A new KDE Plasma tablet!

[Teunis]

http://aseigo.blogspot.com/2012/01/reveal.html

[woodsmoke]

Bravo and this is intriguing:

Kontact Touch

woodsmoke

[drum]

Is this available right now?

[GreyGeek]

No. Late spring or early summer.
Some follow-up information.

Spark tablet will come with a 7-inch (800x480) capacitive multi-touch display and will be powered under the hood by a 1GHZ ARM processor. Other hardware specifications include Wi-Fi connectivity, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage and an SD card slot. On the software end, Spark will run on KDE's Plasma Active and will be available to the general public. The relatively modest hardware will be priced at about $265. Instead of a cheap binary, PROPRIETARY system you'll get a chance to on an open system running Plasma-Active-Two. You can get the plasma-active-2.iso from here, use dd to burn it to a USB as a LiveISO and then boot it to see what it will be like.

[PhilT]

Hi GG. Do you know if there will be a version which will run on the Nvidia Tegra chips? I have as ASUS Transformer (marvellous device) and would love to rum Plasma-Active on that!! But I can't see any reference to that chipset on the Plasma Active wiki. The ASUS Transformer is now selling at over 400,000 units per month - and giving the iPad a good run for its money! So it would seem to be a good idea to port Plasma-Active to that device which is "big" in the Android-space.

[GreyGeek]

Hi GG. Do you know if there will be a version which will run on the Nvidia Tegra chips?

From the follow up:

Q: Can I get a Spark with higher-end hardware?
A: We are currently evaluating higher-end hardware options and intend to expand the product line over time. Our requirements are not simple, but we have already started to identify candidate systems. As with 3G, when this happens will be driven by market demand for Spark.

So, as you can see, it depends on how well the first release of Spark sells. Time will tell.

I have as ASUS Transformer (marvellous device) and would love to rum Plasma-Active on that!! But I can't see any reference to that chipset on the Plasma Active wiki. The ASUS Transformer is now selling at over 400,000 units per month - and giving the iPad a good run for its money! So it would seem to be a good idea to port Plasma-Active to that device which is "big" in the Android-space.

I came within a hair's breadth of buying a Transformer instead of this Acer-7739. In the end, the lack of keyboard and the small screen, turned me off. I have enough trouble with a regular keyboard, and expanding the print big enough to see with my eyes would make reading the screen like looking at it through a toilet roll tube. So, I decided to go the other way and get a regular size keyboard and a BIG screen, 17.3". This Acer also has 3 USB ports, and HDMI, webcam, SD slot, mic and headset plugs, 600GB HD, DVD/CD RW, i3 and more. The $350 price didn't hurt either. It's not built with the same quality as my Sony VAIO VGN-140E, but the replacement for the Sony DVD, which can't burn a bootable ISO any more, costs $185, and the HD is nearly as much, what with the special hardware mounting and connections. Just like servicing a Cadillac.

[PhilT]

Thanks GG - it will be very interesting to see how the "Spark" project and associated software develops.

I can see why you would prefer your Acer to the Transformer for routine work! I agree, my eyes are not so good either - but I'm a bit younger than you - only 68 . But the 10.1 screen is adequate for most things and the "pinch-zoom" function with automatic screen rotation gives easy access to smaller script.

For most of my daily work though, I have a 24inch Samsung screen and the wonderful DiNovo Edge keyboard for my main Kubuntu box (Dual-core Intel E7400 2.80GHz tower; NVidia GeForce GTS 250/PCi/SSE2); my partner has a large Acer "All in One" (we took off Win7 and installed Kubuntu 11:10). Been using Kubuntu since 2006 when Mandriva began to baulk.

But for "mobile" use the ASUS Transformer is a dream - because it transforms! I've got the detachable keyboard as well which gives double the battery capacity (useful when travelling) as well as the "proper" keyboard which is useful when taking notes at meetings, etc. It also gives 2 USB ports and an SD port to complement the Micro SD, the cameras, and the HDMI port on the Pad section. I use it for many things and ASUS are soon going to update the Android firmware OTA to Ice Cream Sandwich. Having the detachable "Pad" portion is great - it's very useful, for example, to use in bed with a cup of tea first thing in the morning to review the news, the Kubuntu Forum and other regular sites while my partner (quite disabled) continues to sleep! Being retired does have some benefits.

Of course I can connect the Pad to my Kubuntu box via USB or WiFi or Bluetooth (for file transfers, music and photograph updates, etc.), but I'd love to be able to run Kubuntu on the device! There are various posts (XDA Developers) where rudimentary Ubuntu operation has been achieved, but having the Plasma-Mobile interface would be a shot in the arm and give another potentail platform to promote KDE through, don't you think? Especially since the new Transformer Prime sports a quad-core Nvidia chip.

Just my two-pennyworth!

[GreyGeek]

...
ASUS Transformer is a dream - because it transforms! I've got the detachable keyboard as well which gives double the battery capacity (useful when travelling) as well as the "proper" keyboard which is useful when taking notes at meetings, etc.

Those were the two features that attracted me the most. A year ago I bought my wife an Acer One Aspire OAD521, which has a 10.1 diag screen. It is a smaller version of this Acer 7739. Because of my aversion to virtual keyboards I'd alway have to have the keyboard part along. The OAD521 gives about 5 hours of battery life and runs Kubuntu perfectly, especially since I upgraded it to 2GB of RAM when I bought it. She loves it! IF she's happy I'm happy! It's keyboard is better than a virtual keyboard but takes some getting use to.

Toasting till Noon under the electric blanket, with the Acer on my lap, sipping green tea and perusing KFN. I agree, retirement does have its advantages!

[PhilT]

KFN and "Green Tea" in the morning!! Now there's luxury for you. It's Rooibos for me in the early hours!

[SteveRiley]

KFN and "Green Tea" in the morning!! Now there's luxury for you. It's Rooibos for me in the early hours!

sudo apt-get install kteatime

KTeaTime is a handy timer for steeping tea. No longer will you have to guess at how long it takes for your tea to be ready. Simply select the type of tea you have, and it will alert you when the tea is ready to drink.

[Teunis]

Yep, I've been using that timer for years!
As a matter of fact, it's tea time 8)

[GreyGeek]

I use the ingenuiTEA percolator for leaf tea:

I fill it with 16 oz of water from my reverse osmosis system and nuke it for 3 minutes in the microwave. Toss in one spoonful of grean tea leaves and let it set for about 5 minutes, but I use color to determine when to stop. The leaves float at first, but gradually sink to the bottom. When you set it on top of your large capacity cup, a ring underneath lifts the stopper and allows the contents to filter through a stainless steel fine mesh and the tea only falls into the cup. Add a few milligrams of 100% Stevia leaf extract to sweeten it and I'm good to go. I drink about 5 of these throughout the day. In fact, I think I'll go fix another!

[woodsmoke]

Spark renamed with 1 gig RAM and almost ready to go

First pre-order sold out, the renamed tablet has RAM upped to a gig

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscente...ost_ready.html

woodsmoke

[GreyGeek]

A series of screen shots is here!

To me it looks like KDE on a 7" touch screen!

[woodsmoke]

OMGosh!

And a totally NEW unity interface not to be seen..... it seems as if just about all of the "normal apps" are there! and a tres KEWL interface!

woodsmoke