
OpenBSD on the Microsoft Surface Go 2 - rodrigo975
https://jcs.org/2020/05/15/surface_go2
======
canada_dry
Also, here's a blog [i] that installs _Debian_ w/ a customized kernel onto a
Surface Go.

[i] [https://willem.com/blog/2020-03-09_making-my-own-tablet-
os/#...](https://willem.com/blog/2020-03-09_making-my-own-tablet-os/#continue)

~~~
zozbot234
Looks like the patched kernel is only needed to fix a minor bug in the kernel
version OP ended up with. I assume that these issues will eventually be fixed
directly in the mainline branch.

Also, not sure why OP didn't boot from the "unofficial" USB image with
included firmware, that would probably support WiFi directly and not need a
separate wired connection.

------
Icyphox
6.7 is just around the corner (19th May!) and I can't wait.

------
als0
Love this guy's writeups and his blog in general. I'm interested to know
whether he uses the Surface Go as a daily driver.

~~~
sydney6
Then perhaps, you‘ll love his (formerly) podcast even more.

[https://garbage.jcs.org/](https://garbage.jcs.org/)

~~~
h4waii
I really wish they would bring this back, was one of the best podcasts I've
listened to.

------
numpad0
> The Surface Pen ... the top eraser button which requires Bluetooth for some
> reason.

It lets you launch OneNote from sleep out of pen input ranges, that’s the
reason.

~~~
petee
Handy feature. I think their implication was that you can't use it as an
eraser either, which is a bummer since no Bluetooth support

~~~
josteink
Indeed

> OpenBSD does not support Bluetooth

Anyone have the story behind that? An explicit desire not to support it or
lack of manpower?

~~~
hellcow
No one stepped up to write and maintain it.

[https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-
misc&m=156519841415403&w=2](https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-
misc&m=156519841415403&w=2)

------
masnao
every six months I try to install linux on my surface sans-number (between 5
and 6 I guess), find bogus linux kernel, try it out, regret imensely. go back
to crapy-but-still-better-than-osx windows 10. then six+ months passes, I
somehow forget about all this and repeat.

surface tablets would be a killer machine if I could dual boot linux on it for
serious work.

~~~
halotrope
Installing this kernel makes it work amazing:
[https://github.com/jakeday/linux-surface](https://github.com/jakeday/linux-
surface)

~~~
notpiika
I'd recommend the actively maintained [https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-
surface](https://github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface) instead, which has
support for newer Surface devices as well.

~~~
masnao
see this is what i mean.

every kernel has pros and cons. all of them are wonderful until you hit a con.

------
eternalban
Unsatisfied new user/owner of iPad Pro + keyboard + pen, generally happy OS X
user here. Touch screen was the hook (as I dabble in visual arts) but for me
this has proven to be a very expensive mistake.

What are the issues/peeves with Surface Go? Is this space (touch screen large
form factor mobile computing devices) generally underwhelming or is this
simply Apple doing UX RnD on my dime?

~~~
redacted
If you're looking for a general-purpose tablet computer I think the Surface
lineup is nearly unparalleled, with some important caveats.

You get a very well built machine with the best aspect ratio (3:2), Win10
tablet mode is decent _and_ you can drop back to full Windows whenever you
want. This is a double edged sword - if you get a good tablet interface for a
program it's wonderful, but sometimes you're reduced to pecking at the screen
for mouse targets in legacy Win32 apps (the pen or cover with trackpad is
helpful here).

For me, the ability to run any software I want is worth the rough edges and
inconsistency compared to an iPad. I have WSL for local dev with full Linux
utilities, real Photoshop, alternate browsers, Steam games, etc. I can install
whatever nifty little Windows utilities or tweaks I want, customize the
machine exactly as I like it, and I feel like I have lot more ownership over
the machine as a result. That flexibility definitely comes with a cost
compared to the out-of-the-box experience with an iPad.

As for the Go itself, its a really cute little computer but somewhat
underpowered compared to a Surface Pro or Surface Book. I know a couple of
people using them as their main computers and the feedback is pretty positive,
FWIW.

~~~
eternalban
Yes, that's what I was looking for. Thank you.

------
GordonS
Impressive, given I couldn't even get FreeBSD to boot at all in Hyper-V on
Windows 10. I know the article is about OpenBSD, but still.

~~~
agapon
What was the problem?

We ran a large fleet on Hyper-V / Azure.

~~~
GordonS
It was a couple of months ago, so I don't recall exactly, but I _think_ I
couldn't get it to recognise the hard disk.

Are you using any particular boot settings, and are you using IDE or SCSI
(virtual) disks?

~~~
agapon
I think that we use blkvsc and storvsc disks. I think that the former are used
for boot.

------
MuffinFlavored
> OpenBSD does not support Bluetooth

hmm...

~~~
COVIDisntCORONA
Anymore.

[https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-
cvs&m=140511572108715&w=2](https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-
cvs&m=140511572108715&w=2)

