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.
I just gave away my Chromebook to someone who was affected by a local natural disaster and I ended up putting Linux Mint on it for them.
I think that distro would get you this experience.
Honestly, I’d recommend getting a used laptop. Get one that’s 5 years or newer. You don’t need the best hardware, so as little as 4GB of RAM and 128GB SSD should suit you fine. But you can get more if you’d like for better performance. You shouldn’t have to pay anymore than $150 USD for something like this in my area. Your area may vary, depending on availability. I’d recommend staying away from HP only because I have encountered issues in the past with them making it slightly more difficult than others to install another OS than Windows on. It’s not impossible, but they just do stuff that adds an extra layer.
Business laptops are generally good deals used. You’ll see a good deal of Dells (Latitude) and Lenovos (ThinkPad) on used marketplaces and these are usually really good deals in price and availability and ease of use. A lot of people who use Linux get these machines so online documentation is great for these to help if you encounter any issues and need assistance.
If you’d like something else other than Linux Mint, I’d suggest looking into Ubuntu, PopOS, Vanilla OS, for some other very friendly, lite versions of Linux that are easy to set up and very good for basic tasks.
You can also get ChromeOS to install too. It’s based on Linux but I personally have never been a fan because of how limited it is. It’s why I bought my Chromebook with the purpose of installing Linux on it. I paid $100 brand new and it was a decent deal. I love them for brand new laptops that have USB type C charging and decent specs for Linux support. Not to mention you have the luxury of taking it back if needed or still being in support if anything (hardware-wise) goes wrong. But you’ll need to reinstall ChromeOS if anything goes wrong. I’m also not a fan of Google anymore, so that’s another reason I don’t use it but just wanted to throw that idea out there for you since you seemed to like the experience, somewhat.