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Question: Just got a Surface Go; want to install linux (use case details in post)

Hello, all. I just got handed down a Surface Go (1st gen, 4gb ram), and I want to use it as a note taking machine, document reader, and secondary display for my primary laptop (Framework intel 12th gen running Fedora GNOME).

I have a pen but no keyboard, so any config will be done with a usb keyboard, but usage will be like a tablet.

  1. I have heard I should install GNOME on a tablet. I am generally ok with the ‘opinionated’ design of GNOME, but does anyone know what performance to expect? Would I be better off with a lightweight distro and de?
  2. What apps can be recommended for stylus notetaking? Would prefer svg output, and simple workflow to export them to my main machine, where I can embed in markdown notebooks
  3. Finally, the secondary display usage. Is this feasible? I know GNOME has RDP support, but my uni’s wifi makes that very difficult, and I’d prefer a wired connection if possible. I don’t need the stylus to work.

BONUS: If anyone has experience with the proprietary Surface Connect port, can it be adapted to usb c on linux, so that I can transfer power and >= 5gpbs of data? I see usb c adapters online, but they don’t mention data; only power delivery.

Yoddel_Hickory , (edited )

I have a Surface Go 1 with 8 GB RAM running Aurora-DX, which includes the linux-surface kernel. It works great, and I find that modern KDE works quite well with touch, even though I mostly use it with the type cover attached. I only use the surface connect port for charging, but I do use the single usb-c port with a usb-c hib, and it works well. The Fedora atomic distros work great on little machines like that.

Edit: I’d add that Bluefin is the same with Gnome.

Dariusmiles2123 ,

I have a Surface Go 1 with 8gb running Fedora Workstation. It has a typecover and it spends most of its time linked to a monitor through the USB-C port. It charges this way and can also send data to the monitor which is used as an USB hub.

As I’m never using it only as a tablet, I can’t give you more informations about the touchscreen functionalities.

julianh ,

I have a surface go 3 running Fedora, and use xournal++ for notetaking. Idk if it can export to svg but it works well and has plenty of features.

Pekka ,
@Pekka@feddit.nl avatar

I installed Fedora 40 with Gnome and Wayland a few days ago on my Surface pro gen 1 and have been very happy with the results so far. I do have a type cover and I do use it a lot and I use touch input instead of a mouse. Gnome supports most touch input, and that hasn’t been an issue so far. Some third party applications don’t understand what ‘pinch to zoom’ is though. The onscreen keyboard situation on Wayland seems to be a bit messy. I didn’t really like the default gnome keyboard and I couldn’t get a better keyboard to work (note that for me, it is also important that the OSK is disabled when the type cover is attached, so you won’t have that issue).

The performance on the original Surface Pro is fine, I can even emulate Windows games trough Steam, I tried RuneScape (OldSchool and RuneScape 3) and Tunic. Browsing, reading Discord, watching videos all work fine. The main limitation when working with the device seems to be the 4 GB of RAM. So close other apps like the browser when starting a game, or the entire system can freeze. This seems to be mostly an issue when running multiple Electron based applications, gaming and compiling code.

The newer Surface devices have some Microsoft specific hardware that is not always well-supported by the kernel. If you have issues you can try the kernel made specifically for the Surface devices. github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface Personally I haven’t tried it as everything just worked so far on my device (they do try to get their patches upstream, so that is probably the reason).

For drawing, I always used Adobe and Affinity software, I did try to get Affinity Photo installed, but I did not succeed yet. I tried both version 1 and 2.

TropicalDingdong ,

IS general gesture control better supported than it is in pop_os? Because I find the pop_os gesture support basically worthless. Can’t scroll, no smart regions, cant pinch, flip etc.

Pekka ,
@Pekka@feddit.nl avatar

On the touchscreen I can use pinch to zoom in browsers like Firefox and Microsoft Edge (I use it because Firefox doesn’t have PWA support), it is also supported in apps like Gnome Maps and Kirta. In Krita I can even move and turn the canvas with two finger input, it seems moving and turning are both supported in GNOME.

Outside of apps, you can also use a three finger up gesture to go to the active app overview. And you can switch between the active workspace with a three finger swipe to the right or the left (this can make switching between applications really fast). Long press for right click seems to work in most places.

You can drag an app to the left or the right of the screen to make it fill up half of the screen, and drag it to the top to make it full screen.

TropicalDingdong ,

Yeah I have a HP envy which is a fliptop touch screen. This sounds identical to what I have and I consider it basically worthless.

GravitySpoiled ,

github.com/linux-surface/linux-surface

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