What a bucket of cold water just kicked me out OMG! Ubuntu! from your account on the social network Twitter. I, who was one of the first to have a PineTab, have tried many operating systems on the PINE64 tablet. Absolutely none convince me. What works best is Arch Linux in its version with Phosh, but it's an interface that I don't like at all. With Plasma there are many bugs. Right now, Manjaro can't even be installed on the SD card, and Ubuntu Touch… well, without being able to use Libertine it's almost a shame. My hopes were pinned on JingOS, but little hopeful rumors circulate.
JingOS is an "operating system", let's put it in quotes because they say that it is not, that it was designed with tablets in mind, more specifically the JingPad A1. The tablet has some worthwhile hardware, and the operating system, at least on your tablet, can run Android apps. It was all laughs until we read the latest rumours: they have internal problems, the PC version has been abandoned and it seems that they will focus on the ARM version for your tablet. This and the old ghosts like those of the first tablets with Ubuntu Touch have put fear into our bodies.
Rumors make us pessimistic about JingOS and the JingPad A1
Rumors suggest that all is not well in the JingOS camp. Their online store on Shopify is down, and some team members are said to have been laid off. Last week they dropped support for the x86 port of JingOS, but they said they would continue with the ARM version of JingOS running on the JingPad tablet. His crowdfunding campaign was successful, albeit with a small goal. Development seemed active until recently. It would be sad if he failed before he had a chance to really shine.
The bad thing, what we experienced when Canonical talked about convergence, launched tablets and then abandoned them, is that these rumors about the JingOS team make us feel like we have déjà vu. I have already experienced this, and it was not a good thing. I myself wrote that JingOS could be the best option for the PineTab, and even for any tablet with Linux, but always keeping in mind -sometimes I write it- that for something to come to fruition they should not abandon the projects.
We will have to see what happens in the coming weeks, but if JingOS + JingPad ends up failing, for a tablet with Linux I would only bet on something offered by companies like Canonical, and neither, since they were behind some that were soon abandoned weather. Let's hope they are just rumours, or that they manage to resolve all their differences, because the jing pad a1 it looks so good. Without it, one comes to think that we would return to the square of departure. Apple and Google like this news.