What is the smallest/lightest device running Trisquel and able to do email, pdf reading, web browsing and voice calls?

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Avron

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Joined: 08/18/2020

Out of pandemic time, I need to travel a lot and carry a company laptop (running Losedows) that I don't want to use for anything else than company work (booting on an external disk is not possible). I have to keep this with me at all times, it is 1.7 kg and takes significant space in my bag, in which I need to have other things, so I don't want to add a second laptop of similar dimensions and weight, but I need some device for personal email, pdf reading, web browsing and voice calls (over free software of course).

Something of the size of a mobile phone or a tablet (at most 10 inch screen) would be good, less than 500g I hope. I could connect a light portable keyboard if there is no touch screen. If that is running another FSF-endorsed GNU/Linux distribution, that is also ok.

Does anyone have something like that?

nadebula.1984
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Joined: 05/01/2018

X200s with 4-cell battery. It's very light and fully supported by coreboot bloblessly. Even if you temporarily can't flash coreboot on it, there is an Atheros WLAN card usable (AR2425 with Lenovo's FRU number 43Y6511).

Or else you can install GNU/Linux in a virtual machine on your business computer. Free/libre hypervisors can provide reliable isolation.

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Thanks for the advice. I found an add saying "from 1.13kg" maybe that is with the 4-cell battery? I even see that Technoethical is selling X200s with Libreboot but the description says it is 1.7kg so probably with a much heavier battery.

nadebula.1984
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The actual weight of X200s depends on the screen (upper half) and the battery.

There are three kinds of batteries: 4-, 6-, and 9-cell. The 4-cell, flat-bottomed battery fits X200s perfectly. However, the capacity is only half of that of 6-cell ones and one-third of 9-cell ones. If you mostly use it when AC power is available, then you can choose the 4-cell battery.

There are two kinds of screens for X200s, the standard WXGA (1280*800) and ultra-slim WXGA+ (1440*900) screens, both LED backlight. The standard WXGA screen is equivalent to those on X200, with magnesium alloy material. The (very rare) WXGA+ screen uses carbon fiber material (the same as X1 Carbon) and is much lighter.

1.1 kg is the weight of X200s with WXGA+ screen, 4-cell battery and solid state drive.

eric23
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Joined: 06/30/2017

One device I am thinking of purchasing is the remarkable tablet. It can run with Parabola-rm. The only real problem freedom and technical wise is the on-board wifi radio, which requires proprietary blobs. I don't know much about USB OTG, but I am wondering if an external wifi dongle could be used.

http://www.davisr.me/projects/parabola-rm/

It's not trisquel, but parabola-rm has the same freedom commitments, I think, since it is based on parabola.

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Thanks, I remember coming across that page before but I had forgotten it. I don't know much about USB OTG either. One question could be whether the tablet can provide enough current for the dongle, but something like a portable (battery powered) wifi routeur could probably do the trick. When I have time, I will study the manual. I certainly don't want to buy this tablet if I am not confident I can use it with Parabola-rm.