Linux And IPad

[Smallwheels]

I've dual booted Vista and Ubuntu on my HP computer because Vista is driving me nuts. At least Linux would have an excuse for not working perfectly.

I've read that Linux interacts with many things or has programs that do the same tasks as Windows programs. Will the iPad be able to interact with Linux and its programs or will I still need Windows to interact with the iPad?

I know that there isn't an iTunes for Linux but there are iPod compatible programs available.

Since the iPad OS is the iPhone OS, there must be Linux users with iPhones that can attest to how an iPhone interacts with a Linux computer. Please do let me know how it is done and how well it works.

 

[MikesTooLz]

Banshee

This app should work, have not tested it myself as my ubuntu laptop was stolen.

 

[iPadCharlie]

Banshee does NOT support the iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad... at this time. I understand that older versions of iTunes will run under WINE, but then that sort of defeats the purpose since you need the latest version of iTunes to get the most benefit from it.

Don't get me wrong, I like *nix! I have a Vista machine that dual boots to OpenSUSE, another computer with nothing but Ubuntu on it and yet another "dinosaur" with honest-to-goodness SCO Unix on it.

I am actually dangerously close to chucking them all and just getting a Mac one day before too long.

 

[Smallwheels]

I've Got A Mac

I am actually dangerously close to chucking them all and just getting a Mac one day before too long.

I've got a Mac Book that I want to stop using. I don't really do computing. I do web surfing, document writing, and occasionally edit movies I've made with my Flip video camera. I do save photos on the computer too. The only thing the iPad doesn't do at this time is edit movies with iMovie.

I need to keep Vista so I can stream movies from Netflix.

Since Ubuntu can do almost everything I don't feel the need to keep a Mac. If I needed a specific program for a job then I might feel the need to keep a Mac Book. The compiz desktop interface does everything that I love about the Mac Book desktop.

A tablet will become my portable device and my desktop Ubuntu/Vista machine will be the workhorse.

 

[iPadCharlie]

I guess I am sort of in the same place. I use *nix because I want to. I use Windows because I have to. I actually have no good reason to buy a Mac. Never had one but a part of me wants to see what all the fuss is about. Even with a MacMini, by the time you dress it out with a decent amount of memory and hard drive, it comes close to (if not over) $1000 - not including a monitor (if you buy one brand new) and I just don't know if I am that curious!

 

[Smallwheels]

1991-C4 you haven't mentioned how the iPad interacts with Linux. Do you have an iPad? If so how does it work within Linux? Maybe you have an iPhone or iPod Touch. Let me know how they interact with Linux. It should be nearly the same right?

 

[USBill]

I need to keep Vista so I can stream movies from Netflix.

Can't you stream NetFlix on the iPad? You could sell the PC or the MacBook, buy TV and VGA adapters for the iPad, and have lots of cash left over for other tech toys.

 

[Smallwheels]

There is a Netflix app that allows streaming. The iPad VGA out only works at 1080 X 768. I have a 23" 1900 X 1080 screen that I use for the Mac Book and HP computer. Movies and TV shows look great on it. I prefer watching the larger screen.

I do intend to sell the Mac Book once I get Ubuntu working normally. It was just installed and isn't totally set up properly. Once I know everything is stable and doing fine the Mac Book will be sold.

 

[iPadCharlie]

1991-C4 you haven't mentioned how the iPad interacts with Linux.

That's an easy one to answer: IT DOESN'T! I have an iPad and an iPod Touch (two actually) and I have not found anything that emulates iTunes on Linux. But then again, my devices are not jailbroken.

There may be Linux solutions for the iPad, but am not aware of them (and honestly I haven't spent a lot of time looking).

And just to keep the record straight, I am not the one who is keeping Vista to stream from Netflix, that is Smallwheels.

 

[Damian.nikodem]

My ipad is arriving shortly, I run a 100% linux household, (with the exception of a 10 year-old iMac for one of my kids, that will not even run a iTunes modern enough to connect to a iPhone, But I can get away with it as I see OSX as a form of unix. )

Under linux I have typically used the "Virtualbox" VM with windows XP and iTunes installed,

While this is a less than ideal situation this does give me the benefit of being able to do all tasks on our iPhones and iPods that iTunes is supposed to let us do.

 

[mark121]

I am a long time linux user, and just got an iPad as a gift. The first shock came when I turned it on, and found that it won't do *anything* until you hook it up to a computer with iTunes on it. There is no iTunes for Linux, iTunes doesn't work under wine (Linux's Windows emulator), and I have no intention of installing Windows in a VM on my Linux box. I believe that the WIndows EULA specifically prohibits installation on a VM anyway, for those who care about following the terms of the EULA. Fortunately, there was an Apple store nearby, so I was able to take it there to be actviated.

I have to admit that the iPad is a sweet little device, but I am really used to telling my computer what I want it to do. The iPad is more of a device that tells you what it will let you do. As with most things Linux, there are ongoing projects to make the iPad workable under Linux, and I will be trying them out as they develop.

 

[MarkK]

I had my first Apple //e in the early 80s and then a Mac SE in 1989.
After that there was a phase in which I mainly had Linux- and Solaris-systems.
They were ok, but then I switched back to a Mac when OS X came out, because imho, it's the better Unix.
Mac OS X is based on BSD Unix, the Kernel is open source and only the GUI is proprietary.
That's something I can live with.
Macs are more expensive than Windows-systems, but their performance is so much better. And I think I can tell, I always had a windows-system on my desk as well (still have) and performance on the same hardware is so much worse running Windows than with Mac OS X.
I must confess, I hackintoshed the Windows-system, just to see the difference. Had to go back to windows though, as my accounting software is windows-only.
Mac OS X is a very good, manufacturer-supported OS with a kernel that is tailored exactly to the specifications of the hardware it runs on.

Now... Unix, open-source, manufacturer-supported, regular updates, perfect match for the hardware, whatr more do you want?

 

[ibgeorgeb]

Interesting post and replies. Yay Ubuntu but my iPad is getting addictive.

 

[mark121]

Interesting post and replies. Yay Ubuntu but my iPad is getting addictive.

So is mine. But think of how much MORE addictive it would be if it ran Ubuntu!

 

[Damian.nikodem]

I am a long time linux user, and just got an iPad as a gift. The first shock came when I turned it on, and found that it won't do *anything* until you hook it up to a computer with iTunes on it. There is no iTunes for Linux, iTunes doesn't work under wine (Linux's Windows emulator), and I have no intention of installing Windows in a VM on my Linux box. I believe that the WIndows EULA specifically prohibits installation on a VM anyway, for those who care about following the terms of the EULA. Fortunately, there was an Apple store nearby, so I was able to take it there to be actviated.

I have to admit that the iPad is a sweet little device, but I am really used to telling my computer what I want it to do. The iPad is more of a device that tells you what it will let you do. As with most things Linux, there are ongoing projects to make the iPad workable under Linux, and I will be trying them out as they develop.

Now I should probbably point out that "Wine Is Not a Emulator"!!!!

I to am a long time linux user, (starting with slackware '96), But I am also a software developer and have found that I tend to follow the $$$ for projects and on occasion that does lead me to windows, so I keep a XP VM with a copy of VS 2008 ready for those.

If you read the windows XP or windows 7 EULA it infact encourages you to install windows in a VM, (only vista prohibits it, but thats because microsoft was embarressed about the performace of it on a dedicated machine, let alone a virtualized one. )

The EULA states that each installation is to be paid for, If you purchase a 'boxed' copy of XP or W7 you can install it on a second machine when you have removed it from the first. Microsoft wants you to install windows VM's because this way they get more $$$ for each one that you install (because you have to pay for each install that you make into each VM).
When I worked for a multi-national company Windows was available only in VMWARE

Some are not transferable to other computers (OEM copies that come bundled with hardware.), and some have 'conditions' ("Upgrade licences" require a previous Microsoft OS installed on that machine.).


Now if you can get the pad 'activated' (Note: Ask them @ the store and they will for you. ) then it works pretty well on its own. If you need to transfer music to it from your MP3 collection On linux you can either 'jailbreak' it (there is a linux JB available for the iPad) & use RythmBox to listen to music _OR_ you can use a app called "iFiles" from the appstore which allows you to either 'pull' music from the web or push music to your device via webDAV.

I ended up buying a 27" iMac for my oldest daughter and I now just use iTunes to manage the music on it (In actual fact I feel very comfortable on the iMac as its shell is just BASH, and it has 80% of the unix tools that I would expect to have. But I guess that OSX 10.6 is not POSIX compliant out of the box these days).