this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2023
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I would like to share with you a very cool project that develops drivers for correct operation of Microsoft Surface devices on Linux. I myself use Surface Pro 6 with these drivers and everything works like a charm (battery life is good, cameras work, stylus, keyboard, touchscreen, screen). The developers are gods. From myself, I would recommend using Fedora Linux distribution, as I got the best battery life on it and didn't experience any additional bugs. If you don't like GNOME, you can try spins.

Links to project resources:

Awesome additional resources:

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[–] palordrolap@kbin.social 41 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Microsoft wants to give Linux a nice warm hug and then squeeze and squeeze and all the warmth disappears this is actually quite a high pressure oh that hurts Microsoft no ow are those needles coming out of your arms I think I hear bones splintering and screaming oh no it's me I'm screaming I'm hearing myself screaming I'm turning into

[–] Dirk@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 year ago

Very poetic description of EEE.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago
[–] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 20 points 1 year ago

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[–] mogoh@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This is cool, but if Microsoft would <3 Linux, they would do this themself.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

Trigger is activated 😏

[–] privsecfoss@feddit.dk 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I applaud Linux on as many laptops as possible. But given Microsoft's history of EEE, bad security practices and multiple and on going privacy violations I would really not recommend using anything Microsoft. If you must use fx Surface I would recommend buying a used one. Or better yet a used Thinkpad or similar enterprise laptop used.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Security? Maybe. Privacy? Too hard and nonsense to implement hardware tracking to spy on 1% of users without Windows.

[–] privsecfoss@feddit.dk 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (8 children)

Agree on privacy. And why bother when Intel/AMD have their Management Engine (ME) and AMD their equivalent.

But why support a company like Microsoft when they have a long history of prioritizing profit over user freedom (FOSS/EEE), security and privacy?

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 4 points 1 year ago

Because there is no such well made 2-in-1 device from System76, Tuxedo or some another good manufacturer.

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[–] kabe@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Surfaces are abysmal for repairs and upgrades, as well. They're literally glued together like a smartphone.

[–] Theophylaktos@lemmy.fmhy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

This is why I bought the Dell 5290 2-in-1. It can be opened and the battery and ssd can be replaced for cheap.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is weird, I agree. But I don't think there is some another way to do it with so thin case and good performance.

[–] kabe@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

I'd argue it's significantly more preferable to have a laptop that's a little thicker but you can safely open in a couple of minutes with a screwdriver, but your mileage may vary.

[–] 20gramsWrench@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 year ago (2 children)

oh lord that pic is unnerving

[–] Dirk@lemmy.ml 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

oh lord that pic is unnerving

Fixed!

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago
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[–] tubbadu@lemmy.kde.social 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Cool! But why does the surface in the picture run windows?

[–] Mirrorgiraffe@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

Obviously emulated

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It does (not) 😃

[–] Theophylaktos@lemmy.fmhy.ml 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I really like the Dell 5290 2-in-1. Not a surface but with 16 gigs of ram and an Intel i7-8650 CPU its a very capable tablet. It runs Linux well and everything just works. The downside is most DE's are not optimized for a tablet. I found KDE with the maliit-keyboard is the most usable combination.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Awesome configuration. Also use Plasma with Maliit keyboard. Also found it the best configuration!

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[–] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Change c:\Users\username to /home/username in Windows 12, Redmond.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago
[–] rose@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I also recently got a Surface Pro 6. I got it used for $200, but it was in great condition, low battery cycles, and came with one of the keyboard covers. As you said, everything works. Gnome in Wayland is pretty good for touchscreen. I also got a third party pen for it that works great in Krita and xournal++.

I wish using it as a tablet was a bit better supported in Gnome or other DEs, and the battery life is only ... OK. Still, as a thin and light linux tablet I can carry in my bag to work on light tasks or look up content it's fantastic. The keyboard cover also makes it great for typing, programming, or opening remote shells on the go.

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[–] julianh@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I wanted a small device to take notes on for school, but that I could also do development on for my cs classes. Got a surface go 3, put fedora (gnome) on it, added the surface kernel, and it's honestly a better tablet experience than windows. I use xournal++ for notetaking and the stylus and touchscreen all work great.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is awesome experience, agreed! You can try Rnote, Xournal++ in concept but way better UI. Xournal++ has better PDF support though.

[–] julianh@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Yeah I draw over a lot of pdfs so that support is pretty important. The UI isn't great but I can at least customize it, and I've gotten it to a place I'm happy with.

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[–] Boleano@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

Really good project!

[–] Parastie@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I'm running EndeavourOS on my Surface Pro 7. Only 2 things are not working, the camera and I haven't figured out how to get rotation to work. I am using Wayland compositor with KDE Plasma and occasionally Hyprland.

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[–] Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 year ago (6 children)

My Surface Go 1 is a really great Linux device with Fedora on it and I use the usb-c to have it displayed on a big screen when necessary. Sadly the cameras don’t work yet..

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[–] Baconsaur@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Using a Pro 6 with Linux (Arch now, but used Ubuntu and Fedora in the past). I wouldn’t say that camera works like a charm, far from that.

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[–] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago

Fwiw, this is NOT an official Microsoft release, it's like Asahi Linux, where the community made it Linux-compatible

[–] Imhotep@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I'm looking for a device to read comics (bandes dessinées, the taller A4 format), newspapers, rss feeds

I use an ipad for now, but I'd like to get rid of it

It needs high definition (at least 1440p) in a 12" or 13" screen. (11 too, less ideal), and to stay cool while reading/light browsing

I would love for this to be a Linux device.
Could this be it? What would be the cheapest option?

edit: a surface pro 3 at 200€?

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Pro 3 will be pretty good for your needs. It will have bad battery life but if you use it at home then no problem.

[–] Imhotep@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago
[–] rishabh@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have an old Surface Book 1. I have windows 11 on it and it works ok. I can't run anything heavy on it of course but little web browsing and zoom meeting etc. works fine. I really enjoy the awesome camera and face id login. I am worried with Linux install, the camera will not be as good. If someone can confirm their experience on SB1, I can be convinced to install Linux on it.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

No FaceID, worse camera quality, worse Battery life. If it is ok, go and try it. If not, it is okey 🙂

[–] rishabh@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Yeah, seems like a deal breaker to me. What do you even gain then? Performance improvements?

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

We like Linux. Freedom. Privacy. GNOME UI is really well adapted for tablets with it's gestures and overview effect. Plasma is also very good. Animations are way more smooth and responsive than on Windows.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This comment states that everything good with Book 2 so maybe Book 1 will also have good battery life.

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[–] Sandevistan@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Time to whip out my old Surface Pro 4, wonder if it will help with the screen flickering issue.

[–] FarLine99@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

Sadly, it will not. Very weird hardware bug 😕

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