361–370 of 693 posts
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These "open" vendors are selling you machines with a very, very closed Intel Management Engine (IME) or AMD Platform Security Processor (PSP) in it. They're distracting people from the real problem, and doing so is harmful.
Purism physically destroys components that won't run libre firmware.
I doubt that.
I prefer a desktop because: 1. I like big, big monitors. 2. I prefer a full size keyboard. 3. I prefer a separate mouse. 4. I prefer big freaking disk drives installed. 5. I put the desktop under my desk, and with a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse, there is much less of a snarl on my desk. 6. The desktop has an optical drive I still use. 7. The desktop has lots of USB ports and they're all in use. 8. I can repla…
Real work happens here at my desk. The same boring static location with a controlled enviroment with little input from the outside world. Laptops are for shallow work, not much else.
For you. I get all my work done a laptop and have been for a decade.
Instead of blasting UEFI, take a minute to learn about tools like `efibootmgr`, and how to install your own keys, so that you control your own machine. UEFI is a bit overengineered, but it's OK. - Most computers' UEFI firmware, desktop or laptop, allows you to install your own keys. - And every computer I've ever heard of with UEFI will allow you to disable secure boot. - Linux runs just fine on UEFI. I'm worried abo…
Your experience matches mine. And UEFI is more capable if you're interested in a multiboot setup, preserving a recovery partition, and such-like. I've yet to see a UEFI machine where you couldn't shut off secure boot in its firmware/settings menu. So I was a bit confused when I read the OP.
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I'm surprised we havent tried to sell desktop computers with battery packs yet
That did occur to me reading through this discussion. I migrated entirely off desktops and went laptop / mobile. Got happy as my current work benefits from me being highly mobile. Super glad I did it. Ended up surprised at just how much can do with a Note type phone and optional keyboard / track pad. But, I never did replace fast and responsive. Just kind of coped and the other benefits made the whole thing worth it.…
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I guess I'm confident that an open market will always provide for us. I don't know why you think it would not. Right now, today, it has never been easier to just go down to the local mall and buy a general purpose computer, and sure, there are lots of phones, tablets, and consoles on display as well, but there is no less computers as a result.
Good luck getting LSD or uranium-235 on the open market. You can still buy these, but only illegally. The market is slightly less open due to laws and regulations. These regulations can easily outlaw general-purpose computing on the same grounds of being too dangerous for the society. I can remind you how encryption algorithms were considered "munitions" back in 1990s, less than 30 years ago. At that time one would p…
If we continue to give power to right wing extremists, all bets are off.
> I know that new "open" laptops are still available, but most of them--the System76's, the Purisms, etc.--are overpriced in my opinion This quote suggest to me the author is an integral part of the problem. Companies are ALWAYS trying to increase their profitability. If they can lock down the computer, they can drop the price while _increasing_ CLTV. That’s why System76 is more expensive. They’re NOT overpriced. The…
At home, though, I do run a slightly modified old Dell desktop that I bought on Craigslist for basically nothing, and for daily work I much much prefer it to any laptop. So yeah, old desktops and S76 FTW.
It’s great!
I also had fun researching how to get the best deal ~$2,000.
While were on the subject I'm tired of these BS laptop keyboards. Stop trying to cram a numeric keyboard on there and shifting all the keys and trackpad to the left. It's great for the 1% of the time I need a full size numeric keyboard but sucks for the 99% of the time I don't.
I thought the same thing then I saw an accountant work one of those like Mozart and understood.