MNT Pocket Reform query regarding capabilities for creative software (VMs, External GPU, HDMI output)

MNT Pocket Reform
1

Apologies for the lack of understanding of the hardware specifics.

Use case: I am an audio-visual creative artist that lives an itinerant life. I am very much interested in the ergonomic concept of a small laptop that I can work on at a moments notice. In terms of the art that I make which criticises the enshittification of mainstream tech, the ethos of MNT aligns very heavily with my artistic goals. As such I am contemplating the possibility of making all my art on an MNT Reform. I just have a few questions

Question 1: Is the MNT Reform hardware capable of handling Virtualisation?
I understand that the MNT reform would use a Linux based operating system which I have no issues with. Nevertheless, I am wondering of the hypothetical capabilities of using creative software that are not available on Linux (Ableton) on such hardware specs. I intend to use as much FOSS software as possible but would still like to know of my options.

Question 2: What are the graphics limitations of the MNT Reform for creative software and is there any compatibility with external GPUs?
Is there any feedback on limitations with 3D Graphics software eg Blender of Bryce 3d Pro? I create low-poly graphics akin to PS1 style aesthetics so it shouldn’t be too taxing on the system but just want to know. Otherwise, would it be possible to plug in an external GPU to the MNT Reform?

Question 3: HDMI output for MNT Reform.
Is it possible to plug this into a workstation monitor for dual screen output? Or would this be too much for the machine to handle?

Thank you kindly for your support and keep up the good work.

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As a prospective customer of the Pocket Reform (PR), I hope that you provoke discussion as to how people use the laptop. Taking your questions in (approximately) reverse order, and excuse me for thinking out loud rather than answering your questions!

Points 2 and 3 suggest that you expect the PR to be docked most of the time at home and want to be satisfied that docking is seamless. Me too: especially since a 7" screen would become rather trying quite fast. One computer I regret getting rid of was an old ThinkPad with a proper dock the whole computer sat in, with all the required ports in the back. Perhaps the modular architecture of the Reform might allow an evolution of this concept in due course?

As for a solution to use Ableton on virtual machine, I suspect that Reform lacks the required grunt. I looked up Ableton on Wikipedia and ended up following links to the creator’s page with side projects. It is a fascinating read!

The Genode / Sculpt operating system (available on Reform) might be an excellent basis for audio tools. I say this as a former BeOS user who remembers how its realtime mixing utilities were mind-blowing back in the day, and unmatched by other platforms. Now BeOS lives again as Haiku, but native radio software Tunetracker was exploring not so long ago to migrate to Genode.

It may even be worth reaching out to Ableton and explaining your predicament. Both MNT and Ableton are Berlin based (and Genode “down the road” in Dresden) so perhaps that might be the spark to make things happen?

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