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I love my GPD Micro PC

blog.danieljanus.pl

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Re: I love my GPD Micro PC

#221

Post by loudmax »

The first laptop that I was truly happy with was my Acer Aspire One I bought in 2008 for $250. It had a 9" display, so slightly bigger than this GPD, but pretty close. With Gentoo Linux it was fast, and with Compiz wobbly windows it really looked like something from the future. One of the best parts was that it was so cheap that I didn't need to worry much about dropping or breaking it.

Eventually the solid state drive stopped working. It had some non-standard connection and it was going to cost $100 to replace, so in the end I just upgraded to a ThinkPad like a normal person. I like my ThinkPad, but it never brought me the same joy as that $250 netbook.

Re: I love my GPD Micro PC

#223

Post by NBJack »

loudmax wrote: post #221

The first laptop that I was truly happy with was my Acer Aspire One I bought in 2008 for $250. It had a 9" display, so slightly bigger than this GPD, but pretty close. With Gentoo Linux it was fast, and with Compiz wobbly windows it really looked like something from the future. One of the best parts was that it was so cheap that I didn't need to worry much about dropping or breaking it. Eventually the solid state dri…

Wow, I felt similarly about my Aspire One. There was something special about how tiny and portable it was. It was so nice to be able to comfortably bring it to work with my work laptop if I wanted to work on a side project during lunch, and it travels well in coach. These days my Surface Pro 6 fills that role.

Re: I love my GPD Micro PC

#224

Post by NBJack »

teddyh wrote: post #212
ekianjo wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. Buy a used smartphone with postmarketOS support[1]. having an attached keyboard is the whole point though

Modern phone with keyboard and both LineageOS and Ubuntu Touch support: https://www.fxtec.com/pro1x

I really miss the slide out keyboards. Touch screen SSH sessions are a miracle if they work, and it's frustrating when you retype a word for the fifth time in a row only to realize autocomplete was trying to 'help' you.

Re: I love my GPD Micro PC

#225

Post by ChuckNorris89 »

out_of_protocol wrote: post #201
Joeri wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The M2 mba doesn’t seem that much bigger than the 11 inch. When I compare my old 11 inch and my m1 they feel of a similar size and weight class, and the m2 is smaller and lighter than the m1. 11 inch mba: Dimensions: .11-.68 x 11.8 x 7.56 (0.3 cm-1.7 cm, 30 cm, 19.2 cm) Avg. Weight: 2.38 lbs (1.08 kg) M2 macbook air: Dimensions: 0.44 x 11.97 x 8.46 (1.13 cm x 30.41 cm x 21.5 cm) Avg. Weight: 2.7 lbs (1.24 kg)

...and recently announced Fujitsu Lifebook WU-X/G2 (13.3") is 0.634 kg, half the weight. Macbooks are made of metal, quote sturdy, but not lightweight by any means

Thanks for sharing that Fujitsu. At 634g it looks amazing and it's a proper laptop from a reputable brand with a full size keyboard, not some discount bin Chromebook or low spec pocket PC full of compromises and cramped keyboards.

Re: I love my GPD Micro PC

#226

Post by mekkkkkk »

metadat wrote: post #96
tomcam wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I owned businesses. I didn't use all of them myself. I do tend to buy The Latest Thing every year or two. And my purchase history of computers is of interest to you because...?

Wasn't sure what could prompt such frequent replacement with the same product. Maybe if one had a rage problem rendering them inoperable after throwing into a wall, or some other serious condition, perhaps OCD? I've encountered crazier things in my life. My old 2011 MBA is still chugging along just fine, despite lots harsh use and hot tub time.

> hot tub time

Please expand.

Re: I love my GPD Micro PC

#227

Post by jacooper »

Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #137
gsibble wrote: post #25

At a previous job, I was the engineering manager for a new neo-bank and was on call 24/7 for it. I have a beefy Lenovo P52 that I hated carrying around and leaving in my car lest it get stolen. So I got a GPD Pocket. It fit very well into my back pocket. Not only did it work great for emergency situations (I ran Ubuntu MATE as well) when I needed to SSH into machines, check stuff on Datadog, edit code to make a quick…

For others in similar position as parent (i.e. in need for a hand held portable Linux computer) but couldn't buy a GPD device for various reasons(availability, cost, trust issues etc.); Then here are two recommendations which are just as good(or better?): 1. Buy a used smartphone with postmarketOS support[1]. I suggest Poco F1 if you want to make phone calls with it right away (or) Oneplus 6/6T if you can wait a bit…

I personally think if you have an Android phone, Termux is really powerful, its basically a linux container, and you can do a lot on it, And with Root its even more powerful.

And of course Android is always going to be more usable the mobile linux.

For me personally I just can't work on my phone, its too small, there is no place to work on anything!

Re: I love my GPD Micro PC

#228

Post by stevenhubertron »

I use an iPad mini that I plug a Raspberry Pi into to do any hacking on the go. I have a nice foldable keyboard that is better to type on then the GPD and the iPad screen is great to look at. Since I am running Kali on the pi I don't have any apple lock in.

Re: I love my GPD Micro PC

#230

Post by Abishek_Muthian »

jacooper wrote: post #227
Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For others in similar position as parent (i.e. in need for a hand held portable Linux computer) but couldn't buy a GPD device for various reasons(availability, cost, trust issues etc.); Then here are two recommendations which are just as good(or better?): 1. Buy a used smartphone with postmarketOS support[1]. I suggest Poco F1 if you want to make phone calls with it right away (or) Oneplus 6/6T if you can wait a bit…

I personally think if you have an Android phone, Termux is really powerful, its basically a linux container, and you can do a lot on it, And with Root its even more powerful. And of course Android is always going to be more usable the mobile linux. For me personally I just can't work on my phone, its too small, there is no place to work on anything!

Termux is an excellent piece of software, I recently saw a security researcher from Zambia using only Termux for his development[1] and research as he couldn't afford a computer. I'm sure there are plenty more like him in developing economies, Where using smartphone for better computing is not just a lifestyle but a necessity for livelihood.

Because Google with its Playstore API restrictions has stopped Termux from releasing in Playstore, It has robbed people in the similar circumstance as that Zambian gentleman of the opportunity. Now, One has to have enough knowledge about existence of third party app stores like F-Droid to make use of Termux like applications.

Even then, Android's enthusiast scene is highly dependent upon 'privilege escalation', To auto update Termux from F-Droid it needs root.

And that's exactly why I'm evangelizing Linux smartphone at every chance I get, I'm not telling those who couldn't afford a PC should move on to a Linux phone, I'm telling we need to break the duopoly in the mobile ecosystem to gain back the freedom in mobile computing. Linux phone, Especially aftermarket projects like pmos seems to be best bet for me since coincidentally developing economies are e-waste dumping grounds for the rest of the world.

[1] https://twitter.com/cyb3rops/status/1548961346104053764

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