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

[Niels de Vos]

On Sun, May 15, 2011 at 5:08 PM, Gordan Bobic <gordan at bobich.net> wrote:
> 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.

Sounds great! Looking forward for the details :)

Thanks for sharing,
Niels