[Trisquel-users] eCAFÉ ™ EX HD

[r***@hotmail.com]

What do you think of netbooks eCAFÉ ™ EX HD? the price of notebooks is
contained, is around 200 euros...

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
 
LED screen: 10.1 inch, 1024*600, high brightness
Storage: 16Gb extensible to 72Gb: 8Go Flash (iNAND) + 8Gb SDHC card +
additional 50GB available online**
ARM CortexTM A8 FreescaleTM i.MX515 @ 800 MHz processor
RAM: 512 Mb
HDMI output
WiFi N technology
Battery: 6800 mAh (7.4V) for 13 hours +
Comfortable "chiclet" keyboard with flat, separate keys - 88% of a standard
keyboard
0.3MP webcam with built-in microphone
Connections: 3x USB, 1x Headset, 1x Microphone, 1x LAN RJ45, 1x DC-in 12V, 1x
External card reader: SD/MMC/SDHC, 1x Internal card reader: SD/SDHC
DIP Switch

[Dave Hunt]

I'm using an Asus 1015 PE netbook, and like it!

Not sure whether all the pieces are free-software-compatible, but, that
looks like a decent machine for someone who doesn't need much screen and
doesn't plan to do demanding things like gaming. The price, size, and
battery life are right. I've run Gnome 2.32 in 512 mb ram, and not
suffered much. Not sure how Gnome 3.4 and beyond would run.


Cheers,


Dave H.

Post by r***@hotmail.com
What do you think of netbooks eCAFÉ ™ EX HD? the price of notebooks is
contained, is around 200 euros...
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
LED screen: 10.1 inch, 1024*600, high brightness
Storage: 16Gb extensible to 72Gb: 8Go Flash (iNAND) + 8Gb SDHC card +
additional 50GB available online**
RAM: 512 Mb
HDMI output
WiFi N technology
Battery: 6800 mAh (7.4V) for 13 hours +
Comfortable "chiclet" keyboard with flat, separate keys - 88% of a
standard keyboard
0.3MP webcam with built-in microphone
Connections: 3x USB, 1x Headset, 1x Microphone, 1x LAN RJ45, 1x DC-in
12V, 1x External card reader: SD/MMC/SDHC, 1x Internal card reader: SD/SDHC
DIP Switch

[Andrew Lindley]

Post by Dave Hunt
Not sure whether all the pieces are free-software-compatible, but, that

I've got a couple of Genesi Efika MX Smarttops (around 100 GBP each from
newit.co.uk), they use the Freescale(tm) i.MX515 SoC like the eCAFE(tm).
AIUI the 2D display driver is free software but the 3D is proprietary
(I run without). They are powerful enough to get a sluggish Gnome 2.32
running, but really LXDE would be a much better bet.

If anyone is aware of a faif distro that supports, or intends to support
ARM then please let me know - gNewSense?

[z***@member.fsf.org]

I am using Trisquel 5.5 on a Gateway LT4004u.
It has:
10.1 inch LED backlit display
1024 x 600 resolutions
0.3 mega pixel webcam and microphone
Intel Atom Cedar Trail 1.6 GHz N2600
Intel GMA 3600 integrated graphics card.
1 GB of DDR3 RAM
250 GB HDD
~$250 (USD)

The internal wireless card is a Broadcom chip, so no FOSS driver support
there. I use a Penguin Wireless N USB Adapter for GNU / Linux from
https://www.thinkpenguin.com .

It is slower at doing big compiles, but it is pretty snappy at most other
times. I use it as my main mobile development machine (I do web work) so it
handles running Node.js + MongoDB just fine.

I also use it to work with Arduinos and my thing-o-matic. Again, after the
initial compile, it is fast enough.

[Dave Hunt]

That machine sounds comparable to my Asus. I wouldn't want to do big
compiles or lots of audio processing, but, for everyday work, it's all I
need. The Asus is all vanilla Intel, and Gnome Shell even works.


-Dave

Post by z***@member.fsf.org
I am using Trisquel 5.5 on a Gateway LT4004u.
10.1 inch LED backlit display
1024 x 600 resolutions
0.3 mega pixel webcam and microphone
Intel Atom Cedar Trail 1.6 GHz N2600
Intel GMA 3600 integrated graphics card.
1 GB of DDR3 RAM
250 GB HDD
~$250 (USD)
The internal wireless card is a Broadcom chip, so no FOSS driver support
there. I use a Penguin Wireless N USB Adapter for GNU / Linux from
https://www.thinkpenguin.com .
It is slower at doing big compiles, but it is pretty snappy at most
other times. I use it as my main mobile development machine (I do web
work) so it handles running Node.js + MongoDB just fine.
I also use it to work with Arduinos and my thing-o-matic. Again, after
the initial compile, it is fast enough.

[z***@member.fsf.org]

My notebook is simply the "Acer Aspire One D270 Cedar Trail" with Gateway
branding. But all notebooks are more or less the same machine anyways...

[m***@gmail.com]

What operating system do you plan to use? Debian GNU/Linux (without enabling
the non-free repository)? You know that Trisquel was not ported to the ARM
architecture, right?

By today's standards, 512 MB of RAM is (very) low. You will have to use a
light desktop such as LXDE. Do not expect to run GNOME 3 on this hardware!

The main issue you may encounter is a lack of free driver and/or firmware for
the Wifi card. As zwick mentioned, the solution would be to buy a
freedom-friendly alternative, e.g., on ThinnkPenguin (by using this link, 25%
of the benefits made on your purchase go to the Trisquel project).

[r***@hotmail.com]

Moral of the story ... I advised against this netbook? advise me as a netbook
with GNU / Linux pre-installed?

[m***@gmail.com]

It depends on you! For instance, if you feel alright with buying a
freedom-friendly Wifi dongle and using Debian GNU/Linux with the LXDE
desktop, then it is an option. Otherwise, you will probably have to find a
little more money to afford a computer with more RAM.

[c***@thinkpenguin.com]

The netbook situation isn't good. The market crashed and things aren't what
they could be. We had a 13.3" light notebook. There is no built-in optical
drive and it is more than a netbook would be... but it does have free
software drivers for the internal wireless card:

http://libre.thinkpenguin.com/

I'm not a big fan of hooking up an external USB wireless card to a notebook
although some here have done it. It may be possible to replace the internal
Mini PCIe wifi card too. You have to be careful though as most of the big
names are implementing digital restrictions that prevent the replacement of
this card. It's also a bit more work although many (most) notebooks have an
easy access bay so it isn't terribly difficult. Unfortunately they turns an
'open' standard into a proprietary one and you can only use the same chips
that came with the notebook (available from the 'manufacturer' of your
notebook).