[HN Gopher] I love my GPD Micro PC
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I love my GPD Micro PC
Author : nathell
Score : 120 points
Date : 2022-08-18 19:36 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (blog.danieljanus.pl)
(TXT) w3m dump (blog.danieljanus.pl)
| idle_zealot wrote:
| My concern with a device of this size is typing. How do you use a
| keyboard barely larger than a credit card? Do you thumb-type,
| touch type, hunt-and-peck with just your index fingers?
| doubled112 wrote:
| Thumb type, I'd imagine. Like a BlackBerry.
|
| It is one of those devices I could see always carrying with me
| but only using in emergencies. It has HDMI, Ethernet and serial
| ports. What more could you ask for?
| gsibble wrote:
| You'd be surprised. On the GPD I had, I managed full 10 finger
| typing (albeit one finger at a time). It worked surprisingly
| well and I managed to code at a good enough speed that I could
| be fairly productive on it.
| asveikau wrote:
| Maybe when throughput is a high concern you take a Bluetooth
| keyboard in a bag. Though at that point maybe also a light
| laptop would work...
| cesarb wrote:
| > How do you use a keyboard barely larger than a credit card?
|
| If you can use a phone's virtual keyboard, which is even
| smaller and has no physical separation between the keys, you
| should be able to use a keyboard like that one. It feels
| strange at first, but you adjust quickly. (I don't have any
| experience with that GPD, but I have experience with an old
| EeePC, which is similar-sized but probably has smaller keys
| because it doesn't have any keys to the left and right of its
| trackpad.)
| olliej wrote:
| I can hold my phone in one hand, and type with just my thumb,
| and my thumb covers the full spread of the keyboard. Or I can
| type with two thumbs for things that are longer than a few
| words, and again reach the entire keyboard without shifting
| grip.
|
| But also I don't type much - in fact as little as possible -
| on my phone, and certainly not code. I will switch to my
| laptop for anything more than a few words if it's possible.
| Arainach wrote:
| A phone keyboard supports swiping for words and never
| requires multiple buttons to be pressed. Tapping on a small
| target is one thing; trying to hold down a modifier without
| pressing adjacent keys is something very different.
|
| I am proficient with phone keyboards, but part of that
| proficiency is almost never using any punctuation, numbers,
| or symbols that aren't on the primary screen. Once I need
| anything more specialized (say if I wanted to do any coding)
| my speed drops by a huge factor.
| Marazan wrote:
| It's because the genuinely small 9inch netbooks were good. The
| 10inch netbooks were not.
| nonrandomstring wrote:
| Loss of the eePC 900/1000 series is another exhibit in the case
| that "Markets are a Myth". How could such a self evidently near
| perfect form factor be deemed "niche"?
| bombcar wrote:
| Because small is really hard to sell. Even Apple can't really
| do it, the very small Air is gone, and the iPhone mini has
| left the building.
| korse wrote:
| Had one for three years. Use it nearly every day, but I work with
| embedded systems in robots/industrial machinery. One handed
| operation, tons of IO, dual boot, fits in back pocket etc. have
| made this indispensable.
|
| One dead battery, replacement part from alibaba via GPD rep given
| link. Easy to disassemble via screwdriver and spudger. Works
| great now. Injection molded piece that held the threads where the
| hinge attached also failed. Drilled a little pinhole and added a
| small machine screw, nut and threadlocker. No more problems. Nut
| goes under the plastic hinge cover. The fix is literally better
| than original.
|
| Other than that, the only issue I've had is getting grub to see
| the screen as landscape. Grub config options seem to get ignored.
| Oh well. Standard rotation is sorted with boot scripts and the
| OEM Windows 10 side works great.
| jdmoreira wrote:
| this thing needs a gsm modem
| MarkusWandel wrote:
| Does it though? Practically everyone has a smartphone on them
| these days that's capable of hotspot mode.
| detaro wrote:
| For regular/long use the battery drain is a pain though, so
| yes, there still are reasons to have it built into a
| laptop/tablet.
| gsibble wrote:
| That's what I did. Never felt the need for a built in modem,
| especially considering they are notoriously difficult to get
| working in Ubuntu.
| nottorp wrote:
| Hmm i didn't know stuff this size still exists. It would be a
| nice toy... at toy prices tho. Looks like it's a bit expensive
| new.
|
| The OP says it was 300 eur used. What else is available in this
| form factor but more towards this one's used price?
| onemoresoop wrote:
| Just looked it up on amazon and am not sure how 300 euro turned
| to $600+, without taxes and shipping. Overpriced if you asked
| me. Not too fond about Celeron processors either.
| pdimitar wrote:
| > _rather than mindlessly reaching for the phone and scrolling
| through news, I choose to pull out the Micro and read some code._
|
| That's the gem here. I'm looking for ways to stop reaching for my
| phone. Looking at many people around me I definitely do pretty
| well but I want even more.
|
| That's why I was looking at various small machines, even some
| modern reimplementations of LISP machines but nothing caught my
| eye.
|
| Maybe the GPD machines are it.
| alchemist1e9 wrote:
| You don't need a fanny pack, it fits in my jeans pants, granted I
| wear TAD Intercept jeans which have slightly larger front
| pockets, but still most pants it fits fine. GPD Micro PC is also
| my favorite device and I carry it everywhere along with a Verizon
| LTE usb stick and I'm never in a situation I can't work if the
| need arises, even without a seat as you get good thumb typing on
| it. Highly recommend it to those with system admin components to
| their responsibilities. I've also used the serial port several
| times while working at a data center.
| recursivedoubts wrote:
| reminds me of the oqo, which I was really excited about back in
| the mid-2000s:
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OQO
|
| wonder how this form factor w/ some arm iron in it would
| perform...
|
| I tend to use my lappy plugged in to a real keyboard/monitor to
| get anything done, so the small size is very attractive.
| gsibble wrote:
| At a previous job, I was the engineering manager for a new neo-
| bank and was on call 24/7 for it. I have a beefy Lenovo P52 that
| I hated carrying around and leaving in my car lest it get stolen.
| So I got a GPD Pocket. It fit very well into my back pocket.
|
| Not only did it work great for emergency situations (I ran Ubuntu
| MATE as well) when I needed to SSH into machines, check stuff on
| Datadog, edit code to make a quick fix, push code to our K8S
| environments and more, but I actually found myself frequently at
| coffee shops and bars coding away happily on it. It brought a
| certain amount of freedom and cool factor with it. It was a
| delightful little device with a very sharp and crisp screen, a
| surprisingly useful keyboard that combined well with my i3
| environment, that I could actually be productive on (save for
| running our test suite which took around 30 minutes and sucked
| the life out of the battery). It also got a lot of onlookers
| asking questions about it, leading to those ever so fun random
| conversations that can lead to night long friendships over wine
| and coffee.
|
| I genuinely miss it and will probably pick up another one now
| that I just got hired as a CTO for another project with equally
| demanding on-call schedules and uptime requirements. Although I
| don't drink anymore so none of those fun conversations. Ce la
| vie.
| [deleted]
| ajsnigrutin wrote:
| Damn... this looks great for $300! I wanna buy one!
|
| Google, amazon, aliexpress... and 666eur was the cheapest I could
| find :/
|
| Yeah... no.
| ezoe wrote:
| In Japan, the cheapest I could find was 68000 JPY which is
| about 500 USD in the current exchange rate. It's better than
| your situation but still.
| MisterSandman wrote:
| Exactly what I was going to say, it costs 700 CAD... not sure
| where OP got 300 EUR from. Those specs, even on a normal
| laptop, go for around $600
| VectorLock wrote:
| Yeah when I saw they're $600+ my first thought was "There has
| got to be cheaper models of this." You can still get
| Chromebooks for less than this.
| jgrauman wrote:
| I feel like someone should encourage the Raspberry Pi people to
| make a handheld with this form factor based on their latest
| board.
| em-bee wrote:
| i got the GPD pocket 1 with 8GB ram and a 128GB ssd. for
| comparison i had a 2012 macbook with 4GB ram and 128GB ssd. yes,
| the mac is snappier, but i always admired the irony of this tiny
| thing having similar specs. for extra fun i put an apple-logo
| sticker on it and used them side by side.
|
| the battery died after about 2 years of use. and i could not find
| a replacement battery, so i got a onemix 1s whose battery died
| less than a year later. ironically i was then able to replace the
| gpd pocket battery, but not the onemix battery.
|
| my next device though is going to be the pinephone with its
| keyboard extension. i found that i only use the pocket when
| outside when i don't want to carry a real laptop, and that
| happens rarely enough that an even smaller and much cheaper
| device should be enough. i still want a device with a keyboard
| because typing shell commands on a touchscreen is just painful.
| zapu wrote:
| Doesn't seem that you can get these for 300 EUR anymore, or am I
| missing something obvious?
| AshamedCaptain wrote:
| He probably has one of the 1st generations which were cheaper
| (and crappier). I would not recommend paying more than 100EUR
| for it. The build quality was terrible and the firmware
| ridiculously buggy. I am told both things have improved in
| recent GPD endeavours but then so has the price.
| nathell wrote:
| OP here - I got it second-hand, from a guy who ordered it
| directly from GPD as a note-taking device but it didn't work
| out for him.
| coverclock wrote:
| I also have a MacBook Pro and a GPD Micro PC. The latter is ideal
| for taking into the field (in the case of my GPS work, literally
| a field) to connect to the various pieces of hardware I deal
| with. It's really a pocket-sized industrial PC, in the sense it
| has a lot of physical ports, e.g. Ethernet, a DB9 serial port,
| etc. taking it quite useful for hardware hackers.
| afandian wrote:
| I'm quietly excited about the MNT Pocket Reform [0]. There's
| some real progress being made by the looks of it [1].
|
| [0] https://mntre.com/media/reform_md/2022-06-20-introducing-
| mnt...
|
| [1]
| https://mobile.twitter.com/minut_e/status/155805356090603110...
| ryukafalz wrote:
| Same, this is the one that's caught my eye the most. I hope
| they get suspend working reliably though (and cut down on
| power usage in suspend) - that's been my biggest issue with
| my Reform 2 and it'll be even more important for a more
| portable device.
| stakkur wrote:
| When I see expensive ($600+), small niche toys like this, I
| always think "what is that, a keyboard for ants?" I appreciate
| clever ideas, but it has to be practical--and my hands (and neck
| and shoulders) need a usable keyboard. Otherwise, it's a toy.
| anotheryou wrote:
| I wished pine64 would make one. I'd prefer that over their phone
| or tablet with keyboard.
| cevn wrote:
| The Pinephone + keyboard fills this niche for me. I guess there
| could be an in between size w/ that and the Pinebook.
| epakai wrote:
| The Micro PC is a really cool device, but owning one I couldn't
| really recommend it outside a very small niche.
|
| Form factor, ports, and performance are all great. The firmware
| is very frustrating though. Mine shipped with a newer firmware
| (4.18) than was available to download, and it was miserable. The
| machine would power on to blank screens, and have random crashes.
| I was wary of downgrading because I couldn't put the "newer"
| firmware back on.
|
| Finally gave in and stability was much improved on 4.13. Boot
| issues still happen though (less frequently). They seem possibly
| exasperated by Linux. It can require 3 or 4 attempts at holding
| the power button to force a reset. Unplug anything that could be
| back-feeding power so it will actually reset (not confirmed).
| Just all around annoying if you power it on and off a lot.
|
| Other issues to consider. The hinge support is somewhat fragile.
| I try to be gentle opening and closing. I think I also put some
| epoxy around the plastic screwhole pillar. The battery has a
| permanent over-discharge cutoff that a number of users have hit
| so I've been careful to keep a charge on it.
| georgewsinger wrote:
| RE the GDP's portability: I had a One Mix Yoga (similar form
| factor) a few years ago and also used a bunch for this reason as
| well:
|
| > It's ultra-portable. It resides permanently in my waist bag
| (a.k.a. fanny pack for my American readers) alongside my wallet
| and phone, and I carry it around everywhere when I'm out and
| about. It's super lightweight for a laptop (I hardly feel the
| extra grams), and reaching for it only takes a second or so, as
| does putting it away.
|
| Though I'm pretty biased, this makes me excited for the future of
| VR computing.[1] Obviously headset form factors are larger than
| the GDP Micro right now, but there's a lot of appeal to being
| able to strap a device on virtually anywhere you are (in your
| background, on the couch, on your bed) and being able to make
| some incremental progress on some problem you're working on.
|
| [1] https://simulavr.com
| layer8 wrote:
| It seems you'd still need a separate keyboard though, or else
| be very limited in he kind of work you can do.
| mr_spothawk wrote:
| I'm excited about the prospect of cordless, chorded keyboards
| ryukafalz wrote:
| I say this as someone who has a Simula One on preorder, but
| yeah I think the form factor will need to get a lot more
| compact before I'd use a VR computer on the go in the same way
| I'd use one of these. Excited to try it out regardless!
|
| It definitely _could_ be though, and not having to have a
| display that's physically as large as it looks virtually could
| be a big advantage. I hope there are FOSS options like Simula
| when that day comes and we're not all stuck with the tech
| giants like we are with smartphones. :)
| walrus01 wrote:
| that keyboard is an abomination
| vasilakisfil wrote:
| I wish I could use one of those, I had one actually some years
| ago but my eyes were burning (I have huge fonts compared to
| average people in my regular 17inch laptop).
| Psyonic wrote:
| "Better not hop on a city bike with it in my backpack, 'cause
| what if I fall?"
|
| How often do people fall on bikes? I biked for years in SF with
| my work laptop and never had an issue.
| abbusfoflouotne wrote:
| For one our president
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSm7bjGjEwM
| dubya wrote:
| The first few stops with toe clips are pretty dicey.
| Psyonic wrote:
| lol, fair enough.
| ansible wrote:
| At least he can ride a bike.
| TheFreim wrote:
| I bike nearly every day, it's been years since I fell and, if
| my memory serves me, I fell because I was being a goofball with
| friends or something along those lines.
| jldugger wrote:
| I'd rather just have a good linux phone than have to carry around
| a phone and PC separately. n900, ye will be missed
| AceJohnny2 wrote:
| Tangential, but:
|
| > _I'm very vigilant and still a bit freaked out when I carry the
| Macbook around. Careful in tight spaces! Better not hop on a city
| bike with it in my backpack, 'cause what if I fall?_
|
| I've actually found MacBooks to be impressively sturdy. Perhaps
| I've been lucky. I've dropped my 2016 Intel MBP once while coming
| out of my car, it hit the pavement on its corner. There was a
| little dent in the corner, and the screen/lid was a couple
| millimeters askew from the body, but it worked fine and was my
| mainstay for a few years more.
|
| A colleague had this beautiful star-streak pattern on the
| aluminum back of their screen from the time they knocked their
| Mabook down their driveway, in a botched attempt to catch it as
| it fell. They were even a bit sad when they had to upgrade, and
| actually asked if they could swap the case!
|
| In contrast, I had an old Lenovo laptop just explode from falling
| on the pavement.
|
| (On the other hand, I've had to get the macbook repaired twice
| due to the butterfly keyboard issue...)
|
| With all that said, the MBP is obviously heavier than the GPD
| Micro, and the lightness of the latter makes it inherently less
| fragile.
| xiaomai wrote:
| My MBP fell off my chair (maybe 18"?) onto a wooden floor and
| the screen shattered. Not sure what it cost my employer to
| replace that, but I am extremly unimpressed w/ the durability
| of these things. It was certainly inconvenient for me to have
| to switch computers for a couple weekswhile mine was being
| repaired.
| tomcam wrote:
| I too have found the MacBook Air family to be hardy. Have owned
| probably 20 of them since they came out. Rock solid hardware,
| modulo a certain butterfly keyboard incident or three.
| olliej wrote:
| I agree with you on sturdiness - I thrown one 7 feet onto
| concrete and it was dented but kept working for years. I think
| the bigger issue is the mental model of "what if I break it?"
| being applied to a $300 machine vs a $3000 machine is very
| different.
| LAC-Tech wrote:
| _If it breaks, it breaks; but who knows! I once accidentally
| dropped the Eee from ~1 metre of height, chipping off some of the
| chassis plastic, but the computer continued to work._
|
| Stuff like this was why I keep buying Asus. I was once watching
| an engrossing video and put my zenbook ontop of a washing
| machine. The top was slanted, so it slid off and kerb stomped the
| concrete floor face first.
|
| Zero all effects except for some scratches. I still use it.
| olliej wrote:
| All of this seems perfectly reasonable, but I take issue with the
| "walled garden" comment for Macs. It's a true, and legitimate,
| complaint about iOS. Personally on iOS I find it makes for
| installing software much less of a concern, but I do understand
| that other people prefer a different balance.
|
| Macs aren't walled gardens, you're free to install whatever you
| want, the default security requires that software be signed but
| does not require the use of the app store, and apple put a _lot_
| of work into ensuring that Macs remained secure but could also
| have whatever non-tacos OS you might want.
|
| I am not sure what more could be done to make a Mac not be a
| "walled garden".
| nfriedly wrote:
| I had a GPD Win 2 for a while. It's a similar device, except
| targeted at gaming instead of productivity. I loved it! (I did
| occasionally use my Win 2 for productivity, but it was 99% for
| playing games.)
|
| GPD's newer Win models are all more powerful, but they're also
| bigger and the Win 3 has a completely different form factor.
| They're good in their own ways, but I still miss the pocket-
| ability of the Win 2, and occasionally wish I hadn't sold mine.
|
| There's a small group on the gpd_devices discord that throws
| around ideas for a "Win Min" - something in a similar size and
| form factor, but with upgraded specs. I'm not holding my breath,
| but I would love to see that.
| RainaRelanah wrote:
| > There's a small group on the gpd_devices discord that throws
| around ideas for a "Win Min" - something in a similar size and
| form factor, but with upgraded specs. I'm not holding my
| breath, but I would love to see that.
|
| OpenPandora vibes. One day the Pyra will come out. One day.
| ryukafalz wrote:
| I have one of these and also loved it... until the hinge snapped.
| They sent me a replacement top panel, but I still haven't gotten
| around to fixing it because it's a bit nervewracking. You have to
| lift the (pretty delicate-looking) screen off which is held on by
| adhesives.
|
| Lovely little device, but not as durable as it might appear.
| mazug wrote:
| Did you get a sense for how long the battery was lasting while
| you were using it?
| unsignedint wrote:
| It's a nice little device, but did experience fair share of
| problems too...
|
| - Hinge snapping -- a little screw in the front that holds the
| screen in angle pretty much broke out from the chassis,
| breaking the part of front panel in process, too. Now I can't
| hold the panel in angles. Either I have to open it all the way
| or close.
|
| - Battery stopped charging -- ended up removing it.
|
| Now I just have it plugged in to do trivial things once in a
| while...
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(page generated 2022-08-18 23:00 UTC)