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I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

solar.lowtechmagazine.com

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Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#291

Post by simonblack »

I really like the idea of using an SD card for the home directory, because that's the thing that changes constantly, and it's a pain trying to synchronise the home directory over several machines. With one instance, that's backed up regularly, it makes life fairly simple. Now I just have to work out the mechanics of implementing it smoothly.

I have an archive disk/directory that holds all the 'write once, keep forever' stuff like photos, music, ebooks, etc. That can be rsync'd periodically and that won't take much time because the archive grows fairly slowly over time, and rsync will only need to transfer those relatively few additions.

I'm also somebody who prefers the feel of my old Lenovo ThinkPad T410 from back in 2010 to my much later P53. Perhaps I should resurrect it with the upgrading of its 2TB hard drive to a 2 or 4 TB SSD. I must look into that.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#292

Post by marcus0x62 »

photonerd wrote: post #289
marcus0x62 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The author is choosing to optimize for environmental impact over raw performance.

Given newer MacBooks are also both highly recyclable AND made of mostly recycled material… also seems an incorrect statement then

You have a laptop x that already exists.. At what point does buying laptop y, which needs to be manufactured, have the lower environmental footprint?

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#294

Post by squarefoot »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #206
Atotalnoob wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So if framework can let you reuse the "shell" for 2-3 upgrade cycles until they have to change the motherboard, that's a lot better than having to buy an entire new laptop. It's not about keeping the same form factor forever, that's unrealistic. It's about reducing the amount of stuff you have to buy for each upgrade. Opening and closing stuff is realistic, if it's easy. I've opened and upgraded various components of…

I'm a huge Framework fan but I worry that the upgradeability produces more e-waste rather than less. I already see Framework laptop owners tossing mainboards every generation. I think the e-waste angle is the weakest- I like the upgradeability because it saves me money. As a cheap bastard I almost see it as a challenge to use my devices for as long as possible.

> I already see Framework laptop owners tossing mainboards every generation.

That would be extremely stupid, especially after they released the case to turn the Framework mainboard into a mini PC.

https://frame.work/products/cooler-master-mainboard-case

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#295

Post by themadturk »

tmtvl wrote: post #262
Casteil wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Err, mobility? M1 / M2 Pro MBPs pack a serious punch... and they don't have to sacrifice battery life to do so - they smoke virtually all other laptops in terms of battery life.

Mobility is such an antifeature. Taking your work home with you is something you really shouldn't have to do. Worse even, taking your computer which potentially holds sensitive data with you could result in it getting stolen, at which point you've got a big problem on your hands. Laptops for work make no sense unless you're a field researcher.

Disagree. Mobility is absolutely a feature. When the pandemic sent everyone at my employer (several thousand workers) home in 2020, we were at 90% productivity within a few days because virtually everyone had laptops. Getting everyone settled in with effective home office setups took a week or two, but we were connected and working the whole time.

Then, when we went home a couple years later because of a cyberattack, essential workers were able to log in and work with the systems because we all had laptops.

As time goes on and less and less of our data is actually sitting on laptops.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#296

Post by nine_k »

musicale wrote: post #256
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> just like PCs you configure it once and it will be that HW until it is obsolete for your purpose. Nearly every PC I own has had its disk replaced at least once, and many have more RAM than they started with; both of these massively extend their useful lifespan.

RAM, storage, and GPU upgrades are great. Unfortunately CPU upgrades often require a new socket/motherboard.

CPU upgrades on desktops did not make much sense for several years, until Zen came out.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#297

Post by the-grump »

themadturk wrote: post #287
the-grump wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too bad Apple's hardware doesn't play nice with Linux.

It's not doing to badly with Asahi Linux. There are still shortcomings to work out, but there are people using Asahi on their Apple Silicon machines for their daily driver.

Yeah but it's nowhere near the choice you get with a typical x86_64 laptop with an AMD/Intel chipset.

I have minor problems with my Lenovos and Framework, but by and large they do work out of the box.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#298

Post by vel0city »

piaste wrote: post #278
vel0city wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's 8 billion people so my actions don't matter. I guess I'll pour all my old paint and paint thinner down the storm drains. Maybe my motor oil and used coolants as well. After all I'm just one person out of 8 billion, my actions don't matter. I'll just litter all my stuff as well. Single use plastics? Sign me up, I'll just throw it out in the street. I'm only one of a few million in my city, my actions don't rea…

Your actions do not, indeed, matter. Neither does your vote, or your boycotting of $global_evil_corp, precisely because there's millions or billions of people involved. (To be pedantic: while not literally zero, your actions matter several order of magnitude less than would be necessary to be able to perceive their effects.) But that's a really hard pill to swallow. Your post is a beautiful example of that difficulty…

So you're saying my neighbors and I should feel fine throwing old car batteries in the lake and switching back to leaded gas?

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#299

Post by nine_k »

quadrifoliate wrote: post #144
tyg13 wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The main product AFAICS is virtue signaling. Friendly reminder that people do care about things you don't care about. Claims of virtue signaling say more about you than them, quite frankly. And really, you should care about the massive amount of e-waste generated every year.

This. I lose any hope for us as a species being able to reverse climate change if the top comment about an article that goes quite deep into meaningful ways to “reduce, reuse, recycle" is that this is virtue signaling, and that we should buy Macbooks every year instead because they are "expendable tools". Guess what, their impact on the environment is very much noticeable. There is no way we are going to reverse or e…

Laptops are expendable tools, no question.

The problem is that their price does not include the expenses of the global warming accelerated due to their production and transportation. So they are sold artificially less expensively than they will turn out to be.

When laptop production, transportation, and recycling become largely carbon-neutral, it would be easier to argue for throwing them away once a slightly better model is available.

Re: I stopped buying new laptops (2020)

#300

Post by jacknews »

"I calculated that my keyboard had 90 keys and that replacing them all just once would cost me 1,350 euros."

This is a problem in the godawful 2016- macbooks, but with thinkpads, you can replace the entire keyboard, and do it yourself, for $30.

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