I have a similar attitude to hardware, but you don’t have to settle for a blurry screen as the x200 has. My approach is to buy used or refurbished machines from a few years ago. I spend < $200 on a machine that runs Linux fast and has a high resolution screen. One big advantage is that losing a computer to theft or breakage is not a big deal.

Can you share where you find hardware like this?

At the moment I have two computers in my apartment. They are identical Microsoft Surface Pro 3 machines. I got one from ebay for $150 and the other from Amazon for (I don’t remember) less than $200. The SP3 runs linux very well, especially using the surface-pro kernel. My good experience may be partially due to the fact that I don’t use a “desktop”, but use the dwm window manager. It has a 216 dpi screen with good image characteristics. Everything (touch screen, bluetooth, cameras, etc.) works.

I like having two identical machines because I keep them cloned continuously using my wifi network. If one dies I can just switch to the other with no data loss or interruption. I haven’t had to do this yet; the hardware seems reliable.

I like this type of machine because it’s a tablet with the power of a modest laptop. I can pop in in a backpack for travel, take it to the couch to read on, or use it like a laptop with a bluetooth keyboard. Having the keyboard separate from the screen is better for ergonomics; I much prefer these to laptops.

I have one problem, and it’s pretty annoying: I can’t seem to use video conferencing sites without problems. Zoom, jitsi, they all overload the system and my microphone stops working after a short time. I kept a Windows partition on one of the SP3s and boot into it just for Zoom meetings. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m eager to solve this.

How's support for these machines under the mainline kernel these days? Why are we still relying on downstream kernel forks even for this old hardware? Shouldn't support be completely upstreamed by now?