I'm a graphic designer, and I've always been a PC guy. These days, my setup is all about power — beefy graphics card, 128GB of RAM, a strong processor, and two monitors. That's my comfort zone.
I’m not a fan of laptops. But messing things on a phone? Nah, I'd rather use a potato. So if I have to go mobile, I'll take a laptop any day.
A few years back, I went full budget mode and bought the cheapest piece of junk I could find online — something that technically had a processor and some RAM. An Intel Atom x5-Z8350 with 2GB of RAM. What?
Yep, today my Pixel 8 Pro shat itself laughing when it heard that.
But hey, I just needed something portable — for browsing, streaming, emailing, and writing. You know, the kind of stuff people do on their phones now.
Now, Windows 10 on that thing was never fast. After a few updates (each one heavier than the last), using that laptop became a painful experience. So, naturally, it ended up in the closet.
I'm kind of a hoarder – I don't like getting rid of stuff that still works.
Fast forward to today — after chatting with ChatGPT (yeah, shoutout to my AI homie), I decided to try a lightweight OS. First, I went with Xubuntu, but... meh, didn’t vibe with it.
Then I tried Lubuntu — and BOOM! This thing started flying like it had just been to rehab. Recognized all the hardware — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, drives, touchpad, USB ports — works. Didn't need anything else.
The install was stupid simple. Just download the .ISO file, burn it to a USB stick with Rufus, and install from there. The installer barely asks any questions:
- Wipe the disk or partition it?
- What language and keyboard layout?
- What's your time zone?
That's it. 30 minutes later, it's up and running.
Pros of this magnificent relic:
- Energy efficient (6-8+ hours of battery life even though the battery's ancient).
- Lighter than a feather.
- If I lose it or break it — who cares? This thing's worth less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks.
- HDMI, Jack, 2 USB, SD card port,
- People in Starbucks faint when they see it.
- It just works. And doesn’t piss me off.
Cons:
- You’re definitely not pulling any dates in Starbucks with this bad boy.
It's not a laptop — it's a lifestyle.