Linux on a Lenovo Flex 5
When daughter started university two years ago, she got a used Thinkpad X1 Carbon Gen2 (2014) running Ubuntu (kids grew up on recycled machines using Linux), and she was very happy to have a good computer she didn't have to pay for. However this summer she started to have problems with it. I suspect these are mostly software problems, but she also had two missing keys on the keyboard. Sourcing a replacement keyboard and replacing it with the risk of it not working at all was a problem as she cannot afford much downtime, with all her schoolwork and two volunteering positions as a crisis line responder.
I know how she treats electronic devices (i.e. badly) so I did not want to invest into something too expensive, but I still wanted the best bang for the bucks.
So for the first time in many, many years, I decided to purchase a new computer. I know how she treats electronic devices (i.e. badly) so I did not want to invest into something too expensive, but I still wanted the best bang for the bucks. Daughter had also expressed the wish to get a 2-in-1 that she can convert into a tablet for displaying music sheet when playing the piano.
I got her a Lenovo Ideapad Flex5 14 aka 14ARE05 (awkward name), a budget-friendly 2-in-1 notebook computer with a 14” display, AMD Ryzen 4500U processor, 16 GB or RAM and 512 GB or SDD storage, 10+ hours of battery life. For $950 CAD (around $700 USD) it is a reasonably priced considering how Canadians usually get an unfavourable exchange rate.