Technology

Hey.

My brother will buy his very first laptop soon. He was saving for a MacBook Pro, but hearing me go on about Apple being PRISM-compliant and about how open source software is awesome, he's open to new options.

His main argument to buy an M1 is that there is currently no chip nearly as good (in terms of energetic efficiency). And I see that he has a point there.

However, I was also kinda hoping he'd use his savings for a Framework laptop running Linux. Regarding those computers, my biggest hope is that they'll eventually run good RISC-V chips, chips that can be easily be changed with a simple module change. But that may be a long time from now, maybe decades.

Another option I thought about was him buying the M1 and fighting his way to install a Linux distro that supports all the M1 MacBook hardware. He'll have a really fast and efficient chip, as well as a good system!

But the main objection for this is that the M1 is not really future proof... like, it is guaranteed that in the next two years the much better M2 will be put into the MacBook Pro. That improvement isn't trivial; it'll be a 20% reduction in transistor size. But apart from quick changes, it's possible that the novelty of the M1 is problematic. For example, I was reading about a vulnerability in the M1s because of not having adopted a particular instruction set in the very basic operations of the chip. It's almost as if this M1 is an early-adoption technology, if that makes sense.

Anyway, those are the considerations that I have about my brother's computer... hopefully we'll have more clarity by the time his classes begin. Do you have anything that could help us achieve that clarity? Or even muddle the waters a bit more in an interesting way 🙃?

Edit:

Thanks for all the comments! They spurred lots of discussion and some changes of hearts!

So, I was really looking forward to getting a Linux-first machine, but two things happened.

One was that there were few options (due to the chip shortage probably?): System76 Pangolin not available, TUXEDO quite expensive (and only integrated or Nvidia graphics), Slimbook Titan quite expensive, Slimbook X15 without dedicated graphics (or Nvidia I forget which).

The other thing that happened was a friend having us consider the possibility of getting a pure-AMD machine. Since AMD has open source drivers (unlike Nvidia), they will probably work with Linux without much of a hassle. He'd also keep having the option of a dual-boot with Windows, to work with non-Linux software (in case he needs that for school). Such computers could be those with the 'AMD advantage' (AMD CPU and GPU), though they're a bit pricey. Yet this is his money and he's very excited about gaming in them!

This is the most likely route. So, no longer Apple. I would've liked to support Linux-first machines, but I guess AMD was the winner here?

Didn't know where to post this, so hopefully this is the right spot. Please boycott Brave. I've recently learned that not only is their CEO bad, but their fanbase is toxic, too. I will no longer be using Brave for that reason.

Developers, it’s time for you to choose a side: will you help rid the web of privacy-invading tracking or be complicit in it?

https://cleanuptheweb.org/

#CleanUpTheWeb #FlocOffGoogle

Inspired by another build, [Pierre] set out to build his dream desk that is maximum PC power in minimum space. It is chock full of easily-accessible cavities that hide everything you’d expect, plus a few things you don’t, like a flatbed scanner, a printer, a router, and a wireless charging pad. One cavity is dedicated to I/O, and another has three international power sockets. The only thing it doesn’t hide is the 22″ pen display that [Pierre] uses for sketching, signing documents, and occasionally as a second monitor.

Even one of the table legs has a channel inside to hide the only two cables that leave the desk. Wonder if we'd ever see something like this for purchase, but I suppose the size of items do differ so not so easy.

See https://hackaday.com/2021/04/20/you-wont-believe-how-much-tech-is-hiding-in-this-desk/

#technology #lessismore #clutter #hardware

My first laptop was a Surface, so was my second, both having the magnetic Surface Connect port. Recently though, I bought a new Lenovo Thinkpad, which charges via USB C. My first thoughts were that the USB C was a lot less convenient. With a magnetic connector, I could just wave the cable at the port and more often than not, it would connect without me even having to look at it, whereas with the USB C port on the Lenovo, I actually have to tilt my head toward the side of the laptop and visually find the port before I can plug it in correctly. I know that USB C is tons more versatile than a proprietary port and especially more versatile than a proprietary and charging only port like the older MacBooks had, but IMO they're a lot more convenient for charging itself.

What do you think? Do you miss magnetic charging ports and do you feel about manufacturers including them in 2021? Especially curious about responses people who used/use one of the older MacBooks that had (from what I heard, never owned one) one of the best magnetic charging ports on the market.

If there was a campaign to make a version of the USB C or Thunderbolt connector that was magnetic, would you support it? Theoretically someone could just publish an open source design for a magnetic port that is pin compatible with USB C. As long as the open source project says it's just a generic 20-pin port that can carry whatever signal, there wouldn't be any licensing issues with the design itself, since some manufactures do have custom ports that can carry USB C or Thunderbolt signals, right.

Looking at screens for too long can cause eyestrain, but eyestrain existed long before screens. (Driving long distances is another cause, the Mayo Clinic notes.) Eyestrain may involve fatigue of the tiny muscles in and around our eyes, and people who get eyestrain may experience discomfort that includes headaches, blurry vision, watering of the eyes, and sensitivity to light.

There’s a rumor that the blue light from smartphones (or other screens) can ruin your vision, perhaps even leading to blindness, but it’s not backed up by evidence. “The amount of light coming from a computer has never been demonstrated to cause any eye disease,” the American Academy of Opththalmology states in an article on their website recommending against blue-light-blocking glasses. There is research that finds blue light can damage cells in certain lab conditions, but those conditions are very different from what happens in the actual cells of our retina.

Unfortunately, there are companies citing research like this to sell their blue-light-blocking glasses or screen overlays, but they aren’t selling a solution to a real problem. This happened to me recently after getting an eye test for glasses for all day looking at screens. The prescription is actually for vision correction (that's all) but guess what, the optometrist also sells glasses, and somehow I got hoodwinked into adding blue light lens coatings "to prevent eyestrain". This adds a considerable amount to the price. In future too I'll take my prescription and get quotes for glasses (including online) as the whole business seems to be a bit of a scam. I paid double the rate of a GP for the tests and got zero report back.

And regarding affecting sleep, the recommendation is to just have screens an inch or two further away - my screens are at 85 cm which is way further than the recommended 63 cm. In other words we should be better educated about how to use our eyes, and not necessarily just be sold blue light filter coatings on lenses.

See https://vitals.lifehacker.com/what-happens-to-your-eyes-when-you-stare-at-screens-all-1846593909

#technology #vision #myths #bluelight #optometrists