StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet • Hacker News Board

Re: StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet

#51

Post by MerelyMortal » Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 2:41 AM UTC

LoveMortuus wrote: post #34

No USB-A ports and no plain old Debian option... Would be cool if they offered a blank keyboard option, because right now I would just have to pick any ISO language and because I used Slovenian layout, but if I bought it, as is, I couldn't look at the keyboard anyways... Also the display seems a bit dim at 300cd/m. And since it's touch, stylus (digitizer) would be very welcome.

USB-A to USB-C adapters are cheap. USB-A is past its prime.

Your post contains only negative points.

There will never be a perfect device because everyone has different wants, so enjoy it for what it is.

Re: StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet

#52

Post by MegaDeKay » Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 2:41 AM UTC

"5-years of updates - Backed by secure updates delivered via the LVFS."

Hmmmm. Why a five year cutoff? Does this have some custom firmware not in mainline Linux that would preclude updates beyond five years?

Re: StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet

#53

Post by weikju » Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 2:43 AM UTC

chillbill wrote: post #41

I’m afraid i3/sway have spoiled me and now I find any other wm just awfully bulky to say the least, but also I can’t imagine how to use tiling wm without a keyboard. Are there any projects exploring the idea of tiling wm usage on tablets?

There is at least one: SXMO [0] . There are a few distributions where it's available, at least on the PinePhone, so it's not inconceivable at all that it would possible to use it on an Intel-bsaed tablet.

0: https://sxmo.org/ "Simple X Mobile"

Extra quote from their docs:

> Sxmo >= 1.6.0 runs both on Xorg (using dwm) as well as on Wayland (using sway). The X in our name historically referred to Xorg, but is now open to whatever interpretation you prefer (eXtensible, eXcellent, eXperimental, etc...)

Note: I have yet to try it but I'm getting more interested now..

Re: StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet

#54

Post by zlg_codes » Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 2:44 AM UTC

jauntywundrkind wrote: post #24

Turskarama wrote: post #19

I can't help but feel like an x86 tablet is a non starter, the architecture is just too power thirsty compared to ARM.

I have a tablet with a i5-7200u (2016) with a small-ish ~34WHr (originally, well worn since!) battery that gets 7 hours usage easy. How is this "power hungry"? For an ancient quad core & inefficient old storage drive. As with 90% of everything, people take a bunch of highly visible indicators to decide their opinions & then shit on anything & everything that doesn't meet their set conception. People hate Electron bec…

I tried VSCode on a Librem 14 by Purism. It has a tenth gen Core i7 with 12 threads. With only very basic essential extensions like syntax, Git integration, and a Vim mode, I could type faster than the view updated.

Electron may be great for people who want to write Web apps, but browsers are RAM and CPU hungry beasts compared to the GUI toolkits they're trying to replace.

In short, which environments are running VSCode smoothly? Do I need next gen hardware to run a damn IDE smoothly?

Web apps have some advantages, but performance is nowhere in that list.

Re: StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet

#55

Post by kushie » Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 2:56 AM UTC

fjfuvucucuc wrote: post #46

anderspitman wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would love to see it, but my guess would be only if there's ever regulation to force Apple to allow it under climate concerns or right to repair type policy.

Or you know, you lot could stop giving them money.

oh, i don't think tech professionals or software enthusiasts are majority share holders of apple's bottom line

Re: StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet

#56

Post by KingMachiavelli » Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 2:59 AM UTC

chillbill wrote: post #41

I’m afraid i3/sway have spoiled me and now I find any other wm just awfully bulky to say the least, but also I can’t imagine how to use tiling wm without a keyboard. Are there any projects exploring the idea of tiling wm usage on tablets?

In my limited experience, sway is pretty easy to use on a tablet because it supports moving windows very will using a mouse/pointer. Obviously you need still need a on-screen keyboard and a lot of config to replace other swaycmds but it seems like a decent base WM for a tablet.

Re: StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet

#57

Post by clhodapp » Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 3:01 AM UTC

MegaDeKay wrote: post #52

"5-years of updates - Backed by secure updates delivered via the LVFS." Hmmmm. Why a five year cutoff? Does this have some custom firmware not in mainline Linux that would preclude updates beyond five years?

LVFS is how you ship firmware that installs permanently into flash on the hardware device (e.g. Coreboot).

Hopefully, at least Coreboot itself stays buildable for the motherboard in the long term so you can keep locally building core system firmware for many more years to come. Star Labs themselves are not committing to continuing to ship pre-built binaries from their side for more than five years.

Re: StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet

#58

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 3:05 AM UTC

keyle wrote: post #21

Somewhat related - will we ever see linux on old iPads? Old iPads can't get updated anymore, they can't easily browse the web, apps can't get updated or reinstalled... Basically recycle material or dust catchers. I'd like to jail break or whatever my old iPads and have them as simple linux tablets.

[deleted]

Re: StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet

#59

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 3:06 AM UTC

chillbill wrote: post #41

I’m afraid i3/sway have spoiled me and now I find any other wm just awfully bulky to say the least, but also I can’t imagine how to use tiling wm without a keyboard. Are there any projects exploring the idea of tiling wm usage on tablets?

[deleted]

Re: StarLite 12.5-inch Linux tablet

#60

Post by simonh » Fri, Aug 18, 2023, 3:08 AM UTC

msgilligan wrote: post #43

keyle wrote: post #21

Somewhat related - will we ever see linux on old iPads? Old iPads can't get updated anymore, they can't easily browse the web, apps can't get updated or reinstalled... Basically recycle material or dust catchers. I'd like to jail break or whatever my old iPads and have them as simple linux tablets.

Yeah, it’s really a shame. I have the original iPad and the hardware remains solid. If I could have an updated browser that could display modern websites without crashing, I would still use it.

Those machines have 256 MB of RAM. Is there any way to run a modern web browser in that?