Litebook Launches A $249 Linux Laptop (zdnet.com)

An anonymous reader writes: It's "like a Chromebook for Linux users on a budget," reports ZDNet. The new 2.9-pound Litebook uses Intel's Celeron N3150 processor and ships with a 14.1-inch display and a 512-gigabyte hard drive with full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080). For $20 more they'll throw in a 32-gigabyte SSD to speed up your boot time. "Unlike Windows laptops, Litebooks are highly optimized, come without performance hogging bloatware, [are] designed to ensure your privacy, and are entirely free of malware and viruses," writes the company's web site. They also add that their new devices "are affordable, customizable, and are backwards compatible with Windows software."

Comments

Pine not Wine

[tepples]

Last I heard of Pinebook on Slashdot was a comment by vux984 mentioning it in passing.

But one disadvantage of switching from x86 and x86-64 to ARM and AArch64 is inability to run the occasional Windows application in Wine. My work flow includes a few Windows applications distributed as free software, such as FCEUX debugging version, FamiTracker, and Modplug Tracker. All are usable in Wine, even on a dinky little Atom CPU. If you go ARM, you're on your own recompiling them for linking with Winelib.

Re:FUCK LINUX

[lucm]

2017 and still solving the same fucking problems for the last 10 years

This is not true at all. Now with systemd there's a whole new set of problems.

Get a refurbished ThinkPad

[ArhcAngel]

I have always used a ThinkPad that is off lease and verified. Newegg has a host of models listed between $200-$300. And the ThinkWiki will help you with the particulars if you aren't familiar with the model you get.

Re:Get a refurbished ThinkPad

[LVSlushdat]

I do the same thing, but with Dell offlease Latitudes/Precisions.. Currently using a Latitude E5410 with 8Gb of ram, an i3 processor, and Kubuntu 14.04.. Works like a champ...

Litebook Comments

[Anonymous Coward]

Hello I'm one of the creators of the Litebook, and I'm here to address a few of the comments. The Hard Drive formats to 500GB, but is advertised by the supplier as a 512GB Device.

The SSD is not a replacement for the standard drive or a hybrid mechanical Hard Drive. Its a separate 32GB drive and is seen as such by the operating system.

Skype is not a preinstalled application. We include pictures of it to show Windows Users that the applications they are familiar with will run on the Litebook.

Thank You,

The Litebook Team

So much

[puddingebola]

So much of the Linux laptop market seems to be targeted at the low end (current story), or the high end (Dell XPS Ubuntu developer edition). Only System 76 seems to offer anything middle of the road (core i3 for $700). Not really confident linux can get a foothold in a market with a Windows 10 laptop at every price point from top to bottom.

Re:What kind of budget?

[lucm]

Where is the breakthrough here?

You can glue an Apple logo on it and nobody at Starbucks will be able to tell that it's not a Macbook, as long as you pick blurry fonts and remember not to maximize windows.

Re:Celeron?

[Anonymous Coward]

Those aren't real prices. Like AC above says, you can buy systems from Intel with similarly prices processors for almost the same price as what Intel lists for the processor. Those are either place-holder prices (just so that they can list a price in their literature), or the price that you would pay as a consumer to get one processor if you could buy one (which you can't).

Re:512 gigabyte hard drive?

[guacamole]

In fact, there is no mechanical HDD with full HD resolution (1,920 x 1,080) either.

Re:Celeron?

[gweihir]

No, this is Linux were you do not need an ungodly amount of CPU power to do the simplest things...

Re:Celeron?

[Harold Halloway]

What Intel giveth, Microsoft taketh away.

Re:Celeron?

[jawtheshark]

I know it's unpopular here in slashdot, but Celerons are awesome. Well, awesome to a certain extent. You need to know what you use them for. First of all, you need to know there are two types of Celerons. Those based on Atom technology and those based on Core technology. Guess which ones you want to avoid? Yes, indeed.. You don't want the Atom based ones.

Fortunately, in the mobile space, this is easy to determine. Look at the model number: if it starts with a letter, it's based on Atom. Just don't buy it. However, if it starts with a a number (may, but not must have a trailing letter), you are looking at Core based Celerons. Those are actually, very good. They make decent desktops for light users. Sure, you're not going to do some heavy CAD/CAM on them or high-end gaming, but for someone doing Office work they are fine. I have a user running a database on it (for specialized software related to his farm), and I have a Celeron running as a Xen host with a few light-use VMs on them. Works fine.

For desktop Celerons, I am not completely sure how to identify the lame Atom ones. From what I remember, if the model number starts with a "J", avoid them.

Now, of course, the described laptop is an Atom based one... So, I wouldn't buy it.