LWDW 311: Steam Deck Release Dates & Mate for GDP 3

Steam Deck release date announced! Ubuntu Mate lands on the GDP Pocket 3, Framework open-sources their laptop firmware, and turning your Raspberry Pi 400 into a modern Amiga.


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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
05:10 Steam Deck release date announced
08:55 GDP Pocket 3 gets Ubuntu Mate
13:00 AMD powered DeskMini Manjaro edition
16:30 Framework open-sources firmware
20:17 Secure desktop messaging with Briar
27:47 Turn your Pi 400 into an Amiga


25’th of Deck

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1675180/view/3117055056380003048

  • On launch day, users who have already reserved Steam Decks will receive invitations to purchase devices from the initial batch. 
  • The first invitees will have 72 hours to order their Steam Decks once they receive the email, after which their invitation will be passed to the next person.
  • After that, batches will be released weekly. 
  • We need a win after two years of nothing. 
  • Woohooo!
  • I can’t wait to get my Steam Deck!
  • Oh, and your reservation deposit will be applied to the final price of your Steam Deck, and shipping costs are included.

 

GDP Mate

https://ubuntu-mate.org/blog/ubuntu-mate-for-gpd-pocket3/

  • This is awesome, so Martin Wimpress has been hard at work for several months getting Ubuntu Mate 21.10 working on the GPD Pocket 3 computer, you know that cute little mini 8-inch laptop that you can game on.
  • Well he got it working flawlessly, and you can download the ISO now from the Ubuntu Mate official website.
  • Ubuntu Mate 21.10 has many enhancements for the GPD Pocket 3 including:
    • It enables frame buffer support and automatic screen rotation, which includes rotation of the touch screen and stylus via new accelerometer support.
    • Enables audio support via the HDaudio legacy driver.
    • And enables scroll wheel emulation while holding down the middle trackpad button.
    • And one of my favorite features if I ever bought one, Ubuntu Mate 21.10 enables fractional scaling by default and double size console (tty) font resolution.
  • You can find Martin Wimpress, Wimpy, playing Trackmania Stadium 2 with us on our live streams, or just having fun racing the maps on our server many times throughout the week!
  • No support for the fingerprint reader. 
  • Suspend works and Tear-Free rendering by default. 

 

Manjaro MiniPC (RTheren)

https://store.minisforum.com/products/deskmini-um700-manjaro-linux

  • There is a new AMD Ryzen 7 3750H processor with Vega 10 Graphics Linux based MiniPC you can pre-order right now!
  • And it has Manjaro Linux pre-installed, so you can get your “By the way, I run Aaaaarrrcchhh” on!
  • The DeskMini UM700 is a powerful MiniPC running Manjaro Linux and starts at a great introductory sale price:
    • $469.00 for 8GB Ram+256GB M.2 SSD
    • Up to $539 for 16GB RAM+512GB M.2 SSD
    • The price will start at $599 after the sale.
  • Thank you RTheren for bringing this to our attention!!
  • Three 4K video holes wifi and bluetooth and an allegedly silent fan. 
  • Did I mention the 2.5g ethernoodle? 
  • I really like the specs and the price. 
  • Having an AMD NUC has been on my list for some time. 
  • I just might head over to Amazon and buy one that includes 16GB of RAM a 256GB SSD for $15 less. 

 

Framework firmware

https://frame.work/blog/open-sourcing-our-firmware

  • Framework has published their open source Embedded Controller (EC) firmware for the Framework modular Laptop, which is available to download now on their GitHub page.
  • Interestingly, the firmware is based on Google’s chromium-ec project, which is the Embedded Controller firmware used in Chromebooks.
  • And, as we have mentioned before, Fedora 35 works out of the box on the Framework Laptop.
  • They have been impressed with the Linux community’s contributions, hacking and experimentation.
  • And there are easy to follow step by step guides for the most popular distros, such as Fedora, Ubuntu, Mint, Manjaro, Arch, Debian, elementary . . .
  • This thing knows how to Linux and so far the humans behind Framework have been knocking it out of the park. 
  • Showing the big lappy makers that you can make sleek , easily repairable and good looking laptops at a reasonable price. 
  • Something Apple / Dell / HP and the like said was unpossible. 

 

Spike Desktop

https://briarproject.org/download-briar-desktop/

  • Briar uses a nice combination of internet communication via the Tor network, or mesh networking via the phones bluetooth or WiFi when internet isn’t available.
  • Do you like sending really secure messages on mobile?
  • How about something that could work locally when the internet goes nope?
  • Something without a central server that can be monitored and or attacked?
  • Well now you can do all of that from the comfort of your desktop. 
  • Debs are available but you can jar if you want to. 

Slice of Pi

Pi Powered Amiga

https://cubiclenate.com/pimiga/

  • A workbench replacement built for the Pi 400. 
  • It’s BYOR but at least the sound & joysticks work. 
  • This guide will get you up and running with a quickness so you can experience the bad old days of computing.
  • Then all the hardware snobs can give you static because it’s not a “real” Amiga. 
  • But hey, at least you can boot it into Linux and do something useful with it… unlike real Amiga hardware.
  • You can have fun playing classic games on Workbench, or relive the golden days of animating with Lightwave.
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