What should I do with this old laptop?

I've been self-studying CS (with a focus on Infosec) and am currently pushing my way through learning the fundamentals of Programming. I've code monkeyed before, but I'm generally a new student in computers and computing. Recently though, I've come into the possession of an old Lenovo3000 G400 laptop from 2010. I want to fuarrrk around with it, but I'm not sure how. I could use it as a PC, 2010 technology isn't too awfully outdated (and it'd likely be a more private set up than my current situation). So what should I do with this old soykafbook, Lain? I'm looking for fun.

>>57825 Make a home server and run your personal site, maybe a tor hidden service? Make it a development server?

>>57825 Do you have Linux or BSD experience? If not it might be fun to try installing a Linux distro on it and learning a bit about Linux, though likely not that productive. If you do that then I suggest you dual boot windows (because otherwise you have to note down the key somewhere if you want to reinstall it) and debian, which has a fairly simple install. The only issue with the idea is that whilst it's fun to poke around with complex linux things like Arch and Gentoo it's a bit of a waste of time. Vim is pretty useful if you get good at it, the youtuber Luke Smith has some good starting stuff on it. You can try new styles and languages for programming, I like Rust but depending on what you've worked on so far that might be a bit too much of a leap. Lisp is interesting but a waste of time, though you'll want lisp macros in other languages if you do learn it. You could work through SICP using MIT Scheme, that's a good learning tool even if scheme isn't useful in any other projects really. If you like games you can try emulating some games, though that's not really programming related. If you do I recommend using RetroArch and trying Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. One thing is to try allowing remoting between your two pcs in some way since that's very useful when you want to pull that one file from the laptop without getting up. If you're just looking for more stuff to program try writing your own bitmap generator library, it's a very simple format and very satisfying when you get it to work, especially if it's for a programming language you invented. You should aim to provide a way to create a bitmap of any size and place pixels of a specific colour at a specific place on it. You can also try making games, though I personally find that to be quite an annoying task in most game engines and soykaf to do from scratch (though I do quite like GameMaker Studio).

>>57825 Open a picture of asuka, then cum on the screen while recording yourself doing so

>>57826 I've been thinking of doing such a thing, the current topics I'm studying is PHP and Web Dev alongside a full look at SICP. Making a silly website might be fun. >>57828 >If not it might be fun to try installing a Linux distro on it Right after I conclude my studying on programming, I'll move onto computer architecture, learning Linux alongside it may be a fun idea. I also though about Debian specifically, I heard it's mostly bloatfree but is friendly for people without Linux experience. >You could work through SICP using MIT Scheme See above! >I like Rust So far I've worked on monkey projects in JS, Py and Classic C. I've obviously been learning Scheme whether I'd want to or not, but I've also been interested in Rust for a while! It looks very useful. >If you like games you can try emulating some games Actually, if I do end up turning this soykafbook into a PC, I'm likely gonna be playing a bunch of older games as well as RPGmaker games on it. Huge fan of Yume Nikki inspired stuff. >bitmap generator library That does sound like a rather fun idea, I like messing around with bitmap art when I'm out-of-it regularly anyway. >make your own language there is no way I am at that level yet. >You can also try making games, though I personally find that to be quite an annoying task in most game engines and soykaf to do from scratch (though I do quite like GameMaker Studio). Agree. I've tried game-dev before and I think I might make a Yume Nikki fangame / RPGmaker walking simulator one day. Though that doesn't really require that much programming knowledge. >>57829 speaking of which, check out this fuarrrky laptop from EoE. I don't know if you can even call this thing a laptop. I would absolutely own one if I could though.

>>57832 >I don't know if you can even call this thing a laptop It connects to the Magi if my memory serves, would perhaps be more appropriate to call it a handheld terminal or something of the sort.

>>57833 Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it also connect to something else besides the MAGI? You see Misato using it in some kind of generic server room.

>>57832 >I also though about Debian specifically, I heard it's mostly bloatfree but is friendly for people without Linux experience. Yup, Debian is a good choice. Just use the iso that contains the non-free firmware: https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/current/amd64/iso-cd/ You can also disable installation of recommended and suggested packages in apt's config but I wouldn't worry about it at first. I would install Debian on the laptop right now, since you don't use it. Read The Linux Command Line book: https://linuxcommand.org/tlcl.php and use the laptop for trying out commands. I recommend you eventually learn to use a good editor, like NeoVim or Gnu Emacs. Both NeoVim and Gnu Emacs have built-in tutorial and I suggest you go trough both tutorials and select the editor that you like more. (Hint: C = ctrl, Meta (or M) = Alt, Super = windows key) > Gnu Emacs: Start emacs and type C-h t > NeoVim: Start nvim and type :Tutor If you don't like the Debian installer's partitioning tool, you can use a distro called "SystemRescueCD" and a program called gparted to partition the disk (either create an empty partition table or shrink the existing windows partition) before installing Debian. https://www.system-rescue.org/ I recommend you select xfce or mate desktop environment while installing Debian. You can also install a package called tasksel after installing Debian and run it as root (use sudo) to get the software selection screen again. During the Debian installer (if you used the text-based ncurses installer that is) you can use TAB and arrows to move around and use SPACE to select/deselect menu options and use ENTER to confirm.

Sell that laptop and buy a new Macbook, Chromebook, or a Secured Core PC with Windows 11 in S mode. Or actually, stay away from desktop devices as they were not designed with security in mind. Buy a Google Pixel and flash GrapheneOS on it, or alternatively, buy an iPhone.

>>57838 Are you sure you're on the right site, buddy?

>>57828 >>57832 >>57835 I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're refering to as Linux, is in fact, Systemd/Linux, or as I've recently taken to calling it, Systemd plus Linux. Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning Systemd system made useful by the Systemd init system, daemons and vital system components comprising a full OS as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the Systemd system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of Systemd which is widely used today is often called Linux, and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the Systemd system, developed by Red Hat. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the Systemd operating system: the whole system is basically Systemd with Linux added, or Systemd/Linux. All the so-called Linux distributions are really distributions of Systemd/Linux!

>>57840 anon gets points for... creativity? >>57835 appreciate the comprehensive advice for installing Debian. If ever I do, I'll probably use NeoVim. Something about my introduction to emacs made it feel archaic and slow, though that might change, who knows.

>>57838 > Secured Core PC with Windows 11 in S mode oh nou, a brain cancer

>>57825 Wow, a $300 Celeron notebook from 2008. You can install Windows XP or 7, lots of offline software and games and keep it as doomsday device, provided you'll have to pedal the generator slightly harder to power this brick up when needed. >>57832 It's typical late 80's Dynabook-inspired portable computer or word processor, they had monochrome LCD displays with 4-5 lines of text. This combination of display and keyboard is ergonomic crime against humanity.

>>57841 I still recommend you try both NeoVim and Emacs. I used vim but once I actually tried to use Emacs I ended up liking it more. >If ever I do, Do it. It's not hard. You can always dual-boot, and you will gain useful experience and skills. >emacs made it feel archaic and slow Both (Neo)Vim and Emacs are slightly "archaic" in a way since both editors are many decades old. However, both editors are excellent because they have survived the test of time. Emacs can be slightly slower than (Neo)Vim, but you can speed it up by running it as a daemon (https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Emacs-Server.html) and there will be improvements in the next version of Emacs (version 28 will have the option to native JIT compilation of elisp code). What made me change to Emacs is the superior language for writing extensions (elisp instead of vimscript), it's easier to customize Emacs (M-x customize) and Emacs is more self-documenting (but the (Neo)Vim documents aren't entirely bad). Also, relevant joke link: https://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/ed-msg.html

>>57850 One detail I forgot: You should install the GUI version of GNU emacs. It's better, unlike the GUI version of Vim (there is a reason why NeoVim removed the GUI option)

>>57840 I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're referring to as systemd/linux, is in fact, GNU/linux, or as i've recently taken to calling it, GNU plus Linux.

>>57850 Consider my mind changed then! I'll retry emacs on a dual boot. >>57846 Not exactly a doomsday prepper, but it'd be fun to have an old laptop with XP games either way. Not sure if the hardware could handle it, but it'd be fun. >It's typical late 80's Dynabook-inspired portable computer or word processor AH I see. I read about one of these things in an old Japanese novel about writing. Always figured they looked more akin to notebooks and not, well, t h a t.

>>57857 It had a nice accessories set

>>57825 ofc you can anything except fuarrrking aaa gaming. Openbsd can be good choice, but I'm not sure all drivers work well. Try ubuntu or fedora for easier (or just works drivers) 'cuz it's laptop. I don't know the specification of that, but I'm pretty sure it can hold most DEs. if not, then just using WM for better performance.

>>57825 Write an x86 BIOS from scratch and flash it.

>>57873 despite being a fun project idea for my future self, such a task is beyond my skill level at the moment.

>>57876 Dig around forums and flash a SLIC BIOS for windows auto licensing + wireless card whitelist.

>>57832 that looks alot like my Tandy

>>57880 A wireless card whitelist would be incredibly useful. Especially on such and old machine like this where I might actually want to slap some (only some) newer technology into it.

>>57892 how did i imagine what if that crt is fallen down.

>>57896 just for you anon :)

>>57898 oh my god, maybe it's time to quit lainchan, how could you do this to Kaguya...

>>57825 I'd probably use it as my main mobile PC (running OpenBSD ofc). Try writing a bootloader maybe? I've been working on a bootloader project of my own and it's been a blast. >>57846 If you want a doomsday device, x86 isn't the way to go. Extremely low power ARM devices and microcontroller-tier CPUs (z80/ez80, your calculator probably has one of these as well as a useful OS that can run hundreds of user-made programs as well as do calculations (yes, engineers will still be needed when society rebuilds)). >>57838 You sound like one of those NPCs who parrots mad indian any chance he gets.

I'm not a usual lainposter so bear with me if my suggestions sound naive: I too had an old Lenovo (not quite a) Thinkpad. It was okay. Old out of date. An E series. I just wiped it and used it to putz around on Linux and it has actual become a not so bad spare. I first put on Debian but Debian lacks a lot of creature comforts so I ended up going to Mint and riced it up to my aesthetic liking. Its become a browser and a super light gaming machine (like X-Com and Jagged Alliance) or something I watch Stargate on. I sometimes to with going to Win 8.0 simply because it was comfy but I doubt I actually will. Just my 2 gil

>>58718 To be fair, my T60 is my doomsday device.

>>58732 Fair. Consider that power usage will be important during an apocalypse-style scenario. As I said in my other post, I plan on using my TI-84 Plus CE as my main computing device in the collapse. If I had portable solar panels, occasional (every few months) would not be out of the question.