "webrowsing" operating system, but for anything beyond this I would recommend something else.

Final Thoughts:
One of the reasons I was so excited about MeeGo was because it was the merging of Moblin with Maemo. I have been using Maemo on my N900 for over six months and I must say, I can't find a trace of Maemo anywhere in the MeeGo 1.0 release. Now, perhaps there is some of the Maemo core hiding behind the scenes in the MeeGo code, but personally I am just hoping Moblin did not simply swallow up Maemo.

Honestly while I am hopping the MeeGo project takes off (especially as a competitor to Android), at the same time I have to wonder what this could do to the public opinion of what Linux is. I say this because the way MeeGo is designed it does not feel like a full blown operating system as distros like Ubuntu or Fedora do (or Windows does). I would hate to see the general opinion of Linux become the idea that the operating system is limited to netbooks and hand held devices and not for "real" work/computers.

~Jeff Hoogland

Read More

Moblin Linux - Distro Review

Moblin Linux is a distribution of Linux targeted at netbook devices that utilize the Intel Atom processor. It is backed by both the Intel cooperation and the Linux Foundation. It is currently in it's finally beta release for version 2.0 - as such I gave it a download to test drive on my Asus EEE 900A.

Installation:
Downloading and installing Moblin is relatively easy. Like many other netbook targeted distributions it is distributed as a .img file which is intended to be written to a 1gig flash drive using image writer. Personally I like installing from flash drives - its how I install Linux on all my computers, it saves a CD. I had the installer crash on me the first time I tried to install, not a big deal rebooted and it installed fine the second time around. Moblin also takes the Ubuntu approach and makes the root password the same as the default user's password. I know some people dislike this but personally I think it is a good idea, it makes Linux less confusing for new users.

Also worth noting here for others like myself who hop distros often/multi-boot - the Moblin auto-grub creator is more than a little bit stupid. I currently have my netbook multi-booted with Karmic, Moblin, and Jolicloud and Moblin's grub setup failed to detect and auto add both of these other operating systems.

Using the System:
The first thing you will notice about Moblin is that it is fast. Like smoking fast. The time span from when I select Moblin from my grub menu to when I have fully loaded desktop is just under 8 seconds. The user interface is also equally quick. Using a unique setup called "zones" Moblin does a good job of dividing the different parts of your system up neatly using a top panel that comes and goes when you mouse over it. There is just enough eye candy to keep a user happy but at the same time it is not enough to bog down the system. Each "zone" is a dynamically created workspace that comes and goes as needed. When you load up an application you are offered a choice to load it into a current existing "zone" or create a new one. It is a nice way to organize many open windows on your small netbook-sized screen.

Unfortunately there are still a few things that I dislike/need addressing in Moblin. The first and foremost is the giant lack of software. One of the things I always loved about Linux when first coming from Windows is the seemingly endless repositories of software to pick through and install/remove at my leisure, this is not present in the slightest in Moblin. Along side this lack of software is the fact that Moblin does not come pre-installed with office software, meaning in order to type properly formatted papers you will need to use Google Docs or boot into a different operating system. Something else I found odd is that several very standard Linux commands where not present such as nano, fdisk, and shutdown.

The only issue I had with the "zones" is the lack of maximize/minimize buttons on open windows, meaning if a program opens and it is not full screen (which happens) you have to drag the corner to manually make it fill the whole screen. Customization is also not present in the slightest. Beyond changing the back ground you cannot change the layout of the "zones" at all. To be honest all of the defaults are laid out nicely, but for instance I never use the calender feature on my netbook nor do I keep media files on it - so it would be nice if I could remove/hide those "zones" instead of having dead buttons/space.

Then there is the most important part about using any netbook - the internet. The built in browser does a good job of rendering most pages and Moblin comes with flash pre-installed so you can be youtubing as soon as your install is finished. I had issues with a few pages loading in it but simply hitting the refresh button resolved the issue every time.

Final Thoughts:
One last hitch to mention before closing this one is that I did have X crash on me while using Moblin before running the initial system update after installation - so be sure to do this right away. Also Moblin does not support ext4, which is rather annoying because my Karmic partitions are both ext4.

All in all Moblin is a solid netbook distro. In fact if you are only using your netbook for internet (surfing the net, IM, ect) and media use (music and videos) I would recommend Moblin above all others due to both its fantastic UI and quick speeds. How ever the current lack of software, namely office software, makes the distribution almost useless for school use (which is what a large number of netbooks are used for). Personally I'm going to be keeping a Moblin partition on my EEE PC for occasions where I just need to get online and check my email quick or use instant messenger.

~Jeff Hoogland

Read More