Slashdot Mirror

ZenPad 3S 10 with USB-C. Already out for a year. Obviously, all mobile tablets and phones are going to USB-C, Apple only follows the herd.

ASUS is a great motherboard manufacture, and has been for a long time. Even when I use other motherboards ASUS is still one of the top tier in my book. Finding a better one....

Your motherboard is using the z87 chipset
Not just ASUS, Gigabyte and MSI (other good motherboard makers) also don't have released microcode
https://www.asus.com/News/V5ur...
https://www.gigabyte.com/Micro...
https://www.msi.com/news/detai...

You'll have to rely on the OS patches.

wouldn't it be cool to come hone, slam your phone into a dock and have a mouse, a keyboard and a couple monitors linked to that dock, complete with Internet access, LAN access, etc.

Asus have a couple of different options in that space. E.g.
https://www.asus.com/uk/Phone/...

The Mobile Desktop Dock gives ROG Phone unprecedented expansion capabilities. Connect to an external 4K UHD monitor, mouse and keyboard while using ROG Phone as an auxiliary display, hook up to a wired gigabit LAN and use the S/PDIF output to drive your 5.1-channel surround-sound system.

https://www.asus.com/Laptops/R...

ROG - Republic Of Gamers
Ryzen 5 or 7 processor
Radeon RX580

My now-ancient ASUS G50VT included ExpressGate. Based on Splashtop, burned into the BIOS ROM, manageable. Rudimentary Firefox browser, email client, Skype, and obviously hard to update. But it ran independently of any OS installed on storage.

Splashtop is now done, but it was also used by ASUS on some motherboards, and then endured obscurity, competition, and finally turned into something else.

It did work. It was pretty minimal, and could have been cool. And it certainly is possible today, even in BIOS, with flexibility and update capabilities, but somehow I don't see any of this on the market.

The obvious solution would be to embed ChromeOS or something similar, fairly lightweight and useful. This could let you keep your primary OS invisible.

Cost?

Nvidia should put buzz words like "blockchain" and "crypto" in the name/descriptions of a line of video cards they're producing with a high margin and let nature take its course.

Nvidia and AMD have already released "Mining" SKUs which have been picked up by vendors like ASUS...

https://www.asus.com/Graphics-...

Despite these announcements, there is no availability of these SKUs either... Can't sell what you don't have...

For reference here are the Asus EEE 701 Specs(8.9" Wide x 6.3" Deep x 1.3" High)

Asus Mini Specs (~10" wide)
Asus Transformer Pad (~10" wide)
Chuwi Surfacebook Mini (~10" wide)
GPD Pocket
Or any Surface tablet with a bluetooth keyboard case (e.g. Naxa)

For reference here are the Asus EEE 701 Specs(8.9" Wide x 6.3" Deep x 1.3" High)

Asus Mini Specs (~10" wide)
Asus Transformer Pad (~10" wide)
Chuwi Surfacebook Mini (~10" wide)
GPD Pocket
Or any Surface tablet with a bluetooth keyboard case (e.g. Naxa)

A few offerings from ASUS: https://www.asus.com/us/2-in-1... https://www.asus.com/us/2-in-1... https://www.asus.com/us/Tablet... It is actually quite hard to make suggestions without knowledge of all your needs.

A few offerings from ASUS: https://www.asus.com/us/2-in-1... https://www.asus.com/us/2-in-1... https://www.asus.com/us/Tablet... It is actually quite hard to make suggestions without knowledge of all your needs.

A few offerings from ASUS: https://www.asus.com/us/2-in-1... https://www.asus.com/us/2-in-1... https://www.asus.com/us/Tablet... It is actually quite hard to make suggestions without knowledge of all your needs.

I love my Asus UX305CA.

Yes if I can install Linux on it. I love the concept of very lightweight, long battery life and still a full OS with a keyboard.
I've got a Lenovo MIIx, which I like, but never managed to get Linux running on it properly as it needs 64 bit UEfi but the processor (atom) is limited to 32 bit. I managed to get multiarch Debian on it but it would freeze within minutes after boot. It's probably my only device with just Windows on it and I now hardly ever use it.

A device that can run for days, and has a full desktop OS on it definitely has purpose for me, I just prefer that to be Linux.

Btw this link has much more info on the device

amd ThreadRipper same thing no IPMI and no workstation boards.

The ThreadRipper Opteron 6300 is a socket G34 board.

NewEgg has Dual-Socket G34 boards, designed for workstations and server racks.

It can use an embedded KVM for remote management, which is an IPMI 2.0 compliant interface.

So... go vote with your wallet or something.

https://www.asus.com/VivoWatch...

There is at-least one Android phone with a zoom lens:

Asus Zenphone Zoom

The lens construction is pretty interesting, and yes, it really does have proper optical zoom.

Subnotebooks that "just work" with GNU/Linux used to be easy to find until the end of 2012

I have a subnotebook (Acer Aspire One) that "just works" with Linux and has for a long time

From Wikipedia's article:

In January 2013, Acer officially ended production of their Aspire One series due to declining sales as a result of consumers favoring tablets and Ultrabooks over netbooks.

I guess my user story differs from that of most such "consumers".

I now use an Asus Zenbook which runs Linux perfectly.

I have no experience with that make and model, but its official web site looks clunky and pretentious. It opens with an automatically playing video larger than the window, it isn't obvious how to proceed, and the layout doesn't fit in a web browser window that's been snapped to fit half the width of a 1920x1080 pixel monitor. Finally at the top left, "ASUS recommends Windows".

For the type of work I need to get done, I don't really want a subnotebook

Then your user story differs from mine. I want a subnotebook because I use commute time on public transit to and from my first job to make additional time to work on my second job, which is from home. And if I'm carrying a laptop everywhere I go, I find it more convenient to carry a smaller one. I currently use a Dell Inspiron mini 1012 and worry about what will be available for me to use once it finally bites the dust.

Sorry, that may have caused a bit of confusion. Let's compare two products from ASUS which in the same price range, this should remove ambiguous information:
AMD X370: https://www.asus.com/us/Mother...
Intel Z270: https://www.asus.com/us/Mother...

If we scroll a bit down we see a picture of the boards and some features listed beside them, connected with red lines.
On both we get 2x PCIe 3.0 x16, which is supposedly handled by the CPU. That's fine, both CPUs can run two graphicscards with 'full' lanes.
But then the differences start.
You can see that the AMD board offers 1x PCIe 2.0 x16 (PCH) and 3x PCIe 3.0 x1 (PCH). While the Intel board offers 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (PCH) and 3x PCIe x1 (PCH). PCH, for those who are unfamiliar, is the platform controller hub, more generally speaking the chipset as in X370 and Z270. Here we can see that the AMD chipset is indeed a bit short on PCIe 3.0 lanes compared to the Intel one.

On the right side we can also see their official M.2 Socket 3 Type M support (you need an adapter to jam those SSDs into regular PCIe slots). Where the AMD chipset offers 1x 2242~221100 (PCIe 3.0 x4). The Intel chipset offers the same but also adds 1x 2242~2280 (PCIe 3.0 x4).

Sorry, that may have caused a bit of confusion. Let's compare two products from ASUS which in the same price range, this should remove ambiguous information:
AMD X370: https://www.asus.com/us/Mother...
Intel Z270: https://www.asus.com/us/Mother...

If we scroll a bit down we see a picture of the boards and some features listed beside them, connected with red lines.
On both we get 2x PCIe 3.0 x16, which is supposedly handled by the CPU. That's fine, both CPUs can run two graphicscards with 'full' lanes.
But then the differences start.
You can see that the AMD board offers 1x PCIe 2.0 x16 (PCH) and 3x PCIe 3.0 x1 (PCH). While the Intel board offers 1x PCIe 3.0 x16 (PCH) and 3x PCIe x1 (PCH). PCH, for those who are unfamiliar, is the platform controller hub, more generally speaking the chipset as in X370 and Z270. Here we can see that the AMD chipset is indeed a bit short on PCIe 3.0 lanes compared to the Intel one.

On the right side we can also see their official M.2 Socket 3 Type M support (you need an adapter to jam those SSDs into regular PCIe slots). Where the AMD chipset offers 1x 2242~221100 (PCIe 3.0 x4). The Intel chipset offers the same but also adds 1x 2242~2280 (PCIe 3.0 x4).

You should look at gaming laptops, some of them are a bit thick, but they really are true desktop replacements. https://www.asus.com/us/Notebo...

I travel on vacation with not only my laptop, but a usb displaylink monitor. https://www.asus.com/us/Monito... Most times I don't need to troubleshoot anything with the servers at work, but sometimes the extra real estate comes in handy. I wouldnt mind having a way of detaching an extra monitor for day to day use, that way im not lugging aroung the extra weight, but also be able to reattach it and carry around as part of the laptop, without lugging around a completely separate piece of equipment.

On a more helpful note I would probably chose from this page:

http://store.asus.com/us/categ...

Nvidia will probably soon put out a new GPU that fits in the 750ti price and thermal range, and it will probably be the fastest card that does not require an external power connector. (Much like the 750ti is now)

It's already out. Better revisions of the GTX 950 have been able to get the power down to 75w. For that you get 40% higher performance than the GTX 750 Ti, and for just a five dollar premium over other GTX 950 cards!

The Asus card review

The Newegg page.

The pictures on the Newegg site still show a power connector, but on the Asus product page it's clearly removed:

https://www.asus.com/us/Graphi...

And a recet review also confirms no power connector!

So yeah, Nvidia pushed this out unofficially because they will be waiting a few months for GP107, and thye wanted to stop making GTX 750 Ti silicon.

Um, no. Their are 2 transformer series of devices from Asus. One is a series of laptops with 'tablet' style features. The other are Tablets with laptop style functions (through the keyboard/battery attachment).

This is what I own: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... or go here for the original page: https://www.asus.com/Tablets/E...

Asus seems to have been brain dead when creating the marketing for these, which has lead to the confusion.

Try checking out the Memopad 572c. 2 GB RAM, a fantastic screen, supports SD cards, and a really high performing chip with ~ 10 hour battery life, all for less than $199. It's not made anymore, can only get up to Android 5 at the moment, and won't take on the full size ipad, but for what you get it's a fantastic deal, if you can still find it. A decent $199 tablet seems to be a lost art these days :/

Just bought the Asus UX305.

Very thin and very light (less than 2.5lbs), plus passive cooling. I was wary of the CPU, 900MHz with boost to 2.2GHz, but so far it's been great.

Thanks for cherry picking to suit your argument. The first laptop I looked at ASUS Launches the new ZENBOOK UX303 Ultrabooks starting at $899 - dated 2014/08/13. It began shipping in Sept/2014.

I'm not sure that Asus is a great choice anymore either. I copied this from a Full Disclosure release:
# Exploit Title: ASUS RT-N56U Persistent XSS
# Date: 2/2/2016
# Exploit Author: @GraphX
# Vendor Homepage: http://asus.com/
# Version: 3.0.0.4.374_239

1 Description:
It is possible for an authenticated attacker to bypass input sanitation in
the username input field of the Server Center page. An interception proxy
is not required with the use of the developer console and changing the
field value of the username after the third verification task is complete,
and before the password sanitation begins in the modify_account.asp file.

Alternatively, an attacker can bypass client side sanitation all together
by submitting a valid option and then changing the parameters in an
interception proxy.

There is a small amount of server-side sanitation, but this is easily
circumvented by making sure (in this example) the field value ends up
looking like this. user"> Keeping the the
src parameter as far to the right as possible appears to circumvent any
server-side sanitation attempts.

2 Proof of Concept

1)Login to router

2)navigate to:
http://aidisk/modify_account.asp?account=user&new_account=user&new_password=123&confirm_password=123

3 Solution:
Don't buy ASUS Routers.
**********NOTE******************
Other router models are likely affected by this vulnerability as they
appear to share the same or similar firmware (example: RT-N66U).
I have been unable to confirm this theory as the vendor is unresponsive.
http://seclists.org/fulldisclo...

Honestly the thing that would make continuum really worth while would be if Microsoft got rid of the phone OS entirely and ported the telephony stack to the full Windows 10 OS and just install full Windows 10 on everything, including phones. Then when you enter desktop mode when you dock for phone you will be able to run Win32 apps in addition to the universal apps. With that, you will truly have a real, full computer in your pocket.

Of course this does mean that Microsoft would have to limit their phone OS to X86 CPUs, otherwise the feature would not be worthwhile. Honestly... I don't think that is as big of a deal as it sounds. Intel's smartphone chips have changed a lot in the last 2 years. If you haven't taken a look at the Zenfone 2 yet, its a great phone. You don't notice anything different between it and other high end Android phones other than the fact that is has an Intel logo on the back and it has the same features as a $600 phone for $300. Since nobody builds phones with Windows installed anymore except Microsoft, restricting the phone OS to X86 only isn't going to affect some existing OEM customer base :)

I carry a Dell Inspiron 1012, a 10.1" Linux laptop, [...] and wonder what I'll be able to replace it with

Asus still makes EeeBooks

One thing the old Eee PC had going for it was Linux compatibility. The EeeBook, on the other hand, appears to have the same compatibility problems that plague the same company's Transformer Book. They couldn't get audio or suspend working, for one thing.

Want Android? Pay M$.

Wrong. Head over here and grab Android, no payment necessary to anybody.

Want Apple? You're probably paying M$.

Wrong again.

Want a PC? Unless you build it yourself, you're paying M$.

Nope. Still wrong. Even from the biggest vendors you can buy Linux laptops and there are plenty of ChromeOS-based systems from laptops to desktops. Even if you buy a PC pre-loaded with Windows you can contact the manufacturer for a refund of the license cost.

Even if you don't, they're still controlling the hardware specs.

No. No they aren't.

This is extortion and monopolization at its finest.

No it isnt extortion and certainly in today's realm of personal computing that includes everything from smartphones to tablets to PCs Microsoft does not have a monopoly by any definition. There are a wealth of personal computing options: Windows, various Linux distros, OSX, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, FirefoxOS, ChromeOS, etc.

Meanwhile, my blood ran cold when I read this knowing that LadyAda sold out. I guess she needed the money. So much for Adafruit.

Nobody "sold out", you're just upset at choice and competition. Competition is a good thing, we have it in personal computing and we should have it in the embedded space too. If you don't like Windows on embedded devices then by all means choose Linux instead, nobody is stopping you.

There is no mobile data option in the specs on Asus' website

No good if you want a stand-alone mobile data terminal.

My situation exactly, I totally sympathize with you, right down to the 2012 Nexus 7 and the exact same problems (minus storage issues). Was (and is) an amazing tablet, but it's becoming rather long in the tooth, and I think I may have to replace it soon, especially with the battery life having dropped dramatically. I'm currently looking at an Asus Zenpad C 7.0 , but I've never used it before, and so I can't make any statements as to the quality. Seems to be similar in spirit to the Nexus 7 (2012). If anybody has any expirience with this tablet, I'd love to hear it! (Or, other reccommendations would be much appreciated too).

The way this works with British Telecom is that you have multiple SIDs on your router. There's one you connect to that you have control over, and there are also additional SIDs like "BTWifi-with-FON" and "BTWifi-X" with separate IP address and logging that you have no control over.
I think that BT internet customers have a free access to these all over the country and if they opt-out of this they can then get it disabled on their own home router. This way BT claims they literally have millions of WIFI access points all over the country, yet the experience is terrible if actually the network is on residential ADSL (upstream capped to 448kb/s for instance).

Incidentally I've wondered whether you could just replace their ADSL or VDSL (FTTC) router with something of your own without these additional access points and still been able to access their national network of access points for free.

Not quite the way it works bud. You DO have control over the public hotspot.. in settings you can turn it on or off.
/my advice would be to opt into the BT wifi scheme on the BT website, connect your router with it opted in. BT then gets a wee signal from it and you are then verified and allowed on the fon network and their partners worldwide. THEN.. turn the fucking public wifi off and you'll never have a problem.. it's only ever checked once

Also it's a trivial matter to change router. I have this puppy which is future proof enough for me, can handle any isp/connection type(adsl,vdsl, cable) and when you run the Asuswrt-Merlin firmware . it gives you a lot more settings to tweat and explore and is a pretty fucking rock solid router and it looks sweet :P
BTW your BT connection username and password is user = BT passie = user i shit you not.

I left BT and moved to talktalk... I know. they are SHITE but at 26 quids all in for 80mb down and 20mb up including phone charges(just tell them you will go to sky.. they'll give you an offer) and i am 60 meters by wire from the cabinet. I am in the process of getting all the other flats on my stair to sign up to http://hyperoptic.com/ ... only one more place out the six to get to sign up and it's happy fucking days for me :P.

also.. i can STILL use my BT-wifi/FON login anywhere in the world and it's been 6 months since i left BT and i've used it here in Scotland, in England,in Portugal, Denver,Houston, Amsterdam New Jersey and the Republic of Ireland. it's the gift that keeps on giving as the turds are too lazy to check status more than the initial one :P

This Asus MEMO Pad 7 is essentially the late 2014 Nexus - just not branded as such..

http://www.asus.com/us/Tablets...

I got one for $150 at Best Buy and have been very satisfied aside from my normal android complaint of the home/back buttons taking up a whole strip of the interface space at the bottom of the scren.

Just a thought but maybe they are losing to the Asus Xtion. That is a possible explanation.

I've done something similar for years (going on 6 years) with a lower powered one.
It works great. sits above my furnace (not on it). Auto restarts on a power failure, etc.

My crawl space isn't dusty nor wet as a lot of posters suggest to protect against -- and after 6 years, it doesn't owe me anything -- still going strong.

https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Com...

once an android competitor comes out and hangs around in this artificial market long enough until people realize singing talking wrist watches are about as practical as google glass

Uh, I have some news for you.

Later models of the Transformer run Windows desktop apps. See Transformer Book T100.

http://www.asus.com/Graphics_C...

Short 970 from asus that will fit in a 110 for sure.

You might want to update your brand-hate slightly.

Asus: http://www.asus.com/ca-en/Note... Toshiba: http://www.cnet.com/products/k...

Samsung I know nothing about however ...

Samsung: http://www.samsung.com/us/seri...

You might want to update your brand-hate slightly.

Asus: http://www.asus.com/ca-en/Note...
Toshiba: http://www.cnet.com/products/k...

Samsung I know nothing about however ...

I too carry a Dell Inspiron mini 1012 wherever I go on the bus. But companies stopped making 10" laptops at the end of 2012 in favor of 10" tablets with snap-on keyboards. And I have a 7" Android tablet that I use to browse the web one-handed.*

* I donate plasma twice a week. Get your mind out of the gutter.

I'm looking forward to trying out one of these real soon: http://www.asus.com/Tablets_Mo... (intel cpu phone docking tablet)

As far as cost is concerned, it's available for $200 with no contract (carrier-locked to AT&T). Once a procedure is known for unlocking, rooting and using with Tmobile, I'll be their next customer.

Quite helpfully if you want to have a look, at what it supports, they've put the UI online:
http://event.asus.com/2012/nw/...

I recently acquired an Asus Maximus VII Hero (Z97 chipset ofc, paired with a Devil's Canyon) and everything works out of the box with Mint 17. Not sure what you're raging about.

I'm using a P8Z77-V LE PLUS with an i7-3770.
I run Ubuntu 12.04, and I haven't had any problems.
I reboot once every couple of months for kernel updates.

I think OP is playing the "I have the money to buy X, but I'd rather fret about it until there's a better system Y" game. Dude, there will always be a better system in 6 months. Always. That's how the market works.

Why hasn't Google given Microsoft the coup de grace and actively developed some desktop/laptop distro ala Chromebook but without the stupid "web only" focus?

Yep, a desktop "Chromebox" would be just the ticket.

This with more power, more OFFLINE, more backing:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...
http://promos.asus.com/us/chro...

They could have an add-on to play blu-ray/DVD (complete with non-free licensing, whatever) as well as LibreOffice or OpenOffice and a client like Thunderbird (which many from the Outlook Express era - even Outlook itself - could migrate to easily).

I believe it is more than their web-centric focus and it relates to carving up fiefdoms and not needlessly pissing in MSFT's Cheerios (TM). Not only is Microsoft a dangerous competitor, however oafish, there is not much profit in their destruction for Google (IMO). The threat of desktop takeover might be more profitable than the takeover itself. Keeps the #2 competitor far away...

You're missing a letter my friend, I said UX31LA..

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks_...

Look at the Asus routers and access points, they usually make decent stuff at a reasonable price.