Ubuntu 9.04 On Kindle 2 194
JO_DIE_THE_STAR_F*** writes "Jesse Vincent managed to get Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope running on the Kindle 2. The new functionality was presented in a talk at OSCON 2009."
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Ubuntu 9.04 On Kindle 2
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I have hardly ever known a mathematician who was capable of reasoning. -- Plato
Re:First (Score:2, Insightful)
No, the REAL question is... why?
A Netbook is cheaper, faster, and designed to run it. Why pay Amazon for an overpriced specialty item then make it do something it was never intended to do? I can't imagine the thing can still access the 3G network for free (the author replied "YES BUT DON'T DO THAT" to someone who asked)...
And, yes, I know... "because we can". And I congratulate the person who managed this. It's an impressive technical achievement.
Still doesn't make it something I see a lot of people wanting to do. Why would anyone really want to take a one-trick pony and change the trick...?
Re:One obvious question (Score:5, Insightful)
(This is partly a joke - but only partly)
Re:First (Score:5, Insightful)
Just the answer you gave is answer enough.
Keep it in context. This was a guy at an open source conference, showing off a new example of something that Linux people take pride in. If he were trying to make a business of selling Ubuntu Kindles then he might need to concern himself with the practicality of it.
Re:One obvious question (Score:3, Insightful)
You're approaching the problem all wrong.
The innovative side of human creativity comes from asking the opposite. You should not ask Why... but rather...
WHY NOT????
Re:First (Score:4, Insightful)
Still doesn't make it something I see a lot of people wanting to do.
This is why I stopped reading Linux Journal. There would be some nice technical articles, but there seemed to be a lot how-to articles that only 1 or 2 people would care about. (i.e. Linux powered sump pump)
The "because you can" argument is getting old. I like the "because you can AND you can benefit from it".
Re:First (Score:5, Insightful)
You have got to be kidding! I have a netbook and an ebook reader, and they are absolutely not replacements or each other! OK, I'll spell it out for you in detail.
Things the Kindle can do that the Netbook can't:
I have a high-end PC, a netbook, an ebook reader, and a smart phone. I am very glad I have all of them. Each of these devices has capabilities or conveniences not available on the other devices. These are great times to bee a technophile; anyone who dismisses this tech is pointless has no idea what he is talking about.
Re:data connection? (Score:2, Insightful)
Granted, if the volume of traffic for a kindle goes way up beyond what Amazon and Sprint negotiated, there would be flags raised.
I'm sure there are some data usage catch-all's buried in the license agreement.
Re:data connection? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:data connection? (Score:3, Insightful)
Then the correct answer is "NO", at least to the public. :)
Re:First (Score:3, Insightful)
Presumable the person who built a linux-controlled/monitored sump pump did benefit from it. Just because you don't have an application for it doesn't mean that none exists. And if you've ever had a failed sump pump, or more incoming water than the sump could drain, you might understand the benefit of having a "smart" pump that could alert you to failures.
At the very least there's the benefit of having done something he enjoyed and produced a demonstrable product -- it's not any different than someone who likes woodworking and builds birdhouses/furniture/whatever that they don't strictly need.
Re:First (Score:5, Insightful)
Whatever happened to doing things because they're fun or cool? I don't understand...he does something that is, by all accounts, really neat, and people ask him "Why? What's the practical purpose?"
He did it for the "Can-I-really-do-this?" factor. Isn't that enough?
Re:First (Score:5, Insightful)
Smart dude, significant accomplishment, and not to denigrate his success but I'd love to see him using all that brainpower on something else.
However, it's an excellent demonstration of a non-paper resume. And there are still people out there making new hardware on small platforms. Wouldn't you want someone available who knew a bit about software if you were building something you might want to sell?
Geez Louise! It's hard enough keeping good people interested in this business without trivialising their efforts to show off their stuff. Think before you crap on people, please.
Re:First (Score:4, Insightful)
Several people have remarked "Because you can". Someone stated "Because you can and you can benefit from it" as a better reason.
More particularly, I would say that "showing you can" shows you that it's at all possible to replace whatever the device was running. Immediate utility isn't even required. So, if anyone thinks of a better interface or new function that -would- improve the device as a whole, they now know it's possible to do it. They don't have to stop at "I wonder ..."