Is there a tablet-centric desktop available for Ubuntu?

Question

I have a Lenovo x61 tablet PC running Ubuntu 10.04. I've got Karol Krizka's auto-rotate daemon working, along with a variety of other applications like cellwriter, though for some reason even when it's working properly, it needed a fix for me. There's a host of other applications I use such as

• xournal, for general notetaking
• mypaint, for drawing
• easystroke, for gesture recognition

probably others that I forget at the moment...

But I was wondering if there are any good tablet-oriented desktop environments for Ubuntu?

Answer 1

There really isn't any out there currently - but what you may want to install is the new UNE (Ubuntu Netbox Edition) which provides the new launcher application on the destkop itself. Should make using a tablet a lot more effective.

To get this to work you'll need to add this [ppa]: ppa:netbook-remix-team/ppa to your system and install the relavant packages. It took me quite some time to hunt down this repository for some reason. I believe you'll then want to execute sudo apt-get install unity ubuntu-netbook-unity-default-settings and any other packages listed.

Answer 2

gnome-shell looks like it's going to be a serious contender for tablet interfaces. Other than that, I'd try out the various netbook-orientated environments like Ubuntu Netbook Edition.

To test out gnome-shell I recommend not using the repo version which is a very long way behind the current development version and instead use a PPA like so:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ricotz/testing
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gnome-shell

To use it just fire off:

gnome-shell --replace

To turn it off:

metacity --replace

To remove it:

sudo apt-get install ppa-purge
sudo ppa-purge -p testing ricotz

Answer 3

For a touch interface, you could use LXDE + lxlauncher or the GNOME + netbook-launcher (the launcher from the current (10.04) netbook edition).

To add to your applications list you could use fennec, a touch oriented browser. Also look here for a list of applications bundled with a touch oriented OS (most, but not all, will be available for Ubuntu).