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JingPad A1 – Consumer-level Linux Tablet

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Re: JingPad A1 – Consumer-level Linux Tablet

#51

Post by fy20 »

jchw wrote: post #35
tluyben2 wrote: post #31

I am getting old, but I fail to see what the usage of RAM/ROM means in advertising devices; I see many devices, including this one, stating '6G RAM, 128G ROM' => I assume 128GB is not Read-Only Memory. So why is it stated like that? I see it all over the place; phones, laptops, tablets. I understand if it's just a retailer selling, but these guys are supposed to know something about the hardware? Or am I missing some…

Guessing the terminology stems off of EEPROM/PROM which was paradoxically, programmable ROM. It’s probably an understandable misnomer for NAND/flash storage.

Just like a SSD doesn't actually contain a spinning disk, like hard disk drives and floppy disks before it :D

Apple labels this as "Capacity" (iOS) and "Storage" (Mac) which are maybe better terms.

Re: JingPad A1 – Consumer-level Linux Tablet

#52

Post by linmob »

As a PinePhone and Librem 5 owner, I should be psyched by this, as a tablet running a Linux distribution that looks nice could really help the overall Linux on touchscreen devices ecosystem.

I am not too excited though:

1. With their current, x86_64 only release, GPL violations have been alleged.

2. PowerVR graphics make mainlining this device unlikely, meaning that it’s going to be stuck on a Vendor kernel and libhybris, as that Vendor kernel has likely been released with Android devices in mind. This is OK, but it’s not good long term.

3. Their marketing is a bit over the top, full of lofty claims that often aren’t technically true as has already been discussed here.

Re: JingPad A1 – Consumer-level Linux Tablet

#53

Post by mkl »

fy20 wrote: post #51
jchw wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Guessing the terminology stems off of EEPROM/PROM which was paradoxically, programmable ROM. It’s probably an understandable misnomer for NAND/flash storage.

Just like a SSD doesn't actually contain a spinning disk, like hard disk drives and floppy disks before it :D Apple labels this as "Capacity" (iOS) and "Storage" (Mac) which are maybe better terms.

Solid-State Drive doesn't mention disks.

Re: JingPad A1 – Consumer-level Linux Tablet

#54

Post by linmob »

happymellon wrote: post #49
linmob wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don’t forget all the Chrome OS tablets (yes, I am willing to call these Linux tablets), like the Lenovo Chromebook Duet.

Don't modern ChromeOS systems let you run Linux desktop applications? They sound pretty much like they are Linux systems that beginning to let down the facade.

Yes, that’s my reason. Also, it’s rather easy to run your favorite Linux distribution on ChromeOS devices compared to Android hardware.

Re: JingPad A1 – Consumer-level Linux Tablet

#55

Post by happymellon »

tluyben2 wrote: post #34
hyperpallium2 wrote: post #29

AMOLED! Consistent with recent reports of a new 7" AMOLED Switch, and AMOLED becoming cheap. Linux is not as tuned for battery life as android, but they claim 10 hours from their 8Ah. Believable. 11", 6.7mm, 500g, 8 core ARM (model not specified; should be the 7x line). Bet it will cost far more than a comparable Android tablet (which can run termux).

> Linux is not as tuned for battery life as android, On devices that run both that I have (had), Linux always wins (by a very large margin). It does take tweaking and running i3wm, but Android is a hog compared in my experience. As is Windows.

TBH, I don't even need to switch to i3WM just for some reason most Linux distros don't come with any power saving options enabled.

Even just adding auto-cpufreq helps, but I'm not sure why TLP isn't.

Re: JingPad A1 – Consumer-level Linux Tablet

#56

Post by tluyben2 »

happymellon wrote: post #55
tluyben2 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Linux is not as tuned for battery life as android, On devices that run both that I have (had), Linux always wins (by a very large margin). It does take tweaking and running i3wm, but Android is a hog compared in my experience. As is Windows.

TBH, I don't even need to switch to i3WM just for some reason most Linux distros don't come with any power saving options enabled. Even just adding auto-cpufreq helps, but I'm not sure why TLP isn't.

Especially on devices which are meant to converse battery life like laptops, tablets & phones. I still have to tweak them myself usually; auto-cpufreq + tpl is really no work and the difference is quite significant.

Re: JingPad A1 – Consumer-level Linux Tablet

#57

Post by pratio »

linmob wrote: post #52

As a PinePhone and Librem 5 owner, I should be psyched by this, as a tablet running a Linux distribution that looks nice could really help the overall Linux on touchscreen devices ecosystem. I am not too excited though: 1. With their current, x86_64 only release, GPL violations have been alleged. 2. PowerVR graphics make mainlining this device unlikely, meaning that it’s going to be stuck on a Vendor kernel and libhy…

Do you have a source on the GPL violations? I went looking as I suspected as such but i only got as far as https://linmob.net/2021/01/31/linbits30-weekly-linux-phone-n... there's a single mention of it and the linked tweet has been deleted.

If they don't release the source and the custom drivers and patches they use to power the device then they'll probably be in violation of GPL but I'm not sure of the specifics tbh. I do agree that something like this will definitely help the development of touch screen devices on Linux.

Re: JingPad A1 – Consumer-level Linux Tablet

#58

Post by happymellon »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #22
villgax wrote: post #6

Is there a linux OS which would be best suited to run on a decade old laptop in portrait mode, mostly for reading PDFs?

Most of them, honestly. Lubuntu is probably the easy choice, or Alpine if you're really resource constrained and don't mind configuring it all yourself.

Now this is sad, but a decade old system would be Sandy/Ivy bridge era hardware, which isn't that bad for non-graphic intensive stuff.

I would hazard that most consumers wouldn't be able to tell much of a difference with current hardware, especially as an e-reader. They don't tell us what they have or how much memory is installed, but if it is a convertable laptop with a touchscreen or similar then I would try Gnome. You will have a much better time for a simple e-reader.

If it is memory contrained, or ends up being an Atom processor then perhaps a lighter desktop might be better.

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