Pinebook Pro for university

[arcsi05]

Hey guys,

I am a first year computer science student, and I'm really thinking about getting a Pinebook Pro to bring with myself to classes. I would use it for web browsing, viewing pdf and office files, note taking, writing code and compiling in multiple languages (c#, c, java, etc.).

Do you think this device would be a good choice for something like this?


(I already have a computer, but I can't take it with me to classes)

[lispy]

If you don't need special x86 software I'd say yes. Disclaimer: My Pinebook is still on the way, so no firsthand information.

[Soul_Hacker]

Hello there,

I do not have the Pro Version yet, but i can say if you know yourself around linux a bit you can absolutely use it as such. Somewhere on this Site it says "not suitable for a daily driver" (the OG Pinebook) but i've been using it as such for over a year now and loving it because you can charge it on any USB Port.
Mostly terminal work/reading pdf/LibreOffice (also works well)/YT Tutorials/light programming...

Now the difficult part would be compiling, i only scripted sh and python (no compiler) and it worked of course.
Compiling C++ or Java is a quite heavy Task i think. So i imagine the gcc compiler on the Pinebook Pro will take some time to compile. You can also let a server compile it for you, i believe there are services like that (or your own server/PC at home)

I will try it out on my OG Pinebook tho. Im curious now.

Edit: tried a light C++ Program i wrote a few years back with Code::Blocks and compiled it via gcc. works like a charm.
Still in heavier projects im sure it'll take some time to compile.

[kazriko]

Hey guys,

I am a first year computer science student, and I'm really thinking about getting a Pinebook Pro to bring with myself to classes. I would use it for web browsing, viewing pdf and office files, note taking, writing code and compiling in multiple languages (c#, c, java, etc.).

Do you think this device would be a good choice for something like this?


(I already have a computer, but I can't take it with me to classes)

C, likely. the compiles might be slower than you're used to.
Java, Probably. OracleJDK only supports up to version 8 on ARM, not 11 or 13. Otherwise OpenJDK could work. It covers a lot of the Java API.
C#, maybe. If you can get away with just the parts of the API that Mono supports, it might work. That's a subset of the entire .net api though, so you might encounter some stuff that doesn't work.

I don't see any problem with running Libreoffice, pdf readers, or doing light web browsing on it.

[Arwen]

My personal opinion, Pinebook Pro is not yet ready for the kind of work the original poster listed.
Meaning school, like some jobs, the applications just need to work. Can't have a do-over.

Give it / us 6 months, and maybe we will have an answer. A year, we would know for certain on
all those tasks, like how long compiling runs on all those languages. And other potential limitations.

[arcsi05]

I'm willing to take the risk, also I would love to contribute to such an amazing community.


( I will still have another computer if something doesn't work on the PBP   )

[danielt]

I'm willing to take the risk, also I would love to contribute to such an amazing community.

That's great to hear. Eyes wide open to the potential problems... but doing it anyway! Awesome.