For references this is a post of the devices I use and the operating systems I am running with those devices, specifically my phone, PC, and laptop. It works for me, but certainly not claiming my results are replicable! 😉
Everything listed below I use virtually daily, so have been happy with the stability and usability.
Phone: Samsung Galaxy S8 (Exynos)
Owned since 2018. Only moved to Lineage OS in 2020 as find nothing wrong with the hardware, just wanted the software kept up-to-date.
Operating System (and extras I wanted):
- Lineage OS 17.1 (unoffical)
- Click Here for link to XDA forum
- (Optional) Open Gapps for Google Play access
- Click here for Open GApps Project
- (Optional) Magicsk to get Netflix working, everything else I use worked fine under 17.1
- Click here for link to Magicsk
Learn more about Lineage OS by clicking here. If you are happy with your phone but it is no longer being supported with updates from the manufacturer this may be a good option to consider. Or maybe you want to just want your phone to have the solid Android base but without manufacturer bloatware or even all the Google elements stripped out? Definitely worth checking out.
PC: Packard-Bell Imedia S1800
Owned since 2010, upgrades to the RAM, Wi-Fi card, and added Nvidia graphics card.
Operating System: KDE neon 5.19 (dual-boot with Windows 10)
KDE Plasma Version: 5.19.3
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.72.0
Qt Version: 5.14.2
Kernel Version: 5.3.0-62-generic
OS Type: 64-bit
Processors: 2 × Pentium® Dual-Core CPU E5800 @ 3.20GHz
Memory: 3.8 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: GeForce GT 620/PCIe/SSE2
Laptop: Dell Inspiron 15 3521
Owned since 2014, only upgrade is to the RAM. Internal Wi-Fi card is not dependable so use a small USB Wi-Fi dongle. Battery bay stopped being detected a month out of warranty (I believe it needs a small solder job to remedy, but have not attempted).
Operating System: KDE neon 5.19 (dual-boot with Windows 10)
KDE Plasma Version: 5.19.3
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.72.0
Qt Version: 5.14.2
Kernel Version: 5.4.0-42-generic
OS Type: 64-bit
Processors: 4 × Intel® Core™ i3-3217U CPU @ 1.80GHz
Memory: 3.7 GiB of RAM
Graphics Processor: Mesa DRI Intel® HD Graphics 4000
For KDE links I recommend the following;
- KDE — Official KDE website
- Kubuntu — I recommend for getting started with KDE if you enjoy the environment
- KDE Neon — I recommend if you want the very latest from KDE (bleeding edge)
I maintain the dual-boot functionality as my systems are too underpowered to run Windows in a VM, and I need to maintain access to software that is only accessible via Windows.
Nothing above is cutting edge, but it also goes to show that you can keep your devices running virtually like new and updated with the latest software (stable & secure) long after your manufacturer have stopped supporting officially, or even long after they themselves have ceased to exist like in the case of my Packard-Bell PC.
Leave a Reply