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.
My SO is looking for a simple back to school laptop and they are literally all 100% garbage. There's not a single worthwhile laptop under $700. I'm telling her to go with a Surface Go since they might actually have resale value and the specs are beyond anything remotely comparable. The 10 inch iPad Pro would be another great choice for someone in this market, but it looks like Microsoft has really stepped up the low end competition.
I'd rather purchase hardware from a vendor that is not passively aggressive* towards Linux (or in the case of the article, OpenBSD) support.
*what I mean by this is, they don't pick shitty hardware from vendors to put into their system that has no kernel support. Better yet, there are OEMs who actively support Linux (Dell, Purism, etc), for example, on their systems. Support those folks, not folks like Microsoft.
This seems similar in spec to some research I did into tablets that could run Linux. I found someone installed Linux on a Onda V80 plus (a dual booting Android/Windows 10) tablet https://medium.com/@tomac/installing-ubuntu-mint-linux-on-on... and that led me to looking at all of the cheap Chinese windows 10 tablets running the Intel cherry tree processor. It would be a crapshoot whether they worked out of the box I what chipsets they used but a lot of these type of laptops can be found for 100-200$ 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.
[+] [-] jamesdutc|7 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] aphextron|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tr0ut|7 years ago|reply
[+] [-] craftyguy|7 years ago|reply
*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.
[+] [-] robotbikes|7 years ago|reply
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.
[+] [-] crudbug|7 years ago|reply
May be Linux devs can take lead and define the specs for the hardware people.