Penguin Adelie GNU / Linux Laptop
Hi, everyone!!!
I'm pretty new in the free software world.Right now I'm using (testing) Trisquel in a Virtual Machine and I love the system. I'm really happy about it. So now I'm considering to buy a new laptop and I realize, it is not so easy. The most demanding software that I will use is Blender. The recommended hardware for blender: 64-bit quad core CPU, 8 GB RAM, OpenGL 3.2 compatible graphics with 2 GB RAM.
After a little research I think that the "Penguin Adelie GNU / Linux Laptop" by Think Penguin is a good option.
https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/penguin-adelie-gnu-linux-laptop
But this laptop it is not yet supported by Trisquel (Notes from the website: "Other popular distributions such as Trisquel are not yet supported, but will be as distributions release newer versions built off newer software stacks.")
I contacted the sales department of Think penguin and they told me that they don't know exactly when this laptop will be supported by Trisquel. Maybe 6 month to a year...
Does anyone have an idea when Trisquel will be supported by the Penguin Adelie GNU / Linux Laptop? Or do you know a good alternative to this laptop with similar features?
Thank you very much
If it's to your liking and the price is right, why don't you get it, install Ubuntu 16.04 without adding non-free repositories or firmware. When Trisquel 8 Flidas comes out, install that and wipe your Ubuntu.
You could try Librepup. It has a newer kernel and graphics stack.
Or check out Librem Purism laptops.
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>If it's to your liking and the price is right, why don't you get it, install Ubuntu 16.04 without adding non-free repositories or firmware.
How about installing DEbian and not the Spyuntuyu thing?
Online search is disabled by default in 16.04. Yes, Debian is a good alternative but the laptop is supposed to support Debian testing only (Stretch). The current stable version is Jessie.
"This model requires a recently released distribution for support. Currently Ubuntu 16.04, Debian Testing, Arch, and Parabola GNU/Linux-libre are supported. Feel free to inquire about other distributions. We will update this list as time allows. Other popular distributions such as Trisquel are not yet supported, but will be as distributions release newer versions built off newer software stacks."
Here you can get an ISO of the latest Debian testing build in 64-bit, by the way. It requires an Internet connection in order to be installed.
Why should I need it? I install stable releases. The OP wants to install Flidas.
Well, actually a 100% free software option will be change to Parabola GNU/Linux, while waiting for the new Trisquel 8.
It's just I don't like being changing from system to system.
Flidas could be out as soon as in a month's time.
That would be great. I just hope that the new Trisquel support this laptop.
Thank you
Don't worry, it will. It's just a matter of having a recent enough kernel for the hardware. Ubuntu 16.04 uses the same version of Linux that Trisquel 8 is going to use, so Trisquel 8 will work with it.
Trisquel 7 with the latest kernel from https://jxself.org/linux-libre/ (Jxself's repository for Linux-libre) would work... but if you cannot boot the install medium (but is it really the case or is the support issue related to peripherals?), well, I do not know how you would install it!
Like jorda wrote, Parabola GNU/Linux would be the best option. Debian testing without the "contrib" and the "nonfree" repositories is OK. If you choose Ubuntu 16.04, you can then disable the "restricted" and "multiverse" repositories, remove the software that came from "restricted" when you installed, and get the latest kernel from Jxself's repository.
If you go for ThinkPenguin's hardware and want to support the Trisquel project, then use this link to make your purchase: http://libre.thinkpenguin.com
25% of the benefits on your purchase will be donated to the Trisquel project.
What about skylake backd00red CPU?
The new problem that Skylake introduced was the need for proprietary firmware for some functionalities of the graphical chipset. But not, using it, the situation was not bad according to Chris (ThinkPenguin's CEO): https://trisquel.info/forum/skylake-desktop-graphics-test-results
As for treacherous computing technologies in Intel processors, I am aware of some in vPro and TXT (the misnamed "Trusted Execution Technology") but the Penguin Adelie's processor has neither of them: http://ark.intel.com/products/88967/Intel-Core-i7-6700HQ-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_50-GHz
"but it's performance is less than that of older Intel chips". So I can get more 3d performance with i5-5200u or i7-5500u?
Chris is the one who made the tests and I do not think we got his final results here. You had better ask him: https://trisquel.info/users/chris/contact
It would be good if Chris could reply on this forum: everybody would then benefit from his knowledge.
PS: I had trouble re-reading my own post above because I misplaced a comma (after "But not", whereas it should be between "But" and "not"). Sorry about that.
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By 'not as bad' it's that you don't need the OS loadable proprietary firmware for the graphics portion. Skylake is problematic and the 4.4 kernel is basically the minimum you need on this particular laptop. There are a lot of 'Linux' shops shipping broken Skylake systems with various serious problems. We skipped over Broadwell on some model desktops and laptops because of problems upstream at Intel. Some Skylake laptops are fine and some are not with the latest 4.4/4.5 kernels.
I would not recommend Trisquel 7 with or without an updated kernel on the Adelie or any Skylake laptop right now. Normally we would say 'Trisquel 7 with an updated linux-libre kernel' if we thought this was a safe course of action. It's not. It's risky. There are some issues related to power management support and other things (x server/graphics stack) that may result in damage to Skylake laptops over time. I would advise not running Trisquel 8 either on many Skylake systems. Some Skylake systems will be supported 'good enough' with Trisquel 8 and others will not be even though they appear to work (or initially so). Even on 'good enough' laptops fuller and more proper support will come down the line after Trisquel 8 is released.
I would recommend avoiding pretty much anything X86 if at all possible... but there really aren't any good options at this time so this advise is pretty much useless. The ARM stuff for example is all dependent on wifi chips that are proprietary and I think this is such a critical component for the majority of people as to not being a recommendable direction even if graphics can be written off as an unnecessary component that you simply aren't going to use.
We are finishing a non-x86 laptop prototype. Basically it is finished and will hopefully be the start of something better. However we're not talking about anything as powerful as X86 initially. At best we're talking a dual-core ARM CPU, 1-2GB ram, etc. Essentially what you'd be buying into is a prototype system with free designs that we could then build off more easily with a choice of more powerful CPUs, 3d accelerated graphics (hold your breath on this still), etc down the road, as we free'd these components.
Thanks for the info Chris. So, i3-i5-i7 5gen with Intel Iris iGPU is better choise that any skylake.
What it is the reason to avoid x86-x64?
Already we have an ARM ASUS laptop that supports Libreboot, but, I can not live with minimum of 3d acceleration support (I want to do everything in my computer, including play some games). It is more important that wifi chip. + I do not like litebooks, ultrabooks...Everything is soldered inside, can not upgrade, fans at full speed, hot and loud, probably ARM works much cooler and silent, but I never spend my money in beautiful ultrabook. I love my, T400, x60. I think that T400 is the best laptop ever made, not one of the most powerful today, but the best I used/had.(upgradeable, expandable, dead silent, runs very very cool including with Intel T9600, nice protected screen, small trackpad that does not disturb you when writing, trackpoint(love or hate), thinklight, fine to hold in the hand, easy to disassemble and easy maintenance, cheap replacements, express54 port(for usb3.0), nice keyboard...).
It is possible that ARM is the freer way to go, but I can not find a nice alternatives.
"We are finishing a non-x86 laptop prototype". Powerful or not, it is not the problem, if all components run free software (including GPU and WiFi). Hope this run a some free boot firmware and not proprietary crap BIOS/EFI/UEFI/DRM.
Do you think that next Intel 7gen ix CPUs would go back, and not use the signed blob?
> What it is the reason to avoid x86-x64?
All x86 CPUs since 2013 require signed proprietary firmware to boot. This firmware can be used as a backdoor which can see literally everything on the system. More info here:
https://libreboot.org/faq/#intel
https://libreboot.org/faq/#amd
If I'm not mistaken, it's due to the raw processing power being decreased while power efficiency being increased. E.g. most common users aren't going to benefit as much from increased cycles as a longer battery life. This also coincides with Intel's decision to move more towards the IoT space (because they don't require nearly as much processing power but do require as much power efficiency as possible).
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Skylake doesn't do as well on the performance end of things compared to prior generations. Intel's focus was on battery life for Skylake. Humorously the desktop CPUs are apparently also lower performance. I don't quite get that given there aren't batteries in desktops. However the thought is probably something along the line of lower power consumption saves money and again think of it as trying to compete with ARM which is also lower power.