Win 8.1 tablets incoming; $249 and up

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Tell me about it. Way, way back, wanted to run Kubuntu on my laptop. Alas, wifi was problematic so ended up ditching it and going back to XP. Things are much improved since then on that front but given how new these mainstream x86 tablets are, I'm not holding much hope for the touchscreen/digitizer working seamlessly right off the bat.

The other source of issues is likely going to be storage--space, for starters, and drivers to deal with the "SSD" which can easily be a proprietary solution instead of a standard module. On these low-cost tablets I would assume proprietary as the default until learning otherwise. Which means that being able to partition the storage to host an alternate OS is no sure thing.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Drivers are the bane of alternate OSes on x86.
The touch screen and the pen digitizer are the most likely sources of trouble.

The real problem is the failure of manufacturers to document the interfaces to their products.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Acer W3-810
Codename: Cheetah

Why are Acer referring to their tablet as a "Cheetah" -- is it especially fast or dishonest?

Besides which, I was looking forward to a Cheetah Chromebook.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

The real problem is the failure of manufacturers to document the interfaces to their products.

Is there any law that requires that?
It costs money and hampers slipstreaming.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Is there any law that requires that?

That is irrelevant to whether it is a problem. whether or not something is legally forbidden or legally required are not the sole criteria for whether or not something should or should not be done. Neither is cost isolated from all other costs and benefits.

Originally Posted by fjtorres

It costs money and hampers slipstreaming.

Boo hoo. It enables faster, greater progress, fewer bugs, wider adoption, and broader uses, which ultimately makes more money.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

It enables faster, greater progress, fewer bugs, wider adoption, and broader uses, which ultimately makes more money.

Yet for all that, 99% of buyers don't care.
And, since buyers don't care, neither do manufacturers of consumer computers and components. Absent a law forcing them, they're not going to waste time and money on stuff that buys them nothing they need.

As you said: "Boo-hoo".
(shrug)

[Dulin's Books]

Originally Posted by emt

The Surface RT (original or the next generation) is great hardware but lacks good ebook reading software - does anyone know of a good epub reader?

I installed Freda and it works well but i prefer to read on my eink readers. aside from news the only reading I do on my SurfaceRT is comic books.