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Portable Linx 7/8/10 Owners Thread

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Gareth Halfacree, 16 Dec 2014.

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  1. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Rather than clutter up other threads, I figured I'd post 'ere so all of us who've picked up one of those bargain-basement Linx Windows 8.1 tablets can share experiences and tips.

    First things first: have you gone into the BIOS yet? It's a full-on AMI BIOS. There are all kinds of options, some of which I have no idea what they do: try Googling for "S5-Charging Driver," for example, which is disabled by default. Some options look like they might boost battery life, but on the other hand I'd hate to do something which disables USB-OTG by mistake 'cos that's the only way to interact with the BIOS menu...

    I've disabled Secure Boot and told the tablet to boot from 'UEFI Removable' (and 'UEFI DVD,' just in case) but have had no luck getting it to load an Ubuntu Live USB connected to the USB OTG port. If anyone else figures out how to make that work, let me know - would be nice to have the option to load an alternative operating system.

    Also: I was pleased to find the machine has enough grunt to run WinUAE (formerly known as the UNIX, then Ultimate, Amiga Emulator), although WinUAE does *not* like touch-screen input. With a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, though, it'd be a perfectly acceptable emulation machine.
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 16 Dec 2014
    #1
  2. Pookie

    Pookie Illegitimi non carborundum

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    So do these tablets run a normal version of Windows 8?
     
    Pookie, 16 Dec 2014
    #2
  3. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    Yup: a specific variant of Windows 8.1 called "Windows 8.1 with Bing." It's 32-bit (annoying on a 64-bit processor) and limited to devices with 1GB of RAM - but it's full-fat x86 Windows 8.1 with Desktop mode and everything. I've installed a bunch of legacy applications, including Firefox (works surprisingly well in 1GB of RAM), WinUAE, KryoFlux and more. Basically, OEMs promise not to fill it up with their own bloatware and to keep Bing as the default search engine (although the user, naturally, is free to change that post-purchase) and in return Microsoft gives 'em Windows 8.1 with Bing licences free of charge - which is why the tablet can be sold for less than a Windows 8.1 licence would cost on its own!
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 16 Dec 2014
    #3
  4. Pookie

    Pookie Illegitimi non carborundum

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    Ah ok. So I doubt you could upgrade to 8.1 Pro or do a fresh install of Windows 8 64Bit?
     
    Pookie, 16 Dec 2014
    #4
  5. tyepye

    tyepye Minimodder

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    I haven't tinkered with mine yet, just using it as is.

    Installed Football Manager 2015 on it yesterday and it plays really well considering only 1GB RAM. Playing Classic Mode, with all English leagues, interface is fine for touchscreen. I run it windowed so I can pop the on screen keyboard up when I need to. Game speed is good and 3D match engine runs no problem.

    Going to give a bit of steam streaming a go later from my gaming rig, seriously thinking about getting rid of my Laptop and getting a nice portable bluetooth keyboard and mouse for on the go as I haven't touched my laptop since getting this!

    Below is what I wrote in the hardware bargains thread for those that haven't seen it

     
    tyepye, 16 Dec 2014
    #5
  6. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    Mine is slated (pardon the pun) for delivery today or tomorrow.

    I didn't realise the Office 365 allows you to install on the PC too, although I doubt I'll use it.
     
    David, 16 Dec 2014
    #6
  7. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

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    In theory, you should be able to: like I say, the option to boot from external devices is there. In practice, I haven't been able to make it work yet - although I haven't tried a Microsoft OS, like the Windows 10 Technology Preview...
     
    Gareth Halfacree, 16 Dec 2014
    #7
  8. GuilleAcoustic

    GuilleAcoustic Ook ? Ook !

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    I thought it was a thread about the Atari Lynx xD
     
    GuilleAcoustic, 16 Dec 2014
    #8
  9. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    I thought the S5 charge option was to toggle the ability to charge devices from your computer, via USB, whilst the PC is in sleep mode.

    Probably not particularly relevant to a tablet.
     
    David, 16 Dec 2014
    #9
  10. Flibblebot

    Flibblebot Smile with me

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    So actually I could get the 10" version for £110 (after £50 cashback, I've got an old Nook HD somewhere...) and it'd be perfectly capable of displaying presentations through its miniHDMI socket? So, theoretically, I could use this rather than a laptop when I'm out and about? Sold!

    I wonder if it'll do Miracast?

    Also, the 10" version has 2Gb of RAM not 1Gb, so how do they get around the Windows with Bing limit?
     
    Flibblebot, 16 Dec 2014
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  11. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    I was looking at the 10" model - I may still go for it if I'm suitably impressed with the lesser endowed Linx 7, assuming I can lay my hands on my old tablet.
     
    David, 16 Dec 2014
    #11
  12. Parge

    Parge the worst Super Moderator

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    Mine is due to today or tomorrow. I picked up this adjustable tablet holder. I'm mounting it on a shelf so the tablet will sit just above my main display. Should be pretty sweet!
     
    Parge, 16 Dec 2014
    #12
  13. legoman

    legoman breaker of things

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    ineterested to know how the 10" behaves and how gaming is on these. Been looking at windows tablets an these caught my eye because they are full fat win 8 not RT.
    Was thinking things like KSP an the like which would be great for in the office between when i do work.
     
    legoman, 16 Dec 2014
    #13
  14. jinq-sea

    jinq-sea 'write that down in your copy book' Super Moderator

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    I am thinking that this might be a good option, too! I can't believe how cheap they are!
     
    jinq-sea, 16 Dec 2014
    #14
  15. Cerberus90

    Cerberus90 Car Spannerer

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    Could Wubi be used here to get Ubuntu on?



    Ours arrived today, spent a little while setting it up, and my god do I hate Windows 8, :D. Had to setup my Sisters laptop too the other day, and that was just as infuriating that I left it for her to sort out how she wants it, :D.

    Bit disconcerting when on dekstop mode, the action center said I needed to restart to fix disk errors! It rebooted and did a disk check, didn't say it fixed anything so maybe just a false alarm.


    Feels pretty nippy most of the time, sometimes it can get stuck and take a while to respond.
    Touch screen is nice, responsive even with the screen cover still on. Keyboard works well.

    Hate Internet Explorer, but it doesn't seem as though there's any other Touch based browsers yet (Firefox has but not stable apparently, and Chrome is full on ChromeOS based or something).


    Took me about 15 minutes just to get a tile on the start screen showing the time! How could MS miss out on a simple thing like that, why couldn't they put the Time in with the calendar tile?



    No idea how the parents are going to get on with it though, they can't even remember how to close an app when I told them 5 minutes ago, :D, or what the login password they suggested was, :D
     
    Cerberus90, 16 Dec 2014
    #15
  16. MadGinga

    MadGinga oooh whats this do?

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    Has anyone tried any games on this? thinking FTL, Papers please, KSP, monkey island?
    For £110 (after cashback) quite tempted by the 10" model!
     
    MadGinga, 16 Dec 2014
    #16
  17. tyepye

    tyepye Minimodder

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    Monkey Island 2: SE loaded up fine on mine, although didn't really work with the touchscreen controls, but with a bluetooth keyboard/mouse would be fine.
     
    tyepye, 16 Dec 2014
    #17
  18. MadGinga

    MadGinga oooh whats this do?

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    That's a shame, to me touch screens should be perfect for point-and-click adventure games...
     
    MadGinga, 16 Dec 2014
    #18
  19. David

    David μoʍ ɼouმ qᴉq λon ƨbԍuq ϝʁλᴉuმ ϝo ʁԍɑq ϝμᴉƨ

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    I will be trying out FTL on mine.
     
    David, 16 Dec 2014
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  20. Flibblebot

    Flibblebot Smile with me

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    I've taken the plunge on the 10", it should be here by the weekend. I'll let you know how I get on, but basically for £110, what's not to like? ;)
     
    Flibblebot, 16 Dec 2014
    #20
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