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Linux on the GPD Pocket 7

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Re: Linux on the GPD Pocket 7

#61

Post by mmjaa »

stuaxo wrote: post #56
mmjaa wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The keyboard is .. okay .. it does take some getting used to, and you will be cursing at it for at least a week, but if you get real work done on it you'll get over this issue after a bit of usage. Its really quite viable.

Not sure why DEL is huge and backspace half size. And the grouped keys is a little hard to get used to. If they licensed the tech for Psions fold out keyboard for the next version I would probably have to upgrade.

I have no problems remapping DEL/Backspace (like all keys in Linux - easily remapped) but what really keeps tripping me up is the CAPSLOCK/A situation .. I hope they fix that on the next release.

Over on /r/gpdpocket there is a thread discussing alternative layouts of the keyboard - so its quite possible that this will be community-optimised for the next release.

Re: Linux on the GPD Pocket 7

#62

Post by otabdeveloper1 »

ekianjo wrote: post #18
otabdeveloper1 wrote: post #11

Neat idea, except that it doesn't actually run Linux and most likely never will.

What do you mean? There are official Ubuntu images for the device.

There are no official Ubuntu images for this device.

There are some ad-hoc patches made by an anonymous dude on the Internet.

Good luck ever running some other distribution or another kernel version.

(Needless to say, these patches will never be merged into mainline kernels and when the said dude gets bored they will, of course, be abandoned.)

Re: Linux on the GPD Pocket 7

#63

Post by otabdeveloper1 »

ekianjo wrote: post #27
KGIII wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article seems to indicate that it doesn't have official images but a hacked together version and a future version will be released soon.

No, it's not true. There are official images released since a month ago or so. The diffs are even available on github. Proof: http://www.gpd.hk/news.asp?id=1519&selectclassid=002002 Don't take everything for granted. It's not because someone writes about something that they have researched the subject.

A manufacturer's code dump with patches are not "official images". (If you've ever had a device with such so-called "support" then you already know that these images have critical show-stopping bugs and are unsupported and never updated.)

It's only an "official image" if it comes from Ubuntu's website or from a kernerl compiled from sources from kernel.org.

Re: Linux on the GPD Pocket 7

#64

Post by otabdeveloper1 »

mmjaa wrote: post #34
ekianjo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's not true. There are official images released since a month ago or so. The diffs are even available on github. Proof: http://www.gpd.hk/news.asp?id=1519&selectclassid=002002 Don't take everything for granted. It's not because someone writes about something that they have researched the subject.

Plus, the 'hacked together' version is really just normal Ubuntu with a kernel configuration tweaked specifically for the GPD Pocket, and .. it RUNS GREAT! So, don't worry Linux newbies, this really is a wonderful little pocket Linux workstation ..

> Plus, the 'hacked together' version is really just normal Ubuntu with a kernel configuration tweaked specifically for the GPD Pocket

No. It's an unsupported code dump of patched kernel code: https://github.com/253647445/Pocket-Ubuntu-kernel

Needless to say, nobody is every going to merge or ever update this.

Re: Linux on the GPD Pocket 7

#65

Post by ekianjo »

otabdeveloper1 wrote: post #63
ekianjo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's not true. There are official images released since a month ago or so. The diffs are even available on github. Proof: http://www.gpd.hk/news.asp?id=1519&selectclassid=002002 Don't take everything for granted. It's not because someone writes about something that they have researched the subject.

A manufacturer's code dump with patches are not "official images". (If you've ever had a device with such so-called "support" then you already know that these images have critical show-stopping bugs and are unsupported and never updated.) It's only an "official image" if it comes from Ubuntu's website or from a kernerl compiled from sources from kernel.org.

So by your definition debian for raspberry pi is not official at all. Interesting concept.

Re: Linux on the GPD Pocket 7

#66

Post by ekianjo »

KGIII wrote: post #43
ekianjo wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's not true. There are official images released since a month ago or so. The diffs are even available on github. Proof: http://www.gpd.hk/news.asp?id=1519&selectclassid=002002 Don't take everything for granted. It's not because someone writes about something that they have researched the subject.

Ah, nice. That's why I mentioned that the article indicated that. I'm actually in the market for a small device that runs Linux and is officially supported. I'm going to head back out on the road and I'm thinking that a smaller device that fits in a backpack would be nice and I generally avoid Windows. The price isn't too bad. If I lose it, I won't much care. That's a definite bonus. So, this will be on my list. Than…

My criteria is officially provided and supported by the manufacturer.

Re: Linux on the GPD Pocket 7

#67

Post by mmjaa »

otabdeveloper1 wrote: post #64
mmjaa wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Plus, the 'hacked together' version is really just normal Ubuntu with a kernel configuration tweaked specifically for the GPD Pocket, and .. it RUNS GREAT! So, don't worry Linux newbies, this really is a wonderful little pocket Linux workstation ..

> Plus, the 'hacked together' version is really just normal Ubuntu with a kernel configuration tweaked specifically for the GPD Pocket No. It's an unsupported code dump of patched kernel code: https://github.com/253647445/Pocket-Ubuntu-kernel Needless to say, nobody is every going to merge or ever update this.

You're confusing terminology to make it all seem bad and nasty, but really its not: Ubuntu is there, it runs great. Use nexus511's kernel to boot it, get proper support for the GPD Pockets' devices.

End of problem.

Re: Linux on the GPD Pocket 7

#69

Post by digi_owl »

A decade ago i would have moved mountains to get hold of one of these, i have owned a eeepc 901, a Nokia 770, and a N800. But these days my first though goes to having to deal with the bikeshedding and musical chairs that is modern day Linux userspace, and can't help thinking it will be a big time sink for little gain...

Re: Linux on the GPD Pocket 7

#70

Post by morganvachon »

opencl wrote: post #12
morganvachon wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Looks nice - but can it play Youtube without having to close everything else on the system? I've been badly burned by "netbooks" powered by Atom CPUs... nice battery life but forget opening Facebook or Youtube" You should have no issues, the Atom used in these is not your 2010 PIII based Atom, it's a modern part that can handle the modern Web. > "and the ultra low screen resolution doesn't help either when web sit…

The early Atoms weren't P3 based, they were an original low-power design and actually quite a bit slower than the P3 at similar clockspeeds. Though a lot of the unpleasantness of using those machines was more from the extremely anemic GPU which has also improved considerably since then. Here's a benchmark comparison between the Atom used in the EeePC 901 (N270 @ 1.6Ghz), the GPD Pocket (x7-Z8750 @ 1.6Ghz), and a 1.1G…

Actually they trace their lineage directly to the PIII. The original Atom was based on the Stealey line, which in turn was based on Pentium M, which in turn was based on the PIII design. Later Atom revisions left that legacy behind and became their own distinct process.
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