for every person that figures out how to disable this stuff, there are many thousands of others who don't, don't bother, or don't even know it might be possible to... which is why they pull this shit in the first place--and (usually) get away with it.
ares35
joined 1 year ago
i use private windows mainly so i don't clutter up browser histories with useless stuff i won't go back to (if i do run across something to save, it gets bookmarked or printed to pdf).
it's not just apple anymore. all the major 'pc' makers have non-upgradeable laptops now.. just not across their entire line-up (yet).
a pallet of 4th gens? i have a dozen left here from around that era that i can't get rid of without literally giving them away. they're 'tolerable' for a gui linux or win10 with an ssd, but the 'performance per watt' just isn't there with hardware this old. i used a few of them (none in an always-on role, though), but the rest just sit in the corner, without home nor purpose.
these 800 g1s are, iirc, 12vo, so upgrade or reuse potential is a bit limited. most users would want windows, and win10 does run 'ok enough' on 4th gen, just make sure they're booting from ssd (120gb minimum). but they'll run into that arbitrarily-errected wall-of-obsolescence with trying to upgrade or install win11 when win10 retires in ~ 18 months (you can 'rufus' a win11 installer, but there's no guarantee that you will be able to in the future). that limits demand and resale value of pretty much all the pre-8th gen hardware.
the 'problem' is: you can't upgrade; you're stuck with that 8gb.
want more in a year or two? you have to buy a new mac. and that's apple's goal--sell more product. buyers will be back (because they're hooked on the platform and ecosystem) to buy a new one sooner than they otherwise would have.
so, tom's swings-and-misses... again?
if it supports the basic hardware, there's nothing wrong with peppermint for basic stuff like your use case. after the base system is installed, add a browser and libreoffice and you'll have a nice little system for writing on.
if you want to keep using windows on it, you'll probably have to 'start over' with a plain install of windows (without hp's junk, and to a clean--partition table cleared--'hard drive'), uninstall the useless crud like candy crush that comes with the base windows install, ensure compactos is enabled (it should be automatically enabled with those specs), install your browser and word processor. you shouldn't have to do thing where you connect an external drive for 'working' space for updates (something i've only ever had to do twice on 32gb emmc models) anymore as long as updates stay relatively current.
but with only 2gb ram and a 10 year old 'atom' based cpu, i'd probably go straight for peppermint.
i personally bought them. no i don't have money. didn't then either. they were about $200 each, just prior to when vista started shipping (they were on sale). ram was upgraded from scrap, so was one of the video cards and one of the cpu (they were both originally windsors)--the other was bought new for ~$50 in late 2008 or so.
i have a couple dual core athlons (windsor and brisbane athlon 64 x2) at the office from that era. they are still used, even. have 8gb ddr2, dvdrw, and dx10-capable geforce cards.
just put a big pillow 'on' the external hard drive.
if they don't need a new printer, and if mom is happy with what she has.. don't fix what ain't broken (in mom's eyes). or just look for 3rd party ink for it. many and good reviews, reputable seller. it may take a couple tries to find some that work. hopefully mom hasn't allowed an hp firmware update that nixes that option and doesn't let you roll it back.
if you do replace the printer:
if they're low volume, can live without color, or are sporadic printer users, get a laser. a b/w brother with the features you want, that has 3rd party toners and drum kits available.
if they're higher volume and regular printer users (they don't not print for weeks or months at a time) and 'need' color, you could consider one of those 'tank-based' color inkjets. do not let it run out of ink and always leave it plugged in to the power (let it go into power-save on its own). they also usually have 3rd party ink available. you may want to see if and how the printheads themselves get replaced when needed and whether or not you can actually buy them (we're binning one here because the printer says it needs a new printhead---but you can't buy them!).
for photos, stick 'em on a flash drive and go to walmart or a drug store that has the self-service photo printing stations or use an online service that ships. it's much cheaper than printing photos at home.
read the box, and all its fine print. some printers (mostly, but not exclusively hp) are shipping with strict blocks on 3rd party consumables. hp had previously reserved the hardcore blocking to the first firmware update you'd get after setting it up (let that update come in, you were screwed. disabled firmware updates and you were 'ok')... but not anymore.
duplex printing (both sides, automatically) is something we use a lot. a sheet feeder (adf) on top for copies and scans is another feature we couldn't live without at the office. even though it might only be used occasionally--when it is needed, it saves so much time.
two other features that are often overlooked is a second input feed (even if it's 'manual'/one sheet at a time) for envelopes, letterhead or a sheet of labels.. and a main input tray with a decent capacity.. the one i'm using now only holds 50 sheets (about 30 in practice, because if you dare to fill it, it will misfeed frequently), and that's just not enough.
for printing from phones and tablets. look for that feature in the printer specs, then when you set it up at home, set it up as a wifi printer.
they count clicks on a distro's page on their site, not usage or anything else.
if they dared put hanna montana linux on there, it would be the perpetual #1 listing.