Really a lot. I recently installed CloudReady (equivalent of ChromeOS Flex) on a 8th Gen Dell latitude. From Gimp to running 3 different chrome browsers with different profiles. All just works.
It really is impressive how much a cheap computer can do with the right software now a days. Cheapest I see glancing at amazon right now is $75. Chump change in the first world.
Probably even the cheapest part of schooling equipment too now. Never seen a textbook go for less than $100, at least in my experience.
I still really miss my dell mini laptop. It fit my small hands well and was easily lighter than a book.
I used to throw it into one of those mini fashion backpacks and bike to the park to write a bit of code on nice days.
Not much fear of breaking it because it was so cheap. Had external batteries too which I sometimes brought an extra of to swap out (which actually sounds crazy compared to how most laptops are now a days)
It still does the job quite well, naturally I took advantage of being able to expand it to 8 GB and replacing the HDD with a SSD one.
And despite my Linux vs Windows posts, it is actually Linux based, and was bought that way, also a proof that even that didn't help when regarding some common Linux Desktop themes.
Anyway, it has served me well during my travels, like you I am used to take it everywhere.
When it finally dies, it is going to be quite hard to find a good replacement that takes over similar responsibility.
preaching the choir my dear, whenever I see "new big web project" all I see is people sending a few bits of text .. sure it's coated with useless 4k vids and high res banners, but the cruft of the protocol is still a little bit of text. And considering the average brain speed of the population, a fast minitel would suffice :cough:.. hell, the human / system impedance might even improve.
Probably even the cheapest part of schooling equipment too now. Never seen a textbook go for less than $100, at least in my experience.