Ask Slashdot: Best Tablet For Running a Real GNU/Linux Distribution? 277
bmsleight writes "Android is nice, but I do not want to pay to print or be beholden to the cloud to do everything or chroot. I just want a tablet that can run a MythTv-client, OpenOffice.org and good old apt-get instead of an app market. I have a Joggler — which costs £60 — I'd like something similar but with a battery, a bigger screen, and other modern tablet features. So, what's the best tablet for running a real GNU/Linux distribution (ideally Debian)? Bonus points for the best apt-get-able distribution that works with a tablet."
HP Touchpad (Score:5, Interesting)
Linux based WebOS is going to be free, as HP announced yesterday, and Ubuntu has been installed on the Touchpad already. In the US Touchpads can be purchased for low price, like $99 on eBay. Outside the US some (for example me) got one for low price through Amazon.
Archos (Score:2, Interesting)
has dev firmware that is gnu/debian
Lifebook T900 (Score:5, Interesting)
I love my Lifebook T900 from Fujitsu. I run either Windows 7 or Debian Mint. I like having the power, the screen is a Wacom Tablet, and I can do powerful shit on it. Max RAM is only 8GB at this point, and getting Linux to address all the functions of the Wacom was a challenge (and not quite finished yet), but overall it is a great convertible tablet. My younger brother calls it my $5000 chess board, but the i7 processor gives me some great math and graphics possibilities.
My second choice would have been a similar tablet from Lenovo. I've used Lenovo tablets before and always found them dependable and very usable with Linux installed. I picked the Fujitsu because it seemed to have more durability features.
Cautiously optimistic about Archos G9 (Score:4, Interesting)
The new generation (G9) Archos tablets look promising for running a more GNU/Linux than Android distro on them.
KDEs Plasma Active, on top of MER is being worked on:
http://dot.kde.org/2011/11/30/plasma-active-archos-g9-tablet [kde.org]
And the general philosophy of Archos seems to be encouraging development of alternative firmwares (not without loosing warranty, though):
http://www.archos.com/support/support_tech/updates_dev.html?country=us&lang=en [archos.com]
Re:Its called a "laptop" (Score:5, Interesting)
Also if you are claiming openoffice is unusuable on tablet then I assume the only reason is the lack of KB and mouse, since I use OO plenty comfortably on a 10.1" netbook, and I think the transformer solves that issue rather neatly.
Yes, and its a big reason. Apart from the gross differences (losing half your screen to an on-screen keyboard, the loss of precision of fingers c.f. a mouse requiring everything to be bigger - eating more screen real estate) the "language" of using a touchscreen is significantly different from that of a mouse, or even a trackpad with gestures (e.g. no concept of clicking, or moving the pointer without clicking vs. dragging). Maybe "unusable" is too strong, but definitely inferior to using an application in the medium for which it was designed.
I think the transformer solves that issue rather neatly.
Except you're paying a considerable premium over a netbook for the ability to leave the keyboard behind when you don't need it. If you are primarily using traditional applications, that keyboard is going to be a permanent fixture and the overall ergonomics of a netbook may be better. Maybe you'll get better battery life using "tablet" technology (assuming your "regular" Linux distro doesn't bork the power management on your tablet).
To be fair - I agree that the Asus Transformer is about the only non-iPad tablet that interests me.
Re:Asus Transformer (Score:3, Interesting)
I went back to Android after a bit just because my OS choices were more for the "cause I could" factor.
Fair enough, but since you mention it, I'm curious as to what you found worked, and what doesn't. I assume that since you went back to Android, Open/LibreOffice isn't high on your scale of must-haves, but did it work at all under Arch on that box? And I presume it's too much to ask for the GIMP to work?
Re:Working on it (Score:5, Interesting)
I appreciate the fullness of the answer.
no problem.
What will it cost to do something with the dev module? At least through the network?
ok, one idea i'm advocating is to adapt arduino-like schematics to connect directly to the EOMA-PCMCIA-compliant interface. as such projects are usually a 2-layer board, very low-cost and the schematics are available under Open Source Licenses, it's a no-brainer. probably the best one to pick is the Leaflab's Maple: http://leaflabs.com/devices/maple/ [leaflabs.com] because in mass-volume the CPU is around $1 to $1.50 (the 48-pin version not the 100-pin version!)
as this CPU is so low-cost, but importantly also so highly functional, its use substitutes and strategically "normalises" Motherboard designs. the plans being discussed at the moment include using the STM32F to do Audio (because of the D/A and A/D converters), battery monitoring (A/D converters), LCD Backlight control (PWM), resistive touchpanels (A/D converters again), keyboard matrix (8+8 GPIO) - someone's already written a mouse driver so at least that doesn't need to be done :)
so yes: if you're interested, look up the cost of arduino-like devices. at least for prototyping purposes you could just get an off-the-shelf leafpad maple and connect it directly to the EOMA-PCMCIA-compliant CPU card even with a few bits of wire, in a pinch.
anway, here's a link to some example motherboards that have been designed: http://elinux.org/Embedded_Open_Modular_Architecture/PCMCIA#Example_Motherboards [elinux.org]
that includes a "micro" engineering board (that's nothing more complex than an adaptation of existing leafpad maple schematics) as well as something that's similar to the IMX53QSB, Beagleboard, Pandaboard and Origen etc.
Your price targets sound delightful. Might as well mark it up another $20 so you can fund the next version too. Or if the money could be spent on making it more rugged, that would be well-spent.
If the CPU is as fast as you say then there might be more interest in the dev module than you'd think.
yes, that's the plan :) would love to have some brainstorming ideas written by people on the possibilities, hmmm... let me just create a wiki page: http://rhombus-tech.net//community_ideas [rhombus-tech.net]
Re:Unity (Score:3, Interesting)
I realize I risk a modbombing of epic proportions by saying this, but you people have completely missed the point of a tablet. The world is moving away from the "tweak everything" mindset of 80s/90s PCs. Tablets are supposed to be the escape from that maintenance nightmare, and you people are trying your damnedest to turn it back into a spec-obsessed nerd playground.
Re:Asus Transformer (Score:3, Interesting)
Q: Any possibility of a System76 tablet?
Sys76: Despite all of the progress towards being a viable option for tablets, Ubuntu currently isn't ready for the primetime as a tablet OS. It has a lot of the fundamentals, but it's missing out on a few key points, like the lack of a software keyboard. There are solutions for software keyboards that do exist, but they are mostly designed for accessibility, rather than touchscreens.
ubuntuforums [ubuntuforums.org]