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Ask HN: What to Do with a Gifted Laptop?

5 pointsBenFeldman19303y ago9 comments

I will be gifted a used 2019 x86-laptop. While I will eventually give it away to someone in need, what could I do with it in the meantime? This excludes modifying the hardware or buying extra hardware.

My ideas so far:

* install Linux from scratch

* install Android (e.g. Bliss OS)

* make it a typewriter with a very small Linux distro running Emacs Window Manager and "only" provide Emacs for text production

* boots directly into a C64 emulator to relive my childhood

Further, more creative ideas, guys and gals?

9 comments

9 comments · 9 top-level

If you laptop is gifted, you should try and let it pass the bar exam. I kid I kid.

fuzzfactor3y ago

I would use it for something the hardware is very well-designed and optimized for to begin with, and simply apply the OS's and software to leverage that exact hardware in general.

At the least multiple NTFS partitions each containing different Windows versions, both older and newer than when the laptop was originally issued. Including the most recent W11 22H2v1. Along with more than one Linux distro in additional Linux-formatted partitions.

All instantly accessible upon bootup where the underlying Windows multiboot menu may or may not be the default choice, but is naturally included in a master GRUB multiboot menu which is the one the BIOS/UEFI can be configured to display upon powerup.

And apps can be installed to the proper vintage of OS, I would concentrate on things where the portability of the laptop is much more of a focus than average.

I have tested Puppy Linux Arcade for 800MHz HP Thin pc SNES, Dosbox and other emulators work good. Other distros have a lag..

https://archive.org/details/Puppy_Linux_Puppy_Arcade

Lightweight tools for work also tested within 256Mb of it memory. Now it going to be part of air defense subsystem ((

DerekBickerton3y ago

- Old games (Maybe not as retro and far back as C64 though).

- Coding. Notepad++ plus a browser for webdev.

- Media Player. Hook a 4TB HDD up to it that's loaded with episodes of Friends, etc

- Home server. Use it as a home networking device?

rzr3y ago

Wkat about making it an XPRA or RDP terminal to connect to other linux/window host ? I am wondering how reliable it is for accelerated video/audio.

idontwantthis3y ago

You don't need much power for it to be a media server.

abudabi1233y ago

Calculate ten to the sixty thousandth exponent in CL as if an ENIAC. But is the x86 math correct?

taubek3y ago

Make a media player, use it as digital photo frame, small home media server.

russianGuy838293y ago

home server for plex, nextcloud, pihole etc?

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