this post was submitted on 09 Apr 2024
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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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Some Microsoft surface models can run surface-linux pretty well
Surface Go 1 running Fedora for me. It runs perfectly even if booting from a USB to install Linux can be tricky and the Bluetooth is slow to puck up my mouse on startup.
It’s linked by usb-c to a monitor for when I’m home.
I've got a SP8 which I've been running PopOS on since the start of the year. The cameras don't work but this isn't a deal-breaker for me, it runs smoothly and is perfect for my needs as a media consumption device (music, movies, comics) with some browsing. There were some issues I had on installation but nothing that couldn't be resolved. Many thanks to the Linux surface team!
I threw Ubuntu LTS on an old Surface 3 and it worked without having to use the Surface-linux kernal.
My dads been using it for a year and Gnome works super well with the touchscreen.
Don’t know how these are now, but my buddy had a Surface Pro 4, and that thing made me regret buying what i had at the time. Ran like a dream, especially considering the form factor. Very unexpected
Have an SP4 now, running Nobara KDE, because I'm too lazy to install the surface Linux kernel on a different distro. It's pretty great. I bought a cheap one, and it has some issues unrelated to Linux. In fact it runs a lot better and the hardware issues are alleviated slightly after removing windows.
Long story short, would highly recommend buying a not borked Surface and slapping Linux on it.
Does Nobara have surface kernel built in?!?? This is news to me, might reinstall due to this.
Sure does pal! There's a non-surface version, but as far as I know it's the only distro that includes it stock. And on my SP4 it's been absolutely butter smooth.
Ublue has variants with the surface kernel by default. Really, just use their hacky stuff instead of getting all the errors on your device.
I am sure their gaming focused bazzite variant has a surface version. Ublue fedora is way more secure than Nobara. Fedora doesnt support Apparmor by default, so SELinux will be more secure. There are tons of things wrong with nobara, and the performance increase is really not important (TheLinuxExp tested it and its like 5%)
Fair enough, I hadn't known about Ublue. Give it a go tonight. That said, running Nobara, I've not had any unexpected errors. And it's not like I actually do anything that puts any of my info to exposure on my SP4. No email, banking, messaging, don't even log into my Firefox account. I basically use it for retro gaming, reading manga, and not a whole lot else tbh.
Having a device just for fun stuff... is interesting. The threat is not big but it is always possible. And in my honest opinion, after having broken every other distro model, rpm-ostree is just awesome.
Sorry, it sounds like you're poopooing having something purely for fun? I spent less on it than I would a night out with the wife, and it's got hardware issues that make it not a great candidate for a daily driver. So it's a toy. shrugs
That would be a sweet replacement for an iPad. Is there a distro that gives a more tablet experience?
Anything that offers gnome should be touch ready 😇 I’d go for openSuse TW with gnome
Nice, thank you!
https://fedoraproject.org/spins/phosh/
Fedoras kernel doesnt run well on surface and to my knowledge phosh is not well maintained
Last phosh release was 3 days ago and it should work with any distro on wayland
It is a smaller project, but good to hear its actively developed!
Bummer. This seemed like a good solution
Try ublue silverblue surface images
Here are all the images
Thanks! I don't currently have a Surface. But this is opening up an interesting alternative to getting another iPad once my current one dies
I was not even able to test onscreen keyboards on KDE as there seems to be no way to force it. didnt try on GNOME. It may be able to work as an ipad replacement, but not always.