Kubuntu on Genesi i.MX53 ARM processor netbook?

[Fox7777]

We are thinking of buying a Genesi i.MX53 netbook when they are available and installing Kubuntu for the ARM processor on it. What are the chances of success and are there any other ARM processor netbooks that might be better? Details on Genesi are at https://www.genesi-usa.com/store/details/12 and
http://armdevices.net/2011/06/22/gen...-and-desktops/
Thanks

[woodsmoke]

Re: Kubuntu on Genesi i.MX53 ARM processor netbook?

This is an especial interest of mine, if you make the purchase I, for one, would be GREATLY interested in hearing of the results.

woodsmoke

[Fox7777]

Re: Kubuntu on Genesi i.MX53 ARM processor netbook?

What would be the best ARM processor netbook (or laptop, desktop) to run Kubuntu on? Several manufacturers will be selling them in the near future.

[claydoh]

Re: Kubuntu on Genesi i.MX53 ARM processor netbook?

I just got a Freescale i.MX53 development board this week, and am curious myself. There is an 11.10 Ubuntu image specific for this device, and there are Kubuntu arm images available. I am going to try one or both of these, but I am waiting for the hdmi addon board and perhaps a faster ds card as the Lucid image it came with is dog slooooowwww on it, mostly due to the sloooowwww sdcard I think

[Fox7777]

Re: Kubuntu on Genesi i.MX53 ARM processor netbook?

At the TAPCUG General meeting this morning, the Superpad3 with ARM11 1 GHz processor available from Amazon was demonstrated, details at
http://www.amazon.com/Superpad3-X220...1133410&sr=1-1

I think you could order the tablet with keyboard, etc. for $198.95 and get a 16 GB SD card $17.11 for a total of $216.06. I'm still trying to see if you could run Kubuntu on it but you can get a free root kit, etc. to get under the hood and do some cool things.Things you can do with it include using as a GPS, connecting the hdmi to your TV, etc. I plan to get into this at Tuesday's TAPCUG Linux SIG, http://Linux-Now.us . If anyone knows whether the ARM version of Kubuntu 11.10 would run on this, please let me know.

Update: People I know are having problems with these tablets from China. The most common problem is the battery not charging. There is a version of Fedora 16 for the ARM processor that is supposed to run on these and I have it installed on an SD card but haven't tested it yet on a Superpad. Note that Superpad and Raspberrypi are ARM11 which is slower while the Genesi iMX51 Smartbook is a faster ARM Cortex A8. The real goal is Kubuntu on an affordable, fast quad core netbook with Pixel Qi screen.

Thanks

[Fox7777]

Re: Kubuntu on Genesi i.MX53 ARM processor netbook?

Another option is the Raspberry PI $25 (or $35) ARM Linux computer which is supposed to be available by December 2011, details at http://raspberrypi.org or
http://armdevices.net/2011/10/27/ras...-techcon-2011/ or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberrypi
Will Kubuntu easily run on that? Could we partition and use Grub to boot multiple partitions?

Thanks again

[Fox7777]

RE: Kubuntu on Genesi i.MX53 ARM processor netbook?

Apparently Genesi will not sell the Genesi i.MX53 ARM processor netbook but leapfrog ahead to a i.MX6 quad core ARM processor netbook, laptop in 2012. Details at http://bbrv.blogspot.com/2011/12/holiday-surprise.html . Currently the plan is to buy a http://raspberrypi.org ARM processor Linux computer for $35 when they come out in mid February, demonstrate it at http://LinuxFestNorthwest.org and wait for a quad core ARM processor Kubuntu Linux netbook later in 2012. This, of course, is subject to change depending on new developments.

[GreyGeek]

A relative of mine was given a Coby Kyros MID7005 8" tablet as a 30 year employment gift. I had an opportunity to play with it because he couldn't get it to do some things.

My personal opinion is that this tablet would be a lot better if it could be upgraded from Android 2.3 to IceCream, but it can't.

Can I upgrade my unit to Android versions 2.2, 2.3 or 3.0?
Unfortunately the units themselves are only built to support the Android version that they came with. We are constantly striving to bring you the best OS available.

Coby has discontinued it.

We learned from Barns & Nobels rebuff of Microsoft's attempts to get it to sign an NDA while being sued for "using Microsoft IP" in the Android OS on their tablet, that one of the conditions of the license is that devices released with Android CANNOT be upgraded. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201...iolation.shtml

Still, B&N claims that Microsoft's patents would severely limit its ability to innovate:

This proposed licensing agreement covered Barnes & Noble's use of Android on its existing eReader devices but is structured in such a way to presume that Microsoft's portfolio of patents dominate, and thereby control, the entire Android operation system and any devices that use Android. Indeed, the proposed license would have severely limited and, in some cases, entirely eliminated Barnes & Noble's ability to upgrade or improve the Nook or the Nook Color, even though Microsoft's asserted patents have nothing to do with improvements.

Unfortunately, I just don't see the Justice Department gearing up for this, but that's really unfortunate. It should be watching out for abuses of patent law that appear to impact wider innovation. Instead, it's running around chasing companies based on size, not actual impact.

In other words, Microsoft is using its BILLIONS and vast legal muscle to beat small companies into submission using as a pretext the 5 patents they claim tha Linux violates. There were six, but B&N blew one out of the water with prior art, and they have amassed a large amount of prior art for the others. Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to extort more money per Android from small OEMs than they charge per unit of WinP7, sales of which have dropped into the toilet. I've asked this question before, and the answer is obvious. IF Google is using Microsoft IP to create Android, and the consumer has declared that Android is superor to WinP7, why did Microsoft use the inferior parts of their IP to create WinP7 when they could have just as well used the parts that Android is supposedly using, IF indeed, those parts are valid MS IP?

Obviously they are not, and Microsoft has been suing on the premise that defendents would simply pay their "license fee" rather than a bunch of lawyers and court costs for five years. Actually, it may be a good gambit. Who knows what the smartphone market will be like in five years? Compared with what has happened in the last five years, which no one guessed would occur, anything is possible, including entirely new technology which would make moot all this bullying by Microsoft. In fact, if there is one change that is becoming all to obvious, it is that despite the fact that PC OEMs stopped offering PCs with Linux installed in August of 2010, about the same time that Windows 7 appeared, Microsoft has been loosing market share on both the PC desktop AND the smartphone at a rapidly increasing rate. I pointed out in another post that SEC S10 filings show that Microsoft corporate officers and major shareholders have been selling MS stock in large blocks over the last two years. The only "Acquisitions" are transfers from trust funds and spouses. In other five years Microsoft may not be a force in either market.

[Fox7777]

RE: Kubuntu on Genesi i.MX53 ARM processor netbook?

ARM processor Linux smartbooks, netbooks, phones, tablets, etc. are under very rapid development and we should have fast, quad core ARM Linux computers by the end of 2012. Not wanting to miss out, I have agonized over whether to order the $199 Genesi Efika MX smartbook, the $35 raspberrypi or a $182 pandaboard. Since the Genesi smartbook,
http://www.genesi-usa.com/products/smartbook , is a functional ready-to-go slim lightweight (2 lb.) netbook made in USA (the Freescale processor is a USA company too), I opted for Genesi and am now using it. It is only 3/4" thick, weighs 2 lbs. and is reasonably fast. This will be very useful in my travels. They are supposed to have a fast quad core i.MX6 netbook by the end of the year but I am tired of waiting (there has been talk about these since 2009). Genesi's software development web site is http://www.powerdeveloper.org/ . Also I am trying out Bodhi Linux, http://bodhilinux.com/ , installed on an SD card for this smartbook.

[Guest]

Note that Genesi, Superpad, Raspberrypi are ARM11 which is slower.

Actually, the Genesi Efika MX Smarttop and Smartbook use Freescale i.mx515 processors which are based on ARM´s Cortex A8 design (ARMv7) and execute about twice the instructions per clock cycle compared to ARM11 (ARMv6).