Topher 🌱
Upgrading computers is a scam. Your 20-year-old machine buried in the back of the closet is honestly still probably just fine.
Feb 9 at 3:14pmWeb
Show threadKevin Karhan Feb 9

@topher the problem is the #Enshittifiaction and #Enfattening of #Websites and #Applications!

Seriously, I think that #Microsoft should be sued into insolvency for the way they create 100% avoidable #eWaste with #CensorBoot and #Windows11 to the point that if I didn't have my current job, I'd basically collect all the old machines from companies that are stupid enough to use #Windows [and they'll likely give them away for free minus SSDs / HDDs instead of paying €5+ for #recycling], shove some #Linux on [i.e. #RaspberryPiOS, #BunsenLabsLinux or #UbuntuLTS] and sell those off as used electronics for a good profit.

Show threadLeon MillerFeb 9
@kkarhan @topher ...or donate them to schools, charities, etc - which is kind of what I'm planning to do
Show threadKevin Karhan Feb 9

@leon_miller @topher Or just get them to people who need one but can't afford buying new anyway.

  • Shure a #ThinClient ain't gonna play Roblox or Fortnite but it'll allow people to do basic office stuff and watch some videos...
Show threadEvil RodaFeb 9
@kkarhan @topher Where can I find these companies?
Show threadKevin Karhan Feb 9
@evilroda @topher literally just solicit them [or their suppliers like local IT companies]...
Show threadEyedustFeb 9
@kkarhan @topher Yesss. Absolutely. You'd be surprised the hardware that gets tossed just because Windows is slow. There are so many use-cases for old tech that its baffling seeing how much of it lines landfills.

Don't like your old PC? Donate it to a geek near you. At least recycle it. Someday we'll be digging through underground trash heaps to harvest materials. This stuff ain't infinite, you know...
Show threadKevin Karhan Feb 9

@Eyedust @topher exactly that is my main gripe.

The reason the #EU refused to standardize upon IEC 60906-1 was because they expected it to generate 700.000t of 100% avoidable #eWaste (or ~ 1,4 kg per EU citizen).

And that really infuriates me like this:

IEC 60906-1 - Wikipedia

Show threadEyedustFeb 9
@kkarhan @topher @EUCommission @Bundesregierung The agenda is money. Its the same reason we haven't moved on from fossil fuels and into more green power sources that are available to us, yet ignored.

It's funny you edited that while I was writing about this. I was just about to mention paper straws. Paper straws are the equivalent to slapping a bandaid on and calling it good. They exist to placate the masses.

However, I've worked security for a paper mill. Recycled paper can only be used so many times, and even then it has to be combined with new materials and chemicals. The use of precious Ti02 in paper making is crazy, too. So paper straws are not as eco-friendly as they tout them to be.
Show threadKevin Karhan Feb 9

@Eyedust yeah, I had some good contacts in the paper industry as well - lets just say that having reuseable / cleanable plastic straws [similar to refillable plastic bottles] would've been way better...

Show threadEyedustFeb 9
@kkarhan That's just it. We need to move to reusable containers and straws. Methanol is actually another chemical used in paper making, too.

It will probably stay this way until the world hard-resets itself, which is coming a lot faster than people realize. All we can do is try not to be part of the problem and advocate others to do the same. My carbon footprint is far from 0, but I try my best.
Show threadKevin Karhan Feb 10

@Eyedust 0 is inherently impossible...

  • The problem ain't the bottom 99,9% but the top 0,1%!
Show threadCode of Amor πŸ’˜Apr 24
@kkarhan @Eyedust @topher @EUCommission @Bundesregierung "feeling your paper straw dissolve" has that face too
Show threadrspFeb 10
@kkarhan I hope there are lots of people doing just that...scooping them up and refurbishing them wit linux.
Show threadKevin Karhan Feb 10
@rspfau If I didn't have a 40 hr / week job but time and space I would've already done so and flipped them as cheap desktops in a store / on platforms like the german equivalent of #craigslist and/or #eBay...
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Show threadAmin Hollon 🏳Feb 9

@topher

I find that to be true except, unfortunately, for batteries on old laptops. 😒

Otherwise, 100% agree.

Show threadSeth BrownFeb 9

@topher

Every one of the 7 computers in use in my house are castoffs from people who thought they were too "slow".

Well, don't tell anybody but slapping Slackware on those old computers brought them right back from slowness.

And I've found that even the oldest of them is still faster than I can type. I've found that "fast" computers seem to be designed more to distract people than to do any useful work. I worked in IT for >40 years and most people can't even deal with slow computers, far less fast ones.

What slows down computers, is the amazing load of Javascript that is needed to browse the internet nowadays.

The internet worked perfectly fine before everything "suddenly" required AJAX for interactivity.

So, noScript is a wonderful thing which gives one the choice whether to allow somebody else's Javascript programs to run locally.

Oh, and as we are on this subject, ublock origin is the first extension I install on any computer with access to the internet. Life is hard enough without other people's advertisements pestering constantly.

My 2 cents

Show threadEugene  Feb 10

@topher I'm still using my PC from 2013 year as a main machine. With ~3GHz Intel i5 all necessary software works just fine. One bottleneck is the videocard β€” I have GTX 760 Ti from Nvidia β€” but the Deep Rock Galactic works with decent FPS πŸ™‚

/* This comment written from Thinkpad X220 from 2011 year */

Show threadwyattFeb 10
@evgandr @topher 750 ti, 2012 i5 cpu, x201 tablet
Show threadΞ”ΠΆβž‚Feb 10
@evgandr @topher i love reading threads like this. thinkpad t480s refurb from 2018q1 running strong besides a battery replacement. my cluster is a stack of lenovo thinkcentres that i pulled from a trashpile 5 years ago. i run a business and personal experiments on this setup.