The StarLite 5 Linux tablet might have just killed the iPad for me

[rampancy]

Only if the hardware is supported out of the box. I’ve used Mint myself and getting the wifi and touchpad working on my laptop was a major PITA.

Support isn’t as easy on Windows. If you encounter an issue on Linux, chances are you’d need to do more extensive reading versus a quick solution on page 1 of Google search.

LibreOffice works okay as long as you don’t need to send/receive documents to other people on Windows. Sure, LibreOffice allows export to Microsoft Office file types but compatibility and formatting can be wonky at times.

I think for beginner users, a Chromebook is the easier option instead of a full desktop Linux distro.

I love using Linux, especially on my old A1181 MacBooks, but setting up and installing drivers to get around hardware issues like trackpad cursor acceleration and webcam support is not trivial. It's still certainly not something I'd expect non-techies (who are just looking for computers to get their kids online, or an affordable way to access online learning or job training courses) to want to do.

And as for the StarLite Linux 5, the main thing I'd need to see are actual reviews from people using the hardware and comparing it to the iPad. When people start talking about how a certain open source-based hardware project is an "Apple killer" my mind goes back to how phones like the OpenMoko were supposed to all be "iPhone killers". But if it really is a viable and accessible alternative to the iPad, that'd be really exciting to see.

 

[jmonster]

If we get to count Android as Linux, we should also get to count iPads towards Apple’s computer market share

One is software and one is hardware, but you're welcome to call them whatever you like.

Android is 100% Linux. Google wrote a phone/tablet GUI ... that runs on Linux.

There are many guis for Linux. Whether you add that additional piece of software is absolutely irrelevant to whether or not you're running the Linux kernel.

Android is the most popular linux distro available.

(Aside, they started moving away with their Magenta rewrite for Home hardware, but I'm pretty sure that project was cancelled)

--

As for Apple, I agree, the Mac and the iOS platforms run the same Mach/Darwin kernel. If you think it's fair to ignore the serious limitations Apple provides on the iPad and equate then then you might as well add iPhones and ... wait who cares about any of this??? Lol

 

[segfaultdotorg]

I'm still waiting on a worthy replacement for my iPad mini 2. I want something like the Smart Cover and don't want a protruding camera on the backside so it has a thin profile. The 8th gen iPad I have is okay on thinness, but I like the form factor of the mini. I really don't care what OS it runs at this point, so long as it's stock and not a manufacturer specific, spyware infested version of the stock OS.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

Interdsting. I was just looking at getting a Windows Surface 7, because you can dual boot Windoze and Mac OS on it. After the 7 they bump up to Intels 11th Gen chipset, beyond what Apple supports. Having used Windows et Mac on Wacoms for over a decade, I much prefer the on-screen tablet form over a laptop, but the only thing missing from the Wacom experience is the portability. I find the iPad useful, but only as a mobile device, and foolishly waited since the promise of Woz's Modbook for a full featured tablet from Apple. If only MS had made the 7+ with 10th gen chips, it is vastly superior hardware. But everything I want from Apple ends up being an *almost*.

 

[leman]

I would be surprised if desktop Linux experience scales well to tablet and touchscreen use. Adaptive UX is not necessary Linux forte.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

Android is the most popular linux distro available.

Calling Android a Linux distro is debatable.

 

[ProfessionalFan]

You are so very very very terribly misinformed.

Android is Linux.

There's a subreddit for this called confidently incorrect.

Android is based on Linux, that's the proper way of stating it.

 

[3166792]

I would be surprised if desktop Linux experience scales well to tablet and touchscreen use. Adaptive UX is not necessary Linux forte.

Check out Phosh

Phosh - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There's been a lot of great work done in the last few years to make Linux more touch friendly. Seems to be really coming along nicely as of late.

 

[leman]

Check out Phosh

Phosh - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

There's been a lot of great work done in the last few years to make Linux more touch friendly. Seems to be really coming along nicely as of late.

That's the desktop itself, but I am thinking about applications. I can certainly imagine that some UX frameworks have put effort in supporting adaptive interfaces (and specifically touch) — GTK in particular appears to have done some good work here, but what if your application does not use GTK? Or what if it does use GTK, but does not use adaptive features?

 

[3166792]

That's the desktop itself, but I am thinking about applications. I can certainly imagine that some UX frameworks have put effort in supporting adaptive interfaces (and specifically touch) — GTK in particular appears to have done some good work here, but what if your application does not use GTK? Or what if it does use GTK, but does not use adaptive features?

GTK4 with Libadwaita is probably the most "complete" framework for convergent apps now. I think a large amount of apps already support it and GTK includes touch-friendly elements as part of the HIG but I'm a bit out of the loop lately.

 

[bousozoku]

If whoever trying out that linux tablet wants to play any popular mobile games on the go, either the battery life would tank if android emulator allows the program to run, or the game doesn’t work at all.
Linux’s own software library is not really top of the class Either, particularly in commercial software department (professional media production, adobe, microsoft office, a large portion of engineering software and so on).
Currently there are just too many hurdles to consider linux tablet as an alternative to iPad or even Windows tablet. Maybe with time the situation will change?

If SteamOS can be used on Linux-based tablets, they'd have plenty of games available. It's likely there are additions to SteamOS, if it doesn't support tablets natively but running smoothly would be necessary. Obviously, Steam Deck is a fine example of what can be done with Linux distros.

 

[rui no onna]

If SteamOS can be used on Linux-based tablets, they'd have plenty of games available. It's likely there are additions to SteamOS, if it doesn't support tablets natively but running smoothly would be necessary. Obviously, Steam Deck is a fine example of what can be done with Linux distros.

SteamOS via HoloISO is one option. I'm just not sure what support is like for graphics drivers with that since the Steam Deck uses AMD Radeon (RDNA2). The Steam Deck's display is touchscreen so it should have touchscreen support.

ChimeraOS is another option and I think that one works on more hardware.

Mobile games might be a no-go but there are a lot of Windows PC games that are compatible using Proton that are playable. Granted, the Intel N200 with Intel UHD graphics means you won't be playing any AAA titles. You'll probably need to connect a controller or keyboard/mouse to play though.

 

[xantufrog]

If SteamOS can be used on Linux-based tablets, they'd have plenty of games available. It's likely there are additions to SteamOS, if it doesn't support tablets natively but running smoothly would be necessary. Obviously, Steam Deck is a fine example of what can be done with Linux distros.

As a steamdeck owner I can say they’ve hit it out of the park, and it’s amazing how gaming on Linux has become so good so quickly after years of pain

 

[bousozoku]

As a steamdeck owner I can say they’ve hit it out of the park, and it’s amazing how gaming on Linux has become so good so quickly after years of pain

I tried Ubuntu back around 2005, when it was supposedly so good. Unreal Tournament 2004 worked but surged and ebbed. On Steam Deck, it seems that anything is possible.

I have quite a few games installed on my Steam Deck and they never seem emulated--they just work. Huge games take more out of the system than light games, but when isn't that expected?

 

[eicca]

Just chiming in to say I have a StarLite IV and it has been endless disappointment. Delivery was delayed by about 5 months and it was impossible to get meaningful updates on when it would be delivered. Build quality is poor, like it feels cheap, the touchpad is crap, etc. On top of that, a few weeks after getting it the hinge on the display went floppy, so you can open it and it stays open, but it wobbles loosely about an inch up and down. A little while later it stopped detecting the battery and now only works while plugged in.

In terms of compatibility it’s reasonable, although for about 6 months there was no working driver for the sd card reader. No other software issues though (I was using Debian, which I assume mint is still based on) other than the obvious limitations of what’s available on Linux generally.

I guess what I’d say about mine, and probably this new tablet version, is that it looks interesting on paper, but the build quality will be very disappointing and you might have some driver issues. It will look and feel very cheap in the flesh when compared to an iPad or MacBook (which is fair, because it is cheap). It won’t be what you imagine based on reading about it.

Appreciate the feedback!

By way of contrast, I have a mega-Linux expert friend who says nothing but good about StarLabs.

Ultimately, reviews will be the deciding factor.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

I'd be interested in this if it wasn't for the fact it's preloaded with Ubuntu. Eww.

The problem is I don't know any distros that are optimized for touch. Even SteamOS isn't which is why the Steam Deck has the thumb trackpads for mouse control

 

[eicca]

For those of you who insist I do nothing but criticize the iPad, here’s one feature that will be very hard to give up:

Sidecar.

Having an on-demand extra monitor for my work laptop is freaking awesome.

 

[HouseLannister]

Interdsting. I was just looking at getting a Windows Surface 7, because you can dual boot Windoze and Mac OS on it. After the 7 they bump up to Intels 11th Gen chipset, beyond what Apple supports. Having used Windows et Mac on Wacoms for over a decade, I much prefer the on-screen tablet form over a laptop, but the only thing missing from the Wacom experience is the portability. I find the iPad useful, but only as a mobile device, and foolishly waited since the promise of Woz's Modbook for a full featured tablet from Apple. If only MS had made the 7+ with 10th gen chips, it is vastly superior hardware. But everything I want from Apple ends up being an *almost*.

So many mitigation fixes on everything from 11th gen Intel on down that I don't know how well they perform anymore.
However, there's a Microsoft Surface announcement planned for Sept 21, so maybe they will announce something new you'll like. Hoping for one of the low power AMD Phoenix chips in a Surface Studio laptop, but we shall see.

 

[3166792]

I'd be interested in this if it wasn't for the fact it's preloaded with Ubuntu. Eww.

Star Labs usually gives the option to preinstall from a selection of distros or you can choose none at all.

They offer Ubuntu LTS, elementaryOS, Mint, Manjaro, MX or Zorin.

Edit:

 

[bousozoku]

I'd be interested in this if it wasn't for the fact it's preloaded with Ubuntu. Eww.

The problem is I don't know any distros that are optimized for touch. Even SteamOS isn't which is why the Steam Deck has the thumb trackpads for mouse control

Touch control works just fine on Steam Deck without the pads.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Star Labs usually gives the option to preinstall from a selection of distros or you can choose none at all.

They offer Ubuntu LTS, elementaryOS, Mint, Manjaro, MX or Zorin.

Edit:

View attachment 2250209

That's great, but it goes back to the other problem: These distros aren't optimized for touch, they're designed for a mouse. Desktop OSs are not great on touch screens which is why Apple doesn't put a touch screen on the Mac.

I honestly see the Star Lite more like the Linux version of the Microsoft Surface tablets, where they're used moreso as super small and thin laptops more than tablets.

 

[3166792]

That's great, but it goes back to the other problem: These distros aren't optimized for touch, they're designed for a mouse. I honestly see the Star Lite more like the Linux version of the Microsoft Surface tablets, where they're used moreso as super small and thin laptops more than tablets.

If it were me I think I would opt for Fedora + GNOME but I guess there's always JingOS

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

If it were me I think I would opt for Fedora + GNOME but I guess there's always JingOS

JingOS is really cute, though I dunno if I would trust it since it is a distro from China.

So Fedora it is. Good thing we have Nobara as a more user friendly Fedora option

 

[HawkTheHusky1902]

Have you tried Mint, Cinnamon edition? I was tinkering with it this week on my old MacBook and it was superb. Very easy to find all the settings, customize it for my taste, and logically laid out. Reminded me of when I tried Mac for the first time. I could figure out how to get things done just by using it.

Granted, when it comes to power user type stuff, I have no idea. Most I've ever done is chmod a folder. But Mint Cinnamon is great cuz I don't have to touch that in day-to-day use.

This. Most people think Linux is way too complicated, its not, doesmt have to be. I tried 4 versioms of Mint, and it was great. Much more clean and sleek than macOs in my opinion.

 

[bondr006]

Consumer Linux has such a small market share that developers barely pay attention to it. Linux is more of a hobby thing in the consumer market. I asked all my friends, family, and colleagues...118 people all together in my personal sphere, and not one of them have even tried Linux. It is difficult, limited, and has mostly alternatives for mainstream apps/programs. Have tried many different distros through the years and I have not seen anything that remotely would make me want to switch over. I will gladly stick with Mac OS, Windows, and iPad OS. If I can't accomplish what I need to with those 3 OS's, I darn sure won't be able to accomplish what I need to with Linux, and I definitely don't need another useless hobby to waste my time on.