Revived an old MacBook Air for my dad with Linux Mint XFCE + a Windows XP theme
video here: imgur.com
I had an old macBook air (A1466) sitting around unused for years.
Recently my dad who is in his 60s, asked if I could bring it back to life because he wanted a laptop to use.
I tried macos first. I'm not even sure what the latest officially supported version is for this macbook anymore, but whatever was on it felt really slow and laggy. It just wasn't nice to use.
So I wiped everything and installed Mint 22.3 xfce.
I told my dad "I'm going to install linux on it."
His first response was "I don't know how to use linux."
I told him not to worry. for the stuff he does, linux can work pretty much like windows.
Then I thought instead of giving him a completely unfamiliar desktop, why not make it look like something he already knows?
So XP it is. why? why not?
I used this project: rozniak/xfce-winxp-tc
I intentionally didn't make it look 100% identical to winXP though.
I still want him to know that this is linux. If it looked exactly like XP, I'm slightly worried he might assume it's windows and start trying to install random exe files or follow windows-specific instructions from the internet.
So the goal was more like "familiar enough to be comfortable", not "pretend this is actually Windows XP".
For most of the customization, driver installation and troubleshooting, I used Codex GPT 6.1 Sol on high.
My workflow was basically:
"I want it to behave like this."
"This Wi-Fi driver isn't working."
"Can we change this to look more like XP?"
And when something was difficult to explain, I'd just give it a screenshot and show what I meant.
It helped me sort out Wi-Fi, audio, webcam (still not working properly), trackpad stuff, theming, and all the little things that would otherwise take quite a bit of searching.
just sharing about the Craft Apps:
I also asked Codex to remov LibreOffice and installs the "GetArtCraft" apps instead.
Basically an "office suite" for my dad.
Honestly, they're surprisingly fast and responsive on this old machine.
DeckCraft is still a bit limited though. It can't open PowerPoint files or export to ppt/pptx, so that's something to keep in mind.
Just a little side experiment while setting this thing up.
And before someone comments about "AI slop" because I mentioned Codex, I'm not asking AI to blindly generate some random setup and calling it a day. I'm still the one deciding what I want, testing things, checking whether they work, and fixing problems along the way.
AI is here to assist me, not replace the thinking.
Anyway, after a bunch of tweaking, the old macbook air is alive again.
Linux Mint underneath, Windows XP-ish on the outside, running on a MacBook Air.
A slightly cursed combination, maybe, but I really like how it turned out.
More importantly, my dad gets a fast, usable and familiar-looking laptop instead of this thing continuing to collect dust. ps, The screen feels cheap though.
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Revived an old MacBook Air for my dad with Linux Mint XFCE + a Windows XP theme video here: imgur.com I had an old macBook air (A1466) sitting around unused for years. Recently my dad who is in his 60s, asked if I could bring it back to life because he wanted a laptop to use. I tried macos first. I'm not even sure what the latest officially supported version is for this macbook anymore, but whatever was on it felt really slow and laggy. It just wasn't nice to use. So I wiped everything and installed Mint 22.3 xfce. I told my dad "I'm going to install linux on it." His first response was "I don't know how to use linux." I told him not to worry. for the stuff he does, linux can work pretty much like windows. Then I thought instead of giving him a completely unfamiliar desktop, why not make it look like something he already knows? So XP it is. why? why not? I used this project: rozniak/xfce-winxp-tc I intentionally didn't make it look 100% identical to winXP though. I still want him to know that this is linux. If it looked exactly like XP, I'm slightly worried he might assume it's windows and start trying to install random exe files or follow windows-specific instructions from the internet. So the goal was more like "familiar enough to be comfortable", not "pretend this is actually Windows XP". For most of the customization, driver installation and troubleshooting, I used Codex GPT 6.1 Sol on high. My workflow was basically: "I want it to behave like this." "This Wi-Fi driver isn't working." "Can we change this to look more like XP?" And when something was difficult to explain, I'd just give it a screenshot and show what I meant. It helped me sort out Wi-Fi, audio, webcam (still not working properly), trackpad stuff, theming, and all the little things that would otherwise take quite a bit of searching. just sharing about the Craft Apps: I also asked Codex to remov LibreOffice and installs the "GetArtCraft" apps instead. Basically an "office suite" for my dad. Honestly, they're surprisingly fast and responsive on this old machine. DeckCraft is still a bit limited though. It can't open PowerPoint files or export to ppt/pptx, so that's something to keep in mind. Just a little side experiment while setting this thing up. And before someone comments about "AI slop" because I mentioned Codex, I'm not asking AI to blindly generate some random setup and calling it a day. I'm still the one deciding what I want, testing things, checking whether they work, and fixing problems along the way. AI is here to assist me, not replace the thinking. Anyway, after a bunch of tweaking, the old macbook air is alive again. Linux Mint underneath, Windows XP-ish on the outside, running on a MacBook Air. A slightly cursed combination, maybe, but I really like how it turned out. More importantly, my dad gets a fast, usable and familiar-looking laptop instead of this thing continuing to collect dust. ps, The screen feels cheap though.
@richgel999 Switch to Linux, theme to your heart's content: rozniak/xfce-winxp-tc