I, for one, welcome
... the buying of new gadgets, especially computers. I used to buy refurbs for around $200, but now I get free ones that are just fine for what we need to do. Nothing more pleasurable than erasing Windows from a hard drive.
335 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Aug 2013
A coworker died unexpectedly and I helped clean out his cellar full of good stuff. 3 racks of which was an HP 2100 computer with its toggle switches and punched tape drive. I called up a computer museum and they said well we have rooms of them but if you mail it to us we'll try to find a place for it.......which didn't happen.
I started with GalliumOS, which was optimized for Chromebooks. The project has stalled, but the website contains a lot of good info on de-Googling your Chromebook.
I then went to Kubuntu, which ran OK except for the sound. There was an issue with headphones not cutting off the speakers, or something. Nowadays I run Mint, which installed and ran just like any other machine. But I remapped the function buttons to my liking.
Here in New York, they spread car solvent on the roads from November to April (Syracuse is nicknamed the Salt City) so putting a lot of money into a steel car is a bad proposition. The junkyards are full of good drivetrains surrounded by crumbling Ferrous oxide.
"The minute a manufacturer produces an EV that can go the same distance as an ICE vehicle, AND be recharged in the same amount of time it takes to get a soda at a convenience store, THEN you will see the mass migration to EVs."
There will always be those who swear they pull a boat for 1000 miles without stopping, uphill, and they're allergic to electrons. What they really mean is, it's the Democrats forcing everyone to buy efficient, non-polluting cars so therefore they are evil.
This is sad news. Now they will hang on to them longer and jack up the price because they're not "obsolete".
My best laptop is a 2013 Chromebook Pixel (list price $100) that I got just off lease for $200. I went through GalliumOS and Kubuntu, but It runs Mint best.
Look in the back of the AARP magazine and you'll see "Senior Computers" advertised. "So simple to use, and carefree, etc." Yup, Linux based, of course.
Despite being a retired vacuum tube engineer, people ask me about PC problems. My standard answer now is "I Don't Do Windows" but I'll install Linux for them. If they "need" a new computer, I steer them toward a Chromebook, which usually does the job for them. I have one myself, 10 year old Pixel, which I run Linux Mint on. My first PC that was never contaminated with Windows!
"If I asked people what they wanted, they'd say a faster horse." -- Henry Ford
The SAE projects that EV vs. ICE car build costs will cross over in the 2025ish time frame. If people get a choice of an EV and an ICE at the same price, some of them will go for the EV for its dramatically lower running costs, not to mention the zoom zoom factor (ignoring the noise and smell). There will be many who say they have to drive 600 miles without stopping, in -20C weather, pulling a boat, and park at an apartment or street with no charging. Many who will be convinced that it's a Liberal Democratic hoax like climate change, and that They can shut off your car when THEY want to limit you. Forcing people to change does nothing but generate resentment. Let them buy dino juice and enjoy the price.
SAE = Society of Automotive Engineers