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Thinking about buying a Surface Pro 4/5 (lemmy.ml)
submitted 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) by to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Just putting out feelers, anyone here run Linux on a surface pro 4 or 5? What distro did you use, and how did it go?

Edit: I've pulled the trigger on a Surface Pro 4. I'll make a new post in a week with my early impressions, which distro I've gone with, etc etc etc.

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[–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago (2 children)

So would you say more or less fiddling about than with a regular laptop/desktop install(barring the additional need for the surface kernel install)?

I'm fine with extra fiddling about, that's part of the fun, but if it's not really functional at the end of the fiddling then that's not so fun.
The ones I was looking at didn't come with the stylus, so that's a hurdle to jump at a later date.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Everything was pretty smooth after getting the right GNOME extensions installed for me. In the project wiki there is even an archlinux repo so you don't need to compile the packages from the AUR. The stylus was the only troublesome part, but like I said, I think my stylus has issues, so I don't think I can blame it on the Linux setup.

    It was a good time getting the UI tuned in and customized. I had no idea so many good extensions existed for GNOME.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 years ago (1 child)

    I'm so confused right now. Basically no one is sitting in the middle ground in this thread... Either I've made a horrible decision, wasted £90, and I've set myself for a load of pain with no reward at the end, or basically the exact opposite....

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    My sympathies lol. I've been a long time Linux user. Sometimes my experience can be optimistic but in this case I remember things working pretty well. Definitely post your experience here and feel free to DM if you need a hand with something.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 2 years ago

    Thanks bud, much appreciated 👍

    I'm no longbeard wizard, but I've gone through the manual arch setup a few times, and done my fair share of distro hopping. I think I'll be able to run through this without too much issue. Just not sure who to believe, or if it really boils down to luck of the hardware draw.

    In any case, I'm looking forward to playing around with my new toy, and hopefully it'll work how I want it to.

    Might shoot you a dm and pick your brain if I get stuck.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    A lot of fiddling and no joy was my experience with a friends 4. No camera and it was a nightmare. I would avoid! Starlabs?

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