Counting Computers

This is a reply to @ew0k's recent question: "How Many Computers do you Have?"

ew0k: "How Many Computers do you Have?"

I have several computers I've collected over the years. All of them are used regularly, but in different levels. Here they are, organized by approximate level of active usage:

Newer laptop (2015?)

Kindle Paperwhite (2018)

Phone

T400 laptop (2008)

Desktop (early 2010s)

An old laptop (2012?)

Raspberry Pi

My newest laptop is a refurbished 2-in-1 I got from a friend. A few of the keys are finicky, and he needed to type reliably for his job. He gave it to me, since I had worked on his other computers before. The work? Installing Linux on every one of his machines. He's far from tech-savvy; he just got fed up with the eternal update cycle and vows never to return to Windows. Anytime he gets a new computer he calls me up to ask me to install Linux for him: even when I'm on the other side of the world.

It's currently my main laptop. It's the fastest computer I have, so it's used for watching videos, compiling software, and playing video games.

I bought the Paperwhite from eBay recently. I wanted to read my vast collection of ebooks without distraction. It works decently, but I can tell it's been used. Some places on the touch screen don't work properly, making it occasionally difficult to select a word to find its definition.

I have a boring Samsung phone. I'd rather not use it, but I haven't yet bought the PinePhone Pro after my Braveheart died. I'm not sure if I will.

The T400 Thinkpad might be my favorite. Its keyboard is better than any other I've used before. It's more than enough for most computing tasks. I used it daily before I received my new laptop. I bought the T400 two years ago when searching for a Thinkpad for installing Libreboot. I accidentally won an eBay auction with a ridiculously low bid: $25. Well worth the price.

The desktop was given to me by a relative. I mostly use it for writing when I want to avoid any distractions. It's disconnected from the Internet most of the time.

The old laptop, newer than the T400 but younger than I'm using now, was given to me by another relative. It overheats as it runs, but I pull it out when I need another laptop to share for a cooperative game. I don't have any dedicated gaming consoles.

The Raspberry Pi is tricky. I left it at the bottom of my list, but I use it almost constantly, just not directly. It runs my Gemini capsule, website, git server, and various experiments. You most likely received this document from that hard-working machine. Give it a pat on the back (or leave a nice note by ssh-ing to note@josias.dev).

Anyway, that's all I have. I hope you find my list of computers somewhat interesing. I'm off to work.

~ Josias, 2022-08-15