Post Al69dieh1QuCsQDd7w by rob@skol.social
(DIR) More posts by rob@skol.social
(DIR) Post #Al2MMvQApMvYJmuURU by amoroso@fosstodon.org
2024-08-12T11:08:29Z
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When I moved from ChromeOS to Linux last month I made a small but significant change in my setup. I installed Firefox as the default browser on all my desktop and mobile devices: a Linux PC, an Android smartphone, and an Android tablet.It's increasingly important to avoid monocultures, support open systems, and send web publishers the message open systems can't be ignored.https://journal.paoloamoroso.com/system76-merkaat-with-linux-mint-first-impressionshttps://endler.dev/2024/the-dying-web#firefox #OpenWeb #foss
(DIR) Post #Al2MMwGHhcbwvPI6fQ by rob@skol.social
2024-08-12T15:36:55Z
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@amoroso I recently went the other way and bought a Porcoolpine from SimplyNuc that came with Ubuntu and put @pop_os_official on it (because I wanted a silent, fanless machine). I prefer the way Pop OS handles worskpaces out of the box and it has the icons I want. (Mint has similar functionality, but it takes additional configuration). Like you I was amazed at the simplicity and speed of installation: less time than setting up a new Mac or PC with preinstalled software.
(DIR) Post #Al2MMwyx1YL99wBmHw by amoroso@fosstodon.org
2024-08-12T16:30:52Z
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@rob The mini PC is a terrific form factor.
(DIR) Post #Al2MMxkSAwKzXGPiKW by rob@skol.social
2024-08-12T16:55:48Z
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@amoroso My one fear right now is that my computer came with a 13th generation Intel chip and it is one of the bad ones that fails. SimplyNuc has not released a BIOS update for it and I am concerned that I may burn it out…even though I am not really doing anything intense at the moment. This is our kitchen computer.
(DIR) Post #Al2MMyVbLe3FtUTMoq by m0xee@social.librem.one
2024-08-16T21:31:24Z
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@rob @amorosoWasn't that problem supposed to affect only a limited subset of desktop "performance" chips? 🤔I'm not sure what they put into mini-PCs nowadays but they used to come with same CPUs they've been using in laptops.
(DIR) Post #Al2PsLEDE8wJCGzHI8 by rob@skol.social
2024-08-16T22:10:51Z
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@m0xee @amoroso I think you’re probably right. My processor - the I7 1360P - is likely not affected. But here’s the question- how do we know? Intel has been in denial about the issues for a while now. And why should I trust Intel at this point?
(DIR) Post #Al2Q2q5XLRoRnsw2eO by rob@skol.social
2024-08-16T22:12:46Z
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@m0xee @amoroso I purchased the Intel on purpose (had a choice between Intel and AMD) because this machine will eventually become a media server and Intel has media codecs built in. But now I’m thinking I should have waited for the new Mac Minis. 🙁
(DIR) Post #Al2UIqYBnIJLgeE2l6 by m0xee@social.librem.one
2024-08-16T23:00:29Z
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@rob Yes, good point! trust is the thing one cannot afford when dealing with hardware (or software for that matter) nowadays 😅Don't worry, Apple isn't much better in this regard — typing this on a 2011 MBP with fried AMD GPU: Apple had been refusing to admit this problem for four years (!) before starting this replacement program: https://9to5mac.com/2015/02/19/macbook-pro-repair/My unit kept working fine and died in about a couple of months after the replacement program was over 🤦@amoroso
(DIR) Post #Al3lANg79IfaCgRQWG by rob@skol.social
2024-08-17T13:44:08Z
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@m0xee @amoroso This conversation forced me to do a little more research and, I believe you are right, I do *not* have to worry about thermal issues. That is a huge load off. And for that I thank you.
(DIR) Post #Al3lSkCk8SwvHQSYN6 by rob@skol.social
2024-08-17T13:47:28Z
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@m0xee @amoroso This is a weird conversation for me. I *also* had the 2011 MBP and had horrible reliability issues with it over the years, contacting Apple Care frequently. In 2015, I was on a business trip and the computer outright died. It was out of Apple Care warranty, but I called Apple Care anyway, hoping they would give me a discount on a new machine. Apple Care just sent me a new, specked out 2015 MBP, which I used for many years.
(DIR) Post #Al3lemJy5lzNJrZrCi by rob@skol.social
2024-08-17T13:49:38Z
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@m0xee @amoroso Prior to this Intel machine we are discussing, we had a 2014 iMac with Mint installed on it. MacOS was unusable when we got it. Eventually the motherboard died and I had to buy a new machine.
(DIR) Post #Al3luMgjA8AsSBefnE by rob@skol.social
2024-08-17T13:52:27Z
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@m0xee @amoroso I didn't buy a Mac at this point for one simple reason - I'm not sure about installing Linux on the new M-series chips. Not that I would do it when I got the machine, but I would do it to stretch the life of the machine. And I have an 8-year old Nuc which does a lot of things for me running as a Linux server. The form factor cannot be beaten. And that machine keeps chugging along, so I bought another Nuc.
(DIR) Post #Al3mGYpUhYmYTqL6Ui by rob@skol.social
2024-08-17T13:56:28Z
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@m0xee @amoroso Assuming that the chip lasts, I can highly recommend the SimplyNuc Porcoolpine. It is fanless (important), runs pretty cool for daily driver tasks and is tiny. Some might say it's ugly for a desktop, but I have grown to love it. And I got 64GB of RAM, so it should last me for many years to come.https://simplynuc.com/product/nuc13anfi7-full/
(DIR) Post #Al68YY3qsrGCcKxPay by m0xee@social.librem.one
2024-08-18T17:15:40Z
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@rob Wow, lucky! Maybe it has something to do with that replacement program, sadly — mine had survived 😅This sometimes happens with Apple, my friend's early plastic MacBook got its motherboard fried, he was expecting the worst, but they've just given him a new one and with Core 2 Duo — which was the newest at the time, replacing the Core Duo one he had 😂@amoroso
(DIR) Post #Al69WWlgotUryy3v72 by amoroso@fosstodon.org
2024-08-17T15:26:13Z
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@rob Definitely a unique design.@m0xee
(DIR) Post #Al69WXYFuKLSPamhoO by m0xee@social.librem.one
2024-08-18T17:26:30Z
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@amoroso @rob And damn… That machine looks packed: 64 gigs of RAM, a dozen of cores and you can probably even play older games with that iGPU — all that in a nice passively-cooled compact case!I still like my old Mac Pro, but with newer machines I don't even see that point in all that computing power, I'd probably go with something… more basic.
(DIR) Post #Al69Z5Etd0jxTIwTZY by m0xee@social.librem.one
2024-08-18T17:26:58Z
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@amoroso @rob I've always liked the form-factor — my PowerPC MacMini, one of the earliest widely-available computers of this sort is turning 20 soon — still runs and it's at its limit, but it hosts my Pleroma Fediverse instance. Some hardware is very reliable — I think I've only replace the HDD in it, which died in two years or so — but since then it's running flawlessly 24/7 for over a decade.
(DIR) Post #Al69aotLNZfjLjgmyO by m0xee@social.librem.one
2024-08-18T17:27:17Z
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@amoroso @rob My Mac Pro is also more then a decade old — all the rubber plugs in it look worn, but it works and only requires vacuuming every once in a while. I also have one of the early fanless ARM-based machines — Genesi EfikaMX, also still runs and now acts as a VPN box and hosts a proxy server.Some computers last for decades and break when you can't even get replacement parts for them anymore, others die right after the warranty has expired — truly sad 😩
(DIR) Post #Al69dieh1QuCsQDd7w by rob@skol.social
2024-08-18T17:27:47Z
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@m0xee @amoroso Between the 2 laptops, I used them for almost a decade. I wasn’t very pleased about the first one, never had one issue with the second one. I’m grateful for the second laptop, but having a week without a computer on a business trip was…scarring. In the end, I find Apple computers to be about as reliable as any other I’ve had: some good, some not so good. At this point, they seem overpriced, loaded with features I don’t care about. Which is why I went Nuc.
(DIR) Post #Al69p6WyasE46w2R7I by rob@skol.social
2024-08-18T17:29:50Z
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@m0xee @amoroso So much of what you’ve said is familiar. That is so rare. 🤓