I’m thinking of buying one of those cheap Chinese mini PCs with an Intel N100 CPU. I have no experience with Linux and want to play with it in a dedicated machine. Longer-term, this will likely be a guest PC at my home and will only be used for web browsing and using Signal. Nothing else. Is it easy to install a distro like Pop!_OS? I’m hoping it would be straightforward to install and I won’t have to hunt for the drivers.
Yes you can install any compatible FOSS Operating System assuming it comes with RAM and an SSD. I’ve done multiple N100 mini PCs. There are newer and more powerful models available but a used N100 is fine. They can get noisy unless advertised as a silent model.
I don’t reccommend pop_os but the minimum requirements are low.
Pop!_OS 24.04 LTS
Filesize: 2.91 GB
Recommended: 4 GB RAM, 16 GB storage, 64-bit processor
Choosing any Linux distro is a step in the right direction. The N100 is old enough that you shouldn’t have difficulty with drivers.
Same as above, I don’t specifically recommend PopOS: never saw the appeal to it.
I’d still pick something more common like Ubuntu, Fedora, Cachy etc.
If it’s to play around with it, it shouldn’t really matter really anyway so go for it. 
You’ll have a very power efficient and silent laptop running Linux then.
The install process is pretty much putting an .iso on a USB key and pressing next during the install process. Nowadays Linux is quite simple. 
Hopefully you might then maybe upgrade a desktop/laptop of yours to the full Linux experience and maybe use that N100 for a homelab! 
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If they are new to Linux, and want to use Signal on this machine it may be advisable to stick to an Ubuntu based distribution. I agree though that I don’t really see the appeal of Pop_OS!.
Outside of Ubuntu based distributions installing Signal can be a little complex.
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Good thing is: PopOS is based on Ubuntu too.
For Fedora style, they can use Flathub (not official source sure but eh), I’m currently using it there and it’s fine.
Other one would be an Arch-based but they probably have something otherwise AUR is the way to go.
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What is wrong with Pop!_OS? Isn’t Ubuntu worse in terms of privacy?
Nothing wrong with PopOS but at the same time, no huge selling point for it either.
Other distros are just better.
And I said Ubuntu because it’s friendly and easier but anything Ubuntu-based is fine.
Also, you can opt out from most of the nonsense from Ubuntu, it is still not Microsoft-level kind of invasive after all.
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If you’re open to a little trail by fire, directly jump into Fedora. It is really not that hard and easy to pick up after a few days of using it and learning about it. Once you know the basics, you can always distro hop to see if there is anything else you may like more or if you want to keep using Fedora. I always kept coming back to Workstation/Silverblue.
Be advised, you’ll have to use the flatpak version of Signal on Fedora and Arch based. Signal only officially supports Debian/Ubuntu based distros.
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The thing that I don’t understand is how Ubuntu is friendlier and easier than Pop! Maybe even put Signal aside, if all I do is use the web browser, how hard would it be to set up any Linux distro and then harden it?
I thought Pop! was a derivative of Ubuntu, so Signal should be compatible?
I guess what I’m looking for is a Linux distro that will work with Brave and Firefox. It should be as easy as putting it on a USB stick, booting, and installing, and starting using it right away.
Pop! and Ubuntu are comparable. They are fine for your first few months. Hardening isn’t the goal of either one. Going through the process of hardening will be educational but limited. If you install Fedora then more hardening options are available as you progress. Fedora has SELinux enabled by default. You can grow into the Fedora ecosystem whereas you will grow out of Ubuntu. Check the PG recommendations list. They know what they are talking about.
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Pop!_OS is an Ubuntu derivative and is therefore compatible with the official signal install instructions.
Personally the reason I don’t find much point to Pop!_OS is that many of the customizations can be done by the end user on mainline Ubuntu anyway, so from a more advanced perspective it doesn’t make much sense. However I can definitely see the appeal of Pop!_OS as a “just works” beginner distribution.
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Pop! is in my mind because a famous dude said he uses it, and I thought it was a good idea if the use case is just a browser and Signal. Maybe even video calls, but that’s about it.
I recommend Linux Mint, Cinnamon version.
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Fedora has a COSMIC variant like Pop!_OS
Pop!_OS is fine but designed to sell computers. Fedora is solid and backed by Redhat upstream, who sells software solutions, not hardware. Linux Mint is also fine and based upon Ubuntu.
Fedora is generally a more serious enterprise distro. They are all usable at the end of the day. Debian based systems are the most common (including Ubuntu) so they get priority from the likes of Signal.
If you know what you’re doing it is possible to install Ubuntu Server and run a limited graphical environment with only a browser. This is more secure due to the smaller attack serface but lacks everyday desktop features.
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AFAIK Ubuntu is worse in terms of privacy (though nowhere near as bad as Windows) but better in terms of security. Unlike Pop!_OS it supports secure boot, offers much quicker (interim) releases, and provides thumbnailer sandboxing. Ubuntu’s support community is also much larger.
I’m guessing this mini PC probably uses integrated graphics and an Intel NIC, in which case it’s incredibly doubtful you’d need to manually hunt for drivers regardless of your distro. You’d probably be fine installing Fedora (which is what’s recommended) so long as you don’t mind using an unofficial build of Signal from Flathub. Otherwise I’d go with either Pop!_OS or Ubuntu depending on which set of pros/cons you prefer as I laid out. If you can’t decide, flip a coin. The differences aren’t worth overthinking.
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I just got the mini PC, and yes, it has an Intel 2.5GbE. The N100/N150 already have Intel’s modern hardware security features. I don’t think it supports memory tagging or Microsoft Proton, though. I already have experience with this CPU and it runs Windows fine. I can only imagine it being much faster with Linux.
Pop! doesn’t support secure boot? Really?! Why? Does Qubes support it? Is this why PG recommends Fedora over Pop!?
Is Qubes too difficult to use as a web browser, video chat, and Signal?
Qubes OS does not yet support secure boot: Source
Also I believe Qubes OS has some quite specific hardware requirements which the mini PC may (or may not) meet.
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To answer this question, irrespective of hardware, I’d say yes. Qubes is one of the best for privacy and security but it can be a headache. There is nothing to prevent you from creating a virtual machine like Whonix on Ubuntu or Fedora.
Around half of Linux distros don’t support SecureBoot. It doesn’t make you immune to malware. The enterprise distros such as Fedora are more likely to support it. Linux is designed to be usable first and foremost. Security isn’t the default.
If you choose an atomic version of Fedora then secureblue is an option for the future. Using a distro closest to source means faster updates. If you choose Mint then you are relying on Debian > Ubuntu > Mint.
Fedora is the upstream if you choose an atomic Fedora variant including secureblue. Debian only gets a new stable release every 2 years. There is nothing wrong with Mint but PG doesn’t recommend it. Mint relies on AppArmor while Fedora uses SELinux, which is a hardened kernel.
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Why are the distros so slow in adopting secure boot?