In today's open source roundup: Can you use a Chromebook as an ereader? Plus: Ubuntu powers a six-legged spider drone. And why don't users like the Ubuntu Software Center? Chromebooks as ereaders? Chromebooks have proven amazingly popular, with various models showing up on Amazon’s bestseller list. But how well does a Chromebook work as an ereader? One redditor asked about it and got some helpful answers in the Chrome OS subreddit. Raylad asked his question about Chromebooks as ereaders: I’m an avid reader, and I’ve been considering purchasing a chromebook to not only enjoy the bigger screen for reading, but I’d like to be able to use it to browse and navigate my textbook pdfs for school as well. Does the chrome OS excel here? Sorry for the silly question… I just want to have all the facts before I buy. Thanks! More at Reddit His fellow redditors responded with their thoughts about Chromebooks as ereaders: VictoryGoth: “You should consider the Chromebook Flip. You can hold it like a tablet but it also has the added functionality of a laptop with trackpad and keyboard.” Welbinator: “Do you often find yourself reading on a computer screen? It’s definitely much different than reading on say, a Kindle or a Nook. If you think you can handle staring at a bright screen reading text for long periods of time, then sure! I do most of my reading on an Android tablet and it seems fine to me. The Chromebook will offer a bigger screen. In fact, you may consider the Asus Flip. It’s a Chromebook that flips all the way around into a “Tablet mode”. Also, there is a Kindle Cloud Reader in Chrome, so if you have ebooks you bought on amazon, you can access them.” Willyo561: “What you will gain from going to a chromebook will be content creation over a e reader or tablet. Writing notes etc will be a lot easier on a chromebook.” Grimreeper: “The PDF experience will be better on a Chromebook compared to a phone or a Kindle. How it compares to a tablet or other laptop/desktop will probably come down the screen. Some newer monitors (not sure if any laptop displays at the moment) have special “reading” modes that are supposed to drastically reduce the amount of blue light, increase contrast and reduce brightness. Not sure how useful this is though.” Shanman3us: “Along these lines I have yet to find an .epup/.pdf reader for Chrome OS that allows annotation and highlighting. I mainly use Epub files. I too want to replace my tablet for the Asus flip. For my Nexus 7 I have Moon+ reader pro. Is there anything similar to that for a Chromebook?” Keheliya: “Try uploading epubs and pdfs to Google books https://play.google.com/books/uploads It supports annotations/highlighting and also bearable rendering.” Welbinator: ” I really enjoyed my Acer C720. It’s light, inexpensive, and performs well (has a Haswell generation celeron Processor). I eventually upgraded to the Pixel, which obviously is amazing. But if the Pixel is more than you’re looking to spend, I (and many, many others) believe the Acer C720 (or C720P if you want a touchscreen) is the best Chromebook you can get for the money. 11.6″ screen, so you’ll have considerably more screen realestate than your Nexus 7, but it’s not super big and cumbersome.” More at Reddit Ubuntu powers a six-legged drone Drones seem to be all the rage these days, and soon you’ll be able to buy a six-legged drone that is powered by Ubuntu. Silviu Stahie reports for Softpedia: Erle-Spider is a new kind of drone, but it’s not one that flies. As the name implies, it’s a spider drone, and as it happens, it’s powered by Ubuntu. Some of you might remember that Erle was among the first to adopt the new Ubuntu Core as their OS of choice, just a few months back. The OS from Canonical has evolved considerably since then, and it is now one of the most used OSes for IoT devices. The new drone is not yet available, but we do know some the hardware specs for it. These include an ARM Cortex-A8 1 GHz CPU, 512 MB of RAM, 4 GB of storage, and 2 additional Programmable Real-Time Units. It also comes with Wi-fi connectivity and quite a few sensors (Gravity, gyroscope, digital compass, pressure, and temperature). More at Softpedia The Erle-Spider site has more details: Drones are amazing but they are much more than just flying vehicles!. We are excited to introduce the first smart robotic spider powered by Snappy Ubuntu Core. A spider that will provide everyone the amazing experience of Ubuntu while giving developers access to the new and exciting app store for robots and drones. Jump now into the future with Erle-Spider!. Erle-Brain artificial brain including an ARM Cortex-A8 @ 1 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 4 GB of storage and 2 additional Programmable Real-Time Units. 4xUSB 2.0 Host, CAN, Ethernet, I2C, UART, USB 2.0 client (debugging), microSD slot. Gravity sensor, gyroscope, digital compass, pressure sensor and temperature sensor. WiFi hotspot (the spider creates its own WiFi network), WiFi infraestructure, Bluetooth, 3G/4G and several other RF communication mechanisms available. More at Erlerobotics Why don’t users like the Ubuntu Software Center? The Ubuntu Software Center has had its share of criticisms by many users over the years. But what is it about the Ubuntu Software Center that irritates people? Softpedia asked its community and got some insightful responses. Silviu Stahie reports for Softpedia: The biggest problem seems to be the fact that it’s slow. Most uses say that it loads really slowly and that it takes a long time to do anything. Another issue is the fact that the software requires users to register with an Ubuntu One password for applications that are free and can be downloaded from other sources. Another negative aspect seems to be the lack of transparency during installations. When you install stuff from the Ubuntu repos or just a DEB file, the application doesn’t provide any kind of feedback on what dependencies are needed. This is important because some apps come with a lot of dependencies. Other issues include crashes, poor recommendations for apps in the main window, freezes, and some users are even saying that it’s too dumbed-down. More at Softpedia Did you miss a roundup? Check the Eye On Open home page to get caught up with the latest news about open source and Linux. Technology IndustryOpen SourceSoftware DevelopmentSmall and Medium Business