31–40 of 119 posts
In any plausible doomsday scenario, would scavenged Z80s (with compatible displays and input devices) really be more readily available than old Intel-based laptops, or even Raspberry Pis? And if your post-collapse computer can’t read PDFs or play videos, how much useful preserved information can you really access?
Makes me wonder what's the cheapest most efficient application class chip out there. Esp8266 ? I assume it's not the best but I'm not too aware of the MCU world.
CollapseOS provides the computation substrate, but is anyone thinking about the kind of computations post apocalyptic communities / individuals might be needing to run? I imagine things like ledgers, basic simulations, farming yield prediction... I couldn't find design documents besides the technical constraints it is willing to be compatible with.
I could see embedded style sensors and technology being very practical, tools for measuring temperature/humidity etc and logging it constantly, sensors to measure water levels in rain tanks, basic inventory systems for food, basic automations for things like farming (automatic watering systems/collection systems even?)
Security is another one to think of: Sensors to detect people entering/leaving an area, trail cams for hunting, alarms etc.
Genuine question: if we're in a collapse scenario that is so devastating to the global supply chain that we're scavenging microcontrollers, how do we generate electricity to power them? Solar panels and batteries don't last forever and would presumably require the same or similar supply chain as the microcontrollers. This is a cool project regardless, but in such a catastrophic scenario it seems easier to just give u…
[0]: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2011/oct/25/thailand-...
[1]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2021/01/06/bad-news-gr...
On https://collapseos.org/why.html he says: > I expect our global supply chain to collapse before we reach 2030 What's he going to say if we get to 2030 and his predicted collapse hasn't happened yet? "I was wrong" or "It's just taking a little longer than I expected"?
2020 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23450287
2020 (a bit) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22901002
2019 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21182628
Sharp readers of the FAQ* will note that those 2020 posts mean we should really mark this one as a dupe, but there's something so perfect about prepping meeting operating systems and the language being Forth...I just can't do it.
On https://collapseos.org/why.html he says: > I expect our global supply chain to collapse before we reach 2030 What's he going to say if we get to 2030 and his predicted collapse hasn't happened yet? "I was wrong" or "It's just taking a little longer than I expected"?
I find this whole exercise to be utterly pointless, but hey, its his time, his money, and his effort, so more power to him.
I like the honesty on https://collapseos.org/civ.html but I get a very John Titor vibe from the author- To be honest if we have the collapse he envisions I think most people would be too worried about food to care about bootstrapping something on random hardware. However cyberpunk or fallout cool the idea is... still, was a fun read.
Just looked up John Titor on Wikipedia: John Titor is a name used on several bulletin boards during 2000 and 2001 by a poster claiming to be an American military time traveler from 2036. Titor made numerous vague and specific predictions regarding calamitous events in 2004 and beyond, including a nuclear war, none of which came true. Subsequent closer examination of Titor's assertions provoked widespread skepticism.…
> ... [various debunked predictions] led to the general impression that the entire episode was an elaborate hoax.
Whereas this
> by a poster claiming to be an American military time traveler from 2036.
Wasn’t the thing. Could be everyone was trolling but some of the commenters really seemed like true believers egged on by the trolls (kind of like flat earthers).
I just fundamentally don’t understand the level of gullibility involved that’s needed to buy into a story like that (like I get it exists but I just can’t understand the mentality that leads there). It’s also likely why astrology, religion, and wild unbelievable conspiracy theories take hold in our society (I like my conspiracy theories to have what I consider a more plausible down-to-earth premise).
I wonder what the evolutionary advantage there is for the duality in society. Is it really just as simple that the primitive “what if it could be true” is good for helping you avoid danger and the “that’s not a plausible line of thinking” helping better locate real world opportunities are the two engines for our success as a species? And that the misapplication is just a trait that’s not useful in a comparatively peaceful time (and the tension ironically brings about the reduction of peace time?).