Windoze

Repurposed ASUS S550C

/ John Wagenvoort / Leave a comment

By Kai, with thanks to John Wagenvoort and his pervuew.

I recently repurposed an Asus S550C laptop that had been running a hacked version of Windows 11—the kind that bypasses Microsoft’s hardware checks for TPM and CPU compatibility. While it technically worked, it was unstable and inherently insecure. Time for a smarter solution.

Enter Linux Mint

I opted for Linux Mint (Cinnamon edition) as a full replacement for Windows. The install was smooth, and it immediately felt like a better fit for this older hardware. Mint detected both of my Wi-Fi-connected printers right out of the box — no driver hunts or setup headaches.

Bluetooth Bump in the Road

One hiccup: Mint didn’t detect the laptop’s internal Bluetooth. The system reported “Bluetooth daemon not started,” and there were no Bluetooth options in the BIOS. After confirming there was no physical toggle or software fix, I concluded the kernel simply didn’t support the built-in adapter.
No big deal — my Logitech mouse with its own USB dongle worked perfectly.

Software Essentials

I removed Firefox (personal preference) and installed a few essentials:

  • ✅ 1Password (via .deb install, after adding gnupg2)
  • ✅ Dropbox, complete with pinned folder access in the file explorer

The Verdict

Linux Mint has breathed new life into this mid-2010s Asus ultrabook. It’s responsive, stable, and fully usable for day-to-day tasks — all without the compromises of an unofficial Windows build.

Limitations? Just Bluetooth — and only because the chipset wasn’t detected. Otherwise, Mint made this a surprisingly modern experience.

What’s in a name

/ John Wagenvoort / Leave a comment

So Friday the 19th of July saw the world wake to a major cyber issue. Telcos, Airports, Hospitals and Banks were amongst the some around the world that were presented with the Microsoft Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD) on their computers.

The issue was brought about by an update of a cyber security endpoint solution running on Microsoft Windows systems. One System32\Drivers system file with just a minor oversight within it caused the hosting windows machine to get caught in a BSOD boot loop.

Annoying? Yes. Inconvenient? You bet. Train stations, airports, hospitals and supermarkets and other major corporations all running this end point protection solution on Windows systems were effectively brought to a standstill world wide.

Now the clincher and hence the title. The company behind this minor cyber hiccup is aptly named Crowdstrike. The very event this company had clients pay dearly to protect themselves against was responsible for it.

Remember the name. Crowdstrike. Marvellous.

Special mention also (as an aside) goes to Up Hill Real Estate. We rang them and it was Up Hill from there on.

Windows hate point one.

/ John Wagenvoort / Leave a comment

I was one of the first kids on the block with the whole Win 8 preview install. The inducement being that you’d then be able to upgrade to the real thing for a mere penny’s worth of the real investment.

Well, twelve months on leaves to me to believe the price should have stayed the same. What Microsoft fail to realize is that it’s only an operating system. Meaning that if all your installed software is working within expected parameters you should never see the OS.

Windows 7 made a pretty good show of that. In fact on my Mac, installed as a virtual machine, it’s sensational. The virtualization software hides the OS so you can get on with just using the apps. Reality kicks in though as work demands us using legacy programs, Excel with VBA and industry specific design software. The latter being able to handle all that. (Just one file to back up, Compelling)

Now for windows hate point one. The latter being a bit harsh if it wasn’t for the fact that someone in MS land believes we’ll all be using touch screens soon or lose our fingers trying. The silly big bald man (x CEO) has everyone believing this is the way of the future. Hmmmm……. Just a few years behind of themselves when it comes to that.

I’ve been using Excel since version 1d. Access was first introduced as a mediocre database starter. Now that I’m using both in their 2010 iterations, I can’t possibly conceive of using them on the only tablet offer that MS has availed themselves of. In fact, I defy anyone to seriously use a legacy app on a MS surface.

Now back to Windoze hate point one. On a PC it is quite simple. Download Start8. It immediately reminds you of how the MS OS should operate.

For an even better MS Windoze hate experience, install it as a mere VM machine on a Mac and denigrate the bloat ware to the place it deserves.

You deserve better………