In today's open source roundup: Rumors are swirling about a possible tablet that will run Ubuntu Linux. Plus: Microsoft loves Linux the way a wolf loves a deer, and reviews of Ubuntu 14.10. Canonical’s switch to the Unity desktop in Ubuntu seemed in part based on a desire to make it more mobile-friendly. But the company has never released an official Ubuntu tablet. Now rumors are swirling that someone else may finally put Ubuntu Linux on a tablet. The VAR Guy reports on the possibility of an unofficial Ubuntu tablet. According to The VAR Guy: Details on the tablet are sparse, but hardware specifications for the mobile device include an Intel Atom Z3735D SoC quad-core processor, 2GB of memory and 16GB of storage—which, incidentally, makes it pretty similar to the Dell Latitude 2100 netbook I bought five years ago, which is still happily chugging along on Ubuntu today. It’s not entirely clear who is launching the tablet, but Phoronix mentions companies named Demski Group and Mastermind Hardware and Logistics. Bernstein is apparently part of the venture as well. Canonical almost certainly is not. More at The VAR Guy Linux Gizmos has more information about the UT One’s specs, and Phoronix has the original report about it. How strange to think of someone other than Canonical releasing an Ubuntu tablet, but it seems that that might be how we finally end up getting one. I’d be very happy to see such a tablet available since I’ve long felt that additional competition in the mobile space would be a good thing for consumers. Android and iOS are both fine platforms, but I’ve never liked the idea of just two companies controlling the mobile device market. I don’t count Microsoft’s Surface products since they’ve essentially gone nowhere in terms of market share since they were released. We’ll have to wait and see if these rumors about the UT One tablet really pan out. For now I’d take them wit a grain of salt or two until we see an official announcement. Microsoft loves Linux the way a wolf loves a deer InfoWorld questions Microsoft’s “love of Linux” and finds…gasp!… that there’s more to it than meets the eye. According to InfoWorld: As Microsoft’s action against TomTom showed, it is stalking any company successfully using Linux. Most cases don’t become public, as the business model used by this troll-within-a-practicing-entity strategy (I call them “big trolls”) offers lower prices for silence by its victims. But there can be little doubt Microsoft continues to actively seek new revenue from software distributors of all kinds. The evidence suggests Microsoft “loves” Linux the same way abusive partners “love” their spouses — a deep need in one area of the relationship that changes nothing elsewhere. When Microsoft joins OIN, we’ll know it actually loves Linux. Until then, all we know is that Microsoft’s cloud division needs Linux to survive, and the rest of us need to take care. More at InfoWorld I noted my own skepticism about Microsoft’s supposed love of Linux a few days ago. And InfoWorld’s article just confirms what I was already feeling about it. I don’t trust Microsoft or its intentions toward Linux, and I agree with the article that much more is needed from the company before it’s claims about a new attitude toward Linux can be taken seriously. For now we’ll have to be patient and keep a close eye on Microsoft to see if it really changes its attitude and behavior toward Linux. My guess is that it’s going to take quite a bit longer for Microsoft to embrace Linux the way that IBM has, and it’s possible that it may never happen. DistroWatch reviews Ubuntu 14.10 DistroWatch looks at Ubuntu 14.10, and comes away with positive feelings. According to DistroWatch: Instead of talking about a new desktop layout or getting distracted by cosmetic changes, two of the few things which attracted my attention while using Ubuntu 14.10 were that it appears to be slightly faster than Ubuntu 14.04 and Unity is more stable on my test machine. When Ubuntu 14.04 came out, I felt it was a solid release and I had a very positive experience with it. One of my few complaints with Ubuntu 14.04 was the appearance of the occasional error message telling me some part of Unity had crashed and would I like to send a bug report? So far, while using Ubuntu 14.10, I have not seen a single crash notification. Nothing has glitched, nothing has crashed. The operating system has performed smoothly and quickly. On the whole, I think Ubuntu 14.10 is a good release, it adds a touch of polish on top of the already solid 14.04 version. This is one of the more newcomer friendly distributions I have used this year and I am happy with what the Ubuntu team has done, specifically focusing on minor improvements and bug fixes. More at DistroWatch You can download Ubuntu 14.10 in 32-bit or 64-bit, and you can read the official release notes for more information about Ubuntu 14.10. Here are some additional reviews of Ubuntu 14.10 Softpedia: Ubuntu 14.10 (Utopic Unicorn) review Hectic Geek: Performance based Ubuntu 14.10 (versus 14.04) review Tech Zim: Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic Unicorn review: deceptively simple What’s your take on all this? Tell me in the comments below. Open Source