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This is getting close, but I don't think my dream machine is on the market yet - I'd really like something dirt-cheap, has has an ARM chipset running Debian/Ubu

This is getting close, but I don't think my dream machine is on the market yet - I'd really like something dirt-cheap, has has an ARM chipset running Debian/Ubunt and lasts for 15 hours on battery. A modern Tandy 100. Are there any other machines like this, or are cheap machines like the post as far as it gets? I would have considered the ARM Samsung Chromebook, but it has pretty awful battery life.

david-given 10y ago
I have an Asus Flip Chromebook. It doesn't do 15 hours, merely 10, but it's very light, pretty cheap (I bought mine in the UK for £250, but I've seen it in the US down at about $150), has 4GB RAM and a quad core ARM processor making it plenty fast enough for development, and it's even got a reasonable keyboard. Minor features: capacitative touchscreen, screen that folds all the way round for use in tablet mode, MicroSD card slot, nice big clicky touchpad, completely silent, and a metal case. http://www.trustedreviews.com/asus-chromebook-c201-review http://www.trustedreviews.com/asus-chromebook-c201-review I run ChromeOS on mine, with Debian in a chroot using Crouton; but I gather you can run Debian on it natively, although with some blobs: https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201 https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201
- ansible 10y ago
  I have an Acer R11, which is similar. Crouton is a great project. Given the price and performance of current generation Chromebooks, I don't see much advantage in going for ARM systems right now.
  - david-given 10y ago
    The Flip is an ARM system!
    - ansible 10y ago
      Yes. What I mean is that the power consumption is a little better, but the current generation Intel Celerons have quite low power consumption too. One nice thing about x86-64 is that you can also run closed-source apps like games. For example, after having installed Crouton, I was able to install Steam and play some of the Linux games in my library.
ant6n 10y ago
Acer Chromebook R13 seems pretty nice, 13.3", glossy full HD screen, 12-hour battery, I think it runs android apps. (350$ in Amazon right now) I'm waiting for the previously announced, but now delayed Samsung Chromebook Pro. It's thinner, has a higher-rez screen, and has the pen-technology of the 'note' tablets. (rumored 500$) What I would really like to see is a Tegra X1 based laptop with a nice IPS screen, preferably something matte.
- qb45 10y ago
  > Tegra X1 GPU I suppose is nice, but how does this Denver thing actually stack up against other ARMs?
  - ant6n 10y ago
    I think you're thinking K1. K1 had Denver. X1 has 4x A57. http://www.nvidia.ca/object/tegra-x1-processor.html http://www.nvidia.ca/object/tegra-x1-processor.html
    - qb45 10y ago
      Oops, yes, I confused X1 with this Denver variant of K1 (there was a quad Cortex K1 too).
andrey_utkin 10y ago
There's ongoing development of Pyra Handheld PC: http://pyra-handheld.com/ http://pyra-handheld.com/ . Not dirt cheap, though.

david-given 10y ago

I have an Asus Flip Chromebook. It doesn't do 15 hours, merely 10, but it's very light, pretty cheap (I bought mine in the UK for £250, but I've seen it in the US down at about $150), has 4GB RAM and a quad core ARM processor making it plenty fast enough for development, and it's even got a reasonable keyboard. Minor features: capacitative touchscreen, screen that folds all the way round for use in tablet mode, MicroSD card slot, nice big clicky touchpad, completely silent, and a metal case. http://www.trustedreviews.com/asus-chromebook-c201-review http://www.trustedreviews.com/asus-chromebook-c201-review I run ChromeOS on mine, with Debian in a chroot using Crouton; but I gather you can run Debian on it natively, although with some blobs: https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201 https://wiki.debian.org/InstallingDebianOn/Asus/C201

ansible 10y ago
I have an Acer R11, which is similar. Crouton is a great project. Given the price and performance of current generation Chromebooks, I don't see much advantage in going for ARM systems right now.
- david-given 10y ago
  The Flip is an ARM system!
  - ansible 10y ago
    Yes. What I mean is that the power consumption is a little better, but the current generation Intel Celerons have quite low power consumption too. One nice thing about x86-64 is that you can also run closed-source apps like games. For example, after having installed Crouton, I was able to install Steam and play some of the Linux games in my library.

ant6n 10y ago

Acer Chromebook R13 seems pretty nice, 13.3", glossy full HD screen, 12-hour battery, I think it runs android apps. (350$ in Amazon right now) I'm waiting for the previously announced, but now delayed Samsung Chromebook Pro. It's thinner, has a higher-rez screen, and has the pen-technology of the 'note' tablets. (rumored 500$) What I would really like to see is a Tegra X1 based laptop with a nice IPS screen, preferably something matte.

qb45 10y ago
> Tegra X1 GPU I suppose is nice, but how does this Denver thing actually stack up against other ARMs?
- ant6n 10y ago
  I think you're thinking K1. K1 had Denver. X1 has 4x A57. http://www.nvidia.ca/object/tegra-x1-processor.html http://www.nvidia.ca/object/tegra-x1-processor.html
  - qb45 10y ago
    Oops, yes, I confused X1 with this Denver variant of K1 (there was a quad Cortex K1 too).

andrey_utkin 10y ago

There's ongoing development of Pyra Handheld PC: http://pyra-handheld.com/ http://pyra-handheld.com/ . Not dirt cheap, though.