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Someone help me understand this one: > A new developer-oriented touchscreen OS – The number of touchscreens in our daily lives is exploding. Android and iOS ar
by delinka 8y ago
Someone help me understand this one:
> A new developer-oriented touchscreen OS – The number of touchscreens in our daily lives is exploding. Android and iOS are optimized for consumer tablets and phones, but what if you’re a developer building a non-consumer product? What if you want to build a cash register, or a digital menu, or an in-flight entertainment solution, or a vending machine?
Does he mean an OS with these kinds of solutions in mind? Maybe I need to understand where Andrew feels the shortcomings in Android and iOS lie that prevent his what-ifs currently.
When I see the phrase "developer-oriented," I'm thinking about dev tools ON the touchscreen OS. And for that, I do indeed have some ideas...
- joezydeco 8y agoI've worked for a few companies and startups trying this kind of thing. It's the wrong question. The software side of a touchscreen is solved. You can run a number of operating systems and develop in whatever you want. Embedded Linux framebuffer, OpenGL, WinCE, Qt, WindRiver running a military GUI toolkit like VAPS, Ubuntu running GTK, hell - my Mazda's infotainment system is simply Opera running a bunch of Javascript code. The problem is the hardware. There is no universal platform that can satisfy all of these ideas. The cash register needs to be thin and stylish in a custom case. The menu board needs a weatherproof rugged box to hide behind a panel display. The in-flight system needs to be FAA-approved. The vending machine needs vandal-resistant glass that still works with a capsense system. The bulldozer needs industrial temperature ranges and IP67. Every customer is a special duck and it's going to be a custom build. It's just one of those problems that looks easy on paper.