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Old Computer Challenge

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Re: Old Computer Challenge

#51

Post by sleepybrett »

john01dav wrote: post #44
alex7o wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that works for you pls buy a second hand MacBook m1 or M2 air (air has worse design but some silicon bugs are ironed out around vms etc) and run it for Linux. It is silent very powerful and you will use for a very long time. Very non repairable tho :(

> you will use for a very long time. Very non repairable tho This seems moderately contradictory, because as the time that you use something increases the chance of some physical damage increases, especially for a portable device where dropping, an imperfect bag holding, or someone else bumping it, and the like, are all more likely than a stationary device (like a desktop). This is a huge reason that I don't use many…

the storage will eventually fail and you will be able to do nothing about it (unless you have some pretty good rework chops). I do not recommend apple laptops (with soldered storage) for very long term applications like this for this reason alone.

Re: Old Computer Challenge

#53

Post by officeplant »

Participated last year with my Thinkpad R61 that I still use as my main laptop after getting so cozy with it during the challenge.

A lot of the group was great, but some friends I invited to the challenge had a bad time in the irc with transphobes and we all dropped out.

I hope this year people moderate the chat a bit better, but I understand its not their day job to police random folk that enter the hobby challenge community.

Re: Old Computer Challenge

#54

Post by officeplant »

teddyh wrote: post #28

Since 2013, I have used a laptop made in 2009 as my normal, everyday laptop. I am currently in the process of replacing it, but only because other people have complained about the fan noise.

Same I've got a Thinkpad R61i from around the same time that originally came with a Pentium dual core and 2GB of ram.

It's been fully upgraded with an SSD, the fastest core2duo I could find, and more memory. With a fresh battery it still manages to be a great machine all these years later.

Re: Old Computer Challenge

#55

Post by Retr0id »

sleepybrett wrote: post #51
john01dav wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you will use for a very long time. Very non repairable tho This seems moderately contradictory, because as the time that you use something increases the chance of some physical damage increases, especially for a portable device where dropping, an imperfect bag holding, or someone else bumping it, and the like, are all more likely than a stationary device (like a desktop). This is a huge reason that I don't use many…

the storage will eventually fail and you will be able to do nothing about it (unless you have some pretty good rework chops). I do not recommend apple laptops (with soldered storage) for very long term applications like this for this reason alone.

A slight tangent but BGA rework is pretty easy to learn, and I recommend doing so. I find it an invaluable skill for upgrading/repairing/hacking modern hardware.

Re: Old Computer Challenge

#56

Post by tonyedgecombe »

john01dav wrote: post #44
alex7o wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that works for you pls buy a second hand MacBook m1 or M2 air (air has worse design but some silicon bugs are ironed out around vms etc) and run it for Linux. It is silent very powerful and you will use for a very long time. Very non repairable tho :(

> you will use for a very long time. Very non repairable tho This seems moderately contradictory, because as the time that you use something increases the chance of some physical damage increases, especially for a portable device where dropping, an imperfect bag holding, or someone else bumping it, and the like, are all more likely than a stationary device (like a desktop). This is a huge reason that I don't use many…

Some of us just don't do that sort of thing. When I took my five year old iPhone 7 in for a battery replacement the person serving me commented on the good condition. This was a phone I used daily without a case.

Re: Old Computer Challenge

#57

Post by Retr0id »

Hmmm. I have a T500 I could use, but it's not that old (a mere 18 years!) - I'd mostly be running the same software and doing the same things, just a bit slower.

Going back another decade I also have a Pentium MMX system, and that'd be more interesting to work with but also a lot more tedious.

Re: Old Computer Challenge

#58

Post by mghackerlady »

anthk wrote: post #47
mghackerlady wrote: post #36

This is just my life. I have an old netbook running openbsd. It can do netsurf and email just fine when I'm on the go, I have my vita for any media I want to experience on the go, and for anything more intense than viewing a simple website, email/chat, or the occasional perl script, I shell into my home computer

Try yt-dlp+streamlink. YT-DLP config: #at ~/.config/yt-dp/config --format "best[height MPV config: #~/.config/mpv/config ytdl-format=bestvideo[height Dillo (from git) has worse CSS capabilities than netsurf but more than often the webs aren't broken as often as NetSurf. On the rest, get MuPDF, nsxiv for images, maybe xfe for files, mutt/sylpheed for email...

What was the point of this comment? Yeah this is pretty much how I use my computer. I use netsurf because I can use it in the framebuffer. I use mg for text editing and file browsing (using dired), chat using ircii, and email with elm. I don't really do much that can't be done without a GUI, so I rarely use X for anything other than forwarding something from my main computer over ssh

Re: Old Computer Challenge

#60

Post by throawayonthe »

john01dav wrote: post #44
alex7o wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that works for you pls buy a second hand MacBook m1 or M2 air (air has worse design but some silicon bugs are ironed out around vms etc) and run it for Linux. It is silent very powerful and you will use for a very long time. Very non repairable tho :(

> you will use for a very long time. Very non repairable tho This seems moderately contradictory, because as the time that you use something increases the chance of some physical damage increases, especially for a portable device where dropping, an imperfect bag holding, or someone else bumping it, and the like, are all more likely than a stationary device (like a desktop). This is a huge reason that I don't use many…

they're pretty durable relative to most laptops on the market, and replacing components most likely to break like the screen is... neither great nor terrible? https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Two+Thunder...

how often have you had to repair your current device? non-rhetorical question

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