Re: What's the best Handheld gnu/linux machine for 2017?
 

I am glad for one thing...
That I am not the only person to have felt ...some feelings concerning the affordability of almost exactly what we need ...sans telephony service...and even that is only a matter of little time...before the neo900 becomes almost totally irrelevant....
when an ubuntu pocket 7 inch laptop.goes for under $500
...and all the devel and production and sales surrounding everything from the c.h.i.p. to raspberry pi to pi phones to pi ...etc...for under $100 ...in some cases under $50....
with as much power as what the n900 has..or the neo will have...or more...
I wish I could say that I am demoralized or depressed....
But I am not.
The objective will be reached.
Just not by the neo...
that is obvious and plain now...
We will have linux driven phones...and pocket pcs ...
I feel no demoralization at all...
we can throw a nice maemo skin over it ...
tweak it the way it should be...
and we soldier on.
Neo is hardly the hope of the future for maemo...at one point it was...for a while.
But there were some factors there...

Three factors...

1- it is a hard struggle for start ups....most never make it...
Neo had the stat. odds against it from day one.
that helped slow it down...but not alone ...kill it's relevance...

2- There were ...naturally... unforeseen issues and situations which cropped up which helped stall and slow things down some more...
but that alone didn't kill it's relevance...

3- and 3rd and lastly and most importantly..what did not only help additionally stall , slow down ...but also significantly help kill it's relevance today...
was personality issues....
what started out as a team working on it...and progressing ...deteriorated ...to a couple of people ...one...possibly two who were with the project from the start...who now pump out white papers...on a project which frankly to be even remotely viable as a final product needed to be shipping 2 years ago...
given enough time...
the neo compared to a $50 convenience store disposable.. in specs. alone..will be the comparison of the "VIC 20" to "Deep Blue".

I am not demoralized or depressed at all...
the goal will be accomplished..
But not by the Neo...
It is not relevant any longer in the greater scheme of things...

I am simply becoming very angry...
at the egos and personal politics ...which ultimately cost the project.
the egos who have been paid...the few who still are with the project...who ARE being paid for their work...

Their work...which compared to other comparable start ups who managed to be inventive, creative, and still work together...to produce products which are flexible expandable and up-gradable...
For under $500...
In most cases under $100...
and for some...under $50...

The neo team blew it.

they have plenty of money...
More than most of the other start ups got..
and they blew it.
they blew their window of opportunity.
they blew it fantastically.

that is what makes me upset.

I am hardly demoralized or depressed.

We invested hefty money in the "Woody" , the "Edsel"...the freakin' exploding "Pinto"....of the smartphone world.

I will be waiting for my refund.
given enough patience...
and I DO believe I and many others have been patient...
EXCEEDINGLY patient and highly supportive in fact...
FOR YEARS.

my patience for my refund will run very thin...
then I will have no recourse but to demand it ...instead of wait....

Re: What's the best Handheld gnu/linux machine for 2017?
 

Our only hope is Chenliangchen.

Don't disappoint this depressed man, Chen.

Re: What's the best Handheld gnu/linux machine for 2017?
 

Still hoping this gets airborne,
but:

the official GPD store
https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pro...System-CPU-x7/
does not indicate Ubuntu yet,
and nothing out there infers it is in the pipeline yet.

It may still be too early,
the promise as I read it had no firm date.

Re: What's the best Handheld gnu/linux machine for 2017?
 

Any reason to think the hardware is really different between the W10 version and the Ubuntu version? I would guess you could just install any Linux distribution on the WIndows one, but then I have not been following the GPD and maybe they actually are different hardware?

Re: What's the best Handheld gnu/linux machine for 2017?
 

frankly chaps, if you want a modern device competently made that includes a keyboard and linux then you might be best off pinning your hopes and interest to the gemini PDA.

yes, it requires compromise on the stringent list of demands you have, but it is precisely that inability to compromise that has left you fruitlessly pining for a warmed over 600MHz Cortex A8 device with a flimsy jerry-rigged keyboard beneath its 3.5" svga screen.

the n900 was great, i get it, mine still sits in the draw beside me. but the world moved on.

Re: What's the best Handheld gnu/linux machine for 2017?
 

I don't think that is necessarily a bad thing - even without optimizing the Pyra currently doesn't heat up that much. It will be there mainly for future CPU's that might need more cooling. The Pyra should work fine without and it is currently not even sure it will be added.
That said, if it helps keeping the OMAP5432 cooler during operation I am all for it.

The fan suggested in the thread is very small and inaudible. I do want to see how easy it will be to replace it but if it is just a matter of unscrewing a few screws and plug in a new one I don't see a problem at all.

https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/thr...l-white.80935/

Re: What's the best Handheld gnu/linux machine for 2017?
 

Yeah. I really hope Chen can do the impossible. And if he can't. I hope at least he tries. I'm ready to lose some money :)

A one piece slider qwerty would be just south of the the border of amaizing.

But I doubt anything will be the best handheld of 2017 :(

Re: What's the best Handheld gnu/linux machine for 2017?
 

Yet another exquisite beauty.

That reads so attractively that I had to chase this for links:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/g...device-phone#/
= looks they are fully funded !

http://planetcom.co.uk/

but then I began reading the fine print:

The bottom line:
Linux hacked onto ARM device originally designed for crapware.

(Almost the same plotline as
Linux hacked onto *Trail device originally designed for crapware.)

Been there,
done that,
Nexus 7 and several other Android junkmobiles.

No chance in He11 everything will work:

Options - pick 2 that will actually work (reliably) on linux
after being abandoned inside the ARM buggery bag :

• Wifi
• 3G
• touchscreen
• GPS

And don't even bother fantasizing about
Bluetooth, camera, or accelerometers and their ilk.

PostScript:
Credibly incredible?
Their development discussion is utter non-existium.
At the least if you want to see what is going on with
Pyra or GPD you can go visit their community discussions.

Planet has top-secret need-to-know
thank-you-for-funding-my-lovenest
written all over the glossy fine graphic advertisements
in the context of being not-a-single-word silent about development
since the story about...

...their success in advertising 2017 April 20 .

"Caveat Emptor"
whispered inside the silent gloom of a deserted warehouse.

(Not sure if they hired someone from Turing
to help them find their way through the rough patches)

I remembered reading about this before and filing for rainy days.
Going back I found wicket's excellently concise post.

Re: What's the best Handheld gnu/linux machine for 2017?
 

My worry about the addition of the fan is not that the fan per se is bad. I worry that this means the case may need a re-spin or two, and the project could be delayed by many months. I had hoped I'd have a Pyra in my hand by the end of 2017. Now I'm afraid I won't.

Re: What's the best Handheld gnu/linux machine for 2017?
 

I agree. These "Linux support later" projects never (to my knowledge) turn out well.