What is today's most popular linux distribution?

Linux distributions are operating systems that are based on the Linux kernel. With this simplified definition in mind, then perhaps the most popular Linux distribution is Android, the leading smartphone OS in the US, which (as of August 2010) holds a market share of 33%.

Android 2.2 (codename Froyo) is based on Linux kernel 2.6.32, while soon-to-be-launched Android 2.3 (codename Gingerbread) is based on Linux kernel 2.6.33. But is it really the most popular Linux distribution? We head out to Distrowatch.com and see where it stands.

Distrowatch, which ranks the popularity of Linux distributions based on page hits, does not include Android on its list. The top 10 Linux distributions there, as of this writing and with data based on the last 6 months, are:

1. Ubuntu
2. Fedora
3. Mint
4. OpenSUSE
5. Debian
6. PCLinuxOS
7. Mandriva
8. Sabayon
9. Arch
10. Puppy

Now, these are desktop operating systems, which explains why Android is nowhere to be found. Since I’d really like to find out where Andoid stands among other Linux distros in terms of popularity, I’ve decided to consult Google about it. For this simple exercise, we’ll now head out to Google Trends, enter Android and the top 10 distros found in Distrowatch and see what happens.

Here’s what we got. The first Google Trends graph is based on data taken across all regions and since the first recorded data until today. The second graph, on the other hand, is based on all regions and over the last 12 months. 

Google Trends Most Popular Linux Distribution (all years)

Google Trends most popular Linux distribution (12 mos)

Based on Google searches, Ubuntu has been consistently on top since the second quarter of 2006. Android started its run in early 2009 (that’s only last year) and proceeded with a steep ascent early this year, overtaking Ubuntu in the process.


So there you have it. Based on searches alone, the most popular Linux distribution as of this day is Android.


Related posts:


One Android to rule them all
Why Android for 2010


Books related to this post:

Most Touch Screen ebook Readers Run on Linux

Touch Screen Sony Reader

Want to go on an ebook-reading marathon for two weeks? You don’t need an iPad. All you need is a decent touch screen ebook reader. They can last more than 10 days (not just 10 hours) and, thanks to e-ink technology, so will your eyes.

E-ink displays, which most of these ebook readers use, consume less power, are less susceptible to glare, are less strenuous to the eyes, and most of all, cost much less than even the most basic iPad.

Now, why did I have to zoom in on touchscreen versions of these handheld devices? That would certainly leave the numero uno ebook reader on the market today - Amazon’s Kindle - out of the picture.  Because I find clicking buttons so outdated and flicking through virtual pages with fingers so cool.

And thanks to innovative technologies like the zForce touch screen, a fast touch interface on an e-ink display is now possible.

You know what else most of them have in common aside from the e-ink display? - a Linux-based OS.

Onyx’s Boox 60, iRex’s Digital Reader 800, Condor’s eGriver Touch, Spring Design’s Alex, and, most likely, Sony’s Readers - all these touch screen ebook readers, which are all slated for release no later than this year, run on Linux.

Even their earliest predecessors, which were launched some time in the middle of this decade, were powered by some kind of embedded Linux. Many of the later generations actually ran on Android, just like all those smartphones, but, as we all know, that OS also has Linux origins.  

I’m not 100% sure about the latest Sony Readers, but their immediate predecessors used to run on Monta Vista Linux. Still, even without them, more than half of touch screen ebook readers use a Linux OS. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers)

Preparing Eclipse for Android Installation on a 32-bit Windows XP

If you’re new to Android programming, it would be best to start with the Eclipse IDE. This article will show you how to prepare a freshly installed Eclipse for Android development on a 32-bit Windows XP system. 

You can still develop Android on other IDEs like Netbeans or IntelliJ, but Eclipse is still the easiest route to take. Ready? Let’s start. 

1. Install the JDK


Since you'll be using the Java programming language to develop apps on the Android platform, you'll need to have Java installed in your system. Go to the Java SE downloads page and download the JDK. 

Java SE Downloads page

After clicking that large button, another page will load. On that page, select the Windows Platform from the drop-down list and click the download button.


Once your download is complete launch the JDK installer by double-clicking on the downloaded file. This action should launch this screen.

JDK installer

Wait until the Next button is active, then click it. Just click on the Next buttons that appear in all succeeding screens until you reach the screen with the Finish button. Click the Finish button to wrap up the JDK installation.




2. Install the Eclipse IDE


You should now be ready to install Eclipse on your system. Go to the Eclipse downloads page and download the Eclipse IDE for Java Developers.

Eclipse downloads page

I had some trouble downloading through the mirrors. In the end, I was successful with the torrent file. 


The downloaded file is a .zip, so you need to extract it first. Look for the file named eclipse and double-click it to start the installation proper.

Wait until you're shown the following screen.

Choose a folder in your hard disk where you'll want to store your projects/apps or click Ok to accept the default Workspace location. Also click Ok when you're done choosing your desired Workspace.


That action should activate the final processes to complete the installation. When the installation is finished, the Eclipse user interface will automatically pop-up.


Here's a screenshot of it.

Eclipse User Interface

There, your system is now capable of running the JDK and Eclipse. For Android installation, come back for my next post.

8 of 2008's Latest Linux-Powered Mobile Phones

Just how ubiquitous has Linux become? You've probably read about the 10 Linux-powered e-book readers. And of course you've heard about the Google Android G1 handset. Now, have you ever wondered if the G1's the only phone that runs on Linux? There are actually more out there. Let's see if we can come up with 8 of the latest

Note: The list is not arranged in any manner.


Openmoko Neo Freerunner

Some specs:

• Size: 120.7 x 62 x 18.5 mm
• Weight: 133 grams
• Display: Touch screen; 2.8" VGA (480 x 640)
• Memory: 128 MB SDRAM, 256 MB NAND Flash
• Highlights: Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, AGPS, GPRS, Bluetooth 2.0
  

This phone can be more appealing to developers (than end-users) who would want to tinker around with the operating system/software stack. Say what? Yes, that basically means you get a chance to build your own custom-made phone using any of the available phone software stacks. The latest to throw in its own to the increasing number of stacks is Koolu using a version of Google's Linux/Java Android stack.




Motorola Krave ZN4

Some specs:

• Size: 51 x 105 x 19 mm
• Weight: 130 grams
• Display: Touchscreen; 2.8" 240 x 400 65k colors TFT (the flip resolution is 240 x 320)
  
• Memory: 130 MB
  
• Highlights: 2.0 megapixel camera, digital zoom, Class 2 Stereo Bluetooth
  

With its 500 hours of standby time and 250 minutes of talk time, this is one phone that you can rely on if you're one of those who constantly forget that a phone is a device that does need charging. Here's one cool feature: the cover is also touch-sensitive and allows you to listen to music, watch a TV show, or use the GPS apps without being flipped open.




Samsung Olympics Phone SCH-i859

Some specs:

• Size: 56 x 110 x 15.8 mm
  
• Weight: no info
  
• Display: 2.8" 65k colors TFT (240 x 320)
  
• Memory: 128 MB ROM
  
• Highlights: 3.0 megapixel camera, Bluetooth

I couldn't find an official English site for this phone. If you click on the link above, it'll take you to linuxdevices.com, where they provide you with a link to the Chinese official site. I just wish these Asian companies (which do provide a lot of excellent Linux-powered phones) can have an English version for their sites. Well apparently, they didn't need one for this, as well as for the other products found in this list, since these products are aimed towards specific Asian countries.




Motorola MOTOROKR E8

Some specs:

• Size: 115 x 53 x 10.6 mm
• Weight: 100 grams
• Display: 2.0" QVGA 240 x 320 262k TFT
  
• Memory: up to 2GB of internal memory
  
• Highlights: 2.0 megapixel camera, 8x zoom, Class 2 Stereo Bluetooth
  

If you're a CNET Prizefight fan, you'll easily recognize this as the phone that beat the Nokia Xpress Music 5310 by a large margin in a clash between two of the top-rated music phones in the market. Motorola seems to come up with the most innovative front-panel features. This time, it introduces a ModeShift keypad that appears to metamorphose from one interface to another depending on the mode you are in: phone, music player, or imaging device.




Motorola MOTOROKR EM30

Some specs:

• Size: 115 x 53 x 10.6 mm
• Weight: 100 grams
• Display: not indicated on the official site
  
• Memory: optional 8 GB microSD removable storage card
  
• Highlights: 2.0 megapixel camera, 8x zoom, Class 2 Stereo Bluetooth
  

If you're thinking I must have made a copy-paste mistake here, don't worry. I didn't. This ROKR phone does look like the E8 including certain specs and over-all appearance... except for the center circular navigation interface. While the E8 uses the new haptic scroll interface, this one uses the usual four-sided wheel. It's still equipped with the ModeShift interface, but can only shift between two modes compared to the E8's three.




Panasonic P706ie

Some specs:

• Size: 109 x 49 x 16 mm
• Weight: 106 grams
• Display: 3" TFT QVGA (240 x 427)
  
• Memory: supports MicroSD up to 8GB
  
• Highlights: 2.0 megapixel camera
  

Designed for Japan's NTT DoCoMo's 3G FOMA network, it is suitable for media streaming, video conferencing, and short Mobile TV segments.




Motorola MOTOZINE ZN5

Some specs:

• Size: 118 x 50.5 x 12 mm
• Weight: 114 grams
• Display: 2.4" 240 x 320 262k TFT
  
• Memory: up to 350 MB available memory
  
• Highlights: 5.0 megapixel camera with a shutter speed of up to 1/1000 seconds

If you click on the link above and check out the full specs on the site, you'll notice that it is primarily a camera with phone capabilities than the other way around. Yup, it's quite full-packed with quality camera features, that the highlights I provided are nowhere near describing it. Teaming up with Kodak for this one, Motorola appears to have produced a benchmark for the perfect camera phone.




HTC G1

Some specs:

• Size: 117.7 x 55.7 x 17.1 mm
• Weight: 158 grams
• Display: Touch-sensitive 3.2" TFT-LCD HVGA (320 x 480)
  
• Memory: 256 MB ROM 192 MB RAM
  
• Highlights: 3.2 megapixel camera, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi
  

Easily the most popular in this list, this is backed-up by Google which means you can easily access Google apps such as Gmail, Youtube, Google Talk, Google Calendar, and Google Maps from it. Developers are loving this phone because, like the Freerunner above, they get to play around with it. Code for the applications are written in Java but will run on a specialized VM. You may click on that link if you want to read more about it.



There you have it, 8 of 2008's latest Linux-powered mobile phones. There's actually more out there, so if 8's just too short a list for you, here are two links that you might want to check out before you have a cup.

Linuxdevices.com and
Limofoundation.org

Screenshot of Android SDK on its way to my Ubuntu system

See that?

That's the Android SDK on its way to my Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex system. You can also see Netbeans IDE 6.1 on the taskbar. I hope to talk about a Hello World app in the near future. That would mean that the installation ended up successfully. Cheers!

Java and Linux on the Android - Almost the Perfect Match?

As this blogspot's subtitle states, you'll be reading more about Java and Linux here (aside from physics) than anything else, and I was hoping I'd have the opportunity to write a post that would talk about both of them under the same spotlight. Tonight, I was given that opportunity.

When browsing through the web lately, no one and I mean no one is spared from bumping into anything about G1, G-phone, Google Phone, Android, or whatever other name's attached to that thing. Thus, it wasn't entirely surprising that I ended up clicking on one of those articles that talked about this latest, hottest gizmo. Then link after link and click after click eventually brought me to the realization that what I had been dreaming of, that marriage of Linux and Java made in heaven had finally arrived! And of all chapels, they had to be wed under one that brought along so much fanfare, so much hype... the gphone/android/g1/etc. Apparently, applications that run on this phone are written in the Java programming language, on top of a Linux kernel.

Ah, but before all you java-linux fans start jumping up and down like I almost did, read on... as I also did. Well, here's what I discovered: while the apps will be written in Java, they won't be running as Java bytecodes. Rather, they'll be compiled into what are known as Dalvik bytecodes. They also won't be executed on a standard Java Virtual Machine. Rather,they will be running over the Dalvik virtual machine, a specialized VM designed specially for mobile devices.

So much for the marriage of the century. This has not totally dampened my enthusiasm though. In fact, expect to read more about that gizmo/phone here. Yes, yes, I know you've had enough of androids and iphones. Don't worry I'll be concentrating more on linux and java than the phone itself. For who knows? These two might end up in each other's arms in the end. Being in one little phone might just be too cozy for both of them to resist.

For those who are about to puke, i.e., if you're not the romantic type but are simply here for just java or linux, here are some information that you might find useful:

The android architecture makes use of Linux kernel version 2.6 to take care of core system services; including security, memory management, process management, network stack, and driver model.

It contains a set of C/C++ libraries that developers can have access to through the Android application framework

Well, if you want to know more about the Android architecture, you may check out Google's android site.

I will be talking more about Android applications, since they ARE written in Java, in my future posts. Besides, since they DO run on a Linux kernel, we just might end up talking about small Linux apps that can run on the phone as well. What do you think?