"Historically I’ve used ThinkPads (T43, X220, X230, W520, T14s), Macs (PowerBook G4, Apple Cube, G5, MacBook Pro 14 2017), and even a few Surface devices (Surface Pro 4, Surface Pro X)."
When I read the part above I have my answer. Because he likes buying shit just for the sake of buying shit. 11 different models spanning roughly a 20y timespan? That is on average less than 2 years between each model.
Software engineers will often get a laptop at work, sometimes need two devices at home for some reason (one Linux, one Mac or one for Windows games), make money using them (so it makes sense to buy a new one if it's faster / has a better display) and can afford it. So I find your post very weird.
I'm not sure how you extrapolate from that sentence that the aforementioned devices were for leisure only. In any case, all those devices (desktops, laptops, 2-in-1/tablety-things) where used for all kinds of work/leisure/experimentation/music-production/graphics-work. Especially desktops were likely used in the same time periods as laptop devices.
Doesn’t sound weird to me. In the last 20 years I’ve purchased a comparable number of models. Usually used though since I like to try things out before committing to a platform change. Purchased a surface for my sister. Tried some Lenovo and Dell for Linux computers, tried the M1. Even bought a Chromebook and got Linux running on it.
One consistent limitation is poor upgrade paths. The Chromebook is hilariously nerfed. Ram and disk soldered to the board. I had to buy a big sd card. The Mac not much better. Ram upgrade is impossible. The Dell had coil whine so would have needed a new mainboard.
Hopefully an ecosystem of parts manufacturers will emerge to support the framework community.
1. Many of those devices were used concurrently, especially the desktops next to the laptops. .
2. Some of those devices were relatively short-lived due to accidents (Apple G4 Cube, just 10ish months? - water leak in ceiling exactly above it), X230 broken screen and power connector within 1 year of its use..
The intent of the article was to share some background on devices I know quite intimately and how my experience with them directed my wanting a Framework - time will tell how it fares!
Ever since the Moore plateau was reached, the decline in the performance of software and its architectural quality has become blatantly obvious. Upgrading regularly to keep up with the "good enough" bloat seems reasonable and recommendable?
Comments
"Historically I’ve used ThinkPads (T43, X220, X230, W520, T14s), Macs (PowerBook G4, Apple Cube, G5, MacBook Pro 14 2017), and even a few Surface devices (Surface Pro 4, Surface Pro X)."
When I read the part above I have my answer. Because he likes buying shit just for the sake of buying shit. 11 different models spanning roughly a 20y timespan? That is on average less than 2 years between each model.
Software engineers will often get a laptop at work, sometimes need two devices at home for some reason (one Linux, one Mac or one for Windows games), make money using them (so it makes sense to buy a new one if it's faster / has a better display) and can afford it. So I find your post very weird.
I don't know I seem to do just fine coding and playing games using VMs on one machine plus a home lab, why would I need so many machines?
I think clearly you aren't playing any competitive games on a VM lol
Nope, works really well in modern systems with VFIO: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/PCI_passthrough_via_OVMF
GPU passthrough is a wonderful thing
Yes. I have five machines at home that I use directly every day.
He didn't mention the word "buy" even once on the article. Maybe he needs to use those machines for work :)
Because he states that he doesn't?
I'm not sure how you extrapolate from that sentence that the aforementioned devices were for leisure only. In any case, all those devices (desktops, laptops, 2-in-1/tablety-things) where used for all kinds of work/leisure/experimentation/music-production/graphics-work. Especially desktops were likely used in the same time periods as laptop devices.
Doesn’t sound weird to me. In the last 20 years I’ve purchased a comparable number of models. Usually used though since I like to try things out before committing to a platform change. Purchased a surface for my sister. Tried some Lenovo and Dell for Linux computers, tried the M1. Even bought a Chromebook and got Linux running on it.
One consistent limitation is poor upgrade paths. The Chromebook is hilariously nerfed. Ram and disk soldered to the board. I had to buy a big sd card. The Mac not much better. Ram upgrade is impossible. The Dell had coil whine so would have needed a new mainboard.
Hopefully an ecosystem of parts manufacturers will emerge to support the framework community.
Such a weird take.
1. Many of those devices were used concurrently, especially the desktops next to the laptops. .
2. Some of those devices were relatively short-lived due to accidents (Apple G4 Cube, just 10ish months? - water leak in ceiling exactly above it), X230 broken screen and power connector within 1 year of its use..
The intent of the article was to share some background on devices I know quite intimately and how my experience with them directed my wanting a Framework - time will tell how it fares!
Ever since the Moore plateau was reached, the decline in the performance of software and its architectural quality has become blatantly obvious. Upgrading regularly to keep up with the "good enough" bloat seems reasonable and recommendable?