Making Ubuntu Touch an easy choice

joe

https://forums.ubports.com/topic/1596/promotion-as-one-of-main-categories-on-this-forum/4

@Pulsar33 says:
IMHO, Ubuntu Touch will easily conquer the world if and only if :

There is enough Core Apps free of major bugs
There is enough Hardware for which it works
People can easily develop or port applications
Without that, you can do as many promotion as you want, it will be useless

WLBI

@joe said in Making Ubuntu Touch an easy choice:

There is enough Hardware for which it works

In my opinion, there should not be "enough hardware" there should be new and powerful hardware on which it works. Like Galaxy S8 or S9 and not only old rare retired devices with low power.
I think it's better to develop for one or two new devices, than for 10 old devices.
Only if it will be available for current devices, the consumers on the world become aware of it.

I was a very big fan of Ubuntu Touch, I bought one of the first BQ E4.5 and then a BQ M10 FHD tablet.
Then devices gain a little bit in speed and power with the Meizu devices, but since years the devices have no development in speed and camera quality.
Also I was a monthly supporter of UBports since the very early beginning.
Now I am out and better using up to date Android devices.

I bought a year ago a Galaxy S8 and my wife just recently a Galaxy S9. Those devices are mind blowing fast and have perfect photo + video quality. Yes it's Android spyware and I don't like it, but unfortunately, that's the price I need to pay.

Guess what? You can use it for calling too....
If I need a phone for texting and calling only, I don't need a smartphone, I can use my old phones...

If there will be one day powerful hardware for UBports I am back.

Stefano

@wlbi After OTA-4 there should be more focus on porting to a new devices, as guys from Ubports said. There are some candidates as Oneplus 3 and 5 and some guys managed to port it to Xiaomi as well. We wait for the new edge channel and hopefully there will be experimental builds soon.
Yes, I know, it's frustrating to wait, but don't forget this is a community project, not under Canonical anymore, so it takes time. That's the price to pay, but we should be happy that this project did not die after it was abandoned by Canonical.

I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

advocatux

@wlbi I've read your post several times and I honestly don't understand it.

You know perfectly well this is a 100% volunteer based project, but in spite of that you're saying something like I don't want to spend time or money in this project but you guys have to give me more powerful hardware.

Yes, trying to develop a secure and privacy focused OS for mobiles devices is not an easy task, but for most of us falling in the spyware trap and spend the kind of money you need to buy a S8 or S9 (and wait for others to solve my problems) is not the solution for sure.

Finally, what do you think is the main reason why there isn't more «new and powerful hardware»? That nobody cares or all that proprietary and closed software&hardware crap that makes so hard the porting?

If you want a change in the current mobile devices landscape, you have to be part of the change movement

hummlbach

@WLBI i got you: you would really like to have a 2018th flagship supported. But you really cannot generalize that. Others asking for cheap phones to be supported. Me is just happy with the meizu pro 5 and would equally be with a fp2, a nexus 5 or a oneplus one (and would prefer not to buy a new phone for ethical and ecological reasons as long as the old one doesn't break). So perhaps we should stick with "enough hardware" in terms of the more hardware we support the easier the choice for Ubuntu Tocuh. I understand the more powerful and high end the device is the better the user experience... and you like that. Hopefully we can get you back some time in the future by supporting such a device and so fulfilling your criteria.
I think the hardware support is major point. Unfortunately a tough one too...

@advocatux will hit me for what i will write now: transition solutions like anbox will make UT an easier choice!

Optimally porting of apps can be done with no effort. Or the other way round make writing UT apps the coolest in the world and make it easy to repackage UT apps for android. That could also attract developpers.

Sure no bugs is a good idea(l)

I think despite our current shortcomings it makes sense to promote UT. I'm sure there are a lot of people interested in almost google-free and apple-free phones who have not even heard about UT. Not talking about legal issues now, but imagine to buy some Fairphones, preinstall UT and sell/promote them... You just need to get those people who need a new phone and don't want to pay with their data... How can we get in touch with them? I'm sure they exist...

Marathon2422

@wlbi
It seems like you have the talent,to be able to port UBports,to newer device.
come on show us how it is done.!!!

UKPhil

I have read the posts here and I can see and agree with both sides. Yes we do need to have newer devices supported, but at the end of the day who wants to buy a new S8 or even S9 and then possibly break it by messing about trying to port it over?
As a professional tester I believe that software should be made to work on the devices we are currently supporting and then build on a good foundation. We do need more devices out there though.
Yes we need more core apps, more devices and such like. However, for me one of the main things I think we need to offer is the same functionality as what people have already got and expect as standard. The mass market is not going to want to spend time getting something to work when they have grown used to “plug & play”. We need to look at what we are missing from a standard phone and then get it in, to bring our os up to the market standard. This way the os will grow and get more mainstream users. Until we do this and get more devices, the os at best will stay as a bit of a toy for many, the second phone they carry around, not their main one.
Sometimes with posts like this, people can jump on them and feel like they are insults to the great work that they are doing. It is not the case, so please no one take this as a personal insult, it is just an observation. We all love UT and that is why we are here and we all want it to grow and grow. With varying community members there are different ideas. This is just one of many.
I will put the can opener down now and walk away from the exploding tin lol

advocatux

@advocatux will hit me for what i will write now: transition solutions like anbox will make UT an easier choice!

@hummlbach lol I forgive you (but only this time hahahahaha)

WLBI

@hummlbach got what I am talking about.
Other comments like @Marathon2422 is just childish.

Doesn't need to be a Galaxy phone, but fast CPU with high quality camera for photos and videos.
I tried that some years, to make YouTube Videos with my BQ E4.5, but that doesn't work. It's just to bad quality. Also with the tablet, the video quality is unusable.

I really like the UBports OS, but without good hardware, it's just unusable for me.

UKPhil

Yes it is true that we need good hardware, but at the same time we should not forget the hardware this os cut it's teeth on. We should support the older devices that it originally came with. Lots of us brought the earlier devices because we wanted the os and they should not be left behind.
Without good apps, a good working os or a relatively big free platform to build on, we are just building on bad foundations. Let's get the long standing issues out the way and then build from there to incorporate more newer devices.

Lakotaubp

This is an interesting discussion that shows a keen interest from everyone involved in the future development of UBports Ubuntu Touch. Can we make sure we keep it nice and friendly please.

A Former User

UT is already a no-brainer for

anyone concerned about privacy and what happens to their own data
anyone who cares about the Open Source environment.

I would think that those two things tag many of the current users, and is what makes any compromises in hardware and software palatable.

For what it's worth, my partner (also not a techie) balks at using UT, even though she is firmly in the first category above. She's seen me fiddling with OSs too much: she needs something really stable, that works.

I think there's a real Existance-Issue: people, even in the industry, and in the Linux community, just don't know about UT. If they've heard of it: they think it died with Mark Shuttleworth's announcement, last year.

I don't know what the solution to that is. I've tried to persuade the editors at Wikipedia to change their article on UT - but it remains woeful. I've suggested a change of name and branding, but people seem to be reluctant to that.

I guess what we really need is an OEM to be interested in what is now a much more mature OS. Obviously, I'm not in a position to know the details of the Bq or Meizu stories, but a new device would spark a good deal of interest.

And getting some tech magazine heavyweights to review the OS would also do a lot of good.

Edit: What would need to be done to become an official Ubuntu Flavour? At least with that we'd get advertising to the Ubuntu and wider Linux communities.

libremax

To be able, constantly and in the long run, to buy a "good" quality new smartphone between 50 and 200 euros compatible with UT would be an important advantage in attracting new developers and new contributors (not to mention ordinary users / consumers).

The development of UT has to be embedded in a long time, several decades in the same way that GNU/Linux software emerged in the 70s and 90s and only became known to tens of millions of users in the 2000s.

No reason to be impatient only to show consistency and determination.

Pulsar33

@joe Hello
My daughter had flashed UBports OTA-3 on her BQ E5 as well as her new FP2 but she had so many problems that she just put the latter back on Fairphone Open. I am still under Touch OTA-15 on my BQ E5 and, reading this forum regularly, I wonder ...
Compared to the first message of this thread, it seems that we are far from the objectives. I know that all this is developed by volunteers but to make new users want to join the community, it would be good to say in neophyte language what currently works, don't you think?...

Could someone who knows write a short paragraph to that effect?
Best regards
Pulsar33

vandys

@libremax said in Making Ubuntu Touch an easy choice:

The development of UT has to be embedded in a long time, several decades in the same way that GNU/Linux software emerged in the 70s and 90s and only became known to tens of millions of users in the 2000s.

No reason to be impatient only to show consistency and determination.

Well, I don't think Linus was doing his thing in the 70's, but otherwise I agree with your sentiment.

Many kept waiting for the thing or decision or Big Business which would make Linux win. But it really just kept being there, attracting enthusiasm and moving forward. It was just suddenly obvious and inevitable.

So I think the project is doing all the right things. Catch up with a shared SW base. Fix the abandoned browser. Over time adopt a new flagship and, yes, set some old supported devices aside (I'm already a little worried about the flawed binary blobs in my Nexus 5). Keep chipping away at what's missing, what's broken--software and docs. If you keep at it, odds are you'll run across things which will make UT stand out. Especially since the big players can make game changing mistakes (I'm watching Google's tensions with the EU and their increasing control of Google Apps with interest).

libremax

@vandys said in Making Ubuntu Touch an easy choice:

Well, I don't think Linus was doing his thing in the 70's, but otherwise I agree with your sentiment.

With GNU and 70s, I was referring to GNU Project, RMS and FSF, not Linus T.

however, I was still making a mistake since the GNU project was launched in September 1983 ;-).

joe

@pulsar33 I agree, it should be clear for each device what is definitely working, and what is not. Another piece of writing to add to the list.

We're looking for people to get on board and write things. If anyone is interested in helping with that, then please let me know.

A Former User

I'm still interested, @joe, but you have to get the editing process sorted out.

joe

@3arn0wl said in Making Ubuntu Touch an easy choice:

I'm still interested, @joe, but you have to get the editing process sorted out.

Any suggestions?

Editing is usually not a problem. We have lots of people who can review and edit. It's just the writing/creating part that doesn't seem to happen very easily.

We can use pad.ubports.com , or any tool to write something, then you can send it to the marketing group, and we will edit and post etc.

If we can get enough people to form more of a team around writing, then we will put them all together. @lionelb has been doing most of it on his own in the past.