<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elU32XNj8PM&pp=ygUfY2JjIG1hcmtldHBsYWNlIGNsb3RoaW5nIHdhc3RlIA%3D%3D>

I recently showed the above video to my students about where used
clothes go once we are done with them. Most people assume that they go
to the homeless, but the reality is that the Salvation Army first tries
to sell them, that 1% of it is recycled, some of it goes to the homeless
but most ends up in third world nations where they too try to sell it to
people. If they don't find buyers, the clothes end up in a landfill and
burned.

The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow." I realize
that what RonB is doing is actually the smartest if you actually care
about the environment. Forget buying electric cars or installing a solar
panel; we should first consider holding onto our machines for as long as
possible before giving it away to someone who might need it. Even
recycling should be a last resort since the hardware might not actually
be spared a trip to the landfill where it will poison the soil and water
nearby. This is where Linux is going to play a pivotal role since it is
the only operating system which runs fine on old hardware and supports
it regardless of is age.

--
RabidPedagog
Catholic paleoconservative

On 2024-01-21, RabidPedagog <rabid@pedag.og> wrote:
><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elU32XNj8PM&pp=ygUfY2JjIG1hcmtldHBsYWNlIGNsb3RoaW5nIHdhc3RlIA%3D%3D>
>
> I recently showed the above video to my students about where used
> clothes go once we are done with them. Most people assume that they go
> to the homeless, but the reality is that the Salvation Army first tries
> to sell them, that 1% of it is recycled, some of it goes to the homeless
> but most ends up in third world nations where they too try to sell it to
> people. If they don't find buyers, the clothes end up in a landfill and
> burned.
>
> The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
> amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
> and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow." I realize
> that what RonB is doing is actually the smartest if you actually care
> about the environment. Forget buying electric cars or installing a solar
> panel; we should first consider holding onto our machines for as long as
> possible before giving it away to someone who might need it. Even
> recycling should be a last resort since the hardware might not actually
> be spared a trip to the landfill where it will poison the soil and water
> nearby. This is where Linux is going to play a pivotal role since it is
> the only operating system which runs fine on old hardware and supports
> it regardless of is age.

I just don't like to see computers that work go to waste. I watched the
linked video. My yearly budget for clothes is probably about $50 (mostly
from second hand stores — $50 for a pair of pants is just absurd to me) —
except for every third year or so when I buy shoes, which cost about $100
(always the same shoes) — U.S. made Rocky "postal" certified ones.
(When made for a U.S. postal service certification they have to be made in
the United States.)

Unfortunately, a couple of my sons and my wife tend to buy way too many
clothes, like those people in the video. I'm going to try to make my wife
watch that. This constant clothes buying is an addiction. I didn't know that
most donated clothes ended up in landfills.

I hadn't heard the term "fast fashion" before. We have a couple of those H&M
stores in my area. Never even knew what they were — just assumed they were
like a Macy's or something.

--
"Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant, then it tries to silence good."
-- Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

On 2024-01-22 12:18 a.m., RonB wrote:
> On 2024-01-21, RabidPedagog <rabid@pedag.og> wrote:
>> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elU32XNj8PM&pp=ygUfY2JjIG1hcmtldHBsYWNlIGNsb3RoaW5nIHdhc3RlIA%3D%3D>
>>
>> I recently showed the above video to my students about where used
>> clothes go once we are done with them. Most people assume that they go
>> to the homeless, but the reality is that the Salvation Army first tries
>> to sell them, that 1% of it is recycled, some of it goes to the homeless
>> but most ends up in third world nations where they too try to sell it to
>> people. If they don't find buyers, the clothes end up in a landfill and
>> burned.
>>
>> The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
>> amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
>> and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow." I realize
>> that what RonB is doing is actually the smartest if you actually care
>> about the environment. Forget buying electric cars or installing a solar
>> panel; we should first consider holding onto our machines for as long as
>> possible before giving it away to someone who might need it. Even
>> recycling should be a last resort since the hardware might not actually
>> be spared a trip to the landfill where it will poison the soil and water
>> nearby. This is where Linux is going to play a pivotal role since it is
>> the only operating system which runs fine on old hardware and supports
>> it regardless of is age.
>
> I just don't like to see computers that work go to waste. I watched the
> linked video. My yearly budget for clothes is probably about $50 (mostly
> from second hand stores — $50 for a pair of pants is just absurd to me) —
> except for every third year or so when I buy shoes, which cost about $100
> (always the same shoes) — U.S. made Rocky "postal" certified ones.
> (When made for a U.S. postal service certification they have to be made in
> the United States.)
>
> Unfortunately, a couple of my sons and my wife tend to buy way too many
> clothes, like those people in the video. I'm going to try to make my wife
> watch that. This constant clothes buying is an addiction. I didn't know that
> most donated clothes ended up in landfills.
>
> I hadn't heard the term "fast fashion" before. We have a couple of those H&M
> stores in my area. Never even knew what they were — just assumed they were
> like a Macy's or something.

In my case, I only replace my clothes when they're ripped or, in the
case of every white t-shirt I've tried to own, I stain them. I am a
t-shirt and jeans type of guy with thin sweaters completing my wardrobe
during the winter. When it's time to replace a pair of jeans, I
literally wait until holes appear at the crotch before I go and get
another pair. That pair will usually last me a decade before it needs to
get replaced, same with the shirts.

--
RabidPedagog
Catholic paleoconservative

RabidPedagog wrote:

>The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
>amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
>and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow."

With clothes, there is obviously a "fashion culture" that leads to a
lot of waste. With computer hardware, I think that the majority of
users keep their machines as long as they work reasonably well. They
don't spend more money unless they must.

Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.

--
"Almost no one in user land gives a flying fuck about an open and free
kernel." - "True Linux advocate" Hadron Quark

chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:

>Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
>a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
>longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
>planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.

My old computer would still be running Linux well, albeit not Win10,
and definitely not 11. It was past 10 years old when I built the new
one. But you're right that the new one uses less electricity, by far
in fact.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.

On 2024-01-22 8:15 a.m., chrisv wrote:
> RabidPedagog wrote:
>
>> The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
>> amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
>> and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow."
>
> With clothes, there is obviously a "fashion culture" that leads to a
> lot of waste. With computer hardware, I think that the majority of
> users keep their machines as long as they work reasonably well. They
> don't spend more money unless they must.

Maybe older people do, but younger ones who can replace them every three
or four years go ahead and do so. Before I stopped going to the barber
(I opted to just shave my head to the skin since the hair doesn't grow
all too nicely on the right side of my head anymore), he would replace
his Mac every two years or so. What does this barber supposedly do? Edit
videos. My ass he does. He just wants the latest tech like most of the
world.

> Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
> a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
> longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
> planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.

Yeah, if we could all get ten years, we could really reduce waste in
general. In my case, at the very worst, my laptop will go to my son with
Linux installed, so that he can get as many years out of it as possible
and keep it out of the landfill. I doubt he'll need the latest and
greatest either.

--
RabidPedagog
Catholic paleoconservative

RabidPedagog wrote this copyrighted missive and expects royalties:

> In my case, I only replace my clothes when they're ripped or, in the
> case of every white t-shirt I've tried to own, I stain them. I am a
> t-shirt and jeans type of guy with thin sweaters completing my wardrobe
> during the winter. When it's time to replace a pair of jeans, I
> literally wait until holes appear at the crotch before I go and get
> another pair.

Confucius say: Man who go to work with hole in pocket feel cocky all day.

--
Man who hurry through turnstile going to Bangkok!

On 2024-01-22, chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> RabidPedagog wrote:
>
>>The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
>>amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
>>and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow."
>
> With clothes, there is obviously a "fashion culture" that leads to a
> lot of waste. With computer hardware, I think that the majority of
> users keep their machines as long as they work reasonably well. They
> don't spend more money unless they must.
>
> Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
> a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
> longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
> planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.

The business computers I buy are usually off-lease ones. The lease normally
lasts three years, but businesses sometimes renew service agreements year to
year. The computer I'm typing this post on was originally sold on January 23,
2016. So tomorrow it will be exactly eight years old. I think most big
businesses get rid of their computers before they're this old, even though
they're still perfectly usable.

--
"Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant, then it tries to silence good."
-- Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

RonB <ronb02NOSPAM@gmail.com> wrote:
>On 2024-01-22, chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>>
>> Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
>> a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
>> longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
>> planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.
>
>The business computers I buy are usually off-lease ones. The lease normally
>lasts three years, but businesses sometimes renew service agreements year to
>year. The computer I'm typing this post on was originally sold on January 23,
>2016. So tomorrow it will be exactly eight years old. I think most big
>businesses get rid of their computers before they're this old, even though
>they're still perfectly usable.

My 10th gen Intel CPU with 11th gen motherboard from Gigabyte will
undoubtedly last me indefinitely, I could even still be running
Winblows, having the latest and greatest for a few more years, but
fuck M$, I'm already past their shit. Mint Cinnamon is the best
desktop OS in history, IMO.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.

On 2024-01-22 12:58 p.m., RonB wrote:
> On 2024-01-22, chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>> RabidPedagog wrote:
>>
>>> The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
>>> amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
>>> and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow."
>>
>> With clothes, there is obviously a "fashion culture" that leads to a
>> lot of waste. With computer hardware, I think that the majority of
>> users keep their machines as long as they work reasonably well. They
>> don't spend more money unless they must.
>>
>> Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
>> a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
>> longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
>> planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.
>
> The business computers I buy are usually off-lease ones. The lease normally
> lasts three years, but businesses sometimes renew service agreements year to
> year. The computer I'm typing this post on was originally sold on January 23,
> 2016. So tomorrow it will be exactly eight years old. I think most big
> businesses get rid of their computers before they're this old, even though
> they're still perfectly usable.

Usable but not upgradable. I would assume that they want to get rid of
the stock to replace it with machines which can run Windows 11.

--
RabidPedagog
Catholic paleoconservative

On 2024-01-22, RabidPedagog <rabid@pedag.og> wrote:
> On 2024-01-22 12:58 p.m., RonB wrote:
>> On 2024-01-22, chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>>> RabidPedagog wrote:
>>>
>>>> The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
>>>> amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
>>>> and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow."
>>>
>>> With clothes, there is obviously a "fashion culture" that leads to a
>>> lot of waste. With computer hardware, I think that the majority of
>>> users keep their machines as long as they work reasonably well. They
>>> don't spend more money unless they must.
>>>
>>> Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
>>> a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
>>> longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
>>> planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.
>>
>> The business computers I buy are usually off-lease ones. The lease normally
>> lasts three years, but businesses sometimes renew service agreements year to
>> year. The computer I'm typing this post on was originally sold on January 23,
>> 2016. So tomorrow it will be exactly eight years old. I think most big
>> businesses get rid of their computers before they're this old, even though
>> they're still perfectly usable.
>
> Usable but not upgradable. I would assume that they want to get rid of
> the stock to replace it with machines which can run Windows 11.

Well, you *can* run Windows 11 on these, but I'm sure businesses won't be
doing that.

--
"Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant, then it tries to silence good."
-- Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

On Mon, 22 Jan 2024 13:16:03 -0500, RabidPedagog wrote:

> Usable but not upgradable. I would assume that they want to get rid of
> the stock to replace it with machines which can run Windows 11.

That was the motivation for the company I work for. The new machines had
SSDs which was an improvement. As a side effect our Linux boxes got a
boost as the former Windows 10 machines were recycled.

On Mon, 22 Jan 2024 18:58:32 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:

> Well, you *can* run Windows 11 on these, but I'm sure businesses won't
> be doing that.

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsofts-baseline-ram-for-
ai-pcs-set-at-16gb

A little FUD that's circulating this week...

https://www.techradar.com/computing/cpu/what-is-an-npu

On Monday, January 22, 2024 at 8:54:15 AM UTC-5, RabidPedagog wrote:
> On 2024-01-22 8:15 a.m., chrisv wrote:
> > RabidPedagog wrote:
> >
> >> The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
> >> amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
> >> and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow."
> >
> > With clothes, there is obviously a "fashion culture" that leads to a
> > lot of waste. With computer hardware, I think that the majority of
> > users keep their machines as long as they work reasonably well. They
> > don't spend more money unless they must.
>
> Maybe older people do, but younger ones who can replace them every three
> or four years go ahead and do so.

Really depends on what one is doing with the equipment, but you’re right
in that gear has become “good enough” to have longer lifecycles, but there’s
also always a portion who look for an excuse for newer stuff .. just like how
some people still replace their cars every ~3 years.

> Before I stopped going to the barber
> (I opted to just shave my head to the skin since the hair doesn't grow
> all too nicely on the right side of my head anymore), he would replace
> his Mac every two years or so. What does this barber supposedly do? Edit
> videos. My ass he does. He just wants the latest tech like most of the
> world.
>
> > Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
> > a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
> > longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
> > planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.
>
> Yeah, if we could all get ten years, we could really reduce waste in
> general. In my case, at the very worst, my laptop will go to my son with
> Linux installed, so that he can get as many years out of it as possible
> and keep it out of the landfill. I doubt he'll need the latest and
> greatest either.

If one picks well, lifespans along those lines are quite feasible. Case in point,
Apple’s original “cheese grater” Mac Pro was still getting MacOS upgrades until
2019. It depend on which generation of MP for how many years that was: the
end-of-that-line 2012 was 7 years, while the 2006 ones were 13 years. Mine is
still running today - besides being leisurely, its main shortcoming is that Apple’s
Safari browser support was EOLed so some websites don’t load/work…so I use
Firefox or Chrome if I’m on that machine.

-hh

On Monday, January 22, 2024 at 1:16:08 PM UTC-5, RabidPedagog wrote:
> On 2024-01-22 12:58 p.m., RonB wrote:
> > On 2024-01-22, chrisv <chr...@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> >> RabidPedagog wrote:
> >>
> >>> The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
> >>> amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
> >>> and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow."
> >>
> >> With clothes, there is obviously a "fashion culture" that leads to a
> >> lot of waste. With computer hardware, I think that the majority of
> >> users keep their machines as long as they work reasonably well. They
> >> don't spend more money unless they must.
> >>
> >> Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
> >> a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
> >> longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
> >> planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.
> >
> > The business computers I buy are usually off-lease ones. The lease normally
> > lasts three years, but businesses sometimes renew service agreements year to
> > year. The computer I'm typing this post on was originally sold on January 23,
> > 2016. So tomorrow it will be exactly eight years old. I think most big
> > businesses get rid of their computers before they're this old, even though
> > they're still perfectly usable.
>
> Usable but not upgradable. I would assume that they want to get rid of
> the stock to replace it with machines which can run Windows 11.

That’s part of it, but a bigger part is that upgrades through replacement are
cheaper for the Enterprise than paying a tech to add RAM, SSD, etc.

Personally, our workgroup figured that out a long time ago; the last time that
we had a departmental program & budget for RAM/etc was for some 386’s.
Likewise, we moved to SSDs in 2009.

-hh

On 2024-01-22, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Jan 2024 18:58:32 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:
>
>> Well, you *can* run Windows 11 on these, but I'm sure businesses won't
>> be doing that.
>
> https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsofts-baseline-ram-for-
> ai-pcs-set-at-16gb

Well the memory is not an issue. I have 16 GBs on this computer. But I'm
pretty positive it wouldn't handle the "40 TOPS" whatever that is. Good
thing I don't want an AI PC.

> A little FUD that's circulating this week...
>
> https://www.techradar.com/computing/cpu/what-is-an-npu

I guess this AI is going to be a big part of Windows 12?

--
"Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant, then it tries to silence good."
-- Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

RabidPedagog wrote:

> chrisv wrote:
>>
>> Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
>> a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
>> longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
>> planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.
>
>Yeah, if we could all get ten years, we could really reduce waste in
>general. In my case, at the very worst, my laptop will go to my son with
>Linux installed, so that he can get as many years out of it as possible
>and keep it out of the landfill. I doubt he'll need the latest and
>greatest either.

Of course, getting that long life is more practical if one is the type
who can upgrade the machine or fix problems. In the last decade,
going from a spinner to an SSD was a nice performance upgrade. Also
being able to update or reinstall the OS helps. Many people simply
opt for a new machine.

--
"COLA losers like chrisv detest success of any kind. It's as simple
as that." - Hadron Quark, lying shamelessly

rbowman wrote:

> RonB wrote:
>>
>> Well, you *can* run Windows 11 on these, but I'm sure businesses won't
>> be doing that.
>
> https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsofts-baseline-ram-for-ai-pcs-set-at-16gb

M$ can stick its AI up its ass. They probably want to use it to
invade your privacy more effectively.

--
'lie: "WinDOS is now unapologetically *spying* on its users."' -
DumFSck, lying shamelessly

chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>rbowman wrote:
>> RonB wrote:
>>>
>>> Well, you *can* run Windows 11 on these, but I'm sure businesses won't
>>> be doing that.
>>
>> https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsofts-baseline-ram-for-ai-pcs-set-at-16gb
>
>M$ can stick its AI up its ass. They probably want to use it to
>invade your privacy more effectively.

I will never go back to Windows, Mint Cinnamon is so fantastic, giving
me anything I could want out of software, without M$'s involvement.
I'm just over the moon.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.

On 1/22/2024 8:00 PM, Joel wrote:

> I will never go back to Windows, Mint Cinnamon is so fantastic, giving
> me anything I could want out of software, without M$'s involvement.

Don't you spend most of your computing time running Windows apps?

DFS <nospam@dfs.com> wrote:

>> I will never go back to Windows, Mint Cinnamon is so fantastic, giving
>> me anything I could want out of software, without M$'s involvement.
>
>Don't you spend most of your computing time running Windows apps?

mIRC and Forte Agent are effectively cross-platform, being supported
well by Wine. No reason to use other apps for IRC or Usenet. I do
little else with Wine, though, I am pleased with apps for Unix-like,
for most things.

--
Joel W. Crump

Amendment XIV
Section 1.

[...] No state shall make or enforce any law which shall
abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty, or property, without due process of law;
nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal
protection of the laws.

Dobbs rewrites this, it is invalid precedent. States are
liable for denying needed abortions, e.g. TX.

On Mon, 22 Jan 2024 23:24:07 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:

> Well the memory is not an issue. I have 16 GBs on this computer. But I'm
> pretty positive it wouldn't handle the "40 TOPS" whatever that is. Good
> thing I don't want an AI PC.

Tera (trillion) operations per second. There's a lot of discussion if it
is a useful metric or marketing hype. The Von Neumann comes into play. It
doesn't matter how many operations the AI chip can perform if you can't
keep it fed with data.

>> A little FUD that's circulating this week...
>>
>> https://www.techradar.com/computing/cpu/what-is-an-npu
>
> I guess this AI is going to be a big part of Windows 12?

That's the buzz. They're pushing CoPilot, and CoPilot Pro will be another
add-on for enterprise users.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/b/copilotpro

AI isn't cheap and everyone is scrambling to make it pay.

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-paid-alexa-plus-service-
issues-2024-1

Amazon has been bleeding money on the Alexa project. The theory was it
would be like a Fire tablet and make it easy to order stuff from Amazon.
People using it to turn the lights on or play music aren't buying anything
with it.

It will be interesting how well AI will do when people have to pay for it
and the novelty wears off.

On 2024-01-23, rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 22 Jan 2024 23:24:07 -0000 (UTC), RonB wrote:
>
>> Well the memory is not an issue. I have 16 GBs on this computer. But I'm
>> pretty positive it wouldn't handle the "40 TOPS" whatever that is. Good
>> thing I don't want an AI PC.
>
> Tera (trillion) operations per second. There's a lot of discussion if it
> is a useful metric or marketing hype. The Von Neumann comes into play. It
> doesn't matter how many operations the AI chip can perform if you can't
> keep it fed with data.
>
>>> A little FUD that's circulating this week...
>>>
>>> https://www.techradar.com/computing/cpu/what-is-an-npu
>>
>> I guess this AI is going to be a big part of Windows 12?
>
> That's the buzz. They're pushing CoPilot, and CoPilot Pro will be another
> add-on for enterprise users.
>
> https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/b/copilotpro

Pardon my ignorance, but is CoPilot another name for ChatGPT? Or is
something else altogether?

> AI isn't cheap and everyone is scrambling to make it pay.
>
> https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-paid-alexa-plus-service-
> issues-2024-1
>
> Amazon has been bleeding money on the Alexa project. The theory was it
> would be like a Fire tablet and make it easy to order stuff from Amazon.
> People using it to turn the lights on or play music aren't buying anything
> with it.
>
> It will be interesting how well AI will do when people have to pay for it
> and the novelty wears off.

--
"Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant, then it tries to silence good."
-- Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

On 2024-01-22, chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
> rbowman wrote:
>
>> RonB wrote:
>>>
>>> Well, you *can* run Windows 11 on these, but I'm sure businesses won't
>>> be doing that.
>>
>> https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/microsofts-baseline-ram-for-ai-pcs-set-at-16gb
>
> M$ can stick its AI up its ass. They probably want to use it to
> invade your privacy more effectively.

That's the way I feel about it. I already hated the way Microsoft Word tried
to jump into what you were writing with its irritating suggestions — one of
the main reasons I never wanted to use it — this AI sounds a thousand times
worse.

--
"Evil preaches tolerance until it is dominant, then it tries to silence good."
-- Archbishop Charles J. Chaput

On 2024-01-22 1:58 p.m., RonB wrote:
> On 2024-01-22, RabidPedagog <rabid@pedag.og> wrote:
>> On 2024-01-22 12:58 p.m., RonB wrote:
>>> On 2024-01-22, chrisv <chrisv@nospam.invalid> wrote:
>>>> RabidPedagog wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The reason I mention the above is because it got me thinking about the
>>>>> amount of waste we create with the constant purchase of new equipment
>>>>> and the replacement of our computers when they're "too slow."
>>>>
>>>> With clothes, there is obviously a "fashion culture" that leads to a
>>>> lot of waste. With computer hardware, I think that the majority of
>>>> users keep their machines as long as they work reasonably well. They
>>>> don't spend more money unless they must.
>>>>
>>>> Excepting the Win11 hardware requirements, it's been practical to run
>>>> a PC for ten years or more, which isn't too bad. I suppose even
>>>> longer, with a lightweight Linux distro, but not big gain for the
>>>> planet, IMO. Ten years out of any consumer appliance is not bad.
>>>
>>> The business computers I buy are usually off-lease ones. The lease normally
>>> lasts three years, but businesses sometimes renew service agreements year to
>>> year. The computer I'm typing this post on was originally sold on January 23,
>>> 2016. So tomorrow it will be exactly eight years old. I think most big
>>> businesses get rid of their computers before they're this old, even though
>>> they're still perfectly usable.
>>
>> Usable but not upgradable. I would assume that they want to get rid of
>> the stock to replace it with machines which can run Windows 11.
>
> Well, you *can* run Windows 11 on these, but I'm sure businesses won't be
> doing that.

By the end of 2025, they won't have a choice. It is possible that
they're simply preparing for that inevitability. Companies might get
extended support from Microsoft for 10, but there's a chance that they
won't want to spend the extra money for support when they can just
replace the aging hardware.

--
RabidPedagog
Catholic paleoconservative