LWDW 376: Bodhi Linux 7 & 8088 Laptops

Bodhi Linux 7 is looking for testers! Modern 8088 powered retro laptops, measuring progress on the command line, and a slick homebrew Linux handheld.


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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:30 Nvidia 4060Ti & AMD 7600
04:37 Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta
13:22 Measuring CLI progress
18:14 8088 powered laptops
29:39 Pi powered handheld


Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta

https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2023/05/bodhi-linux-7-0-beta/amp

  • One of my favorite distros has a new Beta ISO ready for testing, Bodhi Linux 7.0!
  • Bodhi Linux 7.0 is based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.
  • It uses an Enlightenment-based desktop and the Moksha window manager by default, which is a fork of Enlightenment, and is cleaner and better organized.
  • There’s a new Plymouth boot screen, and a new login screen theme.
  • The distro now uses a new ‘MokshaGreen’ theme and icon set by default, which is a nice dark theme with grays and greens that matches the green leaf wallpaper.
  • The Moksha 0.4.0 theming includes lots of improvements, including a new keybindings viewer, refactored modules, new window snapping options, and the Settings Panel/Modules/Gadgets dialog has been resized to 600×500 by default for easier viewing.
  • Module tweaks include the battery module relaying charging status better; the clock module adding date/time settings; and the shot module adding “copy to clipboard”.
  • The Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta also ships with a non-Snap build of Chromium as the default web browser, but also includes a web browser manager app to install other browsers.
  • There are three kernel releases available to download:
    • The base ISO offers Linux kernel 5.15 LTS as shipped in Ubuntu 22.04 LTS last April.
    • An ISO with the more recent Linux kernel 5.19 from Ubuntu 22.10.
    • And a System76 ISO that pulls in the Linux kernel 6.2 version used in System76’s Pop!_OS.
  • I had fun playing with the new Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta with the Pop!_OS Linux kernel 6.2.
  • Bodhi Linux came out in 2011, and it has always been a great distro to run on older hardware, because of its memory efficiency and the lightweight Enlightenment window manager.
  • Bodhi has a web based app center, and I always thought that was a great idea, but you also have the awesome and more thorough Synaptic package manager you can use to install apps as well.

CLi %

https://github.com/Xfennec/progress

  • How many times have you run cp, mv, dd, tar, gzip on something BIG?
  • I ask this because after 30 seconds you tend to sneak a peek at the HDD LED followed by cracking open top to see what’s going on. 
  • Progress, formerly known as Coreutils Viewer takes some of the mystery out by displaying percentage, estimated time, progress, and throughput. 
  • I definitely like the new name “progress.”  It is a lot easier to remember than Coreutils Viewer, or cv.
  • In fact, recently, I was thinking of installing this utility to see the progress of an ISO copy using the dd command to a flash drive but couldn’t remember the name of it! LOL

8088 640KB Lappy

https://liliputing.com/past-meets-present-in-this-200-mini-laptop-with-a-intel-8088-chip-and-640kb-of-memory/

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805342629426.html

  • In 1981, when the IBM PC was introduced, Bill Gates said that 640KB of memory “ought to be enough for anybody.”
  • Well, that’s also what a Chinese PC manufacturer recently built in a mini laptop which has 640KB of memory, an 8-bit 8088 4.77 MHz processor, along with support for an optional 8087 math coprocessor to speed up computations.
  • This new “Book 8088 DOS system” was available from AliExpress for $201 and up, but it sold out quickly.  Check back soon for hopefully more inventory.
  • It has support for MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.0 or earlier.
  • Specs:
    • An Intel 8088 chip, IBM-CGA graphics card, 640KB of memory, and a 16-color, 640 x 200 pixel display.
    • It does have a 512MB CompactFlash card for storage and a USB port for peripherals, but don’t expect to run new software.
  • Optional accessories:
    • An OPL3 sound card module with a Yamaha YYMF262-M sound chip.
    • An ISA expansion card connector.
    • Or an 8087 coprocessor.
    • System cost with all addons:  $275.
  • This looks like a fun little computer for running old DOS games and applications bare metal without the need to run emulation software :-D
  • I like the dev board
  • If this thing had a COM port on it I know some people who would buy a stack of them. 

Slice of Pi

Handy Pi 

https://bytewelder.com/posts/2023/05/20/building-a-handheld-pc.html

https://github.com/ByteWelder/Decktility

  • Sometimes the best palmtop is the one you build yourself. 
  • Introducing Decktility.
  • Powered by the still unavailable Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4.  
  • Well, powered powered by two 18650 cells. 
  • BTT Pad 5 (800×480) with touch. 
  • Custom FET board and a fishing line charging light.
  • That is one of the nicest looking RasPi cyberdeck palmtops I have seen.
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