Free and Open Source Software
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Love eink stuff
Oh this is kinda cool, I love eink stuff
I was looking for this. Really waiting on the pinnate to ditch note books and pencils.
You could get a surface and install your favorite flavor yourself: https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface
Is it easy enough? Like installing in a normal pc?
Disclaimer I've never done it myself but I've looked into it in the past. It doesn't seem like its too overly complicated. Just be sure to check out their features per device when deciding which surface to go with: https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface/wiki/Supported-Devices-and-Features#feature-matrix
I've done it on a Surface Go and while the install can be a bit more of a pain, once it's done it's a great little Linux unit.
Two PITA points are it doesn't have a normal BIOS so sometimes it won't boot from USB normally and you have to go into Windows and use it's Advanced Startup process to make it work. That then means you might have to keep Windows on dual boot.
The other PITA this can cause is you might also need to install a boot manager like rEFInd to get it to boot into your distro properly. I found I needed this with Kubuntu but not Manjaro, for whatever reason.
Both issues are a pain, but not difficult, just annoying. And once it's done you don't have to think about it again.
I'm used to refind
I’ve done it across a handful of surface products I’d say that if you’re comfortable using Linux it’ll be just fine
Don’t get a surface book! I know it’s a laptop not a tablet but using Linux on it has been a nighthmare.
Yes, the only difference really is installing their custom kernel afterwards to enable missing features like touchscreen support.
It works pretty well, the only big thing still missing is camera support which will probably get solved soon.
You install Linux normally first and then install the surface kernel after. Until then you can't use the pen and touch is limited. You'll probably need at least 2 free usb slots on the surface though, one for the isntallation medium and one for an external keyboard. If you don't have a usb c dock, you'll need to figure out how to get a linux iso on a usb that includes the surface kernel, which is possible but fairly compicated compared to the usual installation.
I tried a few different linux distros on various chromebooks, and regardless of if you pick a chromebook or another device, I highly recommend you don't get a device with an arm-based cpu. Pick a 2-in-1 that has a normal x86 processor so you don't have to deal with compatibility issues.
Compatibility with software you mean?
Sexual compatibility. Chromebooks are known prudes
Large instruction sets are better than smaller ones....
I hear the bus width is actually more important...
Software can be hit or miss on ARM processors, but it's getting much better. If you stick to mainstream distros/apps, you're not going to run into many problems. I'm writing this from a 2014 Acer C720 running Debian, and it does it beautifully. This old thing still gets 10 hours of battery life, and I paid less than $100 for it.
Yes, I guess @[email protected] is right though that software compatibility for arm is improving, so it really depends on your use-case and workflow. I don't remember exactly what I was doing at the time I just remember the program I wanted couldn't run on arm.
David Revoy did some search on finding a cheap hardware to draw using opensource software: https://www.davidrevoy.com/article972/my-solution-for-mobile-digital-painting-on-gnu-linux
Lenovo Yoga 370 looking amazing and there are very cheap options thank you!
I have a Yoga 530, running KDE 5.24.4. The touch functionality is really broken, basically unusable. Try Gnome, anything is better than this.
My wife bought a Lenovo yoga and loves it
I have one too and also love it. Runs Linux just fine
Wait, I have a yoga too. It can run Linux?
It's just a PC with a touchscreen that comes with Windows installed from the store. The only thing to really worry about are the hardware drivers for the unique bits.
Ah. Mine is an Android tablet, so I'm guessing it's not the same thing.
Kinda on topic, there are 2 really good deals running right now. 1 for the Surface, 1 for the Lenovo Yoga.
https://slickdeals.net/f/16728539-thinkpad-x1-yoga-gen-6-14-3840x2400-oled-i7-1185g7-16gb-ram-512gb-ssd-1099-free-s-h?src=category_page
and
https://slickdeals.net/f/16727681-microsoft-surface-pro-8-13-2880x1920-i5-1135g7-8gb-ram-128gb-ssd-610-free-s-h-w-amazon-prime?src=category_page
The Surface might be too bare bones for some, but $610 is decent. (Also, there are several "generations" in the store now. This is the middle, non-ARM flavor with 11th Gen Intel. The Surface 9 has the current generation.)
The Lenovo is a much bigger discount and better specs, but I've heard worse stuff about the Lenovo support. Apparently Lenovo's consumer support and build quality is very different from the business offerings.
I'm daily driving a yoga x380 and am really happy. Using the pen for quick notes on my professors slides. I use Zorin and Win10 in dual boot but only really use Zorin. Only thing that doesn't work on Zorin is the HDMI port but I didn't really bother to trouble shoot.
Seconded. I daily drove a yoga for some time (really a flex). It worked pretty well. Definitely check the compatibility of whatever laptop you choose before though. I had to manually install a driver to get the touchpad to work everytime I updated the kernel until it was finally merged into mainline. 😬
I've bought a DELL Venue 11 Pro 7130 just recently for the same reason. Seems to run Fedora 38 just fine.
Can you use a pen straight on the screen?
I just watched this review that may be exactly what you need: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uCa-8isUxno
Looks awesome and promising! Only thing is that they are still work in progress and not fully done product. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fydetab-duo--2#/updates/all
But he doesn't use a pen right?
Bought my daughter a lenovo chromebook duet. It is a pretty neat little machine with a detachable keyboard / form factor like a surface tablet. I have not figured out if linux is an option on it yet but I do know there are people out there who have gotten linux running on chromebook hardware.
Why not just load Linux on a Surface? Are there compatibility issues or something?
Yeah it's not as easy as with a desktop
I'm not aware of any devices in a similar form factor that has good Linux support, but I figured the popularity of surfaces would make them a little less difficult to get running. Good luck and let us know if you're able to find something ideal!
My first thought is the Dell XPS 13 2 in 1. Dell used to make computers that are compatible with Linux, but don't know if this particular model has compatibility issues.