OStatic

As the Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS) kicks into high gear, the hopes, dreams and plans for the upcoming Ubuntu 9.10 release are taking shape. Over at Ars Technica, Ryan Paul reports on Canonical developer Michael Casadevall's presentation highlighting some of the technical nuances of making Android applications run on Ubuntu Netbook Remix.

Ubuntu's popularity aside, it is still esoteric -- Google has the upperhand in non-open source enthusiast name recognition. This no doubt plays into netbook manufacturer's opting for Android on netbooks, even though (as Paul states) Android is still very much a smartphone platform. Android can be modified, of course, but Ubuntu (or any Linux distribution) are already lightweight desktops potentially requiring fewer modifications to work well on netbooks.

Will adding Android compatibility make Remix a more attractive platform option? Can it really hurt?

As the story broke yesterday that Novell and Intel were joining forces to encourage OEMs and ODMs to use the Linux-based Moblin platform on netbooks and small devices, a number of comments -- and questions -- began swirling in the open source world.

InfoWorld wonders if the collaboration efforts aren't a bad omen for Novell's SUSE Linux, while CNet's Matt Asay thinks the move could be a positive one for Moblin and Novell, and one that could ultimately give Google's Android a real fight.

Over at ComputerWorld, Seth Weintraub waxes poetic about Microsoft's decision to offer a Windows 7 Starter edition to keep its presence strong in the netbook arena, and why this is a huge advantage for Google's Linux-based Android.

Windows 7 Starter edition is designed to run no more than three applications simultaneously -- purchasing an upgrade allows users to run, presumably, as many apps as their netbooks can handle at one time. Now, three concurrent applications at a shot might be sufficient for a number of users; it might be all that some netbooks can handle, depending on the applications and system resources running in the background. Microsoft isn't hiding the fact it is experimenting with a limited Starter, and hopefully netbook manufacturers will also make buyers aware of this. But awareness and being almost sufficient in even most cases is irrelevant. It's the concept that there is a limit, and purchasing an upgrade for functionality that most won't need every day (but when it's needed, it's really needed) that will make netbooks running alternative operating systems increasingly attractive. It's an advantage not only for Android, but any Linux distribution netbook builders optimize for their hardware.

David Coursey at PCWorld knew full well he'd opened a can of worms when he asked why anyone would want an Android netbook. Personally, I'd rather have an Ubuntu Netbook Remix powered one, or one with an operating system tailored with the latest Moblin Image Creator utility, but I'm sort of one of those types anyway.

I love and use open source software, nearly exclusively. I think the last time I really sat down to run Windows was when I transferred Windows XP on to my husband's newly built mostly playtime machine. As much as I love open source software, however, I am a stronger advocate for having the right tool for the job, and using the software that works best for the user and the task at hand. The right tool can vary greatly between users, tasks and even hardware. I have a few qualms about Coursey's statement that nobody could possibly ever want an Android netbook, unless the price was signficantly lower. I just don't believe it, and the nature of netbooks, people's expectations of what they can (or can't) do, and hardware disparities between Linux and Windows models further complicates the netbook operating system war.

As news of Openmoko's harsh but realistic look at the road ahead ripples through the open source and mobile technology sectors, there will be, beyond a doubt, much speculation on how the project's challenges could have been minimized and its successes built upon. Perhaps Openmoko's attempt to bring a completely open mobile phone to the world was Quixotic. Perhaps it was a good idea that simply launched at a bad time. Perhaps it was (and still is) a very workable idea -- or maybe it will always have an extremely niche appeal. Openmoko's pulling away from FreeRunner phones (and looking toward its Plan B ) might well work out just as Michael Lauer writes on his blog -- not at all as a death sentence, nor as any sort of indication that free platforms don't work (or aren't desired) on mobile phones.

Late last week, Dell announced it planned to enter the smartphone market, after a year of speculation surrounding the hardware (and mobile platform) whys and wherefores.

Fabrizio Capobianco, CEO of open source mobile push/sync service Funambol says that he is looking forward to seeing both of the new phones Dell will show off at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month.

Both? Dell is offering a Windows Mobile device, and another powered by Google's Android platform. Capobianco details why he thinks this is a smart move, and how he thinks Android will eventually become Dell's platform of choice.

Last week, Net Applications reported Microsoft's operating system share had fallen below the 90 percent mark on the 40,000 or so websites where it gathers its traffic statistics. InternetNews is reporting that Net Applications made another interesting, if puzzling, discovery.

It seems the statistics gathered from Google.com (this only includes Google employees -- not the public using the search engine) were showing that a third of these users were accessing sites with an unknown operating system. It's more interesting when you consider that proxy servers block all identifying information, but the Google.com unknown systems only had the operating system information obscured.

Theories abound, of course, as to what Google might have up its sleeve. There's the Google is bringing Android to the PC school of thought, and the networking application infrastructure development theory.

On October 24th, as Lisa reported, a serious vulnerability was discovered in the Google Android powered G1 mobile phone.

Though security researchers classified the flaw in the Android browser as serious, Google assured users that the risk wasn't necessarily as dire as it seemed, due to the way the Android operating system restricts each application to its own area.

CNet News reporter Stephen Shankland says his G1 was patched on Saturday through a quick system update.

The fateful day has arrived for the first Android-powered phone. This Google-backed open phone will likely be sufficient for a large number of users -- if not in its first incarnation, certainly within a few models and revisions.

But it certainly isn't the only open phone. It isn't the first by any means, and it has another competitor hot on its heels.

Some more pioneering souls might forego the tamer Android for the Neo FreeRunner or the upcoming NeoPwn.