Last April, I didn’t only celebrate 10 years of using Linux and KDE, which I totally forgot to celebrate, it also marked the first anniversary of my Microsoft Surface Pro 3, which I also forgot to celebrate. I’ve been meaning to write a series of blog posts regarding my experiences with the Surface Pro 3 from the perspective of a Linux user but, alas, human nature strikes again. Because of delaying again and again, much of the details I have planned have been lost (like the step by step process of dual booting Windows and Linux). What follows instead is a super condensed version that at least journals my misadventures in running an open source operating system and workspace on a device specifically designed to run Windows.
Why the Surface Pro (3)?
As a piece of Microsoft hardware, one could probably presume that the Surface Pro line of tablets would be somewhat unfriendly to other operating systems like Linux. To some extent, that is true, but not as much as you might think. At least compared to some OEM equivalents. So why purposely give yourself a headache? At that time, and I might even argue up to today, the Surface Pro 3 was/is probably the best among the breed of x86 tablets with a stylus and that was usable as a laptop, though the hinge system is admittedly makes the latter a bit more difficult.
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I’ve always had an obsession with styluses despite not being a digital artist in any respect. I love scribbling things, sometimes even trying to draw, and having a pressure sensitive writing tool built-in definitely trumps having to plug in a Wacom tablet or similar on the fly. But tablet PCs have traditionally been unwieldy, unsightly, bulky slabs that lacked elegance or sophistication. And, of course, the iPad has, like it or not, redefined what tablets are. Despite all the missteps, I believed that Microsoft was headed in the right direction. And among those mistakes, the Surface Pro 3 was simply the best.
Hardware Mini-review
The Surface Pro 3 has been reviewed to death already, especially considering how old it is already, so I’m not going to do an in-depth analysis here. If you do want to read one, SlashGear has quite a read.
I fell in love with the Surface Pro 3 because, in my mind, it combined almost everything I wanted in a portable computer. It was lighter and more portable than a laptop or even most 2-in-1s (I owned a Samsung ATIV Smart PC Pro previously). It look suave. And while it isn’t ideal for games, it had more then enough muscle for multi-tasking and even occasional compiling of programs. And, of course, it had a stylus, though I still have some reservations with the N-Trig technology, versus the Wacom tech from the previous two generations. And being an Intel-based PC, it was easily possible to install any Linux variant on it (naturally I went with Fedora).
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It isn’t perfect and, after more than a year of use, the warts have become clearly visible. I made the mistake of insisting on the higher and more expensive Intel Core i7 processor, despite knowing there were thermal issues. I clearly underestimated how hot it could get. I reckon a Core i5 would have done just as well, though probably poorly even in low settings gaming. I also underestimated how big a 12-inch display would be, not counting the bezels. It is, of course, laptop size, though significantly lighter than a laptop. After spending some time with the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, I reckon I would do just as well with a 10-inch screen (Surface 3 or 4 anyone?). I still consider it ultimately more portable than any laptop but just as usable. But due to the weight and size, I found that I used it less and less as a tablet.
There’s a Surface Pro 4 now, which is thinner and lighter than my Surface Pro 3, but just as large. The Surface Boook is even more of a laptop but has the advantage of being better suited for graphics processing, both games and OpenGL stuff. But, if a thinner, lighter, and better Surface 3 successor came along, I might opt for that instead.
Living in two worlds
If I were a full Windows user, this piece would have probably ended above. Of course I’m not. While I can’t really call myself a full Linux user, I do use Linux, Fedora to be exact, about 80-90% of the time. I bought the Surface Pro 3 not because I wanted just a Windows tablet/laptop but because I wanted to use Linux on it.
Installing Linux the first time was a bit of a mess. Despite being in the market already for months by the time I bought mine, very few Linux users have ventured to dual boot the Surface Pro 3. Even fewer Fedora users, as 4 out of 5 guides were for Ubuntu. I know I should have taken down notes when I went on my adventure, for the benefit of others who wish to follow the same path. A lot of it is hazy by now, but there are a few important things I do remember:
- Turn of Bitkeeper disk encryption
- No need to disable secure boot or UEFI
- The Fedora installer “Just Works”. No special steps needed.
- Do make sure that the EFI partition will be mounted at /boot/efi during the installation process.
After that initial installation, I’ve had no problems keeping the dual boot clean and stable ever since. I feared that the update from Windows 8.1 to 10 would mess it up, but thankfully it didn’t. Every major Fedora version, however, is a worry, partly for that reason and partly because of the kernel. Each new kernel is a hit or miss, sometimes making one feature work while breaking another. In the end, I stuck with shvr’s kernel as it almost has everything working. As of this writing, I have held off upgrading to Fedora 24 for those reasons.
Other than kernel and driver concerns, however, everything has mostly been normal on the Linux side. Even the N-Trig stylus works, except for one of two buttons. Which is quite a surprise given this is a Microsoft-made hardware. Then again, Microsoft did say they weren’t going to block installing other operating systems on it, so I guess I’m thankful for that.
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KDE
Which brings me to what I consider to be the “piece de resistance” of my Surface Pro 3 rambling. I am a KDE user, and any programming I had dreamed up for the SP3 was primarily directed towards Qt/KDE development. The development part, I had no problems. Everything is pretty much standard Linux. It’s the using part that I found to be a mixed bag.
I think the fears that KDE developers are abandoning the good ol’ desktop over fancy new mobile is not only unfounded, it is also exaggerated. Why? Because despite all the new features that would make it ready for mobile, Plasma, the KDE Workspace, is almost completely still desktop oriented. It is near impossible to use without a keyboard or a mouse in its current default state. Luckily for me, I have a stylus and kvkbd for those times when the Surface Type Cover isn’t attached.
Yes, I am aware and still excited about the Plasma Mobile efforts. But that is primarily a full image meant for tablets and smartphones, with all the custom bits and pieces in place to make things work with just a touch screen. But if you were to, say, install Plasma from your distro on your 2-in-1, you won’t end up with all the niceties that Plasma Mobile offers.
For starters, there’s no way to do a right-mouse click using a touch and hold gesture. There are some things that don’t work reliably with touch at all. You have to manually summon a virtual keyboard, which is better than the alternative of not having one at all. At the moment, you can’t use that virtual keyboard to log in or unlock a session.
As for the desktop-like interface, with panels and resizable windows, I actually don’t mind at all. Windows 10 has those two, and they’re actually usable even in desktop mode. Those are easier to customize later on, but key issues of input are more important.
The great news is that Plasma and the rest of KDE software is open source and is progressing at a rather steady speed. I have no doubt that the geniuses behind KDE will eventually get to these so-called paper cuts. Right now, we’re probably all still waiting for the world to move over to Wayland, and then the real work can begin.
Wishlist
When I finally got the Surface Pro 3, I gave up my Samsung ATIV convertible. Now more than a year later, I can’t imagine having to use a laptop again as my portable office. Or even a convertible/2-in-1 that’s as heavy as a laptop. My experience with the SP3 hasn’t been perfect, though, admittedly, some where because of my own decisions. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Or maybe I would, but only if a few things fell into place. If someone came out with an Intel-based equivalent of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, one that is almost as thin and as light as it, with a stylus, of course, I’d go with that, no questions asked. Right now, though, the stars haven’t aligned. Maybe there’s a Surface 4 around the corner waiting to be revealed.
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