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Not disagreeing with you per we, but I will note that the author may be judging the tablet as compared to other mobile devices running Linux. With the exceptio

Not disagreeing with you per we, but I will note that the author may be judging the tablet as compared to other mobile devices running Linux. With the exception of the PinePhone and a few other devices Linux on mobile devices is truly painful/broken in most cases (and in ways that make this tablet look almost fully featured...).

zozbot234 4y ago
Not true. Linux on BayTrail hardware is pretty much rock-solid by now (at least if you're running Fedora-derived distros). The thing is it can take many years to get to that level of support. It's absolutely normal for newly released hardware to be broken in many ways.
Agamus 4y ago
Untrue. I'm no expert, but I have never had a problem setting up LineageOS on a Samsung - works like a charm, and I love it.
- rhn_mk1 4y ago
  Lineage is not Linux in the sense that Debian is. They share the kernel and that's it.
mrbuttons454 4y ago
It's pretty broken on the Pinephone too
solardev 4y ago
Maybe I'm misunderstanding something here, but isn't Android already Linux? What's the advantage of installing another distro? I thought the whole point of Android is to make a curated touch friendly Linux experience. If you want a more traditional distro, wouldn't a touchscreen laptop (yoga etc.) be a better choice, if only for x86 support?
- linmob 4y ago
  Android is running a Linux kernel, yes. But, as an enthusiast GNU+Linux desktop user you'll find that you can't do your linuxy stuff on Android - sure, termux does a lot, but it's just not the same. The Surface Go 2 that the article is about, is an x86_64 device - I recently aquired one and it's really quite nice with Linux in my limited testing. The biggest difficulty with a standard desktop GNU+Linux on a tablet is that most distributions are not optimized for easy tablet use - KDE Neon User Edition e.g. does not come with a virtual keyboard preinstalled. On Yoga style laptops: Well, they are easier to get started with, but they often are quite a big bigger and having those keys on the back all the time... It's doable, but if you want a "nice 10" tablet" experience these devices are just not what you will want: Too large, too thick, too heavy.
  - csdvrx 4y ago
    > The biggest difficulty with a standard desktop GNU+Linux on a tablet is that most distributions are not optimized for easy tablet use - KDE Neon User Edition e.g. does not come with a virtual keyboard preinstalled. Ubuntu 22 on a Lenovo X1 Fold gave me the OSK without installing anything - though the touchscreen was not supported by default, the driver is under work cf https://github.com/quo/ithc-linux https://github.com/quo/ithc-linux
    - linmob 4y ago
      Some distros do, and GNOME has been good to me too on many distributions with delivering a working virtual keyboard OOTB. KDE Neon, however, which I wanted to try after reading that KDE Plasma 5.25 has better tablet support, comes without a virtual keyboard (and AFAIK does not come with an easy option to install one, you need to know that it you have to install maliit-keyboard).
- midislack 4y ago
  Android is a proprietary OS filled with spyware. Linux kernel is irrelevant.
  - 4y ago
fomine3 4y ago
I wonder what tablet is used by GNOME developers.

zozbot234 4y ago

Not true. Linux on BayTrail hardware is pretty much rock-solid by now (at least if you're running Fedora-derived distros). The thing is it can take many years to get to that level of support. It's absolutely normal for newly released hardware to be broken in many ways.

Agamus 4y ago

Untrue. I'm no expert, but I have never had a problem setting up LineageOS on a Samsung - works like a charm, and I love it.

rhn_mk1 4y ago
Lineage is not Linux in the sense that Debian is. They share the kernel and that's it.

mrbuttons454 4y ago

It's pretty broken on the Pinephone too

solardev 4y ago

Maybe I'm misunderstanding something here, but isn't Android already Linux? What's the advantage of installing another distro? I thought the whole point of Android is to make a curated touch friendly Linux experience. If you want a more traditional distro, wouldn't a touchscreen laptop (yoga etc.) be a better choice, if only for x86 support?

linmob 4y ago
Android is running a Linux kernel, yes. But, as an enthusiast GNU+Linux desktop user you'll find that you can't do your linuxy stuff on Android - sure, termux does a lot, but it's just not the same. The Surface Go 2 that the article is about, is an x86_64 device - I recently aquired one and it's really quite nice with Linux in my limited testing. The biggest difficulty with a standard desktop GNU+Linux on a tablet is that most distributions are not optimized for easy tablet use - KDE Neon User Edition e.g. does not come with a virtual keyboard preinstalled. On Yoga style laptops: Well, they are easier to get started with, but they often are quite a big bigger and having those keys on the back all the time... It's doable, but if you want a "nice 10" tablet" experience these devices are just not what you will want: Too large, too thick, too heavy.
- csdvrx 4y ago
  > The biggest difficulty with a standard desktop GNU+Linux on a tablet is that most distributions are not optimized for easy tablet use - KDE Neon User Edition e.g. does not come with a virtual keyboard preinstalled. Ubuntu 22 on a Lenovo X1 Fold gave me the OSK without installing anything - though the touchscreen was not supported by default, the driver is under work cf https://github.com/quo/ithc-linux https://github.com/quo/ithc-linux
  - linmob 4y ago
    Some distros do, and GNOME has been good to me too on many distributions with delivering a working virtual keyboard OOTB. KDE Neon, however, which I wanted to try after reading that KDE Plasma 5.25 has better tablet support, comes without a virtual keyboard (and AFAIK does not come with an easy option to install one, you need to know that it you have to install maliit-keyboard).
midislack 4y ago
Android is a proprietary OS filled with spyware. Linux kernel is irrelevant.
- 4y ago

fomine3 4y ago

I wonder what tablet is used by GNOME developers.