I used a Sony PictureBook for a bit in 2001 running Linux (this exact one: https://www.linuxjournal.com/article/4548) and it was totally fine. Bigger apps like StarOffice were a bit sluggish at start but then be snappy in use. The battery life was really good for the time, I used it as a coffee shop laptop (although that time there were only maybe five coffee shops with wireless in Seattle and I was responsible for three of them).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Vaio_C1_series