19 Mar
2014
19 Mar
'14
3:59 a.m.
On Tue, 18 Mar 2014, Alexandre wrote:
technically I have not installed it; I'm booting off a live usb. I
will probably install though for better testing.
On Tue, 18 Mar 2014, Thierry de Coulon wrote:
Hi,
I'm glad you've been able to install a complete Linux on your
Chromebook. It means that Linux support for it has improved in the
last few months! On Monday 17 March 2014 18.30:07 Felmon Davis
wrote:
I seem to be on a binge since I just got a Thinkpad x131e too! it's ok
and is meant to replace my trusty netbook but there are some things I
dislike about it and I find it hard to abandon this netbook.
the trick will be, I think, getting the touchpad
to work. I abhor
touchpads but still want it to work. also there are only two usb
ports.
I hate touchpads too, which is why almost all my laptops are/where Thinkpads.
I've taken a look at the c720 (they say 1.25 kg) and Lenovo's x131e (1.8 kg!)
and I must say I'm more and more surprized at
the Chromebook trend.
They are cheap ok. However, I just purchased a second hand Thinkad X200 for
less than $250, it weights 1.4 kg and runs Debain perfectly (with TDE of
course) on a 64 GB SSD. The X201 is just a little more expensive for
Touchpad friends.
of course the Chromebook is cheaper new than the second-hand Thinkpad
you cite but not so much if one buys a nice big ssd card.
I understand it is fun to see if these netbooks
can run with Linux, but I
doubt it is really usefull.
oh, I have no doubt it is really useful depending on your purposes. in
fact, the more I look at it, it would be more likely to replace my
netbook (my steady helpmate) than the fancy new Thinkpad! (I wanted
the Thinkpad for the power, however.)
'would' be more likely because there are some drawbacks so I'm
undecided if I'll even keep it.
it doesn't have a proper BIOS, a fact I very much dislike; a lot of
'open software' research went into this but Google is playing
lock-down; even opening it voids the warranty - basically no
'user-serviceable parts'. the keyboard is weird, lacks function keys.
no ethernet but a usb ethernet dongle works fine but only two usb
ports, which is also a problem for me since I like to use a
usb-connected trackball.
less than a week to go then keep or return. but if I keep it, it will
be more than a 'toy'.
F. I have 2 netbooks: The original first-generation Asus
EEE 2G surf
and the one I bought last summer: Asus EEE X101CH.
I'm using a Samsung N150 Plus. I also have an Acer Aspire One but I
used it only occasionally and have given it to my partner.
At the time I looked to replace my underpowered
first-gen EEE, I saw
for sale an used Acer Chromebook, but I wasn't too interested by it
because of the fact that while its a x86 machine, it is not IBM PC
compatible (BIOS and friends). Sadly, I also need Windows for
industrial Windows-only software, so this Chromebook was not
interesting.
I bought the Acer netbook (standard netbook) at Wal-Mart and I
returned it 2 days later because I didn't liked the overall quality
of the product, being used to Asus and big bros like IBM. Right
after, I bought my new Asus EEE X101CH. It has a few issue with
Linux, such as supporting only 2d graphics, and the Wifi is not as
rock-solid (more than wired connection) as it was on my old EEE, but
it is very powerful, at least for my needs.
I'm miffed that you cannot replace the wifi card in the Thinkpad X131e
without a lot of messing around; they've built some stupid limitation
in the BIOS, 'whitelisting' only some Broadcom and some Intel cards.
It also needed to run bleeding-edge distros like
Ubuntu, because it
didn't booted at all on PCLinuxOS, which as an older 3.2-series
kernel. Overall, it is a great machine and I like its 3.5hrs+
battery life.
well, you can always install a kernel you desire.
It is sad that netbooks aren't made anymore (now a
rare exception),
because they were good small machines, at an affordable price and in
a very useful size.
indeed!!!
I liked the 10 inch form-factor. I refuse to buy anything wider than
11 inches.
F.
--
Felmon Davis
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.