These instructions do credit mine (with an "even more thanks" at the bottom), but I still feel like it is useful to point out that the only substantial difference between these instructions and the ones I published over a year ago for Debian on a G1 are that 1) some minimal changes were made for Debian->Ubuntu and 2) it is explained how to setup the X11 portions (I assumed people would know how to do that if they cared). How is this news, and why is it the second most popular news item at that? ;P Doesn't everyone know how to do this by now? (If you don't and need help, #android-root on Freenode has been providing support to anyone doing this sort of thing for a long time.)
The video itself convinced me no to go to his site. He opens his site in the browser just to get hung up on the "Sign up for my newsletter" pop-up that runs when the site loads.
"Hey! Watch me demo this using my websight! Look at this
annoying sign-up prompt that you get when you go to my
websight!"
It's cute, but I don't think the "why" section is very well thought out.
I also see many uses in college engineering classes when they are studying Ubuntu/linux. Instead of heading to the lab or having dual-boot on their computer, students will be able to use their Nexus One/Android phone as a test device.
Even for web designers, their Android phone can become a portable test web server to test out their new designs.
So instead of running a free VMware player or SSH'ing to a Linux host, running Linux on their laptops in the first place, installing a simple webserver (for the designers) or buying a cheap Linux-powered netbook they'd opt to render a $500 phone useless for its intended purpose?
Let's just stick with "because I can", it's a perfectly good answer to "why".
Why do you say it's "useless for its intended purpose"? I see no reason that thing won't take calls. It's running under Android, not in place of it.
The given reasons are indeed stupid, IMHO, but there are non-stupid reasons to be interested in a computer that is always with you, always connected to the internet, and fully Linux. The only limit at that point is your imagination.
I find it extremely funny that when he says, "Let's check out my site" he types in "nexusonehacks" into the google search box, instead of typing "nexusonehacks.net" in the address bar. I guess this problem isn't just grandma's, it's spread to at least semi-informed engineers doing stuff like putting Ubuntu on a Nexus One.
And instead had to wait for his 3G network to make a bunch of round trips. Typing .net on an android phone really isn't that bad, and if he typed "nexusonehacks" with no problems, I don't see a problem with ".net"
x86 Pros: (all to do with windows I think. Are these what you were thinking? Did I miss any?)
- windows software
- windows drivers (probably less important for a netbook, but I sure wish my scanner and laser printer and wifi hotspots all worked with my eee PC's xandros).
- windows itself is familiar, and people know their way around it.
- Microsoft sells windows for OEM notebooks really cheap (like $20 I think). An astute move.
- x86 also runs lots of linux binaries (and other OSes), but I don't think this is a big factor since you can recompile (and eg ubuntu has done this for ARM already), and it's not a selling point for the 95% of people who don't use linux.
ARM Pros:
- lower power consumption (but I believe the display is the main power drain at this point)
- cheaper (but Intel mobile CPUs are priced competitively)
- to combat "windows software": webapps seem to be used more than native apps these days (what % of your PC time is outside a browser? I myself am only outside a browser for compilation and vim).
- to combat "windows drivers": a netbook is primarily mobile; and if it has 3G, it doesn't even need wifi compatibility.
- to combat "windows familiarity": the browser is already familiar. If that works, the rest is of secondary importance
- linux is cheaper than windows (though I'm not sure if that is true for special distributions with higher usability, eg. I'm sure xandros for the eee PC is sold for-profit).
Overall, it seems to be in flux: platform is shifting; price and power consumption must be considered over all components not just CPU.
However, there's a larger trend at work here: netbooks are waning in popularity. The eee PC is no longer available in the tiny 7 inch size, and the most popular one is 10 inch - merging closely with 12 inch laptops. The "tiny form-factor" space seems to be taken over by touchscreen smart phones (not just the iPhone, but also android and so on. Incredibly, the whole market is selling over 1,000,000 per. day.http://trentwalton.com/2010/07/05/non-hover/ I actually can't quite believe this). The phone invades from below; the netbook retreats upmarket.
So... what I really want is not a netbook, but a phone with keyboard and a larger screen. Some of them already do have (tiny) keyboards, and you can buy them as addons.
