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“This is not the computer for you”

samhenri.gold

81–90 of 390 posts

Re: “This is not the computer for you”

#81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't install a different OS on these? Are they different from the M series? Because those have Asahi Linux.

Surprisingly enough you don’t need Linux to learn about computers. You know that Macs have terminal?

The default Mac terminal environment is the Weetabix of UNIX-likes. You need GNU coreutils to do pretty much anything.

Re: “This is not the computer for you”

#82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surprisingly enough you don’t need Linux to learn about computers. You know that Macs have terminal?

The default Mac terminal environment is the Weetabix of UNIX-likes. You need GNU coreutils to do pretty much anything.

Name one thing lacking in the utilities included with MacOS (which come from BSD).

Re: “This is not the computer for you”

#83
post #8

I appreciate the article and agree. If you have a desire to learn computers, just get your hands on whatever you can and learn.

I second that! This is also how I feel about Raspberry Pis. There's so much they can't do, and yet in a way they can do everything. It's not the power of the machine, its about how much control you have or how close you can get to the metal. At least that way you learn about why you need more powerful hardware. Chrome books and phones teach nothing.

It's one click to set up a Debian environment on a Chromebook. Same on an Android phone. You can learn plenty from that. Once you've learned the limits of what you can learn within that environment, it's not difficult to then unlock the bootloader and learn even more.

Re: “This is not the computer for you”

#84
I'm sorry to say that those kids are a lot fewer and farther between than they were even 15 years ago, and much, much fewer than 30+ years ago.

When I was working my most recent corporate job (as a people manager, natch) there were new hires even in 2019 that had never owned a computer that wasn't a phone, and just used whatever laptop or other system was supplied by their school or (now) work. This experience blackpilled me a little, I will say.

Re: “This is not the computer for you”

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The default Mac terminal environment is the Weetabix of UNIX-likes. You need GNU coreutils to do pretty much anything.

Name one thing lacking in the utilities included with MacOS (which come from BSD).

The overwhelming majority of UNIX-like software isn't designed for BSD runtimes, to name one.

Re: “This is not the computer for you”

#87
post #63

When I was sixteen I got one of the earlier digital HD cameras (Canon VIXIA HF100) and Sony Vegas Movie Studio for my birthday. It was a neat camera and I liked Vegas, and I was grateful that my parents got them for me, but an issue that I had with it was that my computer wasn't nearly powerful enough to edit the video. Even setting the preview to the lowest quality settings, I was lucky to get 2fps with the 1080i vi…

At some point the limitations can flip around.

when you're young, time is infinite, money is scarce.

Older, and time seems to take over. The limitations are - when can you free up the time? Is relaxing allowed?

Re: “This is not the computer for you”

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Name one thing lacking in the utilities included with MacOS (which come from BSD).

The overwhelming majority of UNIX-like software isn't designed for BSD runtimes, to name one.

I ask for a specific example, and you respond with more generalities.

Re: “This is not the computer for you”

#89
post #11

I like the sentiment expressed here, but on this note, I think there are other dangers to consider listening to early reviewers: - Reviewers do get early access and often are receiving units AND doing their tests, writing their script, recording, and editing their videos before regular users can even possibly get a system shipped in. At best this rushes them where they miss details (e.g., few reviewers noticed that t…

All of the computers you listed have an inferior CPU, inferior battery life, inferior performance, inferior build quality, and inferior software for most peoples usecases. I know we all love linux here, but a lot of creative (or school, or work) apps that people use don't support Linux, so people must choose between MacOS and Windows.

All of the "cons" you list for the Neo apply doubly if not more for the alternatives you provided. Not to mention the cheap plastic build quality, poor OEM support, horrible screens, etc.

Re: “This is not the computer for you”

#90
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or they learn to enable developer mode, unlock the bootloader, and install Linux, or use the officially supported Crostini, or so on. There's like 3 different ways to run Linux desktop apps on a modern Chromebook. Oh so all our hypothetical child has to do to discover what computers can actually do is completely rebuild one's software from scratch with no prior knowledge. Next you'll tell me F1 drivers in their tee…

It's really not that hard. Someone who can follow a tutorial can do it. 5 seconds of googling will get you an answer to "install blender on a Chromebook"

I used to be the cool tech guy in school because I memorized the tutorial to jailbreak iPhone or to cheat in games with a memory editor. You know, stuff like "when you see this screen, click that icon", "find row 5 and change the second value to 0", or "open terminal, copy paste this command and hit enter". I don't think I learned anything useful from those.
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