On Monday, 25-11-2024 at 04:29 rhkra...@gmail.com wrote:
> Thanks to all who replied. With only 4 GB, I'm not interested in that
> laptop,
> but I was maybe most concerned about S-mode (in Windows).
Me too. There are many Windows programs I like to install that I do not want
to install from the Windows Store. Going through a Store is a iPad/iPhone,
Android thing. I prefer not to use "Stores" as historically, this has not been
how Windows was used. Users could source programs from any source. Sadly this
can lead to a user installing malicious software. Using a Store has some
advantages in providing some form of "vetting" of software that is admitted to
the store. This is a security concept, similar to how I (usually) only install
programs for Linux from Debian's repositories, and only deviate if the software
is well known (e.g. Eclipse). However I always try to remember that "security",
is never absolute. No matter how you try, nothing is absolutely secure, but
even the weakest security measures add a level of protection. More protection
the better. But every thing we do has both positive and negative attributes.
Some "Stores" prohibit "sideloading", that is installing software from sources
other than the "approved" Store. Only if the burden of applying protection does
not outweigh the cost of having the protection, do I support the idea. Debian
does not prohibit people from installing software from sources beyond Debian's
repositories, and only warn users to be mindful that doing so may cause issues.
(apologies for the rant, I like to be free to "sideload" when I want to)
>
> I assume that would not keep me from installing Linux, I mean, presumably I
> can still get into the BIOS (or the newer (to me) style of BIOS) and load
> Linux from a pendrive or such?
I expect, but of course have not actually tried doing so on this model, that
you could install a second drive (i.e. an NVMe) as per the videos on the
Internet. And I would expect that Linux could be installed to that drive, and
the BIOS updated to boot from the drive. For example, I expect it would be
possible to install a Samsung NVMe, say a 2 TB NVMe, and using Samsung's Data
Migration Software, migrate the installed OS from the eMMC to the NVMe, then
set the NVMe as the boot drive. Later the soldered on board eMMC could be and
repartition/formatted as secondary storage. I can only presume that the
laptop's manufacturer went to the expense of including the NVMe socket so
people could do this. I think this is a great idea. Just a pity they did not do
the same with the RAM.
I would not appreciate trying to use Windows 11 with less that 16 GB of RAM,
yet alone with only 4GB of RAM. I did not even know Windows 11 could function
in 4GB !
Like you said, the RAM is a limitation for today's world. I expect Debian,
would function in 4GB, though it might not be easy. As I reply to this email,
my Debian desktop is only using 2.7GB of the 32 GB of RAM in this computer.
Once I open four YouTube videos, the memory usage goes to 3.9 GB. Many people
leave 10 to 20 tabs open all the time.
My major concern is the low performance of the CPU. I have used CPUs like this,
and in some use cases, the performance is fine, but as soon as you start to
push them, the lack of performance becomes obvious (and annoying).
You mentioned that you wanted to ' to demo some software "on the road" '. I
recall watching someone once "demonstrate" some software on a slow performing
laptop, and while it could be seen that the software worked, the lack of
performance reflected negatively on said software. I indicated to him that this
was not helping promote his software. People easily become annoyed when things
run slowly, even if they know it is not directly the software's fault. Please
give people the best experience possible so they will feel positive about your
software.
George.
>
> > On Sat, Nov 23, 2024 at 03:38:56PM -0500, rhkra...@gmail.com wrote:
> > > I see an attractive deal on a laptop that is shipped with Windows 11 in
> > > S-mode (link below).
>
>
