5 ms·

There seems to be a bit of disconnect between the multiple, fundamental flaws with the unit, and the recommendation for its use at the end. The degree of pain a

There seems to be a bit of disconnect between the multiple, fundamental flaws with the unit, and the recommendation for its use at the end. The degree of pain and suffering the author is willing to go through for a completely FOSS system is pretty incredible.

jasonlotito 13y ago
The disconnect is the degree which the author needs to go through for a completely FOSS, not the recommendation.
muyuu 13y ago
Given my workflow, I could be using a machine of that kind 95% of the time, as long as Chromium or Iceweasel perform acceptably. I'm on Vim and Screen, and compiling. More than anything I notice a fast storage device. Plug in an SSD and that's solved. Lack of 3D acceleration is a pain if you use something that requires it. I do some scientific computing with OpenCL, which I have a machine dedicated to. Other than that, it would be okay for me. If only the screen resolution was good, which doesn't seem to be the case. But it's still acceptable for some uses. Only the abysmal battery life, noisy fan and poor screen seem a very strong sacrifice over what I use in one of my laptops (it does have decent 3D acceleration but I barely ever use it). As GPU acceleration gets more prevalent in general computing this is going to be a show-stopper too... If only someone came with a fully FOSS system-on-a-chip at the level of the newer beagleboards, I'd be willing to pay a 100% premium, easily.
- mark_l_watson 13y ago
  I agree with you. If an updated version was available with a little better battery life and a bit more screen resolution then I would probably buy one. BTW, I suppose the unusual CPU might be some extra protection from viruses and Trojans.
christianbryant 13y ago
As hackers, the GNU community are more than happy to solve problems, especially if the result is more freedom. We can encourage hardware manufacturers to create more hack-able architectures by putting in the time and interest to work on these products and improve them. We can not improve upon technology if it is not free for us to work on. The manufacturers benefit by documenting their architecture and allowing hackers to manipulate it; improvement by this process can only help tech in the long run.

jasonlotito 13y ago

The disconnect is the degree which the author needs to go through for a completely FOSS, not the recommendation.

muyuu 13y ago

Given my workflow, I could be using a machine of that kind 95% of the time, as long as Chromium or Iceweasel perform acceptably. I'm on Vim and Screen, and compiling. More than anything I notice a fast storage device. Plug in an SSD and that's solved. Lack of 3D acceleration is a pain if you use something that requires it. I do some scientific computing with OpenCL, which I have a machine dedicated to. Other than that, it would be okay for me. If only the screen resolution was good, which doesn't seem to be the case. But it's still acceptable for some uses. Only the abysmal battery life, noisy fan and poor screen seem a very strong sacrifice over what I use in one of my laptops (it does have decent 3D acceleration but I barely ever use it). As GPU acceleration gets more prevalent in general computing this is going to be a show-stopper too... If only someone came with a fully FOSS system-on-a-chip at the level of the newer beagleboards, I'd be willing to pay a 100% premium, easily.

mark_l_watson 13y ago
I agree with you. If an updated version was available with a little better battery life and a bit more screen resolution then I would probably buy one. BTW, I suppose the unusual CPU might be some extra protection from viruses and Trojans.

christianbryant 13y ago

As hackers, the GNU community are more than happy to solve problems, especially if the result is more freedom. We can encourage hardware manufacturers to create more hack-able architectures by putting in the time and interest to work on these products and improve them. We can not improve upon technology if it is not free for us to work on. The manufacturers benefit by documenting their architecture and allowing hackers to manipulate it; improvement by this process can only help tech in the long run.