Ram use of Linux Mint!

There is a misconception among new users and some old ones, that Cinnamon uses a lot more Ram than other Desktop Environments(DE) in Linux Mint versions.

Cinnamon uses approximately 650 - 900Mb(Megabyte) on idle.

Cinnamon uses 100 - 200Mb more than MATE idle.

Cinnamon uses 150 - 300Mb more than XFCE when idle.

It is not a lot, but if you are trying to use Linux Mint on very old hardware that uses 2Gb Ram and no longer can be upgraded, then I can see why you might want to squeeze the last drop out of it. 

Any more Ram use is caused by apps you use. 

In this case Linux Lite or Lubuntu might be a better alternative, Linux Mint can run on 2Gb Ram, with limited functionality on the apps side, not the DE itself. 

4Gb Ram is better, even more is better.

SSD instead of Harddisk is better. But that is the same in most Linux and Windows Versions.

Some very small and lightweight Linux distros run entirely in Ram, so only access to Storage drive is download/upload or running apps which also use minimal Storage use. 

Someone could possibly build a new distro based on Linux Mint, with less hardware requirements, but that is another story. 

Don't buy 2nd hand Chromebooks, it is not worth it!

The following is not news, it has been covered in several magazines and online platforms, so why would I repeat it? 

Because in the Philippines there is a booming market selling these Chromebooks. 

Most are advertised as being laptops, they are not laptops! Its gimmick the seller is imposing on unsuspecting buyers. 

For the most Chromebooks work just fine if you only want to browse the internet or do some mild office work, but they are not workhorses like a laptop! Also most of the functions are online. 

On a real laptop you can work offline if you want to.

Chromebooks are not ment to be upgraded, they are basically Netbooks with a bigger screen, CPU and battery, but where on Netbooks you mostly could upgrade the ram(limited though) and the storage, this is for the most not possible on Chromebooks because ram and storage is soldered(on some you can upgrade the storage), you can add a memory card though, but it is ultra-slow and should only be used for personal files. 

Chromebooks are also not supported for very long time, if you have reached the end of software updates, you can't just install a newer version of Chrome OS, like you would be able to do on a laptop.

It will take research and some tinkering that could end you up with an expensive paperweight. 

If you are Technical minded, some, but not all, Chromebooks can be updated to newer version of Chrome OS or ChromeOS flex or Linux, if you remove a screw inside and flash the firmware, but it is not a guarantee that it will work and not something a normal consumer should do because of the riscs involved - Remember Paperweight!

Chromebooks have like many newer laptops built-in battery, which only last for a couple of years, finding a replacement might turn out to be a nightmare because spareparts were not part of the "plan" when these came out. There are some after-market batteries, but quality is not really the same as the original.

Failing parts on Chromebooks is usually, battery screen and keyboard, on most Chromebooks the keyboard is located under the motherboard, meaning that in order to change the keyboard you first have to remove the motherboard, and there are so many things that can go wrong, so this should for the most, be left to professionals to do, which increases the cost of upgrades and repairs.

All in all, just get an upgradable laptop instead, but make sure it doesn't have soldered ram or soldered storage! And make sure it can run Linux or ChromeOS Flex, I will not recommend Windows for privacy reasons. 

For most, Core i5 - i7 should do, stay away from Core i3 it will be too slow for real work. And make sure to get a laptop with an SSD and a battery that lasts more than 2 hours, unless there is an outlet anywhere you travel. 

Also, stay away from dealers that only give 1-3 months warranty, that mean they only stand by by the product they sell for those 1-3 months and anything that happens after that period, is on you.

If you are Technical minded like me, its ok because you can do all the repairs yourself, but if you are not, then it can end up costing almost half of what you paid for the laptop in the first place. 

I mostly buy my laptops from private people and do all the repairs myself, then use the laptop for about 8-10 years with a few upgrades in between, until the laptop can't work anymore(electronics don't last forever) or the cost of parts is higher than to buy another second hand laptop.

And I, doesn't mean you have to, always buy Lenovo Thinkpads of T, X, W and L(budget) series, and always do research before buying.

There used to be companies making Barebone laptops that you could buy from new, and just upgrade yourself, but that is not seen very often anymore.

If you want to run Linux, there are manufacturers that deliver laptops with it pre-installed, like Tuxedo, System76 even some Lenovo laptops, just search for it. 

But you can for most just install it yourself on your own laptop, just do your research first, but that is another story.

Good luck 😉😁

List of shops to avoid doing business with!

This will piss of a lot of businesses, but since neither Shopee or Lazada is willing to deal with this and knowingly facilitate these shops to continue doing BS, its up to us to warn other people😉 The war begins😁

I have build pcs for many years and done custom builds other people couldn't do, besides that I also worked for Packard Bell Europe, in their Technical Support in The Netherlands.

And in my own country Denmark in IT support Call Center for Major Businesses supplying companies with whole IT solutions : IBM, HP, Compaq, Lexmark, Sharp, Mermaid, Packard Bell, Fujitsu-Siemens, Acer, Canon, MAC.

Also as Technican for a Charity organization that supplied Computers, tables and printers for schools in the Philippines. I build the computers from scratch.

My background is a lot more than this, but this is keeping it short.

Because of personal circumstances, I live in the Philippines and want to put my skills to good use by helping people for free🙂

And by that come the lists of shops to avoid doing business with, because of poor service level or just bad products with short Warranty, selling refurbished as New, or even knowingly selling Counterfeit products.

I have documented some shops here

https://jbj-tech-notes.blogspot.com/2026/02/counterfeit-ram-on-shopee.html?m=1

Let me know what you got and I will update the list😉

I will start (Knowingly, mean that they have been informed by me, but continue selling):

Walram on Shopee and Lazada knowingly sell counterfeit Ram(I informed them, and they blocked me and continue selling). https://ph.shp.ee/mxFCh5V

Computer_UP. ph knowingly sell counterfeit Ram. https://ph.shp.ee/pY1zhhs

Pisen Authourized PH knowingly sell counterfeit Redmi Note Batteries https://ph.shp.ee/e52APsD

QST Computer Accessories PH knowingly sell counterfeit Kingston HyperX Ram https://ph.shp.ee/L3MKEhr

Guyoung Computer accessories knowingly sell defective LCDs, they claim to test them but don't do it. https://ph.shp.ee/FqY1GxP

y2fd4qt4g9 sell counterfeit defective batteries https://ph.shp.ee/wPNQzNk

HAYOX 176 Sell counterfeit defective batteries https://ph.shp.ee/wMjWuKn

And the list will continue

Counterfeit Ram on Shopee!

Shopee claim to deal with shops who sell counterfeit products, well they don't they just lie about it and make you think that they are dealing with it, many times they just ignore it, I have reported many shops who to this day still sell counterfeit products!  

But maybe they will finally act after this article, because anyone who allow counterfeit products on their website is just as guilty as the one selling it, according to the law.

For Shopee its all about having a high number of shops on their platform, and they apparently don't care if the shops are legit or not, as long as the shop do their transactions through Shopee.

So be sure if you buy something from Shopee that you buy it in their Mall, so you at least have 30 days to return it. 

This shop on Shopee treathened me, because I discovered that they sell counterfeit Crucial DDR3L Ram modules and informed them about it. 

https://ph.shp.ee/7X6bpLH

These modules are extremely very well made and someone put a lot of effort into making this look like the real deal, only one problem : 

They forgot to look how the original show up in any diagnostic app, and I tried SPECCY, AIADA64 HWiNFO, Passmark RAMMon and CPU-Z, all reported that this were Crucial Ram with Micron Ram chips, but it  failed in one crucial(no pun intended) way, they forgot to add CT in front of the partnumber. 

Crucial always have CT in the start of the part number, and Micron always have MT in front of the part number. 

Here are photos of the Ram modules and the tests :

When you try to find out if the Ram you just bought is Genuine or not, you might have to put some effort into it, because Crucial doesn't have a web page where you can check the part number or serial number, and you have to find a way to contact their support, provide them with photos of the Ram modules and proof of purchase.

crucservice@micron.com

In my case Crucial support could not actually be sure that the Ram modules I bought, were not Genuine, well they could see that the labels didn't fit the part number of the modules, but couldn't rule out a factory mistake in China. And asked me to ask the seller, which as stated above, resulted in a treat. 

One of the strange parts in this story is the information that is read from the EC chip on the Ram modules, which suggest that these modules are produced in Crucials factory in China, but discarded because of the lacking CT in the part number or some other reason, and should have been destroyed. How they got on Shopee we can only speculate. 

I am saying this because it is not very likely other factories have the ability to write to Crucials EC chip, and why even make that effort if counterfeit! 

Also, the Ram modules actually test good in all the diagnostic tests I have run which include Lenovo Diagnostic and. Memtest86+ v7.00, they passed with flying colors. 

UPDATE :

I ended up returning them because Crucial finally informed me that they couldn't find these modules in their own or Micron's databases. And I had a screen flicker which seem to were caused by these Ram modules. 

With Genuine Ram you at least have a warranty and can expect the Ram to last several years.

Counterfeit ram can cause severe damage to your PC or Laptop, so even if it test OK, just return it. 

It has come to my attention that Walram on Shopee also are selling the very same counterfeit Ram, and resulted in me getting blocked by them when I informed them about it. 

Doesn't inspire very much confidence in the way they do business, and a word of warning regarding this particular shop, they promise Warranty which they don't actually intend to uphold, and their after sales support is a joke.

Link to the counterfeit Ram in Walram shop on Shopee :

https://ph.shp.ee/8g1Vg1B

UPDATE :

I have today 07 February 2026 informed Shopee support about the problem with the Ram, that it is Counterfeit and that it has potential to damage internal parts in the laptops it is used in. 

And that if they don't act upon this warning, then they can become liable. Because they have been warned and any further counterfeit Ram sold through Shopee would be considered that they knowingly facilitate sale of dangerous counterfeit Ram. 

I have asked them to issue a warning to sellers, to stop selling any Crucial Ram that doesn't have CT in the part number read from the EC controller. And any Micron Ram that doesn't have MT in the part number read from the EC controller. 

I have told Shopee that these Ram modules caused a power interuption in my laptop and LCD flicker, which could have been permanent, had I not replaced the Ram with original working modules. 

So if sale continue and my warning is ignored, then Shopee can be sued. 

I have also informed Shopee that I have informed the 2 shops, and they now knowingly sell counterfeit Ram. 

Free to change your ROM - Free to repair already happening!

As I wrote in the headline Free to repair is already happening in several countries. 

I would like to advocate for Free to change your ROM to whatever you want and be able to relock your bootloader, so the device will work with banking and other financial Apps that refuse to work with unlocked bootloader. 

After all its your phone, and like on computers you should be able to install whatever OS you want, right, and you have a right to be secure! 

Unfortunately manufacturers only allow their own ROM to be installed, and only support it with updates for a couple of years, while there are custom ROM's that would work perfectly well and securely on your phone, but the manufacturers will not support this because they want you to buy a new phone every 3-4 years - adding to the worlds e-Waste problem.

I am deeply against adding to the worlds e-Waste problem, and truely believe in renewing old hardware with alternative software, in this case a custom ROM.

If we can push manufacturers and Governments to "Free to change your ROM" and still be able to lock the Bootloader, then You can blow new life into your old phones and reuse them.

Those who want to buy new models can do that, and the rest of us will still be happy with our old. one!

So please link to this article and post it anywhere you can think of, so we can get the ball rolling 😉

I hope it will catch on, I know Google and many other manufacturers will be against this because it will hurt their bottom line, but we should have a right to do this!

After all its OUR phone!