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Joined 1 year ago
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Cake day: June 30th, 2023

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  • My favorite trick to reviving old computers is trying to find ways to get them to run off of solid state storage. It really makes a huge difference. You will be surprised by how much more tolerable classic computers are when you no longer have to deal with slow storage mediums.

    Mind you this doesn’t make them modern levels of fast and you no longer get the satisfaction of hearing the hard drive grinding away when you open a window but thems the tradeoffs…sigh…





  • I agree. A digital file is written to disk yet has no second hand value because of the nature of replication. Your books have value after you’ve read them because it’s not easily replicated and has more value beyond its basic consumption. It can be collected, displayed, traded, burned… It has all sorts of intrinsic value beyond the words on the page.

    It’s as if the printing of the media to a physical device in the end provides you a solid copy but not the rights to the work contained inside of it. You’re not allowed to modify and distribute those works as that violates copyright.

    I feel like the individual ownership of physical media actually protected copyright and now in the digital era, the lack of ownership is subverting its own purpose. We as a people never understood or acknowledged the implicit agreement that came with the acquisition of our books and DVDs. We ignore all the legal messaging and even made fun of it. We laughed when we realized “How could they ever enforce this?!” And so we didn’t care.

    Now here we are, learning in real time how it will be enforced.


  • I think about this a lot and it really does depend on your needs.

    Home lab vs home server. I like to keep them separate just because I consider my lab unstable and my home server stable. You don’t have to do it this way it’s just the way I like it.

    https://a.co/d/6k6QpOD If you want to build a low power NAS I suggest investing in an Intel n100 based itx Nas motherboard. You can then use a case like this from Jonsbo https://a.co/d/1ayqwJV. This could be a nice cool and quiet solution. If you want to do video transcoding, the n100 has quicksync on board and with something like Truenas it’s pretty easy to set up via the app catalog (check out truecharts).

    If you want something even more simple (good for home users or like a backup target you keep elsewhere) I’ve been meaning to grab one of these “Topton 2-Bay NAS R1 PRO 12th Gen Intel N100 Network Attached Storage Media Server” from AliExpress for just this case.

    As for a Lab, I suggest finding a W680 chipset based motherboard like an ASRock IMB-X1314 LGA 1700 Intel W680. You can get a cpu like a 12400 or 12500T (lower power and less heat) used cheap and you have the option to upgrade and use ecc memory without a XEON. You also have a lot more pci express connectivity.

    What ever you do choose, anything pre 12th gen Intel is basically ewaste (those 11th gen mobile erying I9 engineering samples are very good but less reliable than desired). Do not invest in any old x99 based gear (unless you get it for free). I have an old dual XEON system that is still running and it uses power like a small fridge.



  • I do think it’s interesting that a lot of people seem to think AI is going to take away jobs but understanding AI just a tiny fraction, it seems like the things that are threatened are one that were already micro serviced away like internet search.

    We use search everyday and having the best search engine means being the best tech company. These companies are in a race to topple Googles search dominance through providing AI as a service. There’s money in them hills if you can train an AI to recommend when and where to go buy the newest shiny thing that solves all your problems.



  • You know back in the day they used to sell Linux distributions on the shelf at software stores. I remember seeing a boxed copy of mandriva next to windows. Home computing used to be a hobby for some but that means there was commercial support at some point.

    I do think that home users of “Linux” will need a commercial alternative that supports all their apps. ChromeOS looks like the current best alternative. If you can get people into chrome books, you’re one step closer to getting them onto Linux.