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It's not Android but HN readers might be interested in a FLOSS alternative; Ubuntu Touch. Despite being dropped by Canonical it's still going strong and is well

It's not Android but HN readers might be interested in a FLOSS alternative; Ubuntu Touch. Despite being dropped by Canonical it's still going strong and is well worth a look. https://ubports.com/ https://ubports.com/

luxpir 8y ago
Not using a smart phone atm, but this is my backup device for occasional quick photos/2FA etc. and it is fine for the job and doesn't leak data. It does try to get updates and info from Canonical, but I block that in my pihole setup. It doesn't do anything else, from what I can see, over the network.
afandian 8y ago
Is it any good? I bought an Aquaris M10 with Ubuntu touch and, to be honest, I felt that the advertising was dishonest and left a bad taste in the mouth, especially as Ubuntu dropped it shortly after. And it's not like I wanted the moon on a stick. I don't use 'apps'. Just capable web browser, reliable on-screen keyboard and a stable implementation of the promised 'convergence', would have done me fine. My thoughts from two years ago: https://blog.afandian.com/2016/04/i-got-a-bq-aquaris-m10-ubuntu-tablet/ https://blog.afandian.com/2016/04/i-got-a-bq-aquaris-m10-ubu... I still have it, and it's gathering dust. Would you recommend brushing it off and reinstalling?
- forgotpwd16 8y ago
  >I still have it, and it's gathering dust. You could have installed Android on it if you didn't liked Ubuntu. edit: Read your article. Very well-written.
  - afandian 8y ago
    Cheers. I should do something with it at least.
    - padraic7a 8y ago
      Maybe you would enjoy joining the developer community around ubports? Ubuntu Touch app development : https://t.me/UbuntuAppDevEN https://t.me/UbuntuAppDevEN OpenStore : https://open-store.io/telegram https://open-store.io/telegram
- padraic7a 8y ago
  I would say that it is absolutely worth brushing it off and reinstalling. Looking at your laundry list I think a lot of your points are still valid. Importantly I don't think that it will ever be 'real' desktop Ubuntu. Like you I think that I was sold on that in the initial marketing and was disappointed by the tablet's reality. That said if you approach it as a community project which is making real progress I think you'll enjoy it.
  - afandian 8y ago
    I suspected it would be at community-project stage, and I didn't really believe the Canonical hype. It's just it was plain unusable for anything I wanted to do (I hope that comes across as objective rather than unkind). I'll have another look.

luxpir 8y ago

Not using a smart phone atm, but this is my backup device for occasional quick photos/2FA etc. and it is fine for the job and doesn't leak data. It does try to get updates and info from Canonical, but I block that in my pihole setup. It doesn't do anything else, from what I can see, over the network.

afandian 8y ago

Is it any good? I bought an Aquaris M10 with Ubuntu touch and, to be honest, I felt that the advertising was dishonest and left a bad taste in the mouth, especially as Ubuntu dropped it shortly after. And it's not like I wanted the moon on a stick. I don't use 'apps'. Just capable web browser, reliable on-screen keyboard and a stable implementation of the promised 'convergence', would have done me fine. My thoughts from two years ago: https://blog.afandian.com/2016/04/i-got-a-bq-aquaris-m10-ubuntu-tablet/ https://blog.afandian.com/2016/04/i-got-a-bq-aquaris-m10-ubu... I still have it, and it's gathering dust. Would you recommend brushing it off and reinstalling?

forgotpwd16 8y ago
>I still have it, and it's gathering dust. You could have installed Android on it if you didn't liked Ubuntu. edit: Read your article. Very well-written.
- afandian 8y ago
  Cheers. I should do something with it at least.
  - padraic7a 8y ago
    Maybe you would enjoy joining the developer community around ubports? Ubuntu Touch app development : https://t.me/UbuntuAppDevEN https://t.me/UbuntuAppDevEN OpenStore : https://open-store.io/telegram https://open-store.io/telegram
padraic7a 8y ago
I would say that it is absolutely worth brushing it off and reinstalling. Looking at your laundry list I think a lot of your points are still valid. Importantly I don't think that it will ever be 'real' desktop Ubuntu. Like you I think that I was sold on that in the initial marketing and was disappointed by the tablet's reality. That said if you approach it as a community project which is making real progress I think you'll enjoy it.
- afandian 8y ago
  I suspected it would be at community-project stage, and I didn't really believe the Canonical hype. It's just it was plain unusable for anything I wanted to do (I hope that comes across as objective rather than unkind). I'll have another look.