Should Slackware have a team dedicated to mobile devices?
 

On top of the ARM port, do you think that Slackware deserve an official/unofficial team to port to any mobile platforms, in particular I think replacing the desktop with am Android style launcher.

Thanks

Well I guess not, then. Goodnight!

Slackware itself doesn't design user interfaces. Except for Gnome (which it doesn't include due to its crazy dependencies), Slackware is GUI-agnostic. I know KDE comes with a netbook interface which is designed for smaller screens.

http://www.kde.org/workspaces/plasmanetbook/

This makes perfect sense in a purely x68/ia64 computing world, that is 10 years ago.

When you switch to mobile the GUI is everything.

Again, what's the point of the Slackware team developing its own GUI interface? That alone is quite a lot of effort which is better off on keeping the Slackware platform stable. Plus, someone did do that with Ubuntu and that so far hasn't been received as well by all.

If you see a mobile-like GUI platform that runs on Linux, then it'll probably compile on Slackware. Otherwise, I'm not sure what you're trying to achieve here unless you put down some ideas on what kind of user interface you'd expect.

I may be typing out of turn here as someone who only uses Slackware now and again but Slackware is not Ubuntu and Slackware is not about "when you switch to mobile.
Slackware is a Linux distribution for adults who want to use Linux on a general-purpose computer to get a job done. It does that very well indeed.
If you want a horrific touch-centred appliance interface buy an iPad or use Android or Ubuntu when it's ported to phones.

<!-- Placeholder for the future: I told you so! -->

I am disappointed that the posters here are missing the whole point. The overwhelming majority of devices connected to the Internet right now are mobile devices. Where will Slackware be in 5 years when only a handful of nostalgic freaks will use a PC or a laptop?

It's not about creating a new interface, like Ubuntu, it's about porting your fav distro to the present and not being stuck in the year 2006 forever.

I do get your point. I would of course be more inclined to run a Slackware phone than an Ubuntu phone. At the moment I own an Android phone (HTC). I don't know, I think it is a stretch to say that most people will not use PCs or laptops in five years.
The present Slackware development model is working in my opinion. If Patrick thinks that we need a Slack phone I'm sure he will chart a course for us.

I think that desktops/laptops' position is strong and can't see them being overtaken by mobile devices. I can't see tablets being very practical even for non-geeky users. I had one for 6 months: My honest opinion is that they are just oversized phones without the phone functionality... so why bother in the first place. When it comes to phones I think they are extremely useful but they will never replace PCs as their function is totally different. They can happily complement desktop/laptops but not replace them.

It's obviously for Pat to decide but I don't think he's trying to do what Mark Shuttleworth is trying to achieve with Ubuntu, ie. one system for all devices, etc. The "do-one-thing-and-do-it-well" is imho a more sensible approach.

I don't see the PC/laptops position any strong. Laptop sales are falling sharply. Asus and Acer won't manufacture any new netbooks. The desktops, most people don't even know what they are. Everybody has an Android phone or Android MP3 player right now, probably they don't even know it is a computer.

Eventually Pat will decide what to do, but if steps are not taken now, in 5-10 years Slackware will be 'de facto' obsolete.

You might not like Ubuntu but hardware-wise they've taken the right steps. Having ported their platform to all new devices means that now they are the only viable alternative to Android and Ios on the ARM platform.

This has been repeated ad infinitum...
When a tablet can ddo what a desktop PC can do it will, effectively, be a desktop PC with all that comes with that.
Some people need to:
Work in more than one application at once.
Use more than one display.
Use a mouse rather than a touch screen monitor so that they don't get the "gorilla arms" problem.
Use other peripherals, like scanners, digitising tablets, connections for hooking up embedded devices and so on.
A proper keyboard for generating and editing documents of over 10 pages 8 hours a day.
A proper place to sit when they work 8 hours a day inputting data.
The ability to script/program their computer to carry out automated tasks.
The ability to process large amounts of data in real time locally.
+many more things which cannot be done on a tablet.

Desktops and laptops may not "grow in market share" any more but they will be needed until tablets become them. At which point due to them having a mouse and keyboard then all the current DEs will work fine anyhow.
Also, bringing it back to Slackware, the use will be able to choose to install whichever GPL'd desktop environment they want as they can now.
I don't recall the Slackware team creating KDE, Gnome, XFCE, LXDE, Fluxbox, Ratpoison or any other DE/Window manager yet, amazingly, they're available to Slackware users.

Obviously the number of people using mobile devices has risen drastically but I don't think it will really weaken the position of laptops/desktops. Netbooks were "cool" for a couple of seasons, so are tablets now. Trends come and go. You can see more and more people wondering whether tablets are worth the hype their get. Tablets will also lose on popularity soon. They are just expensive gadgets that don't let you do much and if they do, they do it in a clumsy, impractical way. The keyboard and mouse have been with us for ages and they are not going away. When it comes to tablets, due to their limitations, the novelty usually wears off quite quickly and people only occasionally use them.

Work:
A big "NO" to tablets.
Mobile phones are useful for email.

Programming: No

Gaming: (I'm not talking about browser Flash/HTML5 games) I'm talking about the kind of games that secured Windows a dominant position on the desktop market: No place for tablets/mobile phones here either.

Tablets are fashionable/trendy now and will be for some time but I don't think they bring in anything worthy to the game. That said they are a nice complement to your computer/laptop. Will they ever replace them? I don't think so...

The moment you make them (tablets) more powerful and less clumsy to operate (ie. keyboard and mouse) we'll get back to what laptops are now (just smaller and with a detachable screen)

I don't know. Perhaps it's just me but I think that there are just way too much hype over tablets.

What is it that you can do with a tablet that a laptop wouldn't do? I'm not counting a touchscreen because I consider it a bug, not a feature. There are lots of things that can be done on a laptop but are impossible or feel extremely awkward on a tablet.

@sycamorex
I hope you're right about all that, and you probably are. Netbooks have come and gone, and probably so will tablets. If they don't, it will become a real problem. I think smartphones will probably stay, because of the cellphone feature.

I agree, but it's for kids too, not just adults. Just like frop is for kids too. It's true that they would have to be pretty smart, but I'm sure there are some out there.

Oh, of course, for kids too but for mature kids who care about computers not "da kidz".

Tablets are not a trend. Mobile devices are not a trend. They are a reality. Computing has changed. Just closing your eyes and pretend it will go away doesn't solve the problem.