Dumping Windows
 

Over the past few years I have found that I put my Windows machine to very little use other than as a dumb terminal. Here is mostly what I do

• Use SFTP to access one or more of my Ubuntu servers
• Use SSH for ditto
• Use Notepad++ to edit PHP/HTML/CSS directly on my servers
• Use Chrome, Safari and Firefox to test out my work
• Use Adminer to manage SQL databases on those servers via Chrome

I do use a few desktop packages

• Open Office to do a few docs, spreadsheets etc. I can just as easily switch to Libre Office. I actually do most of my work online in the Zoho office suite with the OO being mostly for more tedious offline edits
• Use Paint.NET to do some basic image editing. Pinta on Linux is a great replacement
• Use Audacity occassionally to do some audio editing/file conversions

My Windows laptop is now in its final days and I am considering buying myself a new machine. Times have moved on since I last bought a computer and to keep up I am considering a combination of

• A mini PC
• A wide screen TV with an HDMI port
• A NAS drive for extended local file storage
• My current Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse combo
• Miracast to allow me to use the monitor wirelessly

I am considering getting this machine as my replacment and installing Ubuntu 16.04 desktop or Mint on it.

What attracts me to this particular device is the fact that it has 4 USB 3 ports, an HDMI output and an integrated camera/microphone. Its not so small size probably means that it is less liable to heat up than the stick sized devices.

This is my first foray into mini/stick computing. I would be most obliged to anyone who might be able to tell me

1. whether this setup will work for my needs - remember I don't want to play games, watch movies etc
2. whetehr I am liable to run into any trouble with Miracast etc.
3. Whether I will still be able to use my current Epson Workforce printer wirelessly with this device

I wouldn't get any electronics from Ali. Newegg/Amazon has very similarly priced/specced miniPCs that you would actually be able to return and have serviced under warranty.

Also, Miracast is crap. Unless you've already used it and are happy with performance, don't expect miracles.

Heat isn't really an issue with stick PCs. Amazon's FireTV, for example, can process 4K video effortlessly with completely fanless design. Any issues with USB ports are very easy to solve with USB hubs. Seems much cheaper and easier than restricting yourself to specific cases with N+ USB ports.

Any reason for this? I've bought a bunch of stuff from Ali and I've been quite happy. Probably my all-time favorite laptop came from them.

Mostly personal preference, but remember - if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. You have to compromise somewhere and with Ali sellers its usually quality.

I bought a bunch of stuff from Ali as well, but I've encountered enough defective hardware even from established manufacturers and resellers to want the ability to return something within 30 days and be able to count on the warranty past that.

Hello and welcome to the forum :)

While I'm not sure about the rest of your needs you mentioned, like miracast, one item of concern is the wireless adapter...

To my knowledge, Dual Band or AC support in Linux is not widespread at the moment. From the information here, only two Linux drivers shown support AC. However, there are more drivers than what's listed and the manufacturer of the chip I listed above may offer drivers that have AC support (that you might need to compile and install.) I would need to know the manufacturer and device ID of the chip to be able to tell you more.

There's a likelihood that you would need to purchase a USB adapter. :(

I would need to know the model and model number of your printer to possibly tell you more. Epson might (or might not) have drivers for your model, you can check here.

Honestly, in terms of the system itself, you might be better off purchasing a system from a firm that deals with Linux exclusively, such as ZaReason or System76. The biggest plus here is that all the devices would be guaranteed to work, no guessing. You can contact them to see if one of their systems would fit your needs. :)

Regards...

3160 has been supported since kernel 4.1, just need the firmware for it to work.

Cool, thanks for the heads up! :) :thumbsup:

Regards...

Thanks, Emerson. :)

Regards...

Thank you for all the replies. I have in the past played with Linux installs on laptops and it has never been plain sailing. Given that I have enough work to do and do not want to digress into Linux installs I started looking at the ready-to-go Linux machines I can get. System7 etc do not fit the bill - I am looking for mini PCs, not laptops. Since I posted my original question I have found Mintbox.

There is quite a premium to pay here - the Mintbox Mini weighs in at close to €350 for delivery from Amazon Germany (I live in Luxembourg). But then I guess that is the price to pay for having a fully tested Linux PC setup - System7 too are rather expensive compared to bog-standard Windows laptops.

Apart from the odd spot of Libre Office & Pinta I will still be using this machine as a dumb terminal to access my Ubuntu servers. I tend to get lost with processors. Could someone here confirm that the Mini (as opposed to the 2) will be sufficient for my needs.

My current printer is the Epson Workforce 3520. However, I do not mind getting a new printer if it comes with the guarantee that it will work wirelessly with my Mintbox. Are there any brands/models of printers that are better at Linux support than others.

And then there remains Miracast. It is not clear to me that I can get Mintbox to work as a Miracast sender at all - not even with a dongle. That I can live with - provided I can be sure that my Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse work with it. I have an old Ubuntu 12.04 laptop that recognizes the Logitech USB receiver dongle and starts talking with my keyboard/mouse in an instant. Could someone confirm that I can expect similar behavior with Mint?

That processor is more than powerful enough for a dumb terminal.

Check the printer specs. Just to be safe you can always check compatibility here:
http://www.openprinting.org/printers/

Logitech wireless keyboards/mice will work with just about any OS. Miracast has to be supported by hardware. If you use a dongle, you need to make sure it has Linux drivers.

Intel usually has very good Linux support built right in the kernel. By the time the product hits the market, chances are the newest kernel already supports it fully, you just need a distro that runs a new enough kernel to get it. The Intel 7265 dual band AC adapter built into my laptop worked out of the box on OpenSUSE Tumbleweed when I got it over a year ago.

It's the other manufacturers you have to worry about.

Thanks and, thank you for the oneprinting link.

Hi...

Good to know, thank you. :)

@adieuWindows: You're welcome, I hope you able to get everything set up properly if you choose this particular system. :)

Regards...