I will mirror the previous recommendations of chromebook (Ted & Ben) and other tablets/laptop lite. If you want a separate dev 'box', run docker/kvm/virtbox etc. for some degree of separation from your local desktop environment. If you are still sure these chromebooks/tablets dont meet your requirement I would recommend the Radxa x4 [0] (the heatsink is a must apparently). You can go a bit bigger with (and more expensive) with UP boards latest offering [1] No matter which SBC you go with I highly recommend going with alder lake [2] or higher.
-Eldo [0] https://radxa.com/products/x/x4/ [1] https://up-shop.org/default/up-7000-series.html [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alder_Lake#Alder_Lake-N On 9/14/24 3:20 PM, Ben Koenig wrote: > For a while intel was making mobile-class x86 processors. These popped up in > some chrome books and the Pixel Slate. It's discontinued, but I have a pixel > slate and it fits what you are looking for. > > You might be able to find that class of processor floating around in obscure > products. I would check all the shops that make consumer-oriented devices > with Linux pre-installed since there are some interesting form factors. Maybe > take a look at Starlabs.systems > https://us.starlabs.systems/pages/starlite > > TBH that tablet looks like someone saw Google discontinue the Slate and said > "OMG we have to do that!" > > If the firmware/bootloader on a chromeOS device is getting in your way.. > there are solutions for that > https://docs.mrchromebox.tech/ > > After a firmware swap my Slate runs a slackware installation with NO special > modifications to the OS. x86 tablet with 8GB RAM :) > > -Ben > > > On Saturday, September 14th, 2024 at 10:14 AM, Eric House > <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I do a lot of traveling where a laptop is too much: won't fit in the >> airline seats I'm willing to afford, or won't survive weeks in a bicycle >> saddlebag. And so I've cobbled together a setup that lets me do >> terminal-based development anywhere: Raspberry Pi 5, powered by a USB >> battery pack, sits nearby. On table (or airline seat tray) sits an Android >> tablet running a terminal app, and in my lap sits a keyboard. The keyboard >> talks to the tablet using bluetooth, and the tablet connects to the Pi over >> wifi. >> >> The weak link is the Pi5: I'd love to have more than 8g of RAM (to run >> Android dev tools in an x86 emulator, for example) and faster/more reliable >> storage than a memory card. And so my question: >> >> Is there a class of computers out there low-power enough to run for hours >> on a USB battery pack but significantly more capable (and perhaps more >> "standard", e.g. able to run GRUB2 and generic Debian) than the Raspberry >> Pi 5? >> >> I figure a fanless and USB-C-powered NUC clone might be a starting point, >> but they don't seem to exist, which has me thinking power requirements and >> heat generation are still too high when using Intel chips. So maybe it has >> to be ARM-based? Anyway, I figure this group will know. >> >> Thanks, >> >> --Eric House
