just need something to do light development (docker, python, rust, with an ide). something i can upgrade (ram, ssd minimum). laptop would best, but desktop works too
any protips? thanks!
You can get an N100 mini system for about $150. Pay a little more to get (the intel enforced maximum) 16GB mem. I have a Beelink Mini S and it's perfectly fine.
I assume you're just getting into Linux? Avoid Chromebooks for this (running linux as beginner) - there are ways of running Linux, but they require some tricks dpending on the model.
If it runs Windows it'll run Linux almost certainly. The cheaper you go, the more likely you'll have lower priced or older components for WiFi, Bluetooth etc which may mean that you have to dig some firmware binaries out to get the whole thing running.
If you can take a USB stick with you of a typical Rescue distribution, and can boot it up, you'll know what will and won't work easily. The bits that don't work may need some minor fiddling. As I said, there are usually walkthrough blogs etc around.
Have fun.
I got an off-lease dell latitude 7400. Tbh, got it for free, but you can snag one on eBay for under $400. i5, 16 Gb ram, got a 1TB drive for $50 on Amazon. Runs Linux very well! I'd go with a light weight is like EndeavourOS or Arch.
modern chromebooks are secretly linux under the hood and can run android/linux apps. you could also try remoting into a server for development, like over ssh/vim or via code-server.
And if you open it up and unplug the battery, then boot off the charger that disables the write protect and you can install actual linux, though a lot of chromebooks have unique hardware that might not be supported, particularly audio IME.
I used to have a dell chromebook 11, and with bitmap fonts it was actually a pretty slick little computer for <$100.
HWAT??
I've got an old one that I am trying that on first thing tomorrow. I assume you can plug the battery back in afterwards?
Depending on how old it might be another method. Some have a switch somewhere, or a specific screw. Check out mrchromebox's page.
And yeah you just boot it with the battery disconnected once and it disables the write protect!
