I have an hp Pavilion dv5000 (dv5204ea), with Intel Celeron M 410 running at 1.46 GHz and 1 Gb of RAM memory, and a BIOS date from 13.06.2006., so the computer is 13 years old.
I use the CD version of BunsenLabs Helium as a LiveCD, and due to limited RAM memory, prefer that over the DVD variant.
NoScript is a huge amount of help when browsing the web, but YouTube is impossible to use with 1 Gb of RAM when BL is run from a LiveCD. In my experience, the LiveCD experience of YouTube is good with at least 2 Gb RAM and a dual-core CPU.
BunsenLabs (BL) meets several requirements:
- LiveCD (not DVD), so uses less memory;
- Small memory footprint;
- Based on Debian, so is also compatible with Ubuntu;
- Can run X, with only a window manager;
- Touchpad and pointer drivers must work reliably;
- Has modern Firefox.
- Bonus point: SystemD allows me to limit the memory Firefox can use.
BunsenLabs is one of the few that offers all that. I have a Knoppix 7.2 liveCD, but it's from 2013, is very old, has unreliable pointer drivers, and installing ID card software was cumbersome, and worked partially; I was only able to login and check my bank balance, but not make any transfers.
Ubuntu compatibility and modern Firefox are required for the latest supported software that uses the Estonian ID card. Upon tweaking the installation script, it installs the ID card software and a Firefox extension (both meant for Ubuntu Xenial) that helps with authentication and making electronic signatures online.
The Estonian ID card is a smart card and an identification document that's used for electronic authentication and electronic signing; it's used to access banks and make money transfers; to sign official documents (incl. contracts); to access government services, to conduct business and communications with the government; to vote online in local, general, and EU elections (expat or traveling Estonians can vote anywhere in the world, if they have the kit); to encrypt files, usually for transfer, to ensure high message secrecy; to remove oneself from party membership, and lots more. The ID card is a valid travel document within the European Union.
Estonia adopted the ID card system in 2002, but I got my first ID card in 2009, seven years after adoption. Until then, I used a passport, mostly to identify my person during elections, and when taking cash to the bank.
So, a year ago, after my bank stopped using non-electronic code cards (those with written numerical codes) for two-factor authentication, I finally got an ID card reader — nine years after I got my first ID card (I'm on a second one), and sixteen years after ID card readers became a thing in Estonia.
With some effort, it's possible to install Estonian ID card software meant for Ubuntu, so I could login into my bank and make transfers. Unfortunately, the ID card management software does not yet work properly. But I could vote! — Because the voting program is a separate package.
I'm not a luddite when it comes to technology, but am one of those who gets personal access to interesting stuff and technology much later than my reference group. Because reasons, but that's life, I guess.
So, in Autumn and Winter of 2018, BunsenLabs was essential just so I could check my bank balance at home, and make transfers.
The day-to-day need to use BunsenLabs waned in January 2019. On Christmas 2018, a relative got a new smartphone, and I asked for their old smartphone, explaining, that I could upgrade that old smartphone from Android 4.0.3 to Android 4.1.2, and install Smart-ID — so I could easily access my bank when in transit. Android 4.1 is the oldest version still supported by the Smart-ID app. The relative was convinced, and I got their old smartphone.
My earlier smartphone runs Android 2.3.6, and does not have any more upgrades available. Furthermore, in December 2018, the YouTube app also stopped working on Gingerbread. (There, the default browser would render the mobile YouTube page and thus allow playback in an external player until September 2019.)
Smart-ID is a new two-factor authentication system and app in Estonia and Latvia.
There is also Mobile ID (Mobiil-ID). It's equivalent to the ID card, and supports absolutely all kinds of phones, even featurephones dating back to early 2000s and even a bit before. One can vote with Mobile ID, but not with Smart ID. But — Mobile ID requires a phone contract and a specialized and more expensive SIM card, and is not exactly free, as it requires a small and regular fee.
Whereas Smart-ID is completely free, but has support for less services.
The newer device I got, is LG Optimus L5, which series was released in June 2012, a few months later than my Gingerbread phone.
I really didn't know if I could upgrade the LG phone from ICS to Jelly Bean. While information about upgrade possibility was up, off-the-air upgrades stayed within Android 4.0.3. This meant that I had to check if there was a computer-based upgrade possible.
At first sight, LG's official site had software available that would run on Windows 7 or greater, while I have Windows XP. Fortunately, LG's Australian section offered packages compatible with Windows XP, enabling me to make a backup of device data, and perform the upgrade to Android 4.1.2. Yay!
Getting Smart-ID registered still required use of the ID card, so BunsenLabs came in handy again.
I could login into my bank again. Yay!
As a result of installing registering Smart-ID, I could download my bank's app that just happens to also have Android 4.1 as the earliest supported Android, so with some effort (because this phone's RAM is only 512 Mb), I used Smart-ID to register my bank's app. My bank's app is crashy for most things, but at least allows me to check the balance quickly.
LG Optimus L5 has the same CPU and RAM specs as the phone with Gingerbread (Samsung Galaxy Mini 2), but sports a 5-megapixel camera with auto-focus and flash, while the Samsung smartphone has only a 3.15 Mpix sensor with just fixed-focus and without flash. This is really an upgrade to me, as the LG phone is able to scan more detailed QR codes, which has come in very handy.
Coincidentally, Android 4.1 is also the earliest/oldest Android supported by the Estonian online vote verification app, which scans a QR code displayed by the voting app in the computer after a user has finished voting. For some technical reason, the app wouldn't work as intended during the Estonian Parliament elections in March 2019. It's very possible, that the QR code to verify a person's vote has a very short lifetime. The app worked flawlessly during European Parliament elections in May 2019.
