Just a quickee post... I ordered a Pinebook Pro, and its a little weird
because why would anyone need/want one of these low-cost, low-cpu ARM based machines in a laptop form- however, if you understand that its just [like] a Raspberry Pi in a laptop, the build quality is kick butt [minus the trackpad which is mediocre at best].

I almost was taken aback with how great an obviously Chinese made, low end of the spectrum ARM laptop build came out. It's top notch.

I guess using it for learning python and GPIO [you can access 6 thru the SD card reader... or add a GPIO addon for 20.] its a great system. Heck, you
could run a bbs on it - or... do anything that you'd do with a top notch Raspberry Pi system. It ships now with Manjaro ARM on it and man... it is a tinkerers dream.

Just figured I'd post, cause I heard some people talking it down - I think people want a full laptop daily machine out of it; if you know what you're getting into/buying, this is a bad little machine.

I dig it... the keyboard is awesome. Metal build rocks... and while I've seen some posts of issues on arrival, without customer support as good as the RPi team - I haven't experienced that at all.

Furthermore, the community is pretty good - its more overseas with some language barriers but all-in-all I recommend this hardward. I think its tits.



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paulie420 wrote to All <=-

I guess using it for learning python and GPIO [you can access 6 thru
the SD card reader... or add a GPIO addon for 20.] its a great system. Heck, you could run a bbs on it - or... do anything that you'd do with
a top notch Raspberry Pi system. It ships now with Manjaro ARM on it
and man... it is a tinkerers dream.

Just figured I'd post, cause I heard some people talking it down - I
think people want a full laptop daily machine out of it; if you know
what you're getting into/buying, this is a bad little machine.

It's not bad. The Pine is more powerful than the Raspberry PI (but I haven't compared it to the Pi4 yet). I know that, as a laptop, a Pi-based system just won't cut it for many uses.

I have a RasPad 1, which is Pi3 based, and it works for some things (learning Python and GPIO access, for example), but it doesn't work as a general
purpose laptop.

Even when I tried replacing my low use system in the Man Cave with a Pi4, it just couldn't do YouTube very well. Keep in mind that was an early Pi4, so that issue may be fixed. When I get my CrowPi2 in the next month or so, I'll retest.


... Two can live as cheaply as one, for half as long.
___ MultiMail/Linux v0.52

--- Mystic BBS/QWK v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Linux/32)
* Origin: 1984 BBS [1984bbs.net:23] Washington, DC (1337:3/128)

It's not bad. The Pine is more powerful than the Raspberry PI (but I haven't compared it to the Pi4 yet). I know that, as a laptop, a
Pi-based system just won't cut it for many uses.

I have a RasPad 1, which is Pi3 based, and it works for some things (learning Python and GPIO access, for example), but it doesn't work as a general purpose laptop.

Even when I tried replacing my low use system in the Man Cave with a
Pi4, it just couldn't do YouTube very well. Keep in mind that was an
early Pi4, so that issue may be fixed. When I get my CrowPi2 in the next month or so, I'll retest.

So I hear you, and I use Raspberry Pi's for many things/projects that run
small servers and perform light functions for different systems around my house... BBS server, Home Assistant home-automation server, Pi-Hole ad
killer, a very basic NAS for file-sharing and cloud files at home.

However, while I agree that most Pi's you described aren't good for laptop use... I think the Raspberry Pi 4 has a little more to offer - regardless of that, tho, I don't have much use for it as a laptop.

However... the Pinebook Pro, while still ARM and actually not as powerful as
an RPi 4 IMO, I'm finding some good use-cases for it. Reasoning, its already setup in a nice good-looking and decently performing hardware package. Aside from the horrible trackpad, the rest of the hardware on the PBP is pretty top quality IMO... at least for a cheap $200 laptop.

I'm finding use for it in the following ways:

Kali Linux, net monitoring and playing around on networks in all the 'Kali ways'.
Light emulator/dosbox - I find that I like to play those old games when I'm
on a business trip or in settings that aren't my RPi on a huge television
cases - the little ARM laptop eats up everything Playstation 1 and below.
A console to connect to and work with my existing Raspberry Pi 'network' at home, while on the go.. being ARM and having all the same apps available, it works alongside my Pi stuff @ home simply and easily.

I just pop in a new SD card and have these different use cases all loaded in
a minute. Sure, its not a full desktop replacement by any means but for me
its enough of a system to just have in my briefcase. I don't really do my 'power computing' stuff while on the go, so its just a good fit.

Anyhow, yer right - theres many reasons that its underpowered and not a main computer - but it has all the tinkerer functionality that I love, and its pretty darn sexy... a keeper for me.

:P



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--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A45 2020/02/18 (Raspberry Pi/32)
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I got one hoping it could be a simple little Kali Linux box to do some pen testing with. But the lag in the mouse and keyboard drove me crazy. So it's currently sitting at the bottom of a pile of papers and random stuff. XD. Hopefully I'll find a good use for it someday soon. Maybe going back to the native Manjaro OS will help with performance?

Cheers!
InvaderBeepis

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A46 2020/08/26 (Linux/64)
* Origin: Sent from Al's Geek Lab 1337:2/104 (1337:2/104)

I got one hoping it could be a simple little Kali Linux box to do some
pen testing with. But the lag in the mouse and keyboard drove me crazy. So it's currently sitting at the bottom of a pile of papers and random stuff. XD. Hopefully I'll find a good use for it someday soon. Maybe going back to the native Manjaro OS will help with performance?

I think it will - I do have a Kali SD card, but don't use it MUCH... however, I























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































don't notice too much lag when I do - also, the trackpad is so bad that I usually use a wireless mouse... the keyboard is great, but...

While it runs slower than a Raspberry Pi 4, I find that Manjaro runs nicely enough to use. I use the PBP as a laptop to take to work, or on the go - that I























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































don't have to worry about getting messed up.

I thought it would be a nice terminal for my other ARM SBC projects, and use it























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































as such at times... but mainly it gets used as a throw-around laptop. :P



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--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 2021/10/25 (Raspberry Pi/32)
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