10/15/2017 Solar Computer
My primary computing device is an old MicroCenter WinBook TW800 tablet. Paired with the tablet we have a four port USB hub, a wireless keyboard and mouse paired with the same Logitech unifying receiver and two USB flash drives one of which has Ubuntu installed which is my primary operating system.
This tablet doesn't require a whole lot of juice when compared to a laptop and it's charged through USB which makes it a good fit with our portable solar chargers and battery packs. Usually I'll power the tablet with a 20,000mAh power bank then charge the power bank from one of our solar chargers as needed and available. If conditions provide I'll charge the tablet from the power bank and the power bank from the solar charger while using the tablet. In good sunlight the solar charger should provide more power to the power bank than the power bank is providing to the tablet.
Obviously this doesn't have much horsepower compared to laptops and desktops, but I have done some image editing, programming and 3d modeling/rendering without much trouble. Having Ubuntu installed on a USB flash drive has some problems, every now and again everything will stop responding and I have to power down via the power button and the system becomes basically unusable when SWAP space is needed. It works, but I may invest in an external SSD when the opportunity presents itself.
There's also a few bugs using Ubuntu with this Intel Atom powered tablet. I haven't been able to get Bluetooth working, I am unable to control the screen's brightness (full bright all the time) and jMonkeyEngine applications seem to have a memory leak for some reason, but I'm hoping a future OS software update will solve that.
When the laptop desk isn't being used as a solar stand I sometimes put together the computer on it for a less crouched over experience. The desk comes in handy doubling as a stand for a solar charger which helps make the most of the available sunlight. Roughly three pounds that I think are worth it.
It requires more assembly than a traditional laptop and has a few quirks, but it works. P.S. The mouse pad is a cat flying through space on a piece of bacon.
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