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I bought a thing, then did a thing (surface go 2 + ubuntu)

Yup, that's a surface go 2 running the ubuntu installer. I'm typing this post from this machine. I went down a bit of a rabbit hole when a very well priced Surface Pro 5th gen showed up on my local Marketplace. I wasn't able to get that one, but it sent me searching, since I really like the hardware of my Surface Pro X but I'm trying to get away from Windows. The Pro 5th gen is one of the most well supported according to the feature matrix, but it lacks usb c. On closer inspection, the Go 2 is probably the best supported and it was available with LTE. Off to ebay I went.

After an adventure in FedEx's "care" it arrived several days late with the tape cut on one side and a corner of the box torn and peeled back. Apparently they didn't like what they saw…

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Steve S

8 days ago · posted in Shiny New Toys

Open Slate

For some reason, I just signed up for Robert Braxman's Open Slate crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Maybe it's my long standing reservations about the path that Windows is on (and the annoying features that simply don't work... looking directly at you, Outlook...) or maybe it's my curiosity about whether Linux or Android would serve my purposes better, but for whatever reason, I've decided to take a genuine look at replacing Windows. The Open Slate Pro is not a powerhouse design, but it appears to have adequate features at a reasonable price. The feature that really appeals to me is that you can load Android or Linux in (apparently) multiple flavors of each. Open Slate seems to have a source where the OS loads will be available with support. The campaign is fairly new, and at least for me there are still a lot of unanswered questions. But if this…

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willadams

Mar 06

If it was Wacom EMR rather than USI (or MPP? Couldn't see that it was specified, but it has to be one or the other, right?), I'd be in.

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JoeS

16 days ago · posted in Shiny New Toys

Anybody buy something new lately?

... and how did you like it?

I'll go first: late November I got myself a black 16GB/256GB Surface Pro 11 with OLED and SDX Elite for $900, thinking that my old SPX was too slow for a good PDF markup experience. I loved the deep blacks of the OLED screen, but I wish it was as thin as the old Surface Pro X. In the end I returned it because the digitizer was acting up, showing an entire horizontal unresponsive section.

I'll keep an eye out for bundle deals on the SP12" (..but why no OLED, why no SSD, why no SSD hatch!) or the SP11, because I did like the speed.

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violajack

Mar 06

I keep meaning to post about the black Friday tablets I grabbed. I also have a new project tablet on the way from ebay, should be here Monday. I was hoping to have the weekend to play with it, but it'll come when it comes. Yay fedex.

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Tams

January 18, 2026 · posted in General Discussion

E-Ink Comparison Channel

I've just stumbled across this YouTube channel that compares E-Ink displays.

https://youtube.com/@theinktelligent

He's not the most scientific about it, but he does just show the devices with consideration for balance (adjusting frontlights, etc.), and it's clearly not 'AI' nonsense.

386 Views

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Orin

January 17, 2026 · posted in Shiny New Toys

Clicks Communicator

Is anyone here a mobile keyboard enjoyer? I have a Moto Razr with a Clicks keyboard.

I just pre-ordered the Clicks Communicator and was curious if anyone on here is getting one as well.

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Tams

Jan 17

I probably will.

I'd have preferred a landscape layout though.

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violajack

January 17, 2026 · posted in Software wars

What OS are we running these days?

The Surface Duo 2 was calling out to me from the shelf and I just love this little digital book. So I thought I'd go all Surface for a bit so I can use one pen on everything.

Windows has begrudgingly allowed me to install my cross platform note taking combo of Joplin and Saber, but fought both of them claiming they are not frequently downloaded and made me jump through so many hoops to install them. I hate windows. But this is my only option on the Pro X.

I like my iPad combo days when I use the mini alongside the big iPad on a magic keyboard. I especially like the big iPad for gigs as its got the built in cellular data. And the iPad mini is probably my favorite little one hand tablet. I'll admit I've been tempted by some older Macbook Airs on Facebook marketplace…

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Dellaster

Jan 19

A little bit of everything except Android because Google doesn’t want me to have an account anymore. I had deleted my old account last summer and now if I try to make a new one they figure out I’m the same person and cancel it because of the multiple account rule—somehow they think my previous account still exists… probably their 🤬AI is hallucinating that it still exists. And going through the incredible hassle of getting to real people and resolving things is more trouble than Google is worth to me at this time. Screw ‘em.

I’ve been kind of rotating between MacOS, Windows, and Linux on M4 Pro Mac mini/RTX 4060 gaming laptop. iOS/iPadOS don’t change for mobile—I have no issues with my iPhone 16e & M2 iPad Air 11, the latter now with a Magic Keyboard I got myself for Christmas. I like it.

Windows 11 on the 1TB SSD on my Lenovo Legion gaming laptop is minimized, cleaned of crapware and neutered so that it never checks for updates (via Titus Windows Utility). It’s only for gaming that won’t play well on Mac or Linux, so only rarely connected to the internet (for Steam, GOG & NexusMods downloads). Often, if possible, I’ll download on my iPhone and transfer to the laptop via the LocalSend app.

Mac by preference for anything else.

Linux on my laptop’s 2TB SSD for an occasional, temporary change of pace—it always breaks my Skyrim modded setup sooner or later no matter what distro I try (too many dependencies maintained by too many different hobby/spare time programmers… most of whom hate Nvidia)—and I’ve gone through a dozen different ones in the past six months.

Kindle Paperwhite + Scribe round it out. I’m pretty satisfied with my assortment of devices at this time. Which is fortunate since the 🤬AI-bubble high-prices & shortage of RAM makes getting new stuff most likely out of my budget for a long time to come. Rumor has it that Valve will probably delay the Steam Machine for a better time some years from now. The price will be too high to be successful right now. 😿

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violajack

January 9, 2026 · posted in Hardware wars

Touchscreen and pen for macbook

https://intricuit.com/

See this video starting at 5:03:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PkxKcW2h0E

225 Views

Dellaster

Jan 09

I can’t be tempted because I don’t have a MacBook, but it looks interesting.

For those curious about the pen, in the FAQ it says:

Will other styluses work with Magic Screen?

Only USI certified styluses are supported.

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violajack

January 9, 2026 · posted in Hardware wars

Lenovo Thinkbook Auto Twist!!???!?

I just, I mean, uh

Like, I have an x61t, Lenovo knew how to do this, but they put a motor in the hinge so it can swivel around to follow you. It's creepy.

And yet, I'm about to start an online class involving sometimes talking and sometimes standing up to play viola and honestly, it looks kinda handy for that scenario.

I think I want one.

113 Views

darkmagistric

Jan 14

On one hand I'm glad to see a return of the traditional swivels screen device. Outside of 3rd party iPad Cases, that form factor has been dead and buried for a while. Fitting Lenovo would resurrect it. Its an interesting gimmick, but there are plenty of Ai USB Cameras that can track people the same as this. I could think of a few use cases where this can be useful, but none compelling enough to justify actually buying this.

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Dellaster

January 3, 2026 · posted in Hardware wars

Tuxedo Computers Cancels Attempt to Manufacture an ARM-powered Linux Laptop

https://itsfoss.com/news/tuxedo-computers-shelves-arm-notebook/

Yeah, the news is over a month old, but still interesting. They tried for 18 months before deciding it would never work out.

The notebook was built around Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite (X1E) SoC. TUXEDO faced numerous technical roadblocks that prevented a viable Linux experience. KVM virtualization support was missing entirely on their model. This eliminated a critical feature for developers and power users who rely on virtual machines.

USB4 ports failed to deliver the high transfer rates expected from the specification. Fan control through standard Linux interfaces proved impossible to implement. BIOS updates under Linux presented another problem.

Battery life fell far short of expectations. The long runtimes ARM devices typically achieve under Windows never materialized on Linux. Video hardware decoding exists at the chip level. However, most Linux applications lack support to utilize it, making the feature essentially useless.

Etc. Hey, maybe we should be praising MicroSoft…

153 Views

Dellaster

Jan 04

It’s not like Linux (-derivatives) on ARM haven’t been done. Android and ChromeOS for major examples. Others:

System76, the Pop!_OS Linux developers, also make the most powerful commercially available desktop using AMD’s Amphere ARM chip and Ubuntu Linux.

Asahi Linux works on M1 Apple Silicon, with various degrees of support for newer chips.

And Valve has SteamOS (Arch Linux) coming for the Frame Headset using Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Their FEX translation layer is like Proton for ARM and looks promising for future Linux on ARM implementations.

Valve is helping Arm get a foothold in the world of PC gaming with its latest work

Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite (X1E) SoC maybe just isn’t a good choice for Linux.

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