#Computers/Electronics

[themarshwalker]

[hajdara]

[r0sh11]

MY HONEST OPINION

[389]

Lars Tunbjörk - Shooter Files

[stone-cold-groove]

An 80s era Apple portable/laptop computer prototype.

[bloodswaxe]

Ethernet/Cat5 cables are so weird to me. Like this relatively stiff cable, the only cable I own that needs to clip into its port, has 8 funky wires in it that transfer the 1s and 0s of the Internet?

Wtf.

And don't get me started on WiFi which(and no I haven't done research) is just funky light that carries the same information as the cables.

[alabamayankee]

I made this account and soon after the hard drive in my laptop catastrophicly died... 🤔

[byz-was-here]

Single Board Computers, They’re exactly what it says on the tin. It’s essentially an entire computer soldered to a single circuit board. I like SBCs because of the most well known one, the Raspberry Pi. I’ve used a pi 0 (that cost me 15 bucks) to run an adblocker across my whole wifi network, and I’ve used raspberry pi 3b+’s, which cost me $35 each, to run home-built network storage drives, media servers, retro game emulators, and as a cheap desktop alternative on occasion. 

However, I’ve hit a snag. Raspberry Pi’s ain’t cheap anymore. (presumably because they’ve started selling them en-masse to businesses who want to use them for commercial applications instead of to enthusiasts (like me)

So, I wanted to see what was out there for a decent price range.  Ramble under the cut. Its a longish one. 

Now, I’ve used mini pc’s before, and those usually run windows and are, to put it mildly, hot garbage. Those rely on x86 processors, who take up more resources and really aren't suited for SBCs. (For a small, cheap windows pc, you’re usually better off buying a refurbished business pc like a dell optiplex or lenovo thinkcentre. Those will usually run you about 80-90 USD and aren’t that bad a value for money, especially if you want something for a home office.) SBC’s usually have an ARM processor like you see in a smartphone or tablet. They take up less resources, draw less power, but currently, you can’t get windows running on them. 

Which brings up the first barrier to those wanting to use them.

Linux Operating Systems. 

I like to describe Linux as being like Mac OS, if a mac took a STEM degree instead of liberal arts. (Apple can bite me. Screw you and the garden you walled off)

However, there’s a lot of linux distros that are pretty user friendly nowadays, like Ubuntu or Mint. And you can absolutely run Ubuntu on an Arm Processor. 

(Rasbian OS is also an option, but as it’s optimized to work only with raspberry pi’s, it usually has issues on other SBC’s.)

As for the computers themselves, I found myself looking at the boards made by the Libre Computer Project. They have computers with about the same price and size as a standard raspberry pi 3b+, and the gpio pins are largely compatible. 

However, I would note that none of their models have a wifi radio on the board, unlike most raspberry pi’s do. So if you get one, you will have to hook it up via ethernet or resign yourself to sacrificing a usb port to the wifi gods. 

Another thing I noticed, is that while the specs for their bottom two boards match up with the raspberry pi 3b+, they apparently have issues with running hot and throttling, so you will want to get a heat sink and/or a case with a fan. (Chill. The heat sinks usually have adhesive and you just stick em on.)

There’s a $20 model, the ‘Le frite’ which WOULD be a very good replacement for projects involving something like a pi zero, however, instead of using an sd card for memory, it uses eMMC cards. Which most people lack a reader for. 

Bit of an issue, there.  They do sell them along with the SBC on the site, but. Nah. 

Next is a charmingly named $35 model called “Le Potato” It’s essentially the same dimensions as a pi 3b+, which is nice since while Pi Boards are expensive as hell, you can still get their accessories for relatively cheap. It also uses an sd card for a hard drive, which is much easier to deal with. It does not have usb 3.0, which is a bit of a bummer, but, it does have 4 ports like a pi. Still need to sacrifice one of em to the wifi gods if you don’t want to hook it up via ethernet. For most projects, this will probably work fine. Just get you a heat sink.

Finally, they have an exciting 40 dollary-do option called the renegade. (It’s edgy because this one comes in black.)

It’s essentially punching into Pi 4 Territory, except it only has a 3 usb ports, one of them being 3.0. It seems to lean more into video encoding, so if you want a cheap media server or a retro game emulator, this one’s probably ya boi.  It also has a 50-dollar option with 4 gig of ram. If you want a cheap desktop you can keep in your pocket, this is what I would get. 

Again, unfortunately, one of those 3 slots will probably be sacrificed for a wifi dongle, and it also seems to have an issue with overheating, so you WILL need to shell out for a heat sink or a little case with a fan. Again, luckily, accessories for a Pi 3b+ will fit it just fine. 

I am probably going to buy one of these, either the renegade or the potato, and give em a whirl for a week or two. After that, I’ll give more of my thoughts

[scipunk]

Serial Experiments Lain (1998)

[digitalismmm]

Jungle vines

[bones8all]

all i want is for my conciousness to be transferred to a computer when i die.

[themarshwalker]

[reportwire]

Xi says U.S. is trying to hinder China in its quest for global influence

BEIJING (AP) — Is the United States out to sabotage China? Chinese leaders think so. President Xi Jinping has accused Washington this week of trying to isolate his country and hold back its development. That reflects the ruling Communist Party’s growing frustration that its pursuit of prosperity and global influence is threatened by U.S. restrictions on access to technology, its support for…

[r0sh11]

[389]

Guillermo Santomà, a Barcelona-based artist and architect

[leyyzi]