Canonical rejiggers Ubuntu for laptots

laptot!!!!

Oh, no. Not laptot. Please. please, please.

I'm sure that Psion wouldn't mind it being called netbook, so long as the 'b' wasn't capitalised. After all, the only difference between my eeePc and my Psion netBook, is half an inch from front to back and six ounces in weight, Oh, and eight hours in battery life.

Oi @E, no!

GNOME is simple, Ubuntu makes it even simpler, if just one more person drops the MS slave-chain and becomes emancipated, then it will be worth it! It's supposed to be simple on the top dumb-ass, so everyone can simply get on it and get going, Christ-on-a-bike, if we all thought like that we'd still be back at Yggdrasil 0.99 level, trying to work out what IRQ our CDROM should be running on! If you don't like GNOME, then get Kubuntu. If you don't like either of the main choices, stop whining and write yer own damn UI! Want the "Moon-on-a-stick" some people!

Laptot, Laptotty

So those laptoppy audiences in in conferences who ignore the speaker entirely and read their mail, will move to laptots and become laptotty audiences? Cool.

P.H. well why do you think?

Laptot

So a nice looking laptot would result in me buying a laptotty?

Cruising the high street looking for laptotty, yeah my wife'll believe that....not!

Paris: 'cos the Asus girl is till not there! :-(

@Steve Raith

Not get laid? But girls LOVE my Eee. And if they love that, just think what they'd make of the One. Trust me, go out to a bar with your cute little laptot, and girls will flock around you to get a look... :D

...its happened to me several times already!

Laptot - brilliant!

A new term has been coined that for once is not completely obnoxious, well done! My EEE will henceforth be referred to as such.

With regards to the article, I have been using eeexubuntu, an eee-optimised variation for some months now. I can see an official version working well!

laptot defined

Brat on Santa's lap who whines for more as her recently unemployed parents listen in.

@E

"Ubuntu going after the laptot OS space: I respect free speech as much as free beer. That is why I feel free to say qua a Ubuntu surge: fuck ubuntu, if I want friendly I will either work harder to educate my users or I will hire a whore; the most dumbed down Gnome UI in existence - I do not need that, nor do my users, it keeps them stupid."

Tell you what, I'll use this LapTot Edition of Ubuntu and have a nice, stable, easy to use OS that avoids the MS/Mac closed source and works nicely.

You use slackware, or better, HP/UX.

90% of consumers don't want to be pissing about with editing scripts and .conf files, and if we're honest, 90% of techies would rather avoid it too, we do that enough at work.

I can set up the DHCP config manually through the config file in Ubuntu, but I'd rather just let it do it automagically when I'm trying to get my email.

Congratulations on not only missing the point, but missing the whiteboard it's scrawled on, the room the whiteboard is in, the building containing the office and the country the office is located in.

You idiot.

Do you read the Daily Mail by any chance?

Steven R

free?

"Our goal is to deliver a superb user experience while making it simple and cost-effective for device manufacturers to be able to bring their devices to the consumer market place," stated Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth.

in other words he is going to sell it to device manufacturers. Nice of all the ubantus to give free time fixing his OS, the one that he will be selling.

Paris, because she isn't free either

Laptot[ty]

In reference to our eeepc's friend?

"Laptot" Yeah, Nice try - but it won't catch on

Shame the word "Tot" is only recognised in a few English spoken countries. Where as you can say the words "Net" & "Book" in any developed country in the world and they'll know what you're talking about.

Anybody else see the communication issue one might encouter when trying to purchase a Laptot in a Korean electronics store??

@E

"I don't much care for writing GUIs. I much prefer writing UNIX filters and command line stuff - they're more flexible and more useful."

Who writes code on their PC? Probably about 5% or less of all computer buyers, and an even lower percentage of laptop buyers. Great - if you are in that VERY small minority, then you have special niche needs and you should choose the appropriate tools for your work.

But a failure to see just what a small minority of users you represent does you no favours when generalizing your comments on OSes...

And regarding the Macintosh comments - well, OF COURSE Ubuntu and KDE follow the footsteps of Mac and Vista. Designing and user testing a new user interface for the general public is a very costly task, and community developed software does not really have the revenue model to back that investment. They might as well copy from people that HAVE done the research and testing - and at least Ubuntu copied from the best of the two.

SLACKWARE

Thats it really, i think that everyone should learn basic coding and how a computer works at school, using something like slackware and GCC, We would be much better off as a country everytinhg could be open source. So no dumbing down computing is not the answer, it's similair to dumbing down the electorate after a while all you get is psuedo-democracies and vista :P.

Bad Darwin

@e

"As for code: a pint of draft says that more than 50% of Linux users know how to program and spend some time each month writing some kind of code."

And that is why its no good for garden variety users

@E

"As for code: a pint of draft says that more than 50% of Linux users know how to program and spend some time each month writing some kind of code. Everyone I know who programs and owns a laptop has written code on their laptop. What, do you think it is harder to write code on a laptop?"

In terms of overall CURRENT Linux users, I would have to agree that over 50% do some form of coding. But the challenge has always been to expand that base "to the rest of us", as it were - including all those Windows and Mac users that just use a computer for email and wordprocessing and spreadsheets. Why? Because it creates a larger market for the work done by the Linux community, both paid and unpaid, and because removing power from Redmond is a good goal unto itself. And in that sense, Shuttleworth is a leading figure, and Ubuntu is currently the best wedge.

And while I do prefer to write code (and have been since I started writing Fortran, 6502 and Z-80 assembler programs in 1980) on a very large screen, I am aware that many coders do use laptops. But even more management types use laptops than desktops, and therefore I think that the percentage of code development on lappies is probaby lower than desktops.

@E @E @E .........

I am appalled at your posts. Linux is trying to get more established in the desktop/laptop market and extend its acceptability in many other areas. Your rants do not exactly help. I'm sure you really must put people off from using Linux. Indeed you seem to arguing against the very freedom and choice that is at the heart of Linux and GNU philosophy

I drive, I do not open the bonnet and tinker in order to take the car out. I do know how the engine, gear box, differential etc. work. I do not really know how the electronics work, but this does not stop me from owning and driving a car. Indeed, most people probably have no idea how a car 'works' but they are still able to own and drive a car. Of course, we need the skills to create, build and maintain the cars.

So it is with computers and software. There are all the users and then there are all the creators builders and maintainers, the 'experts' which is where you appear to place yourself.

I'm in computer maintenance and the most of the clients I meet would be ruled out of computer use altogether by your criteria. Is that what you are suggesting?

Horses for courses. Console if you wish, manual configuration every time you install software or connect to the internet, if that's what you want. For the rest of us, the majority, a computer that 'works' (out of the box, so to speak) and does what we want and need, whether it be Windows, Mac, or some flavour of Linux that meets our requirements. There are distributions to suit all kinds of uses and users, after all, that's one of the many benefits of Linux.

Don't belittle the majority who don't meet your criteria, and don't shame the many people who make a fantastic contribution to the development of Linux other GNU software without reward other than the satisfaction of doing it and doing it well.

O dear

"If you are a user then, yes, I think you should spend at least two hours a week with a manual, learning how your computer works and how to do more than just point and click"

So, E, how many people spend a couple of hours a week with a *car* manual, learning how to their engine works, so then they can do their own servicing, brake replacements, suspension enhancements and so on? Most people know a lot less about their cars than they do their computers.

Usability. It's a quaint term, but you get further if it's there.