Mental Locomotion Part Two (not really)
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In "Mental Locomotion Part One"[1] I seem to recall saying
that here in Part Two I would more fully explore a laundry
list of sustainable, bicycle-like qualities I would like to
see in computing. But I'm not going to do that. Really, I
have little to add to the wealth of existing literature on
the topic of sustainable computing, written by folks who are
way more committed and knowledgeable than I am.
In fact, it's possible I really only wrote part one because
I thought the observation that AI (really, LLMs) were like
"internal combustion engines for the mind" was kind of
clever, and I wanted to work it into a phlog post
somehow. (Hey, now I've done it twice!)
And it may even be that I'm not really into sustainable
computing so much as I'm just cheap and don't like to buy
new computers very often.
Case in point: I really, really like what I've seen of the
new MNT Reform Next laptop.[2] I like that it's all modular,
that it uses standard batteries, that it has a mechanical
keyboard and a bunch of different ports and is easy to take
apart and that it actually asserts an existence as an object
with a physicality that is totally lacking from the boring
corporate slab that I'm forced to use day to day. It is in
many ways, the laptop I was hoping someone would build and
didn't think anyone ever would.
But sadly, I already have all the computers I need. In fact,
I have four daily (or at least weekly) drivers:
1. Dell Latitude 5340. The "boring corporate slab" I was
referring to earlier. It's the managed computer issued by my
employer on which I do most of my administrative work,
generally hooked up to a dock with an external keyboard,
monitor and mouse. I've tried to give it some personality
with stickers, but frankly it's so generic that just makes
it worse. Like if the "I'm a PC" guy from those old
commercials put on RayBans to make himself look cool. Boring
but functional.
2. Also at work, my "development workstation." A repurposed
Dell Optiplex Whatever, pulled from the recycle pile, on
which I've installed Debian with a heavily customized FVWM.
As my "research" involves working with some funky old
emulators and various odd bits of software, I like to keep
it as separate as possible from my administrative work,
which is my justification if any nosey parkers ask why I
need two computers. It's seven year old hardware at this
point, but my research doesn't require anything high end or
fancy. It's well backed up so I won't lose any data when it
finally craps out.
3. Mostly at home these days: my Thinkpad 450s, which will
be ten years old this fall. Also running a current version
of Debian/FVWM. I love this thing. In fact, I'm using it
right now to type up this phlog post. Something about the
rock-solid, minimalist design, nice keyboard, and excellent
linux compatibility really appeals to me. Was my work laptop
back in the teens, since then has become more of a hobby
computer, although the distinction between that and my
development workstation is a bit nebulous.
4. Also at home: My 'sleeper', a PC I built with old
externals and new (at the time, 2021) internals. Looks like
something you'd have seen on someone's desk in the late 90s
or very early oughts; even has a working floppy drive. I
got the idea when I realized it was still possible to buy a
modern motherboard that would fit nicely into a case from
that era, ATX being one of several standards that have
persisted for quite a while. Others include VGA, and PS/2
mouse/keyboard ports. Currently running Ubuntu and FVWM (I
like FVWM) but I'll need to rebuild it soon as the version
of Ubuntu is just about end of life. With Debian, because I
greatly dislike snaps. This one is more of a home/office
computer, connected to a printer, etc. Also decent for
gaming, as long I stick to games that are a few years old.
Of course, this list does not take into account my phone,
ancient gen 2 iPad, or various Raspberry Pis and other odds
and ends that have accumulated over the years, mostly
castoffs from work. These four are just the computers I use
semi-regularly.
With so many computers at my beck and call, it would be hard
to justify getting another one, even one as cool as the MNT
Reform Next. I take consolation in the thought that even
more sustainable than buying a sustainable computer, is not
buying any computer at all. But I wish the MNT folks well,
and I'm happy their crowdfunding campaign is way
over-subscribed.
References
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[1] Mental Locomotion Part One (maybe)
gopher://sdf.org:70/0/users/jdd/phlog/20241223-locomotion-1.txt
[2] MNT Reform Next
https://www.crowdsupply.com/mnt/mnt-reform-next
Sun Jan 26 13:19:34 PST 2025
