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Operating System Specific Discussions => Other Operating Systems => Topic started by: takemehomegrandma on March 16, 2011, 12:34:43 PM

Title: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: takemehomegrandma on March 16, 2011, 12:34:43 PM
Hi all!

I just got online for the first time using my brand new Efika MX Smartbook! I'm typing this in Firefox on Ubuntu 10.10 "the Maverick Meerkat" that was pre-installed on the computer.

It's an amazing little thing! Incredibly light weight and not one single moving part! The only noise is from my fingers tapping the keyboard!

I'm thinking of writing a little review on it and post it here on Amiga.org, with photos and maybe a video or two. AROS is being ported to it after all... :)

Stay tuned!
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: jj on March 16, 2011, 12:49:10 PM
People on Morphos portal were saying that ubuntu very sluggish on this system, not fault of the system but with ubuntu.
 
I generalyl find ubuntu very snappy on everyhting ive used it on
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: MaximvsPayne on March 16, 2011, 03:16:50 PM
yeah man, cool stuff! aros on an arm netbook from genesi! i want one! :elvis:
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: TheGoose on March 16, 2011, 04:51:50 PM
Looks like the iPad / Xoom killer I was lookin for. And loads cheaper.

:hammer:
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: whabang on March 16, 2011, 04:54:00 PM
Quote from: JJ;622222
People on Morphos portal were saying that ubuntu very sluggish on this system, not fault of the system but with ubuntu.
 
I generalyl find ubuntu very snappy on everyhting ive used it on
Ubuntu is a sluggish monster on everything, to be honest. Being more lightweight than Vista isn't enough anymore. :D
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: TheGoose on March 16, 2011, 05:14:54 PM
Shoot, no external VGA out... Still it would be great for a lot of what I do.

Anyone try the latest diet ubuntu...
http://www.osnews.com/story/24476/Lubuntu_Finally_a_Lightweight_Ubuntu_

I really liked http://www.xubuntu.org/ but it really isn't that "light".
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: nicholas on March 16, 2011, 05:19:27 PM
Quote from: TheGoose;622262
Shoot, no external VGA out... Still it would be great for a lot of what I do.

Anyone try the latest diet ubuntu...
http://www.osnews.com/story/24476/Lubuntu_Finally_a_Lightweight_Ubuntu_

I really liked http://www.xubuntu.org/ but it really isn't that "light".


Just install the Liquorix kernel and Ubuntu is as snappy as Amiga OS, even on this old single core Athlon 64 with integrated Nvidia crap I have here.

http://liquorix.net/
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: Iggy on March 16, 2011, 05:27:07 PM
Quote from: whabang;622259
Ubuntu is a sluggish monster on everything, to be honest. Being more lightweight than Vista isn't enough anymore. :D

I don't have any problem with it, even on a single processor G4 system. The Genesi system might be slightly slower, but I've been using since I had a 733 Mhz processor in my Powermac and the only thing that was slow were certain graphics packages (no decent support for Flash under PPC Linux either - rather like MorphOS).
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: whabang on March 16, 2011, 06:06:31 PM
Quote from: Iggy;622265
I don't have any problem with it, even on a single  processor G4 system. The Genesi system might be slightly slower, but  I've been using since I had a 733 Mhz processor in my Powermac and the  only thing that was slow were certain graphics packages (no decent  support for Flash under PPC Linux either - rather like MorphOS).
Flash and Linux is a bad combo anyway. :D

Thing is, when you're  running with netbooks with low-power CPU's such as the Intel Nano, you  dont have that kind of raw power that you have with a 733 MHz PPC! Thus,  a full-fledged distribution will feel sluggish. It's not as much  a problem with Ubuntu, as it is a problem with most distros using  Gnome/KDE as stanard DE's. A custom install using Openbox or another  light-weight distro will be much snappier.
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: minator on March 16, 2011, 08:07:01 PM
Quote from: JJ;622222
People on Morphos portal were saying that ubuntu very sluggish on this system, not fault of the system but with ubuntu.



As I understand it there's no video driver.  Perception is everything and if there's no 2D acceleration it will seem to be slow even if it isn't.

That said it's a cortex-A8 so it's not exactly a high end desktop...
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: persia on March 16, 2011, 08:16:36 PM
What's the point of an ARM based system without a touch screen?
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: kickstart on March 16, 2011, 08:42:09 PM
Whats the point of a touch screen on a notebook?
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: Iggy on March 16, 2011, 09:33:11 PM
Quote from: kickstart;622302
Whats the point of a touch screen on a notebook?

A8 is not a bad processor, just because A9 and A15 perform higher does mean the A8 isn't more than adequate.
Touchscreen, touchpads? I'd still rather have a mouse.
The problem is I can get an Atom based netbook for about the same price (with video output) that will outperform Genesi's offering.
An OMAP A9 based system would have been better and would not have cost as much.

Next year OMAP moves to the A15. Then performance will be higher than Atom.

I could see buying a netbook based on that processor for $299.
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: persia on March 17, 2011, 01:26:20 AM
Netbooks are dead.
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: klx300r on March 17, 2011, 01:40:30 AM
how does aros run on it ? curios to see if ir runs better than the acerone version
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: Digiman on March 17, 2011, 04:58:24 AM
Quote from: TheGoose;622258
Looks like the iPad / Xoom killer I was lookin for. And loads cheaper.

:hammer:


£250 10" Android tablet killer too? (1ghz Tegra CPU)
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: pVC on March 17, 2011, 06:49:16 AM
Quote from: JJ;622222
People on Morphos portal were saying that ubuntu very sluggish on this system, not fault of the system but with ubuntu.
 
I generalyl find ubuntu very snappy on everyhting ive used it on


Well.. if you're used to use MorphOS, then Ubuntu (and most other systems) feels sluggish on every system I've tried it ;)
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: Hattig on March 17, 2011, 11:28:02 AM
The price is quite nice, but the CPU is a little anaemic for a netbook, although a low resource OS might not seem too bad - if it has graphics drivers. Battery life should be good though. A revision with a dual-core Cortex A9 @1GHz+ would be great.
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: persia on March 17, 2011, 11:32:53 AM
No one is going to buy a netbook in place of a tablet.  The netbook market is neither fish nor fowl, too weak and small to be a computer, but lacking touch screens to be a tablet.  Netbooks are largely being replaced by tablets in the market.  

You simply don't get it.  I know you are an Apple Hater, but why not try a high end Android tablet or wait for RIM's Play Thing?

Quote from: Digiman;622387
£250 10" Android tablet killer too? (1ghz Tegra CPU)
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: jj on March 17, 2011, 12:38:08 PM
Quote from: Iggy;622318
A8 is not a bad processor, just because A9 and A15 perform higher does mean the A8 isn't more than adequate.
Touchscreen, touchpads? I'd still rather have a mouse.
The problem is I can get an Atom based netbook for about the same price (with video output) that will outperform Genesi's offering.
An OMAP A9 based system would have been better and would not have cost as much.
 
Next year OMAP moves to the A15. Then performance will be higher than Atom.
 
I could see buying a netbook based on that processor for $299.

 
Your right A8 not bad, its been powering my nokia N900 for sometime I believe quite happily
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: Tripitaka on March 17, 2011, 01:41:28 PM
Quote from: persia;622431
No one is going to buy a netbook in place of a tablet.


Errr.... a writer?

I like to have a keyboard too, for writing that is. I'm a big fan of the tablet format but I favor the netbook to tablet convertibles for my own preferences.

I'm a bit shocked, to be honest that you so boldly declared the netbook dead. This is amiga.org is it not? As far as the average pc user is concerned we are geek necromancers resurrecting long dead machines. If it's got chips in, it ain't dead and someone will find a use for it. Sitting in bed whilst chatting on facebook in the case of the netbook maybe.
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: takemehomegrandma on March 18, 2011, 09:04:55 PM
Quote from: persia;622298
What's the point of an ARM based system without a touch screen?


Eh, what does the CPU-architecture have to do with "touch screens"? This is not a phone, nor a "pad", so a touch screen would be as mis-placed as a keyboard would be in a "pad"! ;)
Title: Re: Genesi Efika MX Smartbook
Post by: takemehomegrandma on March 18, 2011, 09:15:34 PM
Quote from: persia;622431
No one is going to buy a netbook in place of a tablet.


Apples and oranges. They are both fruit, although not the same, however both have their places in the fruit bowl! :)

Quote
You simply don't get it.  I know you are an Apple Hater, but why not try a high end Android tablet or wait for RIM's Play Thing?


Personally, I love tablets/"pads". For the record, go browse BBRV's blog history, and you'll see many references (and pictures) to prototype tablets based on pretty much the same HW as this. And Android to go with that! :)

But anyone wanting to type anything longer than a street address, an e-mail address, or a web URL *will want* a keyboard. And just because anyone wants to type something, doesn't mean they will need the power (and noise, size and weight) of "a real computer"! ;)

I have done some office work on my Efika MX. Worked just fine! :)