Slackware 14.2 Beta 2 and the Ubuntu Tablet Revealed

Slackware 14.2 is making progress as it has officially reached Beta 2. The big news of the day must be the announcement of new Ubuntu tablet Aquaris M10. This is being touted as the fulfillment of the convergence promise as the Aquaris M10 is said to be a tablet that can also be used as a really small PC or a really large phone.

Slackware blogger Willy Sudiarto Raharjo today pointed to the latest Slackware changelog where Patrick Volkerding announced, "Welcome to Slackware 14.2 beta 2. Getting closer." Changes this time include an upgrade to Linux 4.4.1 and changes in default configuration of powersaving features. Looks like Patrick has changed the default governor from Userspace to Ondemand and built support for Conservative, Ondemand, Performance, and Powersave into the kernel instead of modules. GTK+3 was upgraded, as was PulseAudio. Firefox was updated to version 44 and the latest MPlayer was built with ffmpeg 2.8.5 and its brand new security fixes. Pidgin was upgraded but Xchat was removed. SysVinit scripts were updated a couple of weeks ago. No information is available as when to expect the final release as the Slackware project adheres to the release-when-ready philosophy. In related news, Eric "AlienBob" Hameleers wrote today that he's updated Plasma to 5.5.4 in his "ktown" repository and that's he working on a new Slackware Live image.

The top story on everyone's headline today was the announcement from Canonical introducing the Aquaris M10 Ubuntu Edition tablet. They say this is the realization of dream as "the device features a dynamically adaptive user experience, capable of providing both a true tablet experience and the full Ubuntu desktop experience." It features a 1.5GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, 11 GB storage, 10 inch screen, bluetooth, FM radio, 8-megapixel camera, and built-in front speakers. The value for consumers, according to the announcement, is being able to simply "connect your PC to your TV." Rumor has it the device should be available in the Spring for around $260. Some other features include:

* Effortless multitasking and window management
* Full range of desktop applications mobility and productivity
* Integrated services with desktop notifications
* Simple file browsing, file and folder management
* Responsive applications developed for both touch and point/click
* Comprehensive system control and access to the underlying OS
* Communication from desktop using telephony and messaging apps
* All the security, updates, and reliability Ubuntu's known for