For what it's worth, I can recommend the Surface Go (2 and 3) as a tablet, even if you do not intend to run Linux. Simply because it's x86 and your not running Android or iOS. While the actual tablet experience in Windows 11 is mediocre, the fact that I run plain, regular desktop apps makes the device so much more enjoyable to use. It's not a replacement for a decent laptop, but as a tablet, I'd pick this one over cr…
As a tablet, you'd pick a mediocre tablet experience with a regular desktop experience over a good tablet experience? As a tablet?
I Finally Found a Solid Debian Tablet: The Surface Go 2
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Re: I Finally Found a Solid Debian Tablet: The Surface Go 2
#22I've been using Surface Book 2 as a work laptop and at this point I won't buy a single Microsoft's hardware beyond an Xbox. It was utterly bad. Lack of thunderbolt so USB-C docks won't fully work, lack of HDMI ports, insane thermal throttling, had issues handling 1000hz polling rate mouses(seriously), quite often laptop would just not turn on until specific reset combination of keys was pressed, general performance i…
Re: I Finally Found a Solid Debian Tablet: The Surface Go 2
#23I've been using Surface Book 2 as a work laptop and at this point I won't buy a single Microsoft's hardware beyond an Xbox. It was utterly bad. Lack of thunderbolt so USB-C docks won't fully work, lack of HDMI ports, insane thermal throttling, had issues handling 1000hz polling rate mouses(seriously), quite often laptop would just not turn on until specific reset combination of keys was pressed, general performance i…
Re: I Finally Found a Solid Debian Tablet: The Surface Go 2
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think WSL is overrated. I haven't used Windows for years but it was forced upon me by my new employer. Overall I'm not impressed, at least when compared to a full native Gnome experience. Not sure how people are managing, any filesystem operation (on C: for e.g.) takes forever, also GUI apps feel sluggish and heat the laptop.
Did you use the WSL graphics support in Windows 11? If so then that is pretty disappointing that it performs poorly.
Re: I Finally Found a Solid Debian Tablet: The Surface Go 2
#25Depending on your needs it may be easier to use WSL2 under Windows vs native Linux since you get full device support. Fwiw I used Surface Go in this mode for years as my "light travel coding" platform but have recently upgraded to the arm-based Surface Pro X. Much (much) faster than the Goen, 16G ram and 1Tb SSD available. Also a full sized keyboard - the most annoying thing I found about the Go is not being able to…
I think WSL is overrated. I haven't used Windows for years but it was forced upon me by my new employer. Overall I'm not impressed, at least when compared to a full native Gnome experience. Not sure how people are managing, any filesystem operation (on C: for e.g.) takes forever, also GUI apps feel sluggish and heat the laptop.
Re: I Finally Found a Solid Debian Tablet: The Surface Go 2
#26I've been using Surface Book 2 as a work laptop and at this point I won't buy a single Microsoft's hardware beyond an Xbox. It was utterly bad. Lack of thunderbolt so USB-C docks won't fully work, lack of HDMI ports, insane thermal throttling, had issues handling 1000hz polling rate mouses(seriously), quite often laptop would just not turn on until specific reset combination of keys was pressed, general performance i…
I installed Linux on it recently thanks to the linux-surface project which improved the experience quite a bit as I don’t have to deal with Windows 11 shit anymore, but the performance is still dreadful. You know it’s bad when after 30 mins of it being on it’s slower and laggier than a £500 laptop.
Will never by a Surface product again, easily one of the worst purchasing decisions I have made.
Re: I Finally Found a Solid Debian Tablet: The Surface Go 2
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think WSL is overrated. I haven't used Windows for years but it was forced upon me by my new employer. Overall I'm not impressed, at least when compared to a full native Gnome experience. Not sure how people are managing, any filesystem operation (on C: for e.g.) takes forever, also GUI apps feel sluggish and heat the laptop.
I entered a project with the understanding that the client's systems work with Linux, but that wasn't the case. WSL saved me there -- for me it's much much better than developing on pure Windows. Still at the bottom of my choices though (Linux > Mac > Win WSL > Win).
Re: I Finally Found a Solid Debian Tablet: The Surface Go 2
#28Depending on your needs it may be easier to use WSL2 under Windows vs native Linux since you get full device support. Fwiw I used Surface Go in this mode for years as my "light travel coding" platform but have recently upgraded to the arm-based Surface Pro X. Much (much) faster than the Goen, 16G ram and 1Tb SSD available. Also a full sized keyboard - the most annoying thing I found about the Go is not being able to…
I think WSL is overrated. I haven't used Windows for years but it was forced upon me by my new employer. Overall I'm not impressed, at least when compared to a full native Gnome experience. Not sure how people are managing, any filesystem operation (on C: for e.g.) takes forever, also GUI apps feel sluggish and heat the laptop.
Re: I Finally Found a Solid Debian Tablet: The Surface Go 2
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a tablet, you'd pick a mediocre tablet experience with a regular desktop experience over a good tablet experience? As a tablet?
Maybe because you need a mobile desktop, not a tablet?
I personally don't think Microsoft quite got it right with using Windows on a tablet, though it was certainly a lot better with Windows 8, which is what the surface pro 2 (I think the first one as well?) shipped with. There's way too many compromises on usability because it's running Windows, and there's no meaningful impetus for developers to create their applications specifically with touch in mind.
Apple's been much more antagonistic to developers yet they still get people making apps specifically for iPadOS in a way that neither Google nor Microsoft have managed. I think this is the advantage to their totalitarian strategy; they get less applications built for iOS/iPadOS overall and their restrictions make it significantly harder or impossible to create some things you can find easily on Windows, Android, or even MacOS, but because they control the platform they can impose minimum requirements for applications on the platform and as a result you actually get programs that run with that device's UX paradigms in mind. It probably also helps that their platform makes more money and that the iPad is already in a position of dominance in this market, but I digress.
If Microsoft wants to fully realize their Surface tablet vision, they need to pump a ton of money into getting developers on board and building apps that fit the UX paradigms of Surface tablets.
Re: I Finally Found a Solid Debian Tablet: The Surface Go 2
#30This was meant in response to the people complaining about build quality