Hi,
I’m thinking about ordering a Librem 11, but at the moment you can only select PureOS. Is it possible to install Qubes OS on my own or is the hardware of a Librem 11 too slow for running Qubes OS?
Thanks for your answer!
It would be possible to install any GNU/Linux. Hardware (CPU most important) has required features for Qubes, more details here: http://ark.intel.com/products/85234/Intel-Core-M-5Y10c-Processor-4M-Cache-up-to-2_00-GHz
We will not offer Qubes on Librem11 (at least not for now). You could try it yourself but I didn’t make check what all Qubes requires lately for virtualization and also notice that it is a huge memory hungry OS.
So it should be possible to install any Linux Distribution (Debian, Ubuntu…), but will they work “out of the box”?
Does Wifi and Bluetooth work straight away? And does the Touchscreen Input work properly under every distribution?
Or did you integrated some things in PureOS to make every piece of hardware work like you want it to?
I have a Surface 3 running Fedora on it and it needs a lot of additional stuff like Drivers for its Touchscreen, Hardware Buttons and Battery Management (with Camera and Sensor Drivers still missing) or an On-Screen Keyboard (which still don’t work in Browsers).
So I need precompiled Custom Images for it. If I start a standard Ubuntu or ArchLinux not much will work.
So it should be possible to install any Linux Distribution (Debian, Ubuntu…), but will they work “out of the box”?
Yes.
Does Wifi and Bluetooth work straight away?
Wi-Fi yes. For bluetooth on Librem 13 and 15 (I’m not sure about Librem 11) you need non-free firmware (but we are working on FOSS bluetooth support).
And does the Touchscreen Input work properly under every distribution?
Yes.
Or did you integrated some things in PureOS to make every piece of hardware work like you want it to?
No. Any changes we make to software by license terms we need to publish, so we just report them (the changes) upstream so everyone can benefit.
Thanks for the Info! If the Librem 11 would be compatible with every Linux Distro without the need of adding Patches, Fixes or Drivers to make it work (Touchscreen, Screen Rotation, Hardware Buttons, Battery Management, Wifi, Bluetooth, Speakers, Camera, Keyboard, Touchpad Gestures, On-Screen Keyboard) it would be awesome and unique at the moment.
Im thinking of giving my Surface 3 to my wife and purchasing a Surface Pro for myself (better Linux Support, bigger, more powerful), but if the Librem 11 would really work 100% out of the Box with every Linux Distro it would be a Deal Breaker! I’m thrilled for Beginning of December to read the experiences of the others. Maybe I buy myself a Christmas Present.
Unless something terrible goes wrong in supply chain (which shouldn’t at all) it should all work out-of-the-box as I tested on it Debian Stretch and all worked (test done with GNOME DE).
That sounds promising!
How do you handle writing in Browsers like Chrome and Firefox? AFAIK it is common issue under Linux that On-Screen Keyboards don’t show up when writing inside the Browser. That’s my main issue with my Surface 3, because it’s not fully useful as a Tablet because you still need the HW Keyboard.
As a workaround I use “Virtual Keyboard” in the Chomium Browser. It doesn´t work with every text input field and it doesn´t work at the address bar and it´s a bit complicated outside the US QWERTY with non-english letters and also hasn´t been updated in nearly a year.
So, as you can see this workaround is pretty bad and I´m hoping you found a better solution for this problem.
Can you say anything about it?
After some days without an answer I’m beginning to wonder if you have a solution for this problem.
If that’s the case, the Librem 11 isn’t that useful without a Keyboard attached.
The Problem isn’t your fault, it’s a Firefox or Chrome Issue, which Mozilla or Google have to fix. But I think that’s not going to happen soon and if you want your Librem 11 to be fully useful as a Tablet (without a Keyboard attached) you will have to find a workaround.
NorthernLights, there’s no need for that tone. Also, you started with Librem 11 and Qubes and ended up asking about Firefox touch support, it’s hard to keep up when you constantly changing the thread subject.
To try to answer your question: I don’t have Librem 11 prototype so I can’t say for sure, but to my knowledge, latest versions of Firefox (which are using gtk3) have a decent touch support in Gnome. As far as I can see on the internet, on-screen keyboard shows on tapping inside a text areas on page.
I’ll keep you posted if I come across new info.
I’m sorry if I sounded rude or unpolite, this wasn’t my intention!
I was just curious about this particular problem because it affects the usability as a Tablet in a big way. And you were responding so quickly when talking about support of other distros and then nobody gives any answer after days.
And about the Problem. I am running Fedora 24 on my Surface 3, everything is up to date and Firefox isn’t working with touch at all. No On-Screen Keyboard, no scrolling per touch, no pinch-to-zoom. It seems to be a known problem:
Chromium has better support, at least scrolling and pinch to zoom works well. But the Extension “Virtual Keyboard” just works on some text input fields, no every one. And not in the address bar.
Sorry for the double-post, but if you think that the questions about Touch Support in Browsers / Systemwide On-Screen Keyboard belong in a separate Thread, could you (are you a Mod?) or some Mod move them over to a new thread?
has anyone there tried qubes-os on the 11? im also thinking of getting one as a backup terminal.
has anyone there tried qubes-os on the 11?
I’m sure someone will try it sooner or later, as soon as we start shipping Librem 11 and it starts to reach our supporters.