Re: [PLUG] Linux friendly tablet?

I prefer to use Android over iOS -- for myself. That's because I am a tinkerer and want to mold the device to my way of doing things as much as I can. If I wasn't, I'd recommend iOS which is far more stable. (in fact, the beta version of iOS 6 that I am running on my iPad is much more stable than the release version of Android 3.2 running on my HTC Flyer.)
I prefer Android phones, iOS tablets. BlackBerry is dead. Their BB10 OS (so far) is an abandonment of the strength of BES and more of a consumer based device. I got a free Playbook tablet and could not give it away to any of my colleagues.
Android tends to be very similar to Linux if you think of the manufacturers modifications as "distros". Some are way better than the rest. When shopping, don't just look at the hardware, but make sure that "distro" is one that suits you. In that regard, I prefer HTC over Samsung, and Samsung over Motorola. It's a "taste" thing. I'm not saying one is better.
If you plan to root your Android and install custom ROMs, look for a model which is popular enough to attract a good amount of ROM developers.
Android licensees can be really bad at supporting upgrade paths. Some are better than others. HTC supported my EVO 4G for 2 years, which is much longer than others. I've seen Motorola phone sold as new with a 30 month old OS and not upgradable.
How do you get upgrades (assuming you aren't rooted)? Google develops an upgrade, and releases it to hardware manufacturers. The hardware manufacturers modify it to work on their hardware and their DE/WM. Then the wireless carriers have to muck around to install their crapware and other stuff to make more money from their customers. This leads to the following point.
While Android may be more "open source" than iOS, the hardware manufacturers are no less profit driven than Apple. They don't want to spend a lot of time and money to make the phone they sold you better when the alternative is to make money selling you a new phone. So hardware is often abandoned.
Tablets are different than phones for users, but the thinking of the Android manufacturers doesn't distinguish between them much. In fact they are more likely to abandon tablets because the data plan contracts for them tend to be shorter, allowing users more frequent purchases of new equipment.
Android is more susceptible to malware than iOS. It's not just the difference in the stores, but in the way that iOS is more sandboxed than Android. It makes iOS harder to customize, but the easy app interconnectivity in Android comes at a price.
Android itself may be open source, but that doesn't mean the apps are. The OS is pointless without the apps.
Android tends to be more like Windows and Dell. Buy and android and suffer crapware. Want to remove the crapware? You need root access.
Some of the Android crapware undermines the security that Google built into the OS.
The only crapware on iOS is that which Apple or the user install. They have the market demand to allow them to prevent wireless carriers from modifying the device.
I'm not impressed with who offers more apps because the vast majority of apps are useless junk. Each platform offers superior apps to the other. It just depends on which ones you need.

There is plenty more, but that's what slides off the top of my head on this hot, sweaty day.

On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 1:27 PM, Doug Stewart <zamoose@gmail.com> wrote:

I do find it ironic that everyone bemoaning Apple's walled garden
freely admits to slinging money at the telcos, i.e. those who
practically INVENTED the walled gardens.

Also, there's plenty of talk of rooting Android devices, yet no love
given to the jailbreaking community?

On Fri, Jul 6, 2012 at 1:15 PM, jeff <jeffv@op.net> wrote:
> On 07/06/2012 11:55 AM, Eric at Lucii.org wrote:
>>
>> I'd vote for your dog!
>
>
> You've just been nominated to his cabinet :)
>
> http://leftystrat.blogspot.com/2012/04/last-minute-presidential-candidate.html
>
>
>
> --
> ThermionicEmissions - the blog
> http://leftystrat.blogspot.com
>
>
> ___________________________________________________________________________
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--
-Doug

___________________________________________________________________________
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artAlexion
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