From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

So, what do you do with an old, underpowered Dell Chromebook? You reflash
the BIOS and install Linux on it. Even something as anemic as a Dell Chromebook 3180 (made in 2017), running a dual core Celeron N3550 (includes
an Intel 500 GPU), with 4 GBs of RAM and 16 GBs of eMMC storage will work.

Really.

I had one of these "school" Chromebooks. Built like a tank with rubber
bumpers so kids don't destroy it -- and decided, what the heck, I'll try turning it into Linux machine.

It just requires going into Development Mode (which clears everything you
had on your Chromebook), removing the write protect screw, and then you run a script from mrchromebox.tech. Now you have an open BIOS waiting for you to install Linux.

At first I attempted to install Linux Mint. But Linux Mint requires a
minimum of 16.1 GBs of storage and the Dell Chromebook only had 15.9 GBs. Oh well, it would probably be better to run a lighter Linux anyhow. So I went with BunsenLabs Linux (Carbon, based on Debian 13, using OpenBox with some Xfce thrown in). Works well, audio, WiFi and Bluetooth all came up without a major issue.

There is some lag when first going into YouTube, but you can stream videos
at 720p. Also streams TubiTV and I would imagine other streaming movies
sites (like Fawesome.tv for one). The lag is expected, but the little laptop makes up for it with low power consumption. On a battery (at about 88%
health) it can run for 10 hours on one charge. That includes streaming for a big part of the run. There's no fan and, so far, it has never run over 50 degrees Centigrade. As a bonus, I can use my Mini Blackberry BlueTooth speakers for good, clear sound.

But I mostly wanted to see if it would work well for writing, and it does. I've been testing new screenplay writing software, FountTUI, for the creator and it runs it well. I haven't yet tested the GUI version, ActOne
Screenplay, but I see no reason why that wouldn't work either. I personally like the terminal (or console) version better. (For FountTUI or ActOne Screenplay information, go to iyal.ink.)

So is it perfect? Not quite. The speaker clicks when starting audio. It's a known issue with Intel sound cards. I tried a fix that worked on my regular computer -- it removed the click, but also messed up the sound. So, for now
at least, I can live with the click. Also, unlike Linux Mint, when closing
the lid into suspend mode I haven't been able to recover once the lid is opened. So I've set it to just turning off the screen -- not sure if that works right or not, but it allows me to close the lid without any issues.

At any rate, I'm happy with the results. Another low powered computer
running Linux -- and doing it pretty well, at least for someone like me, who doesn't play video games on their computers and mostly streams and writes.
--
Not all Jews are Zionists. Not all Zionists are Jews. Zionism rea Judaism.
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From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Sun, 27 Sep 2026 17:13:58 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:

At any rate, I'm happy with the results. Another low powered computer
running Linux -- and doing it pretty well, at least for someone like me,
who doesn't play video games on their computers and mostly streams and writes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus_Eee_PC

Not a daily driver due to the limitations it had when brand new but it
runs antiX Linux or Q4OS quite well. I did set it up with antiX on a SD
card rather than the 4 GB SSD. antiX 23 Base would install on 4 GB but
there wasn't room enough to do anything.
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From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On 2026-09-27, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:

On Sun, 27 Sep 2026 17:13:58 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:

At any rate, I'm happy with the results. Another low powered computer
running Linux -- and doing it pretty well, at least for someone like me,
who doesn't play video games on their computers and mostly streams and
writes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asus_Eee_PC

Not a daily driver due to the limitations it had when brand new but it
runs antiX Linux or Q4OS quite well. I did set it up with antiX on a SD
card rather than the 4 GB SSD. antiX 23 Base would install on 4 GB but
there wasn't room enough to do anything.

I remember these. I think you've mentioned that you had this model before.
My Chromebook is ten years newer (so can hardly compare to these) -- it
should be a lot faster, but an SSD in 2007 is kind of cool, although I'm not sure what you would do with a 4 GB one these days. My Raspberry Pi's (all
but the 400) run on microSDs. They seem to do okay.

I remember Xandros also. But it's been a long time ago.
--
Not all Jews are Zionists. Not all Zionists are Jews. Zionism rea Judaism.
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From Newsgroup: comp.os.linux.advocacy

On Mon, 28 Sep 2026 08:39:19 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:

I remember these. I think you've mentioned that you had this model
before.
My Chromebook is ten years newer (so can hardly compare to these) -- it should be a lot faster, but an SSD in 2007 is kind of cool, although I'm
not sure what you would do with a 4 GB one these days. My Raspberry Pi's
(all but the 400) run on microSDs. They seem to do okay.

Not much in 4 GB. antiX dropped the Base version in 26, with only Full and Core. I doubt Full so you'd have to install Core and add what you wanted.

I remember Xandros also. But it's been a long time ago.

That's what mine came with. It was decent with a cut down KDE environment.
My first attempt was Q4OS with KDE but that was too much. The Trinity DE worked though.

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