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    The Framework laptop, a laptop designed to be upgraded and repaired has shipped. I really want one as I love the idea of being able to fix my computer again. The two things that give me pause are the hot/loud mess that is Intel (compared to the M1) and jumping to desktop linux (which doesn't have the experience I'm used to on my Mac). ๐Ÿค”

  • ๐Ÿ”— Free is a Lie (2014)

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    Privacy is between me and myself. Privacy does not mean between me and Google. Privacy does not mean between me and Facebook...Violating privacy violates the United Nations of Human Rights.
    I don't have a specific quote, but I quite enjoyed this talk from Aral (of Small Tech). The premise of the talk is something that most people are familiar with, free (ala Google/Twitter/FB) silos aren't free, but you pay with your privacy. ( This blog respects your privacy and doesn't track you).

    But what really made me think was the chart quadrant chart comparing Open Systems and Closed Systems on Features and Experience. In the upper left Closed / Features you have the leader: Microsoft. Next to that is Closed / Experience, where Apple and Google lead.

    What's in the bottom half where open systems preside? Open source can compete with features, but they often can't compete on experience. Most people care about experience more than they care about features. An entire quadrant of the chart has no competition from open systems!

    And since there's no competition in from open systems on the experience front, the system is going to arch closed. In order to have an open future, open systems must compete not only on features, but also on experience as well.ย 

    Competing on experience is increasingly difficult as more systems have some kind of hosted server component. I think about this in regards to Tanzawa on a regular basis, but I haven't figured out a model that I think would work.
    1. Tagged with
    2. video
    3. computing
    4. social media
    5. privacy

  • Response to Why self hosting is important

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    Self hosting is about freedom, you can choose what server you want to run, which version, which features and which configuration you want. If you self host at home, You can also pick the hardware to match your needs (more Ram ? More Disk? RAID?).
    Excellent post about the importance of self-hosting. It also rightfully points out that buying new hardware isn't necessarily ecological to save 20 wants. ( As we learned in Frugal Computing the lifespan of a server needs to beย  10 - 20 years to offset the energy used to manufacture the computer).ย 

    More people should self-host. I'm self-hosting where it makes sense (my blog) and paying for hosting where it doesn't (Fastmail).

    I have a strong opinion on the subject, hosting your own services is a fantastic way to learn new skills or perfect them, but it's also important for freedom.

    Amen. (Which reminds me, I was planning on moving my server to a BSD. I should really get around to doing that).

  • Checkin to Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Natural History (็ฅžๅฅˆๅท็œŒ็ซ‹็”Ÿๅ‘ฝใฎๆ˜Ÿใƒปๅœฐ็ƒๅš็‰ฉ้คจ)

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    in Odawara, Kanagawa, Japan
    Dinosaurs! ๐Ÿฆ• ๐Ÿฆ– โค๏ธ
    Dino bones!


    I miss workstations like this classic one. And mousepads!

    (Fujitsu rebadged?) Sun IPX and Sparcstation 5

  • ๐Ÿ”— Frugal computing: On the need for low-carbon and sustainable computing and the path towards zero-carbon computing

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    On the need for low-carbon and sustainable computing and the path towards zero-carbon computing.
    Computing and infrastructure currently use around 11% of the world's electricity and is projected to grow 3 - 4 times over the next 20 years. As makers of software (and hardware) we've got to find a way to extend the lifespan of devices for as long as possible.

    Taking into account the carbon cost of both operation and production, computing would be responsible for 10 GtCOโ‚‚e by 2040, almost half of the acceptable COโ‚‚ emissions budget

    The report about the cost of planned obsolescence by the European Environmental Bureau [7] makes the scale of the problem very clear. For laptops and similar computers, manufacturing, distribution and disposal account for 52% of their Global Warming Potential (i.e. the amount of COโ‚‚-equivalent emissions caused). For mobile phones, this is 72%. The report calculates that the lifetime of these devices should be at least 25 years to limit their Global Warming Potential.

    25-years on the same mobile phone. I can't even imagine. I'd love it if that were possible in today's world. Maybe if it was a "dumb" phone. But even then wireless network's lifespans aren't even that long these days.ย 

    I used my iPhone 6S+ for around 4 years until a pin broke on it and I could no longer charge it. "Repairing" it (my first option) would have meant getting a new iPhone 6S+ for half the cost of a brand new iPhone XR. I hope I can keep my phone for at least as long as I've had my current computer (7 - 8 years).
    1. Tagged with
    2. co2
    3. computing
    4. electricity
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