Computers

Dell Latitude E5540 Laptops

SCIENCE owns a set of 11 Dell Latitude E5540 laptops. These were acquired from ComputerCorps in Carson city on 14 September 2023 for $1250.

2023 OS Setup

For 2023 we're using Lubuntu. To install our "standard" setup:

1. Download the Lubuntu 22.04 ISO and write it to a USB drive (e.g. with Rufus)
2. Copy the bacondevd DEB package on to the USB drive
3. Boot the computer from your USB drive
4. Connect to a network, ideally the "SNAFU Con Staff" WiFi network. If you connect to a different network now you'll need to add the connection info for "SNAFU Con Staff" later.
5. Run the installer on the desktop.
   1. Accept the defaults for everything that has them.
   2. On the disk screen, select "Erase disk"
   3. On the user screen:
      1. User name: snafucon
      2. Hostname: set to snafucon plus the asset tag number, e.g. "snafucon-401332"
      3. Password: use the standard laptops/tablets one
      4. Check the "automatically log in" box
6. When the installer is done, reboot and remove the USB drive when it tells you to.
7. When it's done booting into the new OS, it should prompt you to install updates. Do that. If it doesn't ask, click "Preferences -> Apply Full Upgrade" in the start menu.
8. In "Start -> Preferences -> LXQt Settings -> Power Management":
   1. On the "Lid" tab, set "On Battery" and "On AC" to "Suspend"
   2. On the "Idle" tab, set set "... on Battery" and "... on AC" to "Suspend"
9. In "Start -> Preferences -> LXQt Settings -> Session Settings":
   1. On the "Basic Settings" tab, uncheck "Lock screen before..."
   2. On the "Autostart" tab, click "Add". Set the name to "Firefox" and the command to "firefox" and click "OK".
10. In "Start -> Preferences -> LXQt Settings -> Desktop":
    1. On the "Advanced" tab, uncheck "Home", "Trash", and "Network".
11. Right-click "Start -> Internet -> Firefox Web Browser" and click "Add to desktop"
12. Right-click "Start -> Sound & Video -> VLC media player" and click "Add to desktop"
13. Right-click each of the desktop icons you just created and click "Trust this executable"
14. Install bacondevd:
    1. Plug the USB drive back in
    2. Open it in the file manager
    3. Double-click the bacondevd DEB package
    4. Eject and remove the USB drive
15. Open Firefox and set it up:
    1. Right-click in the blank space next to the URL bar and click "Customize Toolbar..."
       1. Remove the spaces on either side of the URL bar
       2. Remove the Pocket and Account buttons
       3. Click Done
    2. Install uBlock Origin:
       1. Click "Menu -> Add-ons and themes"
       2. Enter "uBlock Origin" in the "Find more add-ons" box
       3. Click the "uBlock Origin" result with the "Recommended" tag
       4. Click "Add to Firefox"
       5. In the permissions dialog, click "Add"
    3. In "Menu -> Settings":
       1. On the "Home" tab:
          1. Change "Homepage and new windows" to "Custom URLs..." and set the URL to "https://register.snafucon.com/atcon/"
          2. Uncheck "Shortcuts"
          3. Uncheck "Recommended by Pocket"
       2. On the "Search" tab, change the "Default Search Engine" to "DuckDuckGo"
       3. On the "Privacy & Security" tab:
          1. Uncheck "Ask to save logins..."
          2. Uncheck "Show alerts about passwords..."
          3. Uncheck "Autofill addresses"
          4. Uncheck "Autofill credit cards"
          5. Set "History - Firefox will" to "Use custom settings for history"
          6. Uncheck "Remember search and form history"
          7. Check "Clear history when Firefox closes"
          8. Uncheck "Suggestions from sponsors"
          9. Set "DNS over HTTPS" to "Off"
    4. Turn of uBlock for BACON:
       1. Click the Home button to go to BACON
       2. Click the uBlock button at the right of the URL bar
       3. Click the big power button in the popup menu
       4. Reload the page
       5. Verify the uBlock button is gray and not red
16. Reboot