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Finally coming around to using Linux. How's it on a tablet? (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by Abdoanmes@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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I'm 43 and not really starting using Linux. I've dabbled with distros on and off over the years, but I never made the full switch because work always had some program or policy that just wouldn't play nice with Linux. With all the crappy Microsoft decisions, bloatware, and ads I decided to try and use Linux exclusively on a personal device, and I'm absolutely loving it!

I've been working with Ubuntu as my main distro, and I've also been playing around with distros on a Raspberry Pi. To really challenge myself, I installed Linux on an old Surface Pro 3, and guess what? It just works! I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth the setup was and how well it performs.

I missing any key steps or tips to make the experience even better on a Surface? Any insights would be greatly appreciated. I was planning to buy a new tablet that runs Linux but this is working better than expected. I'm really enjoying the flexibility and control Linux offers and want to keep this momentum going.

I have read up and tried plenty, just looking for some perspectives out there specific to your tablet experiences.

EDIT Thank you for all the suggestions and insights! I'm going to continue using the Ubuntu build for the next few months. Still lots more to learn, but I'm excited to see how this goes. I have everything setup I need to function as a Linux only tablet experience. no more dependency on Windoze.

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[-] Ranger@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I've been using Linux mint on a tablet & it's been good so far. Ironically the windows tablets are particular easy to put Linux on.

[-] Rooskie91@discuss.online 4 points 1 day ago

I had great success installing fedora on a Microsoft surface. It ran better on Linux than it did with windows lol.

[-] zelifcam@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Is there a DE with an onscreen keyboard that can be used in the terminal?

The onscreen keyboard used with Plasma (steam deck as well) is missing CTRL and other keys needed when navigating a terminal. It also fails to pop up on electron apps.

[-] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Gnome is the go to for accessibility but it has a phone-like keyboard

This extension

https://extensions.gnome.org/extension/6595/enhanced-osk/

Gives the full pc keyboard

[-] Salix@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 day ago

Unfortunately, it doesn't work on GNOME 46 yet. But looks like the porting is almost done!

https://github.com/cass00/enhanced-osk-gnome-ext/pull/15

[-] zelifcam@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Thanks, I’ll give it a look.

[-] SinJab0n@mujico.org 2 points 1 day ago

I think it was called OnBoard, basiclly a 1:1 keyboard clone on ur screen.

[-] anon5621@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

Phosh

[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Sounds like it's a bust to use terminal on a tablet. Damn.

[-] lemmyvore@feddit.nl 1 points 1 day ago

You can get a small Bluetooth keyboard. They make them really tiny, for this exact use case (smartphones and tablets).

Since this is a Surface you can probably find one that's been specifically designed to integrate with it (act as a cover).

[-] Michal@programming.dev 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

I use ThinkPad X1 yoga with Fedora 40 (Gnome)

  1. Enable fractional scaling and install Display scale switcher gnome extension - makes it easier to increase scaling when in tablet mode for easier touch input.
  2. logging in on a touchscreen can be a pain, in particular entering the password with on-screen keyboard. Special characters and numbers are not shown by default. On windows you have the option to use pin instead with a numeric keyboard. If you have a fingerprint reader compatible with linux that might work for login (mine doesn't).
  3. Linux is very terminal-oriented, but Gnome terminal is unusable on a tochscreen. never mind typing commands - try scrolling long outputs - you can't scroll with touchscreen, it will just start selecting text (i dont remember how this works in Windows)
  4. Google chrome supports gestures, so you can swipe left/right on the page to navigate back/forward. This does not with Firefox. Chrome also has a more touchscreen-friendly UI you can enable in chrome://flags/#top-chrome-touch-ui (Touch UI layout) although I haven't noticed a significant difference.
  • while you're messing with google flags you may want to change Preferred Ozone platform to Wayland - this fixed blurry scaling for me
[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I was looking at Lenovo and this is good input. It sounds like everyone is not a fan of the tablet keyboard and the terminal is straight bollocks no matter the distro. I keep hearing Fedora and Wayland. I'm going to have to learn about them a bit more.

[-] Michal@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago

If you're planning to get the 3rd gen x1 yoga, don't. I had to disable thunderbolt ports in BIOS to get it to sleep correctly. Otherwise touch screen would not work after wake. And stylus doesn't work correctly with Wayland. It stops working after few seconds of use.

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 39 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Gnome works quite well on a larger touch-screen. Edit: ah, Ubuntu should have that by default.

[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

It worked immediately without much fuss. That's why I was scratching my head. Was it always this easy!? I'm enjoying the experience so far

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 19 points 3 days ago

Installing Linux on most hardware became really easy maybe 5 years ago.

[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago

What changed to make it happen? I am so done with other OS and Linux does everything I need. I really need to learn more about what's happening and how to better use it so I can further customize and configure.

[-] Pacmanlives@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Lot of just general progress, Linux was so fringe when I started in 2002 compared to now. Most enterprise customers are using Linux the past 15 years and hardware venders are now seeing more and more Linux adoption. We can kind of thank Chrome a bit for that but also more people generally having an interest and using it and developing drivers for their hardware

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 16 points 2 days ago

Nothing specifically, just nice improvements cumulating over the years.

[-] Michal@programming.dev 4 points 2 days ago

One annoying thing though is you can't scroll terminal on a touchscreen, it'll just start selecting text. Maybe there's a non default terminal with touch support.

[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago

It sure did. That's why I was surprised. Thank you!

[-] apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world 32 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

You might want to look at Surface Kernel for Linux. The link below shows their matrix of features on various Surface products and support within the Surface for Linux kernel. You would install Ubuntu and then install these updates to make Surface hardware function better. They have a lot of bespoke hardware in their laptops and tablets that aren't supported by the Ubuntu Linux Kernel out of the gate. https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface/wiki/Supported-Devices-and-Features#feature-matrix

[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

Ok this is getting to the question I had. I found a few YouTube videos that went into detail about updating the kernel. I was wondering what's the purpose when it was working as well as it has. I'm going to try to do this and follow the guides. Initially I had to overcome a BitLocker issue and a bug where I couldn't overwrite the partition. Once I finally got Ubuntu running I was ready to dive into making it touch compatible, but it was already there. I suspect this makes it even better

[-] apfelwoiSchoppen@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

If it works well for you, don't worry about it. The matrix will show what kind of support improvements you might expect over the standard kernel.

[-] rainerloeten@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

I only know that I was pleasantly surprised how well GNOME ran on a surface device of a friend.

[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Yeah, me too. It just works!

[-] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago

Whoa, I don't know why I've never considered Linux on a tablet. I have a couple that are gathering dust in a closet, and if this is doable, it sounds like a fun project!

[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 17 points 3 days ago

On this Surface Pro, touch, rotation, and even the pen is working! I didn't expect it to just work and it is.

[-] i_am_hiding@aussie.zone 4 points 2 days ago

I've been daily driving a Lenovo X230 tablet for the last four years. I use Xournal++ to take notes with the pen in classes and at work. Works great!

[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

Xournal++ is amazing! It's really the reason a Linux tablet will work for me. I also appreciate using GB Studio and Aseprite with the pen. Makes retro game developing a lot more fun!

[-] The_Picard_Maneuver@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago

The pen?! Damn, that's impressive.

The one I might use is a an old Galaxy Note. I wonder if I'll have similar luck.

[-] just_another_person@lemmy.world 9 points 2 days ago

There's a big difference between an Android tablet and a PC tablet...

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[-] mariah@feddit.rocks 4 points 2 days ago

I have the starlite. I ran gnome on linux mint. It was ok until i tried to change the display manager from lightdm to gdm. The touchscreen stopped working. Im gonna install debian when i get my usb hub

[-] mariah@feddit.rocks 3 points 1 day ago

Update! I installed debian and fedora and its still broken. So i suggest not buying the starlite

[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Dang it. Thanks for the update!

[-] lung@lemmy.world 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I don't think tablets are fully supported but I see gnome devs continuing to make steady progress there. Stoked for a future where (real) open source catches up to phones and tablets, we are close...

[-] Abdoanmes@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago

Ok, that makes sense. I suppose a Surface Pro is still kinda a computer with a touchscreen. Overall I was impressed with how smooth the experience was and look forward to it developing.

[-] sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.today 4 points 2 days ago

You can try Fedora on a Surface with the Ublue variants such as Aurora and Bluefin, there are ISOs specifically for the Surface. Fedora atomic variants work very well. I found Fedora Kinoite works great with a touchscreen laptop.

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[-] luciddaemon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 2 days ago

I've been messing with linux on my xps tablet. It mostly works well, I just hate the onscreen keyboards right now. Maliit lacks documentation and modifier buttons, squeekboard doesn't scale to larger screens unless you manually build a dev branch, and wvkbd doesn't hide/respond to input boxes.

As for UI, I love plasma mobile personally. For other touch friendly UIs theres: gnome mobile, phosh, and hyprland + gesture plugin.

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this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2024
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