Post by @urlyman@mastodon.social

“Even the most difficult operations could be learned alone, by simple trial and error. The whole theory needed to understand a typewriter is the typewriter itself.

By contrast, we have to change our laptops every 3 or 4 years. Our phones every couple of years. And all other pieces of equipment (charger,router, modem,printers,…) need to be changed regularly.

Even with proper maintenance, they simply fade out. They are not compatible with their environment anymore.”

https://ploum.net/the-computer-built-to-last-50-years/index.html

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5 Replies

1 Boost

Isaac Ji Kuo

@isaackuo@spacey.space 2 hr. ago

@urlyman I don't see any need to change laptops every 3 or 4 years ... all of the laptops in my house are way older than that ... some close to 20 years old.

My still working C128 is 40 years old.

There is a certain time period of all dead computers ... that dreadful bad capacitor period. But other than that, the computers have held up as well as my typewriter. (Which is not actually in a fully working state, nor will it ever be.)

Typewriters are finicky complex mechanical

Isaac Ji Kuo

@isaackuo@spacey.space 2 hr. ago

@urlyman beasts. Any typewriter that is currently functional is currently functional due to either expert repair or the luck of survivorship bias.

Isaac Ji Kuo

@isaackuo@spacey.space 1 hr. ago

@urlyman You want a marvel of longevity? You need something a lot simpler, mechanically, than a typewriter. Look at a slide rule.

Now THAT is an example of zero maintenance longevity that a digital computing device might aspire to.

And there are a lot of clocks and watches that might come close enough. It's not an impossible thing to at least reach for.

Jonathan Schofield

@urlyman@mastodon.social 1 hr. ago

@isaackuo good arguments. I certainly don’t replace my laptop every 3 or 4 years.

I think I have had 4 or 5 over the past 25 years.

But I applaud the *spirit* of the article. #frugalcomputing is in our future whether we like it or not

Jonathan Schofield

@urlyman@mastodon.social 22 hr. ago

…“Of course, computers are not typewriters. They do a lot more than typewriters.

But could we imagine a computer built like a typewriter? A computer that could stay with you for your lifetime and get passed to your children?

Could we build a computer designed to last at least fifty years?

Well, given how we use the resources of our planet, the question is not if we could or not. We need to do it, no matter what.”

#climateDiary
#resourcefulness