So, my 10 year old Chromebook has reached the end of the line and, because of [gestures vaguely around at the state of everything], I obviously don’t want to buy another one. I am beginning the process of evacuating all my stuff from Alphabet’s ecosystem specifically (mostly Google Drive) and other big tech generally.
Essentially, what I need is an inexpensive mid-tier laptop. No gaming, no need to run complex stuff like video/audio editing, nothing like that… I just need to be able to stream video, look at my email, check social media, download text and photo files, etc (so, running a web browser and saving files… that’s it). I’d ideally like to have something I could setup once and then potentially not have to fuss with for years (outside of updates obviously)… like a Chromebook.
Coming to Lemmy because I just have no idea where (else) to get started.
Which distro do y’all think would be a good fit for this purpose? Should I play around with different ones? What laptop manufacturers should I look at? Which ones should I avoid? When I buy one, how do I get a machine that’s just formatted without Windows already installed? Should I order direct from the manufacturer or would it be more prudent to buy from a retailer (for like shipping and returns policy purposes)? Has someone already built exactly what I’m talking about, written/vlogged about it answering all my questions, and I just can’t find it because of the enshitifacation of search engines?
Any suggestions, tips, blogs to read, tech channels to watch, etc, are all greatly appreciated!
Skill Level Context
I have a little experience with building computers and setting them up from scratch. Twenty-ish years ago I was in a single semester high school “Intro to Computers” class where the final had us build a PC from parts provided and install Windows XP (then format the HDD and disassemble everything for the next person’s exam). Since then, I’ve really done nothing like that and have forgotten everything except the very basics (also, a lot has probably changed). The last computer I have purchased is my gaming setup and I bought an it-just-works-out-of-the-box Windows machine off Amazon. It’s an iBuyPower brand PC that I will likely be looking to replace with a Linux machine next year… maybe… this replace the Chromebook project is kind of a proof of concept for me before I attempt that.
Everyone is going to just tell you to install Linux Mint, and enjoy, but my deeply original opinion is…
tap for my novel idea
Yeah. You probably want to install Linux Mint. It’ll do all the Chromebook stuff and more.
Hopefully this silly comment amused you.
It’s on the list… got some homework to do, but this project is shaping up be an afternoon instead of the months long thing I thought it would be.
Trust me calling it “homework” is generous. You can boot mint onto a MacBook Pro, a Chromebook, whatever. It’s trivial. You’ll have it up and running less than an hour if you follow a step by step guide. Hell there’s probably a guide literally for your exact computer.
Until you realise that WiFi doesn’t work, because Broadcom fucked up their Linux driver on a $1000+ MacBook Pro, and they aren’t going to fix it. Oh and speakers also don’t work.
To be honest, that MacBook is a one off example, and most everything I tried to run works fine on Linux
There is one potential (small) hurdle you should be aware off: Secure Boot.
Basically some laptops came with Secure Boot locked to only allow booting Windows. These days Linux distros should still be able to boot even if the laptop was windows-only back then (thanks to the so-called shim bootloader). If you get an error about secure boot, just go in to BIOS/UEFI menu and disable secure boot for now (after installing Linux you can google the steps to enroll a key to re-enable Secure Boot).
Beyond that, just flash a USB stick with Linux Mint, boot the laptop, smash the keyboard to find the button for BIOS menu or Boot Device selection, then follow the installer. Installing Linux should take less than an hour. Way less if your computer is fast.
If you get a good deal on it, an old MacBook (Retina Pro from 2013, 2014 or ideally 2015) can also be a very nice Linux laptop. They are sturdy, sleek and you won’t find a better trackpad or screen on any laptop in the same price range. Although maybe not the best performance for the price.
I also very much recommend Linux mint. I’m personally a bigger fan of fedora but Linux mint ist a very good choice for a bit older/cheaper laptops.
I upgraded an old Mac Mini 6.1 or 7.1 (dunno the specific model. Something i5 3rd or 4th gen) until the latest mac OS.
Despite slow it’s still usable. I am honestly pleasently surprised.
Used corporate fleet laptop like a thinkpad, install linux mint on it.
You can spend so much time finding out which distro is the best for you, but if you don’t want to spend that time, just go with mint, it’ll do the job.
Someone pointed out work laptops and made me realize my company is about to do a whole laptop replacement cycle (kind of embarrassed I didn’t think of that, but that’s why we ask questions). Gonna check with the IT manager if I can have one or if they’re already spoken for (donated to a school, etc). If I can’t do that, looks like a cheap eBay Thinkpad with Mint or Ubuntu is where I’m going to end up.
Asking obviously doesn’t hurt, but usually the laptops aren’t even technically property of the company but leased and given back after some years.
And even if your company actually owns the laptops, there’s likely a bureaucratic nightmare lurking because a laptop with potentially critical information on it is missing.
I know of a company where the IT guy “accidentally” sent a mail to everyone that the old hardware is sitting in a hallway waiting for the recycler.
Differs by company, of course, but the one I used to work for would wipe, reimage, and sell them to employees for $50.
Get a refurbished Lenovo thinkpad t470 or so from ebay, make sure it has full HD and comes from a commercial shop. All the Thinkpads work great with Ubuntu. They are good quality business notebooks, easy to repair with good parts availability. You can probably get one around 150 or so.
I repaired laptops for a living for a while and Thinkpads were always my favorite.
I repaired laptops for a living for a while and Thinkpads were always my favorite.
Good to know! And I’ll definitely look into them!
Yeah Ive had a T14 for a few years with Ubuntu. It’s been so nice and easy that hard to find a reason to hop to something else.
Does the keyboard backlight work out of the box? I heard you had to fiddle a bit to get that working on newer thinkpads.
Even the fingerprint login
Chefs kiss
Does it have to be a new laptop? What you’re describing is basically a used work laptop. I’ve gotten to take my work PCs with me upon leaving, and I use them still. My current work laptop is in fact the work laptop from my previous employer, only with a fresh reinstall (Linux Minr Debian Edition), and it works well.
If you’re able to source a 2nd hand Dell, you’ll probably have what you need. Might need a battery replacement, but that’s easy enough to sort out.
Linux Mint works pretty well out of the box for most installs, so I suggest you give it a try and see if it does what you need.
That is a phenomenal idea which hadn’t even occurred to me. My work is about to go through a laptop replacement cycle… could see if any of those haven’t been marked to go to a charity or public school or something.
i think bazzite is currently the most chromebooky distro, much better of course
Since they said no gaming, Aurora would probably be better. Just a different distro under the same Universal Blue project that Bazzite is a part of.
good point
i prefer the simplicity of gnome though so i guess i would go for Bluefin - to quote the Bluefin website:
The best of both worlds: the reliability and ease of use of a Chromebook, with the power of a GNOME desktop.
seem appropriate 😀
Any Intel-based laptop (i.e. with Windows) should run Linux no problem. But best avoid cutting-edge peripherals and Nvidia graphics chips and always look up the model before buying.
Chromebooks are ARM-based (and have locked bootloaders), so they’re out. This is a bit of an annoyance because they now occupy the netbook niche, i.e. cheap and small. I once paid 240€ for a small fanless Asus netbook and got six years of constant use out of it on Linux, with no speed issues at all. That would never have been possible running bloated Windows spyware. For the replacement I had to go up to 400€ for pretty much the same thing (Acer Swift) because these days all the cheapies are Chromebooks. But still, it’s a good deal.
There are a handful of Linux laptop makers, for instance Tuxedo, but they are expensive. If you can afford it, go for it, it’s good to support them. I can’t afford it.
For the distro, don’t panic, they’re functionally pretty much all the same. Download its .iso and burn it to a USB stick using the official instructions. For it to boot you’ll probably have to go into the laptop’s UEFI (BIOS) and uncheck Secure boot first. This opens you up to the Evil Maid attack vector (requires physical access), which is very unlikely to be a problem for you. Then follow the prompts and a few minutes later you’ll have a computer connected to the internet.
Pick a mainstream distro which will update itself and not need babysiting. Ubuntu gets hate from techies, but it’s rock-solid reliable. Same for Fedora. The FOSS purist choice is Debian, which is just Ubuntu with some rough edges.
