[fedora-arm] Any thoughts on running Fedora+XFCE on an Efika Smartbook?

[Gordan Bobic]

On 05/15/2011 12:43 PM, Gordan Bobic wrote:
> On 05/15/2011 12:07 PM, Niels de Vos wrote:
>> Hi list,
>>
>> I know that some of you have an Efika Smartbook
>> (http://www.genesi-usa.com/products/smartbook) and am interested in
>> your opinions on it. I'm looking to getting one myself, but only if
>> there are positive experiences with it.
>   >
>> My normal usage of such a netbook would be some browsing, emailing and
>> some development (mainly with vim) while traveling. I assume that the
>> 10" display is just big enough for it (a 7" EeePC is a little too
>> small).
>
> I really like mine. The only outstanding issue I have with mine is that
> the video acceleration falls way, way short of expectations on video
> playback. Other than that, it's great.
>
> Another thing you may be interested in is that you can actually fit a
> 1280x720 screen into it (it comes with 1024x600 as standard). I have a
> replacement screen on my shelf to do this at some point, but I haven't
> gotten around to it yet. My main disappointment is that this isn't
> available as an option when buying one, which inevitably means you end
> up with a spare 1024x600 screen that you will never use again.
>
>> - How is the keyboard, are the keys (much) smaller than a standard
>> laptop keyboard?
>
> It is the same as on any 10in netbook.
>
>> - Is the display good readable when sitting outside, possibly in the sun?
>
> It is on the par with any other similar netbook, the same screen is used
> in a lot of them. But as I said, my recommendation would be to upgrade
> it with a 1280x720 panel.

And just to show I'm taking my own advice on this, I finally got around 
to replacing the screen with a 1280x720 panel. The process is incredibly 
easy to do, much easier than on other laptops. It took under 10 minutes, 
start to finish. The clips that sandwich the screen panel in are quite 
loose, so you don't have to leave nasty gauge marks on the bezel to get 
them apart after you take the screws out. And as the guys from Genesi 
reassured me it all "just works"! I now have a 1280x720 Efika, and as an 
added bonus, I now have a matte screen rather than a glossy one, so I 
can even use it outside in the sun. :)

I have taken pictures and will put together a post detailing the 
procedure, along with the exact screen panel to use for the upgrade.

Gordan