[worik]

Yes.

This is the problem with the tablet duopoly

I looked very hard a two years ago for a high end tablet that I could put my own OS on. All I could find was the one by Pine64, and it was not "high end"

I am typing this on an eight year old laptop I bought second hand at the start of COVID lock downs. Running Linux, it works pretty damn well.

Why can I not get a tablet like that?

[fweimer]

In my experience, the issue with tablets running GNU/Linux is not so much hardware driver support, but that the usual desktop just does not support touch input very well. For example, last time I tried, Debian does not build Firefox in such a way that you could use it with a touch screen for scrolling, opening links in new tabs, and so on. Similarly, evince did not properly support navigation in PDF documents. But libinput debugging showed that the software stack was producing touch data that looked quite detailed.

[worik]

It was for a project that would have been the only programme running, with ts own bespoke interface

Went with the iPad.

Yuk

[qup]

I got a surface tablet. The one that just runs normal windows.

I'm not a Windows user normally, but it's the best "tablet" OS by far IMO.

You can get WSL, and honestly I would be surprised if you can't install Linux on it, but I haven't actually checked.

[lloeki]

> high end tablet that I could put my own OS on

with that requirement I would concur, Surface (Intel) seems to be the best bet, although last time I checked (which was a couple of years ago) full support was spotty depending on generation.

Maybe someone else can chime in with feedback about getting Linux on there?

[pizza234]

I have been using Surface devices for a couple of years. I liked them a lot; in particular, I think that the Surface Book is (was) a unique machine, before being abandoned by M$ (it definitely needs/needed a reengineering).

Long time after release (Pro 3, Book 1), both devices became usable (BT, camera/mic, wifi; I've never used touch on Linux, and anyway, Linux's DEs are/were not really designed for touch), although sleep is a significant problem, due M$'s s0 idle. I've ultimately moved to a normal laptop plus Android tablet.

Without really good O/S support, I think that hybrids in general don't make much sense (I used to dual boot).

The advantages of a split configuration are considerable, both in terms of ergonomy and specs. For example, a recent Ipad Air, is lighter, and lasts much more than any Surface, while being large enough. In practice, the only time when I need a large tablet is when I read magazines, but even then, an A4 is "not great" on a 13.5", so even a Surface Book doesn't universally solve any reading need with its size (the 15" is too heavy).

An Ipad Pro is IMO the only acceptable hybrid/tablet (but I personally don't use Mac stuff for work) on the market, currently.

[the__alchemist]

You can install Linux on a Surface, but there is no good writing software for Linux, but touch and pen support is finicky/complicated.

[fsflover]

> Why can I not get a tablet like that?

You can: https://pine64.com/product-category/pinetab/

[ChuckNorris89]

Was very enthusiastic to check this out, but then

>Resolution: 1280×800 pixels

Yeah...I'm out.

Even cheapo Android tablets now have 2000x1200 displays. I bought an ARM Windows tablet for 200 Euro and that has a 2880x1920 display. My eyes are grateful when reading text, not going back to displays reporting in inches per pixel.

I'm really sad Intel pulled the plug on X86 Atom chips for tablets. It was super easy to boot any OS on them. Unlike ARM tablets.

[fsflover]

There are rumors that Purism are also making a user-respecting tablet.

[worik]

Interested.

Do not be a tease, what rumours?

[fsflover]

There is no specific info yet:

https://forums.puri.sm/t/h-k-s-purism-librem-16/20174/2

https://forums.puri.sm/t/librem-6-look-ahead-wishlist/18694/...

[worik]

For fun, I might.

But I need a high ed tablet. This one is deliberately not

No disrespect to Pine64, the design is not what I need