Ubuntu on a Tablet PC

[theevilsharpie]

I have an old Core Duo-based Fujitsu tablet PC that I've been playing around with off and on for a few years. Unlike a lot of modern Tablet PCs, this isn't a convertible model (i.e., no keyboard). My efforts to use something other than Windows on this tablet haven't been successful, largely due poor integration with on-screen keyboards. In fact, for all its tablet hype, Ubuntu 12.04 with Unity suffers from this problem more than most other DE's because of its reliance on search and keyboard shortcuts. I also tried out Kubuntu, and that got as far as the login screen :|

But now I'm toying around with Kubuntu-Active. I've only used it with a live USB disk so far, so it's been rather slow, but it looks promising. While swiping actions are a little awkward with a stylus, it's easily the most usable keyboard-less interface I've seen on Linux.

I'm installing it now, and I'll report back after I've abused it a bit more :awe:

 

[theevilsharpie]

And no on-screen keyboard on login. Sigh...

 

[Jodell88]

KDE active or try a distro with GNOME 3. I know for a fact that GNOME 3 has an on-screen keyboard at the login screen.

 

[theevilsharpie]

GNOME 3 is next option.

 

[theevilsharpie]

So, I'm continuing my avoidance of GNOME 3. I'll try it one of these days, I swear! ^_^

On a whim, I installed the Thinkpad build of Android-x86 4.0RC2 and played around with it for a little bit. Unfortunately, the build didn't have drivers for my wireless NIC, so its usefulness was limited. Once they release the final 4.0 build, I may create a custom image with the drivers for my tablet, if the official build doesn't contain the drivers already.

Some general impressions:
- Android-x86 is fast. Really fast. Watching Android fly on a six-year-old Core Duo 1.2GHz really illustrates how slow ARM-based CPUs are. GPU performance will probably be a different story, but wow. I was impressed. Not only is my tablet substantially faster than any ARM tablet I've used to date, Android is faster and more fluid than any tablet-accessible Linux DE I've used so far.

- So far, the only high-dpi displays I've used have been smartphones. I didn't really think much of it, but comparing my tablet to my Android really demonstrates the difference. Fonts on my tablet are blurry and pixelated, whereas fonts on my phone are crisp and clear. The difference is so pronounced, my next monitor/laptop will have a high-DPI display.

- I was initially concerned about my ability to function in Android because my tablet was the old Windows pen-based input and didn't have any multi-touch functionality. However, I didn't seem to run into any major issues. That being said, Android's power management functionality relies on ARM's ability to keep certain functions running even in deep sleep, and my tablet's ability to do the same is.... disappointing.

Overall, it worked better than I expected. It's not mature enough to use day-to-day, and honestly, my tablet PC is too heavy to handle it like a modern tablet, but it's a project I'll be keeping my eye on. If Intel chips can bring on some of the power management functionality of ARM SoC's, Android-x86 could be an excellent alternative to Windows 8 for people who want a tablet but need something more powerful than the ARM-based stuff.