
OpenBSD on the Microsoft Surface Go - dchest
https://jcs.org/2018/08/31/surface_go
======
jamesdutc
Here's my review of (Arch) Linux on the Surface Go:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/SurfaceLinux/comments/94hjxv/surfac...](https://www.reddit.com/r/SurfaceLinux/comments/94hjxv/surface_go_first_impressions/)

The results are similar. Support is slightly better on Linux (e.g., Bluetooth
& IIO sensors work.) Linux support is better than on any of my other Surface
devices (Surface Pro 2017, Surface Pro 3, or Surface 3 non-Pro.)

In short: almost everything works out of the box. (The major exception is the
front- & rear-facing cameras.)

I have been using this device daily since release day. It's one of my
favourite devices.

~~~
craftyguy
I'd rather purchase hardware from a vendor that is not passively aggressive*
towards Linux (or in the case of the article, OpenBSD) support.

*what I mean by this is, they don't pick shitty hardware from vendors to put into their system that has no kernel support. Better yet, there are OEMs who actively support Linux (Dell, Purism, etc), for example, on their systems. Support those folks, not folks like Microsoft.

~~~
supernovae
The Go is an Intel-based chipset and they finally dropped the buggy as hell
marvel chipset for wifi... What "shitty" hardware are you speaking of?

I love my SP4, may replace it with a Surace Go gen2 if they keep the
formfacter/weight down like that.

~~~
craftyguy
Judging by the review there on reddit, cameras don't work, and the ath10k wifi
chip doesn't work without screwing around with the firmware it requires to
operate.

~~~
supernovae
So write some drivers :)

BTW, The Qualcomm wifi chipset is a BLESSING and considering the Surface Go is
< 1 month old i'm sure its only a matter of time before open source drivers
improve for it.

~~~
craftyguy
> So write some drivers :)

Uh, I (and you, and everyone except Qualcomm) cannot do that. ath10k drivers
are inherently broken without a proprietary firmware because "blah blah
802.11ac blah blah" _waves hands around_

The atheros chip in that microsoft thing has been around for quite a while.

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robotbikes
This seems similar in spec to some research I did into tablets that could run
Linux. I found someone installed Linux on a Onda V80 plus (a dual booting
Android/Windows 10) tablet [https://medium.com/@tomac/installing-ubuntu-mint-
linux-on-on...](https://medium.com/@tomac/installing-ubuntu-mint-linux-on-
onda-820w-tablet-727747a376b) and that led me to looking at all of the cheap
Chinese windows 10 tablets running the Intel cherry tree processor. It would
be a crapshoot whether they worked out of the box I what chipsets they used
but a lot of these type of laptops can be found for 100-200$ on AliExpress.
It's a shame that Linux driver's aren't automatic but such is life.

I'm pretty committed to System76 at this point because I don't feel like
wasting time trying to solve a bunch of driver BS and unsupported chips. I
have wasted untold hours doing this in the past. But perhaps some masochist
impulse will lead me down the route of trying to save a few hundred bucks and
I'll buy a cheap Chinese tablet.

On the other hand maybe unofficial Linux support for the surface go will be as
good as Linux support for Macs has been in the past and it'll be a viable
hardware choice.

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crudbug
with all the engineering hours spend in porting, can we have a consistent
driver interface.

May be Linux devs can take lead and define the specs for the hardware people.

