Please someone explain this to me

DaveNotHere

How come there is not a strip down verison of UT, so it can work with any phone or tablet. They do it desktops and laptops operating systems, why not cellphones and tablets?

Strip down or bare bones verison means no extra software. Like phone, contacks, media player. But just enough of a OS to boot so you can add what you need.

You can do that with other Linux desktop OS, but why can't they just make it one size fits all.

I just can't get my head to understand why someone or something has not made this happen already.

alan_g

@DaveNotHere said in Please someone explain this to me:

You can do that with other Linux desktop OS, but why can't they just make it one size fits all.
I just can't get my head to understand why someone or something has not made this happen already.

Phone hardware is more varied, drivers are often not made available by the manufacturers and are not in the kernel.

cliffcoggin

As I understand the matter, which may not be entirely accurate, Ubuntu Touch is not a computer that can also make calls, it is a phone that happens to have some computing features. If you take the call features away from a phone, what is left?

Keneda

Answer is : phone manufacturers don't give open source software for driving their hardware.
They include closed source drivers in linux kernel for androïd/linux distro x.xx and do this for maybe 3 or four updates untill letting it dies.

But androïd is not GNU, and running ubuntu with closed source software that is for androïd/linux and not GNU/linux is not so easy.
You have to use and adapt to uTouch GNU software, the androïd Linux kernel with its closed source drivers.

Besides, even on PC it's more than often a problem to have GNU/Linux drivers for all hardware, even closed source ones.
It's easier but not so easy, some hardware won't work on GNU/Linux PC.

CiberSheep

I moved the subject to OS category as Design is more for UI/UX. Thanks

PhoenixLandPirat

Not only the above but also, ARM doesnt work like that, even with arm mini computers, arm based laptops, and eventually arm based desktops, need a image purposefully designed for the hardware.

You cant boot generic Ubuntu on the raspberry pi, you have to download ubuntus specific raspberry pi image.