Originally Posted by
enorbet2
Hello Prophet4NO1 -
For starters I'm not much of a laptop guy. I don't like being locked in to important hardware like CPU and GPU . I also am very security conscious and prefer spending only commensurate with what I expect to get back and love a good bargain but don't skimp on the fundamentals.
Recently I watched a YouTube video of a conference in which Joanna Rutkowska spoke in great (and often dry) detail about the published plans of Intel to lockdown software and make embedded, proprietary (unviewable) hardware at the most fundamental level, and extension on steroids of the IME device in which, among other things, embedded hardware has access to storage space and even wifi even when no operating system is even present!! While this would indeed limit the possibility of infection, it is something akin to signing away all your rights to fight slavery.
The entire conference is here but you might want to fast-fwd to around 8,00 to see the explanation of the blinders Intel wishes to place on User/Owners.
If you manage to wade through all or most of it, and ultimately it is worth it if you have any concern about security and control, she recommends an old laptop as one that still allows real user ownership with no embedded spies - the Lenovo X60 Thinkpad. Although it is quite old and were dropped like hot rocks when Win 7 and then 8.1 came out, partly due to increased hardware requirements but also MS's commitment to touchscreen (which X60 does not offer), the specs are actually quite respectable for use with Linux and they can be had dirt cheap, like $60 - $150 cheap.
Here's a list of specs and options
Lenovo X60 Thinkpad Detailed Specs and Options
This may not be what you'd prefer if security wasn't such a big issue, but it is for many people. Maybe you, too.