I tested the Mk III back in Dec 2020 before it dropped out of existence (parts shortage I think.) Due to relocating during the Covid chaos I actually daily drove it as my workstation for a few months (using VSCode/Slack/Discord and writing C++ for RP2040 and running more MicroPython recompiles than I'd care to imagine). The keyboard left a little to be desired (inconsistent actuation force), but having a Linux-first, mini laptop at that price point was compelling. The decent resolution (1080p at 11") screen, SATA SSD (rather than eMMC) and backlit (!!) keyboard made it worthwhile and I still use it for work.<p>If they've revised the keyboard/trackpad in Mk IV then it could be a pretty solid little machine.<p>I also had some weirdness with the USB Type-C power adapter (ha I wish this was the only hardware I could say this about) but that may or may not have been fixed (in the Mk III) with a recent firmware update. Though it did take them the best part of the year since my vague and difficult to reproduce bug reports. A 12v barrel jack supply was rock solid. No surprise there.<p>I know it's no Framework, but it's nice to have a System76-a-like this side of the pond.
During a vacation last week I brought a very cheap, small laptop (~250 euro, 11" ACER) with me as an emergency laptop. Just in case something would happen at work that would require my assistance.<p>Naturally, one of our services crashed during my second day away (this service had been running flawlessly for 3 years prior). So I spend a bit of time using the tiny cheap laptop.<p>To my surprise, the tiny laptop was refreshingly nice to work with. There is something elegant about a tiny little fanless machine that you can just throw in your backpack without any worries (unlike with my multi-thousand dollar portable workstation).<p>The keyboard on this particular laptop was actually very nice, though the screen and trackpad are just utter crap. Though the screen was small and low resolution, it was just fine for email, some SSH sessions and light browsing.<p>Anyway, long story short: I am now looking at buying a small, fanless laptop with a decent trackpad and screen. The StarLite would be a good contestant.
I've been beating myself up trying to understand why cheap 11" laptops aren't more common.<p>Ten years ago the atom based "netbooks" were ~$200-300. Yes, they had almost no RAM, eMMC storage, and archaic wifi chips, but it's been 10 years, and I'm surprised they can't still put out a Pentium Silver system with even slightly modern internals for around the same price now.<p>My best guess is volume. The netbook experiment failed and nobody is going to invest in a large enough volume of devices to make the costs worthwhile. Also, tablets and phones can do what you'd probably do on this device anyways, except for the form factor.<p>Still, it bugs me. This device has nice specs, but as others have pointed out, it looks like it's probably just been thrown together from a reference which also makes me worry about whether this company will be around long enough to service it if something goes wrong a year from now.<p>I guess I should just suck it up and buy a used 11" MacBook - there is one with an NVIDIA dgpu that my wife had at one point and it was quite a little power house.
This faq entry <a href="https://support.starlabs.systems/kb/faqs/ami-aptio-v-vs-coreboot" rel="nofollow">https://support.starlabs.systems/kb/faqs/ami-aptio-v-vs-core...</a> is quite misleading.<p>>coreboot uses flashrom, which runs from the userspace (outside the kernel) and writes directly to the SPI (a small chip where the firmware is stored). Instead of verifying the update, it will allow anything using user id 0 (aka "sudo", "root" or "admin") to write to it.<p>This is their implementation. Coreboot doesn't care about how it's written. That is not a part of coreboot. You, as a vendor, are supposed to create something sensible.<p>>AMI ... offers many features, including a graphical interface. ... [Coreboot] has no dedicated interface, apart from a simple boot menu.<p>This is again a function of the payload. If they use tianacore as a payload, they'll get a similar menu as AMI. It's their job to pick and customise payloads. Coreboot doesn't handle that stuff.
Does anyone have experience with the processor they're including?<p>I ask because I recently had to switch back to Windows for my work laptop after about 7 years of running OpenSUSE Linux[0] and have been looking to buy a less powerful laptop as a second work machine running Linux[1].<p>I have <i>zero</i> experience with the Intel Pentium Silver N5030 processor -- I'm guessing that line of processors is what replaced Atom. I haven't looked at that series in a while but in the early days I found them to be unusable -- 80% slower than what I was used to.<p>I'm looking at light development/debugging work as the target, pretty much "living out of the browser and the terminal" with the majority of development done on my workstation-grade laptop.<p>[0] Honestly pretty happy with Windows 11/WSLg, which is nice since the app I'm supporting would be very difficult to do in a development environment on Linux...my personal PCs still run Tumbleweed :)<p>[1] I don't mind running virtual machines as I am currently, but it's more convenient to have another laptop to swivel too, sometimes.
May I guess that this is "just" a re-brand of some far east manufacturer? Nothing wrong with that, but I was kind of sour that my (not exactly cheap) Tuxedo Linux laptop was basically just a off-the-shelf laptop from another vendor (plus some additional support).
The whole time I was looking at this machine, I was unimpressed. That was, until I saw the price. Under $500 brand new for this machine looks fantastic. Hell, under 2 lbs and under $500 would've made this a no brainer for me when I was in university. Kind of a shame I don't need a new machine at the moment, this looks like some real bang for the buck, if you like new machines.<p>I'm sure used machines are still better bang for buck, but this is really cool to see.
Wow, I've been a big fan of tiny / cheap / fanless "ssh+vim+ browser+chat"-machines like this for years.<p>At the moment I've got an Asus E203M fulfilling this role, but I'm annoyed every time I have to carry around, untangle and plug in the stupid barrel jack charger when I've got USB-C charging available on the sofa, in bed, in the office (and even in my car). I'm aware that there are USB-C -> barrel jack adapters, but c'mon, if I have to carry something around it might as well be the charger.<p>That alone would have sold me on this device.<p>But it's got coreboot! 8gigs of RAM! Backlit keyboard! Matte display, fullHD!
I've ordered instantly. Many thanks for the link!
Keep in mind that this is an atom-derived chip (Goldmont Plus uArch), so it will be VERY VERY slow. Do not compare clock speed with something like Core i-series, expect this thing to have a much lower IPC. It barely has any cache as well. With the size of modern websites; JS, i'd expect it to struggle with anything complex...
> a true matte display that prevents glare with an Anti-Reflective Coating.<p>This alone made me pay attention, it is so damn rare to find something portable nowadays that is not glaring with a mega reflective display.<p>I understand that reflective screens sell better next to lackluster matte screen in a display case but at this point it really feels like none of these manufacturers have used their devices outside.
Awesome to see people still producing things with this small form factor. I loved my Asus Aspire One when I was travelling as a student (even before mobile internet was widespread!), though I think that was 9" even.<p>Seems quite expensive though, and it's also surprising they didn't choose ARM. As for such a mobile unit you'd probably want battery life over high specs.<p>The PineBook Pro is a cheaper alternative for those use cases - <a href="https://pine64.com/product/14%e2%80%b3-pinebook-pro-linux-laptop-ansi-us-keyboard/" rel="nofollow">https://pine64.com/product/14%e2%80%b3-pinebook-pro-linux-la...</a> but is 14"
Pretty cool looking device, and a decent price (and the weight is impressive).<p>Wondering why there’s an amibios option at all? Is there something it does that core boot can’t?
It could be a great tool, but why almost always keyboards seem to be designed by people who don't use them?<p>When are we going to get a keyboard with proper set of keys in the right size? Like cursors, PgUp, PgDown, Home, End etc?<p>Also it's a shame they don't say where they make these laptops.
I have an original Mk1 unit and this looks like a very nice upgrade. Sure it's not the best but for the price and being linux first its good.<p>A bit of bezel on my Mk1 broke and I was able to get a replacement with ease (did cost me but I was happy I could even get the part easily).
Make sure you can remap the Fn key on this keyboard. It is in a terrible spot and should have been swapped with the CTRL key. Dell has the same issue and on their system it isn't software remappable. Really makes using the keyboard untenable for me.
Interesting messing-about-with laptop. It's the kind of thing I probably might get my son as his first laptop.<p>On another note, as I was scrolling down the page, it got laggier and slower and I'm browsing from an i9 10900K with all the trimmings... odd.
Don't know if their copy editors read these, but "Gallium Nitrate" is surely a typo for "Gallium Nitride" (GaN). GaN is a wide bandgap semiconductor, Gallium Nitrate is apparently some sort of drug.
For completely irrational reasons I really want a laptop with Coreboot in my toolbox, but sadly I don’t have £4-500 to throw at it as things are now.<p>Hope Star Labs does well and that they sell plenty free and open devices though :)
If you need performance take a look at the ThinkPad X13 AMD/Intel with good 13" display and probably the best keyboard available. Linux is supported very well. Replacement parts widely available (five years). With a docking station it is well usable stationary, too. The nice thing is, it fully usable and fits in every backpack. Drawback is - it is not fan-less and doesn't feature Coreboot.<p>PS: X13 is cheaper than X1, maybe more sturdy and you can get one USB/Thunderbolt port extra.
The laptop I use the most is a T500 Core2Duo P8600 with 4GB RAM.<p>The StarLite Mk IV out performs it at every turn, and I’ve been wanting an 11” laptop for a while now.<p>Is there any reason I shouldn’t but the Mk IV, or is there any other similar devices I should consider? I’d rather buy locally for Australian consumer protections.
This looks almost identical to the Pinebook Pro, down to the port placement. Interesting! The ARM processor on the Pinebook Pro can sometimes be a bit of an annoyance, as it's not the beafiest processor and emulating x86 on it suffers.
Would love to see this in AMD. It's also just a little bit pricier than I typically pay for my to-go linux netbooks, but I'm always happy to pay a bit more to support a company that's supporting linux.
Too bad all their products are limited to 1080p displays, even the 14" one that you can order with 64 (!) GB RAM. For me it's an immediate deal-breaker.
There's a lot to like about this and I really like the direction they're heading in. So I wondered where did they come up with the specs?<p>> Star Labs was formed in a pub<p>I think I've had many similar conversations but they usually start and end in the pub. Good work lads.<p>Will be seriously considering the 14" model when it's time to replace my XPS 13.
Looks like the most generic OEM laptop you can get from Intel reference design from Weibu.<p>Though, Atom cored N5**** CPUs are complete pipsqueaks today in comparison to higher-end ARM cores, the benefit is that <i>Intel reference platforms are the most well supported, and documented pieces of hardware in the industry.</i><p>If you get an Intel CPU, put it on a PCB 1-to-1 matching Intel schematics, and fit it with full Intel chipset (WiFi, Ethernet, Enpirion PMICs...) complement, it's almost guaranteed to work.
Is this for those people who really want to post online but hate doing it on windows or Mac? I cannot see how this could be useful except as maybe a backup machine that I can use to burn a kubntu disk/usb for my real machines.
Imo anything with less than 32gb RAM and a real video card is useless for anything other than consuming junk and that's why I have a smart phone, my smart phone with 16gb ram and a real video card....