Mint Mobile OS ?

[Cicero86]

I might be the smallest of all the members here. But, let's just think about it for a second.

A Linux Mint OS for mobile phones.


What do you guys think?

[Reorx]

I think I'll never see it in my lifetime... and I'm OK with that!

[Moem]

Not a guy, but personally I think that would be great and I also think it's not going to happen. Not a chance. If Firefox OS can't make it, why/how could Mint Mobile have any hope?

PS let's not talk about member size. We should just not go there.

[sphyrth]

Until the Ubuntu Phone will prove to be a threat to the Mobile Market, I wouldn't even dream of the Mint Team trying to plan their move on it.

[Fred Barclay]

It could be interesting but to be honest I don't see what it could offer above the Ubuntu Phone.
And you can see how wildly popular the Ubuntu Phone has been...

[Cicero86]

Wow. Hehe. Your replies brought me back to reality I must admit hehe.

I admit it's a huge huge step to go there.

But I'm really interested in this "field" (I mean the mobile market). I know it's a huge competition there. And you're right the Firefox move and the Ubuntu experience now..Makes me think..

But is it really that far when we can see mobile phones finally built/customized (software-wise and hardware-wise) by users or at least independent groups of users like in linux distros here.

I mean I know I might sound like I got carried away by dreams or wishes. but don't you guys think that this is where we're heading? I mean, for me one of the main motives that made me switch to linux completely this time is how windows is begging for users now. They want the people to upgrade to 10 even from pirated copies of W7 & 8. (It's something really really common here to have pirated copies).

But regardless of my dreamy talk.

How much does it cost to get in that market? I mean really let's talk numbers so I can understand better and to really know how far (or close) we are from that step.

How much did it cost Ubuntu to try to get in the market so far (and I know it is funded by a billionaire or something like that)? does anybody know some numbers?

[Cicero86]

I think I'll never see it in my lifetime... and I'm OK with that!

Haha well I know what you mean. But tell me why do you think so?

Is it because of the "external competition" or some "internal characteristics" or something. Technology is really exciting for me and I'm really curious about what will happen next.

What do you think?

[Cicero86]

Not a guy, but personally I think that would be great and I also think it's not going to happen. Not a chance. If Firefox OS can't make it, why/how could Mint Mobile have any hope?

PS let's not talk about member size. We should just not go there.

Haha. But what would a guy add any more input that you would?? I think the tech world is missing out a lot because we don't have enough members of the fairer sex, really ^^

So thanks for your participation

I think FF OS didn't make it because they didn't make alliances with strong allies in the hardware business. But I don't know what were the reasons behind that. I guess if they tried to ally with a manufacturer like Samsung it would have been different. But that's just my opinion.

But you got it right. I'm just trying to discuss all the possible angles of the matter, you know...

Tell me, In what ways do you think Firefox couldn't make it???

[Cicero86]

Until the Ubuntu Phone will prove to be a threat to the Mobile Market, I wouldn't even dream of the Mint Team trying to plan their move on it.

They're making a slow progress as far as I know. For example, they didn't go international yet. You know, I'm in Egypt. And the phones are still only limited to the EU and the US I think.

They're moving a bit by bit. I don't know why.

Do you know what's happening with them, regarding progress I mean?

[Cicero86]

It could be interesting but to be honest I don't see what it could offer above the Ubuntu Phone.
And you can see how wildly popular the Ubuntu Phone has been...

You've got a point, really.

But I still see Ubuntu's alliance with Amazon (You know, the ads issue that's been talked about) as not really a good thing. Ubuntu's progress is dependent on some commercial benefit to some big corporate. And Mint, I think, is not like that.

You know what I mean?

But I'm still with Ubuntu's experience to get into the phones' market. It is really thrilling to see what will happen!

[Moem]

Tell me, In what ways do you think Firefox couldn't make it???

I don't know why they did not make it. I only know they didn't. I think it's because people are set in their ways, and it's hard to compete with Android and whatever Apple uses. Not even Microsoft managed it.
It's a shame that the FF OS project is dead, because I was interested in getting my first smartphone if it could be a FF OS phone. Now I guess I'll keep going without for a while longer, and see what happens.

[Cicero86]

Tell me, In what ways do you think Firefox couldn't make it???

I don't know why they did not make it. I only know they didn't. I think it's because people are set in their ways, and it's hard to compete with Android and whatever Apple uses. Not even Microsoft managed it.
It's a shame that the FF OS project is dead, because I was interested in getting my first smartphone if it could be a FF OS phone. Now I guess I'll keep going without for a while longer, and see what happens.

I know what you mean, yeah. Me too, I was thinking of buying one too. But right before I buy it, I've heard the news that FF is closing it down.

I've been using BlackBerry for most of my usage with smartphones. Now They're also moving towards android. I'm actually thinking of not using smartphones anymore too.

Do you know a website that counts Linux users around the world?

[Fred Barclay]

It could be interesting but to be honest I don't see what it could offer above the Ubuntu Phone.
And you can see how wildly popular the Ubuntu Phone has been...

You've got a point, really.

But I still see Ubuntu's alliance with Amazon (You know, the ads issue that's been talked about) as not really a good thing. Ubuntu's progress is dependent on some commercial benefit to some big corporate. And Mint, I think, is not like that.

You know what I mean?

But I'm still with Ubuntu's experience to get into the phones' market. It is really thrilling to see what will happen!

Oh I quite agree. I don't really like some of the aura around Ubuntu... it feels a bit too "corporate" for my tastes.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I would expect that feeling more from Windows or OS X, not a Linux distro. Credit where credit is due, Ubuntu 16.04 no longer sends Dash keystrokes remotely by default, though you still have the option to turn them on. Or at least that's what I heard.

Mint has more of a community feel to me, and Clem actually listens to his users. That alone is enough to keep me with Mint for the long haul.
But Cinnamon/MATE/Xfce on a smartphone would probably be difficult to use.
On the other hand Plasma Mobile (KDE) looks really cool!

I'm still hoping my first smartphone will be either a Ubuntu or Plasma Mobile phone.

[sphyrth]

Do you know what's happening with [Canonical], regarding progress [of Ubuntu Phone] I mean?

I haven't got a clue. I wanted one myself when I heard that it was released, but I also live in a country where the model phones themselves aren't available.
However, I still think Ubuntu Phone needs more support around the world until Mint will consider being a "competitor". We all know the tendency to have civil wars between distros that make Windows users "look" stronger and more unified. I don't want that kind of scenario happening on the Mobile Platform... at least not yet.

[Chiefahol]

We can totally have a mobile OS, just donate like 50-150 million to the LinuxMint team and they will get right on it.

Jokes aside, it would cost serious $$$ to do properly.

[Cicero86]

Ubuntu 16.04 no longer sends Dash keystrokes remotely by default, though you still have the option to turn them on. Or at least that's what I heard.

I don't know what that is. Could you please tell me more about it? Is it a bug or something?

[Cicero86]

Mint has more of a community feel to me, and Clem actually listens to his users. That alone is enough to keep me with Mint for the long haul.
But Cinnamon/MATE/Xfce on a smartphone would probably be difficult to use.
On the other hand Plasma Mobile (KDE) looks really cool!

I'm still hoping my first smartphone will be either a Ubuntu or Plasma Mobile phone.

First time I see the KDE Plasma Mobile. It seems really interesting I'm watching the video for it right now.

[Cicero86]

Do you know what's happening with [Canonical], regarding progress [of Ubuntu Phone] I mean?

I haven't got a clue. I wanted one myself when I heard that it was released, but I also live in a country where the model phones themselves aren't available.
However, I still think Ubuntu Phone needs more support around the world until Mint will consider being a "competitor". We all know the tendency to have civil wars between distros that make Windows users "look" stronger and more unified. I don't want that kind of scenario happening on the Mobile Platform... at least not yet.

Oh haha. Well I hope these wars won't happen. After all, the progress is going carefully slowly that hopefully won't provoke any wars haha.

I'm really hoping for the day to come when each one of us can install whichever OS or distro he/she wants. That will be great!

I know I sound dreamy but that day is gonna come, god willing!

[Cicero86]

We can totally have a mobile OS, just donate like 50-150 million to the LinuxMint team and they will get right on it.

Jokes aside, it would cost serious $$$ to do properly.

Yeah I totally agree with you. The numbers are really sensible too.

It would be really good if they also manufacture their own phones too!

[Fred Barclay]

I don't know what that is. Could you please tell me more about it? Is it a bug or something?

Dash is a programme search bar in Unity, which is the default DE for Ubuntu. Say I'm looking to start Firefox. I could open Dash, type "firefox", and click on the launcher to start Firefox.

At one point Dash automatically sent your keystrokes back to Canonical (the company behind Ubuntu) and I believe some "business partners" though I could be wrong about that. You could turn this "feature" off but it was on by default. Lots of chaps weren't happy with this and thought it was an invasion of their privacy.

Now with Ubuntu 16.04, the keystroke-sending is off by default, though you can turn it on if you like.

https://askubuntu.com/questions/328146/ ... untu-13-04
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/linux- ... nity-dash/
https://fixubuntu.com/
http://nathanheafner.com/home/2013/09/2 ... anonymous/