x
This website is using cookies. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. More info. That's Fine
HPC:Factor Logo 
 
Latest Forum Activity

Review: GPD MicroPC

1 2 3
Jake Page Icon Posted 2022-10-08 10:34 PM
#
Avatar image of Jake
Moderator
H/PC Vanguard

Posts:
2,812
Location:
Choking on the stench of ambition in Washington DC
Status:
I have a F Lifebook, too, and I enjoy using that as well, tho that five-inch screen makes for cramped things. Rather than W2K or earlier versions of ubuntu, XP Tablet worked the best, I found, if you used the F drivers,etc.

I run the same XP Tablet setup on my HTC x9500, another device that has much to admire (esp cmonex's hacks on the WinMo side that then lets you install programs, etc).

As for browser problems on these creaky devices, links2/cygwin has enough ssl to let you go to most sites, even on XP, albeit in mostly-text mode. Have you tried that?

Jake

 Top of the page Quote Reply
dl1av Page Icon Posted 2022-10-09 8:10 AM
#
Avatar image of dl1av
Subscribers
Factorite (Elite)

Posts:
181
Location:
Germany
Status:
I tried it with a common XP on the Lifebook but I got better results for the overall performance with w2k. Maybe not enough RAM.

And besides that I wanted to have one running artefact with w2k in the collection.

Using the kmeleon-browser I can access many pages but in most cases with scripting off. That kind of limits the user-experience *gg* But as a proof-of-concept and simply to play around a little these "hacks" are interesting. I even have some then downloaded tv-shows from 2000 to view on the Lifebook.

Stefan

 Top of the page Quote Reply
torch Page Icon Posted 2022-10-09 8:33 AM
#
Avatar image of torch
Subscribers
H/PC Guru

Posts:
5,662
Location:
United States 
Status:
I think the remaining machine in my arsenal I want is a native running Windows 2000 machine. It’s just a fantastic system. It’s more barebones than XP but it gets the job done.
Plus I like not having to do a bunch of hacks and tweaks to revert back to Windows Classic like I had to do with XP. (Disabling the welcome screen and reverting to the old 2K style logon prompt, etc )
 Top of the page Quote Reply
dl1av Page Icon Posted 2022-10-09 9:39 AM
#
Avatar image of dl1av
Subscribers
Factorite (Elite)

Posts:
181
Location:
Germany
Status:
I remember when installing w2k we had to install dedicated hardware driver all the time. Like it was with win98. For every component there had to be a hardware driver installed from CD.

This changed completely with XP. They included all the manufacturers hardware driver they could get their hands on into the basic package (or later with sp3, which was a completely new installation of the os).

Over the years I installed xp on many machines and it went smooth and easy in most cases without the need of any hardware driver cd.

On most machines xp runs better than w2k but for a few legacy systems I had to downgrade to w2k later, because the user experience with xp was too bad (opening/closing windows too slow)

Stefan



 Top of the page Quote Reply
Jake Page Icon Posted 2022-10-09 2:55 PM
#
Avatar image of Jake
Moderator
H/PC Vanguard

Posts:
2,812
Location:
Choking on the stench of ambition in Washington DC
Status:
I needed the XP Tablet msi (150+ mbs, if I remember correctly) after a traditional XP install to make XP run properly on Lifebook/x9500. But afterwards, things went swimmingly; I don't notice any slowness.

And yeah, I thought video played remarkably well on the Lifebook, despite its hardware constraints.

I have W2K/cf card on a very creaky Sony Picturebook; I think W2K is c:amie's all-time favorite OS.

Jake
 Top of the page Quote Reply
dl1av Page Icon Posted 2022-10-10 5:04 AM
#
Avatar image of dl1av
Subscribers
Factorite (Elite)

Posts:
181
Location:
Germany
Status:
I really didn't get the differences between common xp and the tablet edition. I thought it was only for the touchscreen drivers and the screen-keyboard? I used a Toughbook CF18 with it over years and it still runs today without any crashes or slowness.

Stefan
 Top of the page Quote Reply
C:Amie Page Icon Posted 2022-10-10 8:17 AM
#
Avatar image of C:Amie
Administrator
H/PC Oracle

Posts:
17,955
Location:
United Kingdom
Status:
Quote
Jake - 2022-10-09 2:55 PM
I think W2K is c:amie's all-time favorite OS.

Jake
Actually,it was NT4. I skipped 2000 at home and only rolled it out in work settings.
 Top of the page Quote Reply
torch Page Icon Posted 2022-10-10 9:23 PM
#
Avatar image of torch
Subscribers
H/PC Guru

Posts:
5,662
Location:
United States 
Status:
A bit off topic, but the Windows NT 4 startup / shutdown sounds were fantastic. I thought it was so cool when I found out that the startup / shutdown are simply reversed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjxsaHPVEgY
 Top of the page Quote Reply
Jake Page Icon Posted 2022-10-11 12:05 AM
#
Avatar image of Jake
Moderator
H/PC Vanguard

Posts:
2,812
Location:
Choking on the stench of ambition in Washington DC
Status:
Quote
C:Amie - 2022-10-10 3:17 AM

Quote
Jake - 2022-10-09 2:55 PM
I think W2K is c:amie's all-time favorite OS.

Jake
Actually,it was NT4. I skipped 2000 at home and only rolled it out in work settings.


I never get anything right. Just ask the wife

Jake
 Top of the page Quote Reply
robertojones Page Icon Posted 2022-10-26 7:55 PM
#
Avatar image of robertojones
Factorite (Elite)

Posts:
147
Location:
United Kingdom
Status:
@Jake - Very interesting to hear you have both! Did you by any chance pick up any of the 'modular bay' accessories? I'm particularly intrigued by the 'KVM' module - I could imagine that being very useful for server admin and just messing about with desktops. A little hard for me to justify at current prices though.

For myself I've just ordered a Chuwi Minibook (Celeron J4125 / 6GB version). It seems to have been discontinued now but I found a supplier in Spain that was still stocking them - It may have to be a Christmas present to myself as I've been buying quite a few computer bits lately. Once I allow myself to play with it I'll post some impressions. I've gone back and forth over it a lot, the RAM particularly does seem a bit mean when comparable devices routinely come with 8 or even 16GB, but the price is so much lower than any other such device (barring the Topton L4, which in my opinion does not count). My current 'secondary' device is a 2008 Macbook with a Core 2 Duo (somehow still working, albeit not on MacOS for many years now), so I'm sure it will be up to the fairly undemanding jobs I have in mind for it. I have at least been able to find genuine reviews for the Minibook, which seem broadly positive, and Chuwi at least have a website and some semblance of support.

I don't suppose we have any other Minibook owners out there who can weigh in?

Edited by robertojones 2022-10-26 7:56 PM
 Top of the page Quote Reply
Jake Page Icon Posted 2022-10-26 8:55 PM
#
Avatar image of Jake
Moderator
H/PC Vanguard

Posts:
2,812
Location:
Choking on the stench of ambition in Washington DC
Status:
Hi, Robert.

I can't believe you found that Chuwi; I thought it was vaporware. I had the previous Chuwi (until the left hinge exploded about two weeks ago) and I miss it. Ran swimmingly on Linux/Manjaro. Weird problem with battery calibration, tho I'm hoping Chuwi sorted that for your model.

There's a facebook page for Chuwi backers, unofficial, and I found their help to be the best. Re: the P3 modules -- I have the sd card one only. It was just 30usd at aliexpress and it works without complaint so far. I'm afraid I don't know anything about the KVM module.

Can't wait until you get your Chuwi and we hear your always-thoughtful reactions...

Jake
 Top of the page Quote Reply
robertojones Page Icon Posted 2022-10-27 9:18 AM
#
Avatar image of robertojones
Factorite (Elite)

Posts:
147
Location:
United Kingdom
Status:
Quote
Jake - 2022-10-26 8:55 PM

Hi, Robert.

I can't believe you found that Chuwi; I thought it was vaporware. I had the previous Chuwi (until the left hinge exploded about two weeks ago) and I miss it. Ran swimmingly on Linux/Manjaro. Weird problem with battery calibration, tho I'm hoping Chuwi sorted that for your model.

Jake


It seems to have had quite a short production run - I believe it was only released around April this year. Chuwi (along with several of the other players in this field) appear to be moving up in screen size with their mini laptops, they're pushing a 10 inch version now. Reminds me a little of what happened with netbooks - They kept increasing the screen size until they were little more than cheap slow laptops. I hope we see a few more 7-8 inch devices.

Sorry to hear about the hinge going on yours - A little bit concerning too. Potential weak point due to the '360' design? I know those hinges can be quite mechanically complex.

There seems to be some discussion around whether the battery issue was fixed for the J4125 version (I suspect not enough people have the newer one to truly confirm) but I'd certainly hope they addressed it 2+ years after releasing the original one!
 Top of the page Quote Reply
Jake Page Icon Posted 2022-10-27 8:31 PM
#
Avatar image of Jake
Moderator
H/PC Vanguard

Posts:
2,812
Location:
Choking on the stench of ambition in Washington DC
Status:
Re: the Chuwi hinge. I never used it as anything but a laptop, though the previous owner may have worked the tablet side.

When opening, the left hinge presses out the back, making the screen lopsided. If you pinch the hinge to the chassis, the screen opens properly.

So I've been brooding about bolting a strip of metal against the hinge to hold it in.

But I'm not certain that the thin metal chassis could a) support that kind of torque b) present enough free space for drilling the bolt holes; there's a lot of electronics back there, and I would probably need 4 holes to distribute the hinge torque, which is substantial.

Jake

 Top of the page Quote Reply
robertojones Page Icon Posted 2022-11-06 3:20 PM
#
Avatar image of robertojones
Factorite (Elite)

Posts:
147
Location:
United Kingdom
Status:
Just a quick update - My Minibook arrived on Friday and I've spent a good part of my weekend playing with it.

First impressions:

It certainly looks and feels like a quality device - The case and hinge feel very sturdy and the keyboard is excellent, though the layout will take some getting used to. Performance is perfectly adequate for a device this size - It's pretty responsive and all the apps I've installed so far load and run quickly.

The 8 inch screen is excellent, bright and sharp, and it's quite a lot more usable than 7 inch screens I've used previously - In particular the roughly 3:2 aspect ratio gives me much-appreciated extra vertical space. Touch inputs are registered reliably anywhere on the screen. The pointing device takes a little getting used to as it works most like a trackball but with no tactile feedback - Useful to have though, and accurate enough.

It came preinstalled with Windows 11, properly licensed and set up to present the normal Windows OOBE rather than having a 'test' user set up as I've experienced with similar devices. I almost immediately installed an SSD and cloned Windows to this - Startup time reduced somewhat but it's not noticeably much faster in general operation than the inbuilt eMMC drive. I've now installed Kubuntu on the eMMC - It detected everything except the fingerprint scanner 'out-of-the-box', the only tweaks I needed were to tell it to use the Wayland display server for better touch support and set Firefox to use multitouch input.

Battery life seems good for such a small device - Probably 6-8 hours in my usage so far though it's too early to comment on this much. It charges via any USB-C charger that can output 12V or more - This includes my phone charger and all the laptop/tablet USB-C chargers we have so makes life a good deal easier. I'm hoping to find a power bank that will work with it too to extend its longevity on the go. The battery gauge appears to work fine so far, though I believe issues with this don't always manifest straight away so I'll keep an eye on it.

The USB-C port is fully functional - I plugged it into the dock at my desk and it connected to my monitor and all the other connected devices. Not sure I'll use it much like this myself but it is powerful enough to be used for most general computing so certainly useful to know!

I'm very happy with it so far and can see myself keeping this one long-term - For me at least it ticks nearly all the boxes. I wouldn't call it pocketable, but at roughly the size of a paperback novel it can go in just about any bag and be used almost anywhere. More battery life would always be nice but the easy charging makes this far less of an issue. More RAM would be nice too - I am a bit concerned about future-proofing with only 6GB, but the size of the device limits multitasking to some extent so I can't see it being much of an issue at least in the short to medium term. With good Linux support it also has more of a life once Windows becomes too cumbersome, or if support is dropped at some future point.
 Top of the page Quote Reply
Jake Page Icon Posted 2022-11-06 9:46 PM
#
Avatar image of Jake
Moderator
H/PC Vanguard

Posts:
2,812
Location:
Choking on the stench of ambition in Washington DC
Status:
Another fine write-up, Robert, and thanks so much for taking the time. Relieved that it's not weirding out, chip-wise, on sound, and that everything else Linux is doing what it's supposed to do.

Re: my broken Chuwi 8" Minibook vs yours, I can only advise caution and maybe forgoing the flip-over tablet mode. Hinges in general are not for this world; my MPC, that I bought brand new, had its hinge disintegrate despite my loving care. Luckily, I was able to drill out its faulty seatings and literally refasten with two bolts, nuts, and washers. A little utilitarian but far sturdier.

I don't believe I've ever heard of fingerprint sensors working in Linux...

Glad your machine is working out so far.

Jake
 Top of the page Quote Reply
1 2 3
Jump to forum:
Seconds to generate: 0.265 - Cached queries : 72 - Executed queries : 9