David Coulson on 6 Jul 2012 04:40:12 -0700


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Re: [PLUG] Linux friendly tablet?


What about it needs to be 'Linux friendly'? Short of rooting an android device, the fact that it runs Linux has nothing to do with the usability or functionality of the device. If you buy consumer devices because of what kernel they run, you're probably going to end up disappointed. IOS uses a BSD variant, so it's not like it is worlds apart from Android.

I'm a Linux guy, and I have an iPad - IMHO, superior user interface and in general it's more consistent than Android. That said, I don't really care what it's running under the hood - As long as it works for me 100% of the time so I can get my job done with it, I'm happy.

On 7/6/12 1:16 AM, JP Vossen wrote:
As many of you know I'm more of a tool guy (e.g. swiss army knife) than gadget guy, but it seems like it might finally be time for a tablet.

I refuse to have any iDevices in the house, so that basically leaves Android, AFAIK. While in theory devices build on top of Linux should be Linux friendly, not everything is (see TomTom).

So what is a good, inexpensive Linux friendly tablet? Use cases as follows:

* Stay-at-home Mom, for email, web surfing, simple apps, etc. (WiFi only is fine, we're not doing any kind of data plan, if that even applies to tablets)
* Kid friendly (6 & 8), preferably edutainment-type stuff
* Angry Birds is apparently a requirement (hey, that teaches ballistics, right?)
* Cut the rope, ditto

Related, recommended apps?

* Astronomy, ideally including satellite info
* Video creator (hate to admit it, but iMovie is pretty awesome)
* eBook reader (but won't work well in direct sun, right?)
* Movie player
* Netflix?  (Optional, we have the DVD-only plan now)
* What else don't I know about?

Thanks,
JP
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___________________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group         --        http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion  --   http://lists.phillylinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug