Have a Windows 10 device in your life? Then it may be time to look for that exit strategy. Running a Surface Book laptop, I realized that I didn’t want to mess with Windows 10 craziness. So, I decided to trade it in for GNU/Linux machine. Of course, I decided that before finding out that the onboard webcam won’t work under Linux. Sigh. That necessitates an inexpensive USB webcam purchase (and software purchase of **[Webcamoid](https://www.linuxlinks.com/webcamoid-full-featured-webcam-application/))**. Aside from that “little” detail, everything works smooth.

> Microsoft is getting ready to annoy its faithful Windows 10 user base with yet another prompt. This time, Microsoft wants Windows 10 users to switch from using a local account to their online Microsoft account. via **[Mashable](https://mashable.com/article/windows-10-microsoft-account-shut-off-notifications)**

That’s sad. At work, I have a Windows 10 machine with awesome specs (it’s a behemoth of a laptop, I don’t know who thought it would be a good piece of equipment to lug around (I inherited it from my predecessor), which is what prompted me to invest in a Surface laptop back then). While I like Windows 11, it won’t run on that **[Lenovo w540](https://psref.lenovo.com/syspool/Sys/PDF/withdrawnbook/ThinkPad_W540.pdf)** (as I recall). So, Linux Mint Cinnamon has been running great on the Windows 10 machine.

The real issue is, “What am I going to carry around when facilitating workshops?” The truth is, a Google Chromebook will fill the need quite well. Too bad my Lenovo Chromebook Duet died last week, leaving me without a small form factor device. Bummer.

You know, I’d carry the Surface running Linux Mint, but I need to do some more testing before I trust myself and it in front of a large audience during a presentation. The testing will start next week. Wish me luck. If not, I may end up asking for someone to buy me a….

OR

## StarLite 12.5-inch
This looks intriguing but expensive.

* 2.5″ 2880×1920 IPS touchscreen
* Intel N200 Alder Lake-N processor
* 16GB RAM, up to 2TB SSD
* Detachable backlit keyboard with trackpad
* Supports Ubuntu, Elementary OS, Mint, Manjaro and more

Cool, huh? Configured the way I want it would run $832. Sigh. I can dream, eh?