Getting Ubuntu to replace Windows in most if not all respects

I am much interested in the development of Ubuntu for mobile phones. Presently, I am considering the migration of all my ICT requirements to a non-Microsoft ecosystem. Faced with some challenges, I need to get answers on some of these issues.

In the past, I have been using MS Windows as I needed the trusty Nokia PC Suite for syncing my phone PIM with my computer. After Lotus Smartsuite and its excellent Organizer app disappeared, sadly, also as Nokia is becoming just another Windows Phone platform, I am planning to do the following:


Item
Old
New

Computer OS
MS Windows 7 Ultimate with Bitlocker
Ubuntu Linux

Office Suite
MS Office 2003
Libre Office

PIM / Organizer
MS Outlook 2003
Thunderbird with Lightning and Zindus OR Evolution

Service Provider
Google Gmail
Google Gmail

Sync
USB and Bluetooth, also cloud via Google
Uncertain. Google cloud but need USB or Bluetooth. Possible sync solution could be www.syncables360.com

Phone
Nokia C3 - S40 + Nokia E63 - S60v3 + Nokia E5 - S60v?
Android-based, Galaxy SIII, X-Cover or Motorola Razr Maxx



Comments:

The developed world is used to being online always and software systems as well as hardware devices are being built upon the premise that cloud cover is always available. To most of the developing world, this is not true. Cloud sync is a pipe dream and synchronising essential data between devices has become a real challenge. Email, contacts, calendar, notes and tasks over and above regular user documents. Multimedia sync is not essential.

1. Need a phone that will sync OTA via local wireless networking, USB cable or Bluetooth. Programmers, Please develop this for us!


2. If I buy any Android phone now, will it run Ubuntu upon its release or will it require the purchase of a different handset as well?


3. The biggest drawback for Linux has been the absence of a proper PIM / Organizer with proper sync functions. It really is about time that, in 2013, we don't need to even talk about this. It should have been incorporated into Linux at least a decade ago. As we are not using Linux merely because it is free, but for various other reasons, a reasonably priced software suite may be a good alternative. However, much of the developing world - which is your market, presently runs on pirated Windows and MS Office instead of Linux, because of this shortcoming. (Look on Gumtree and see how many used laptops are being sold with MS Windows XP SP2/SP3 or Windows 7 Ultimate - the bulk of it being pirated software.)

reneg8or said:

I am much interested in the development of Ubuntu for mobile phones. Presently, I am considering the migration of all my ICT requirements to a non-Microsoft ecosystem. Faced with some challenges, I need to get answers on some of these issues.

In the past, I have been using MS Windows as I needed the trusty Nokia PC Suite for syncing my phone PIM with my computer. After Lotus Smartsuite and its excellent Organizer app disappeared, sadly, also as Nokia is becoming just another Windows Phone platform, I am planning to do the following:


Item
Old
New

Computer OS
MS Windows 7 Ultimate with Bitlocker
Ubuntu Linux

Office Suite
MS Office 2003
Libre Office

PIM / Organizer
MS Outlook 2003
Thunderbird with Lightning and Zindus OR Evolution

Service Provider
Google Gmail
Google Gmail

Sync
USB and Bluetooth, also cloud via Google
Uncertain. Google cloud but need USB or Bluetooth. Possible sync solution could be www.syncables360.com

Phone
Nokia C3 - S40 + Nokia E63 - S60v3 + Nokia E5 - S60v?
Android-based, Galaxy SIII, X-Cover or Motorola Razr Maxx



Comments:

The developed world is used to being online always and software systems as well as hardware devices are being built upon the premise that cloud cover is always available. To most of the developing world, this is not true. Cloud sync is a pipe dream and synchronising essential data between devices has become a real challenge. Email, contacts, calendar, notes and tasks over and above regular user documents. Multimedia sync is not essential.

1. Need a phone that will sync OTA via local wireless networking, USB cable or Bluetooth. Programmers, Please develop this for us!


2. If I buy any Android phone now, will it run Ubuntu upon its release or will it require the purchase of a different handset as well?


3. The biggest drawback for Linux has been the absence of a proper PIM / Organizer with proper sync functions. It really is about time that, in 2013, we don't need to even talk about this. It should have been incorporated into Linux at least a decade ago. As we are not using Linux merely because it is free, but for various other reasons, a reasonably priced software suite may be a good alternative. However, much of the developing world - which is your market, presently runs on pirated Windows and MS Office instead of Linux, because of this shortcoming. (Look on Gumtree and see how many used laptops are being sold with MS Windows XP SP2/SP3 or Windows 7 Ultimate - the bulk of it being pirated software.)

Click to expand...

Why do you need to sync your mobile with your PC? Google takes care of all that business if you on Android.

DrJohnZoidberg said:

Why do you need to sync your mobile with your PC? Google takes care of all that business if you on Android.

Click to expand...

1. Insufficient cloud cover over much of rural South Africa, which is where I function most of the time. Cloud computing is a good idea but not always practical.

2. Privacy concerns.

3. Most importantly: as a professional person, sensitive client data that should not be sent OTA into cyberspace where even the Fed nowadays feel unsafe.

By insufficient cloud cover, I assume you are referring to networkvcoverage? i.e. gprs data cinnection that will be too painfully slow?

I don't think there has been one reported case of privacy issues laid bare with Google Apps. You own the data, and it is very secure.

But I believe you get some apps that allow you easy wifi and cable syncing with your Android. Too late for me to do a search now...

FreeStanler said:

By insufficient cloud cover, I assume you are referring to networkvcoverage? i.e. gprs data cinnection that will be too painfully slow?

I don't think there has been one reported case of privacy issues laid bare with Google Apps. You own the data, and it is very secure.

But I believe you get some apps that allow you easy wifi and cable syncing with your Android. Too late for me to do a search now...

Click to expand...

Google scans each and every email for keywords, reportedly for phishing marketing material. Let's not guess who else is reading our emails............

GPRS? I find it amusing to see how few people realise that sending an SMS from anywhere in our large country's rural regions becomes a challenge. Many farmers and minders, construction folks and overlanders have NO communications with the rest of the world, unless you drive up this koppie or over than neck. One may be working all day on your phone and computer while both are just little islands in uncharted islands. One has to travel a bit to where even the weakest of signals can be found. Then quickly connect/automatically disconnect/reconnect/ until finally you have sent that important email and downloaded your daughter's email with a 7meg picture of your grandson attached. Patience.

GPRS is not even available in various low-lying areas in Centurion, neither around Durbanville farms and Contermanskloof. Cape Point is as remote as is any good farm in the Northern Cape, where copper theft took farmers back to delivering notes by hand. Don't believe the wonderful coverage maps as they are simply not true. Old phones like a Nokia 3210 may still get a signal but Smartphones don't. Pity 3210's had no WAP/GRPS. Just made calls and handled sms.

Finding an application that lives up to the brilliant website claims is not easy. I have been hunting for some time now and there are many, many pitfalls. Every upgrade of a single add-in app or widget may render the carefully integrated system useless. Auto-updates can ruin a perfectly working system.

City dwellers have no idea of how challenging it is to remain current even within sight of the big cities. Cloud cover, be it water or cyber, simply does not exist and, even if it were there, mostly don't bring the promised saturating rain/signal.

I get you man. City dwellers definitely have no idea!

It is true that Google scans the documents. But the document are all encrypted. It takes two Google engineers, with different sets of encryption keys, to be physically together, to get data into human readable form.

But that actually seems like the least of your struggles.

You can use Google Apps offline, and when you happen to be online again, it will sync.

It seems as though you have researched your problem well, so I may not be of any use unfortunately

FreeStanler said:

I get you man. City dwellers definitely have no idea!

It is true that Google scans the documents. But the document are all encrypted. It takes two Google engineers, with different sets of encryption keys, to be physically together, to get data into human readable form.


But that actually seems like the least of your struggles.

You can use Google Apps offline, and when you happen to be online again, it will sync.


It seems as though you have researched your problem well, so I may not be of any use unfortunately

Click to expand...

Interesting what you are saying about Google and encryption. I have been loosely in and out of the world of ICT and have done some fairly large installations at industrial and retail sites but I have little formal training, nothing to mention. My experience is restricted to users and their PC's as well as basic LAN setups. Ever since 1995 when we started getting connected, security became an issue but it is only with the advent of broadband that we are at risk. Google's server farms are probably better than some/most of even US government systems and I don't doubt their levels of security. Having said that, I have first-hand experience of the devastation caused by natural disasters, I have also seen how a fibre optic cable gets severed by and idiot riding a back-actor. Being dependent upon a remote server has benefits but also remains subject to reliability. One cannot have your critical data in the cloud as you don't control the "weather."


Yes, I did some research but I am out of my depth as 30+ years in ICT still sees me having to acquire new skills by burning the midnight oil. It seems that running one's own server and then link wirelessly between devices is possible. It also seems that said server can be run on a Linux laptop so that a physical LAN/WLAN setup in a static environment is not even necessary as the gadgets are all portable.

I am reading here https://patrick-nagel.net/blog/archives/389 and on other pages where various tools seem to be discussed.

My current cloud sync works fine as long as there is a connection. In writing this, my signal never went above 2/5 and it automatically disconnected and reconnected a few times now. Downloading and installing Linux apps was done at speeds of as little as 60-odd bits per second. I seem to be working on an "inverted LTE" connection as far as speed goes.

Using Windows and Nokia suite was useless as no connection lasted even thirty seconds. Linux, running on the very same hardware, maintains the connections much better. The Linux alternative is attractive as even hardware costs less due to not having to pay for the OS. An i5 2.5GHz Ivy Bridge with 8GB DDR3-1600 RAM and 1TB Sata III HDD will cost R6,400. Ultrabook-style but with DVD super multi writer, 2x USB3 and 2 x USB2, HDMI and Intel WiDi. and a 2-year warranty. This is hardware than can be used, if it lasts, for the next 5-10 years as Linux doesn't require much to run on. I have Ubunto 11 on a 12-year old laptop and it still performs faster than required. Its 2.8GHz chip runs at 1.6Ghz 90%+ of the time. It only has a gig of RAM.

So, one can set up a very stable system with all you need to remain operational with little cash and some sweat equity. Finding the perfect solution does call for missing out upon a few day's social life but that is a small price to pay. At my age, i know what is relevant and important. Computing via gestures and the latest mod-cons for gaming luckily is above my basic requirement for full functionality in a small business environment.

If I can rely upon the link between myself and Google, I can just continue enjoying my current set-up which is working smoother than any Outlook sync ever did. The Ubuntu + LibreOffice + Thunderbird & Zindus widget + Lightning app are immensely pleasurable and I also run Evolution as an alternative PIM so as to test it side-by-side with T-Bird.

Syncing calendar, mail and contacts with my Nokia E63 & E5 is done with Emoze, a very nice PIM app that has a full suite of applications when used on Android. Calendar entries, for instance, done on the Lightning app in Thunderbird mail instantly reflects on Evolution, my Google web calendar and on my phone with Emoze. Emoze uses push technology and is very sleek. I can recommend it to anyone out there.

Thanks for the advice and friendly chat

Yes thanks for chat, it has been very interesting!

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but Google Apps have redundancy measures in place for natural disaster contingencies. They have various server centres all over the world, with (encrypted) copies of your account on more than one server.

Check this document, if you still want to: http://goo.gl/4ud50 (I am starting a Google Apps consultancy)

It describes the security and privacy features, but it is not 'TL;DR' (too long)

That disconnect/reconnect thing can be a real pain. Don't know how the 'offline' features of Google Drive may suit you. Perhaps if you use LibreOffice (even if you don't have a connection) you can edit offline without any pesky interruptions, and the document will sync when there is a connection.

Of course, it is then tough to use a mobile device to edit these files in the field (as it is not then in Google Drive's format). If that's something you'd still want to do, Quickoffice will allow you to do this on either iOS or Android (after the Libreoffice file has been synced to the cloud before going offline again)...but I'm not sure whether they would save the changes back to the cloud if you don't have a connection at first. I should test this!

LOL about the 'inverted LTE connection'

That Linux hardware seems really good, especially ultrabook style. If I could only get a firm grip on Ubuntu / Linux (and was not as pressed for time)...! Burning the midnight oil has consequences for me

How do you get anything done on those Nokias? My last Nokia was the e72 (I find the e63 and E5 much more stable, although the e72 was supposedly the flasgship business phone of that symbian generation [S60 I think?]) Since going to Galaxy S2 and now Note 2 I can't believe my jump in productivity and ease of use.

Yeah, I believe Emoze actually beat out yester year's RIM in speed tests RE the push emails etc...

Hopefully I'll never be that remote that I can't function just using Google Apps. And I am sure Google offline will help out in the odd occasion I'll need it...have you activated offline docs?

If this conversation is getting 'lank in die tand' I understand, to call it a day would be cool too

Do you have a website for your services?

In terms of replacements, Libre Office and Thunderbird are significant downgrades in comparison with the MS products imho. While it eventually does 75% of what the Office products do, they do so in cumbersome and ugly fashions. MS reigns supreme in the Office world...

DJ... said:

In terms of replacements, Libre Office and Thunderbird are significant downgrades in comparison with the MS products imho. While it eventually does 75% of what the Office products do, they do so in cumbersome and ugly fashions. MS reigns supreme in the Office world...

Click to expand...

Not all of us need all the bells and whistles. I can import database files into Calc just as I could in Lotus 1-2-3 in ways that Excel still can't. As I need to cough up R2k to get what I already have in LibreOffice, what's the point? Who cares about how the interface looks? I need productivity and not eye-candy. Even if it does 75% of what MS Office does, it does so at a 100% discount.

Google Apps also has 75% the functionality of Office, but then it also provides some awesome functionality it doesn't have (incl Office 365)

It has a simpler pricing structure than Office 365, and is more stable.

If one needs it for advanced needs, like academic journal quality editing capabilities, then it is indeed hard to beat MS Office.

FreeStanler said:

Yes thanks for chat, it has been very interesting!

I don't want to beat a dead horse, but Google Apps have redundancy measures in place for natural disaster contingencies. They have various server centres all over the world, with (encrypted) copies of your account on more than one server.

Check this document, if you still want to: http://goo.gl/4ud50 (I am starting a Google Apps consultancy)

It describes the security and privacy features, but it is not 'TL;DR' (too long)

That disconnect/reconnect thing can be a real pain. Don't know how the 'offline' features of Google Drive may suit you. Perhaps if you use LibreOffice (even if you don't have a connection) you can edit offline without any pesky interruptions, and the document will sync when there is a connection.

Of course, it is then tough to use a mobile device to edit these files in the field (as it is not then in Google Drive's format). If that's something you'd still want to do, Quickoffice will allow you to do this on either iOS or Android (after the Libreoffice file has been synced to the cloud before going offline again)...but I'm not sure whether they would save the changes back to the cloud if you don't have a connection at first. I should test this!

LOL about the 'inverted LTE connection'

That Linux hardware seems really good, especially ultrabook style. If I could only get a firm grip on Ubuntu / Linux (and was not as pressed for time)...! Burning the midnight oil has consequences for me

How do you get anything done on those Nokias? My last Nokia was the e72 (I find the e63 and E5 much more stable, although the e72 was supposedly the flasgship business phone of that symbian generation [S60 I think?]) Since going to Galaxy S2 and now Note 2 I can't believe my jump in productivity and ease of use.

Yeah, I believe Emoze actually beat out yester year's RIM in speed tests RE the push emails etc...

Hopefully I'll never be that remote that I can't function just using Google Apps. And I am sure Google offline will help out in the odd occasion I'll need it...have you activated offline docs?

If this conversation is getting 'lank in die tand' I understand, to call it a day would be cool too

Do you have a website for your services?

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice and the link.

I have no need of Google docs - nor Google Drive.

Es63 and E5 more stable? How bad were your old Nokias then? The E5 is quite something as it can delete email accounts all day long, all by itself. Just set it up afresh and E5 will delete it, leaving neither settings nor data behind. I got angry and wanted to break it with my bare hands, but couldn't. Now that's Nokia for you - using a solid brick as a cell phone!

Quickoffice has disappointed me so many times. While you are on Android now, perhaps consider Polaris Office as it works better.

Android needs something like Bitdefender to secure your data as even approved apps are dangerously open to exploitation, placing your sensitive data at risk of being "impounded" by phishermen.

I'm looking at Note II 10.1" and either S2/S3 or X-cover. The latter is not specced as nicely but it is tough and enduring.

Website? No, sorry, I had one and took it down as I don't quite need it.

reneg8or said:

Thanks for the advice and the link.

I have no need of Google docs - nor Google Drive.

Es63 and E5 more stable? How bad were your old Nokias then? The E5 is quite something as it can delete email accounts all day long, all by itself. Just set it up afresh and E5 will delete it, leaving neither settings nor data behind. I got angry and wanted to break it with my bare hands, but couldn't. Now that's Nokia for you - using a solid brick as a cell phone!

Quickoffice has disappointed me so many times. While you are on Android now, perhaps consider Polaris Office as it works better.

Android needs something like Bitdefender to secure your data as even approved apps are dangerously open to exploitation, placing your sensitive data at risk of being "impounded" by phishermen.

I'm looking at Note II 10.1" and either S2/S3 or X-cover. The latter is not specced as nicely but it is tough and enduring.

Website? No, sorry, I had one and took it down as I don't quite need it.

Click to expand...

Microsoft is painting itself into a corner, which is where they belong. We have been ripped off by extravagant prices for buggy software for too long now and Excel specifically failed me many times where OpenOffice, LibreOffice and especially Lotus-1-2-3 did excel! MS Excel has its virtues but the price does not justify the acquisition thereof. The way in which Office 13 and beyond will require access to broadband and a forgiving data plan is just making it irrelevant to most in the SOHO market segment.

I had a weird experience over the past week - was working on XP SP3, went to the bathroom and returned to find Ubuntu being installed on my machine, from the DVD that was just sitting in the drive. I was alone at home, all doors were locked, no Internet connection and the DVD started loading itself after it had been in the drive fro three days! Gone is the dual-boot now and this strange coincidence just made up my mind for me, finally, to go with Google, Android and Linux.

I just love the Google interactivity with Thunderbird as syncing tasks, contacts, calendar, etc., just is so creamy smooth and easy. I have the very latest of T-Bird running and, as long as there is Internet around, Google is giving me immense pleasure together with the superior PIM. Thunderbird really impresses. And it comes for free, which is the most amazing bit.