Ubuntu based Tablet PC Coming in 2011?

I saw some reports that an Ubuntu based tablet is in the works from a Taiwanese manufacturer.  PCWorld is reporting that the P07, built by Teng, is a 10 inch tablet with a multi-touch display.  This new Ubuntu tablet will be initially be released running Ubuntu 10.10.  The tablet will have a 1.66 GHz CPU and a couple of Gigs of ram, along with an SSD hard drive.  There are some pictures floating around the internet that indicate that this Ubuntu Tablet PC will be a sharp toy.

The addition of an Ubuntu tablet adds another software player in the tablet wars. The dominance by Apple's iPad may still remain in place due to savvy marketing practices.  However, it seems to me that Samsung's Android based tablet is starting to pick up steam.

The one major software player that seems to be falling far behind in the tablet wars is Microsoft.  Windows 7 is a much improved operating system, but it does not seem modular enough to have a version that runs smoothly on light operating systems.  Perhaps that is the one advantage that Linux and BSD based operating systems have over Microsoft Windows is that they can easily be slimmed down to work well on lighter devices.

Look for the new Ubuntu Tablet to be release sometime in early 2011.  I have a little money stored up, and just may take the plunge and get a new Ubuntu based toy.

Source: PC World

Ubuntu Buttons: A Simple Solution

I did not press the update button the other day to download and upgrade to Ubuntu 10.04. I decided to wait a while before I do the big upgrade. I'll give it a few more weeks.

I also saw that the maximize, minimize, and close buttons have been shifted over to the left side in the latest release from some screenshots online. This is not a big deal for me. Some Ubuntu users, especially those who are Microsoft converts are complaining loudly about it. Mark Shuttleworth put his foot down and said that this is how it is going to be.

By the way, if you want to move your buttons back the other way, then type this command:

gconftool-2 --set /apps/metacity/general/button_layout --type string "menu:minimize,maximize,close"

Mac converts, what little of them there are to the Ubuntu ranks are probably quite happy. In KDE is it is not a big deal to switch buttons around, it is as easy as opening the preferences window and sliding them where you want them. You can also place them in different order.

For the next Ubuntu release, maybe they should just put the buttons smack dab in the middle. It will appease the Mac users, and the Windows users. Or maybe it will just piss everyone off?

Default Search for Ubuntu Will Set to Yahoo

According to a report out of The Register, the next version of Ubuntu, Lucid Lynx, will have the default search setting for the Firefox Browser, set to Yahoo Search.

Is this a big deal? Not really. It is easy enough to change the search settings on Firefox. Just click on the tab just to the left of the search bar and select which engine you wish to use. It is the little search engine icon. Then the default is set. Even if you quit and restart your browser.

The funny thing is that Yahoo is actually paying Cannonical to have their engine set as a default. Since Microsoft is now in partnership with Yahoo, in a sort of weird way, Microsoft is paying a share to build and distribute Ubuntu. Still, not quite as overt as the Novell deal, but the link is there.

Will there be a backlash against Ubuntu in the Linux world? Who knows. Let the griping begin!

I have been using Chrome a lot anyways. It seems to work quite well.