Get your hands on the computers and Linux them
It was a great reason to install Linux on my mums laptop.
A good time to start self hosting I imagine. Lots of cheap hardware
Only for people stubbornly sticking with this trash OS.
You mean the very large majority of people?
Yes.
Incorrect. E-waste disasters affect everyone.
Also for all the vast majority of corporations
Fuck corporations. They themselves are disasters in their own right.
This is the problem - a lot of regular users will just keep using 10 (and will probably be pleased that it’s not nagging them about security updates anymore). Corporations will dump entire offices’ worth of working machines to maintain security or the functionality of whatever features they rely on, or to meet client or government requirements. And many of them will prioritize security, cost, and convenience over reducing harm, so they’ll destroy hard drives or entire devices, and will dumpster tons of equipment overnight with no opportunity to salvage it. Privately owned computers are much more likely to get passed down and eventually end up in the hands of the family computer person or eBay reseller.
When Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 8, just 3.7 percent of computers were using it, and just 2.2 percent of Windows users were using Windows 8.1 when Microsoft stopped supporting that operating system. “More than 40 percent of Windows users still use it,” Proctor said.
Well there’s a fun fact. I think that just goes to show how terrible W11 really is…
Where’s a good place for me to find cheap hardware? eBay? Something else? I have a couple projects I want to self host with
If you have a local e-waste recycling center, habitat for humanity, or similar, you should be able to find a decent laptop, which makes for a good homelab platform. A desktop with a somewhat recent CPU (Intel 6th gen at least, I would say) could also be a good option if you don’t mind a bit higher idle power usage.
Otherwise, ebay is a good non-local option. If you don’t need a lot of horsepower for what you’ll be hosting, a complete Dell Wyse 5070 thin client can be picked up for about $40. They’re super efficient little x86 machines that have an M.2 slot for an SSD and decent connectivity, and idle at around 6 watts.
If you need more power, you could step up to a retired office mini-PC. They usually draw around 10 to 12w idle from what I recall.
If you need even more power, and PCI slots, the 7th and 8th gen intel based office PC’s are a bargain, like the Dell Optiplex 3050 SFF, Lenovo Thinkcentre M910s, or HP Elitedesk G3 or G4 SFF.
My 13 year old work computer’s Windows 10 got too broken so this week I ignored Microsoft’s opinions and did a fresh install of Windows 11 on it.
Sadly I need Windows for software we use. Alas…
I’m finding that distros like Nobara make it easy to run windows apps in a comfy, reliable environment, as they bundle wine and some tuned launcher apps. In my case it’s games, but I bet if I can play Diablo - by a company known for really janky networking code - then lots of other apps may work really well.
Do what you need, but know the solution may already be ready when you are.
Good thing Windows 11 will prioritize updating when it knows your area is using renewable energy. The environment has officially been saved. Everyone, go home.
