Category: Computing

I ain’t perfec, and neither is software. One of the challenges people face is how they frame software, and its imperfections. In some conversations, it seems that users ascribe religious attributes to it. They worship the technology, are willing to forgive some of it sins and sinners, but condemn other sins, and crucify these sinners. This is true of operating systems (OS), programming languages, web browsers, almost every form of software. I attempt to be a software agnostic.

Ideally, what I want to do in this post, is explain how competent computer scientists/ software engineers approach problems. To begin with, it would be useful/ appropriate to look at how they learn to be professionals. After an initial programming course, the next step is often a course in algorithms and data structures. Students learn how to frame problems in terms of these key elements. After one gains a basic understanding of these, the student is expected to learn, in depth, about how data is organized, and how programs are written. One of the answers to both is, in a database. There are many different types of database systems. There are also courses about computer hardware, operating systems, and system design.

Within a software engineering education, there are certain people and texts that have come to prominence. These are examined critically. In this post several of them will be mentioned.

Ted Codd (1923 – 2003) expressed database theory in thirteen rules, numbered from 0 to 12. These defined database management system requirements, for a database to be considered relational. Yes, computing professionals have abandoned non-relational databases. In 2024, they only work with relational data bases! These rules were presented in 1970, and updated in 1974. In 2024-12, the most popular database engines are: Oracle Database, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, Snowflake, IBM Db2, SQLite, Microsoft Access, Databricks and MariaDB.

Relational databases store data in tables. A database can consist of several/ many tables. A table has columns, with the same type of data stored in each column. Each record forms a row. A primary key is a field in a table used to identify that record. The point here, is that the primary key has to be unique.

One of the most important rules is to avoid redundancy. Duplicate information in a database schema = the structure of a database described in a formal language, can lead to inconsistencies. If the same data is stored in multiple tables, there is a risk that it will be updated in one table but not in others, resulting in discrepancies, which is a polite term for errors.

Open Source

Generally, I use the term open-source to describe software that is designed for anyone to examine, use, modify and distribute as they see fit. It is often developed collaboratively, by corporate partners or groups of people, who may be professionals, or talented amateurs. There are also examples of a single person developing all of the code for a project/ app. Other people want to emphasize that it is software that can be obtained without cost, so they refer to it as free and open source software (FOSS).

It is inappropriate to abbreviate open-source as OS, because that is the common, accepted abbreviation for operating system. So today, FOSS is most often used.

At one time FOSS was only advocated by long-haired, un-showered, left-leaning hippies. That was a long time ago. Now mega-corporations have discovered that using FOSS programs can reduce their costs significantly, and increase profits they can give to shareholders. The main idea is to make something appropriate once, then let everyone use it.

Yet the world of FOSS is changing in other ways. Simple programs are evolving into multi-task commodities (yes, that is the term often used) not to solve problems in a better way, but to make overarching products. Before, it was more common for a program to solve a limited task, appropriately. Unfortunately, this increased scope frequently results in badly designed programs that function poorly in practice. In addition, security and related issues arise, since solutions suitable for a product with limited capabilities, may be unsuitable and with multiple issues, that are increasingly overlooked, with an expanded product.

The FOSS ecosystem has contended with problems of scale and complexity at the same time FOSS has become increasingly important. In server environments, especially, there is no need for multiple vendors to produce competing products. Thus, they often work together to make a product that suits all of their needs.

Software is difficult, and it can make life more difficult because some decision makers do not understand how to evaluate it. Instead, they think that purchasing something can be a quick way of solving their challenges.

Software complexity and growth rate have exasperated traditional open-source governance models. New approaches are needed, but they also need to be evaluated to determine which offer improvements over existing systems.

FOSS participation is declining, in terms of funding, headcount and other metrics. Some for-profit organizations are invading FOSS domains. They offer free software that solves some challenges, but then sell paid solutions, for anything beyond that minimum. This is often referred to as freemium.

Meanwhile, cyber threats keep evolving, with many open-source projects becoming targets for malicious activity. Users are more vulnerable, exposed to more vectors = ways of attacking, than ever before. Attackers are big, smart, nimble yet patient. This leads to more intricate strategies, resembling games. When attacks occur, they give greater rewards to the perpetrators. Attacks provide not just economic, but political, profits. It is often claimed that the North Korean and Russian state are involved in some of these.

The increasing storage of data in clouds = someone else’s server, and the increased use of Software as a Service (SaaS) creates new challenges. This effectively means that what amounted to cultural diversity is being replaced by layers of technical and organizational monocultures that may enable attacks.

Users can assist with FOSS. Those with programming and other technical skills can contribute code. Those with user experience, can review products. Everyone can use FOSS.

Meanwhile, organizations have reduced their computer-system expertise. They shift capital expenditures to operating expenses, and depend on cloud vendors for security. This is delusional, as these cloud vendors do not guarantee any security, apart from some best-effort propaganda. Similarly, when organizations use off-the-shelf hardware and software solutions, these are often a mix of FOSS and commercial software, that create elaborate attack surfaces, yet whose components and interactions are accessible and well understood. This allows attackers to hide in the open.

Operating systems

The most fundamental type of software is the operating system (OS). A device has to have one in order to run other software. Different operating systems are required for different purposes, so people are expected to know how to use these different operating systems on their phone/ tablet, laptop/ desktop, media player and server. There are also specialty operating systems for real-time systems, including robotics.

It is often stated that people are influenced by the history of devices that they use. The first computer I used was an International Business Machines System /360. I am unsure which model, or even the type of operating system. There were several available: Basic Operating System/360 (BOS/360), Tape Operating System (TOS/360), and Disk Operating System/360 (DOS/360). I was using it to learn SPSS = Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Then I took a course in programming, based on PL/1 = Programming Language One, from IBM.

After that I used a number of different mini-machines. First there was a Hewlett-Packard in the 2100 series, probably a 2100S, with the “Real Time Executive” operating system, (RTE). In Molde, in Norway, I began using a Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX-11/ 780, with a VAX/VMS operating system. I became very familiar with this machine, and used it extensively for many different purposes, including the construction of data base systems as well as simulation models. When we moved to Bodø in 1985, Norsk Data NORD-500 machines were used, running the Sintran III operating system.

When I took a position in Steinkjer in 1988, they were in the process of migrating from Norsk Data to Digital Equipment. I saw first hand how inappropriate purchasing decisions could be made. First, the college was told about the PRISM project to produce updated VAX machines, accompanied by the MICA project, which intended to consolidate VMS and ULTRIX into a single operating system. The school believed this was actually happening. They ordered workstations of type DECstation 3100, specifically designed and built to run a UNIX system, ULTRIX. They then discovered that no version of the VMS operating system would be released for the DECstations. They would not integrate with the other VAX utstyr, they had also ordered. The key takeaway is never to believe computer sales people. There is just too much vaporware that never emerges!

Fortunately, the Norwegian government had another mission, to bail out the faltering Norsk Data. They provided colleges with free money to buy lots of Nord computers to save the company from bankruptcy. So more expensive computers were bought. The Sintran operating system was modified so that it could mimic UNIX.

None of the above computers have any relevance today. This is the way of technology. For almost sixty years I used ICE = internal combustion engine vehicles. Then I switched to an electric vehicle. I have no intention of going back. All of those years of gearing with a manual transmission are history. Similarly, my keypunch experience has no relevance in terms of computing today. Surprisingly, my touch-typing skills learned starting in ca. 1963, are fully relevant today.

UNIX

Modern computing begins with Unix developed at Bell Labs research centre in New Jersey in 1969. A consensus was emerging in the computer world that having a handful of companies each producing a computer with its own OS, was counter productive. It just took time for an appropriate OS to emerge. There have come out some important books about computing that point towards open standards.

There were books that attempted to expand systems thinking beyond computers, two of which were written by Donella Meadows (1941 – 2001). These were Limits to Growth (1972) and Thinking in Systems: A Primer (1993/ restructured by others 2008). The major problems of the world = war/ hunger/ poverty/ environmental degradation are due to system failure. They cannot be solved piecemeal by fixing any one piece in isolation. This lesson has not been learned.

In terms of computing the most influential book of my list is Tracy Kidder’s (1945 – ) The Soul of a New Machine (1981). It explains the drama/ comedy/ excitement/ boredom/ exploitation of workers by a company bringing a new microcomputer to the mass market. This book explains a common attitude of start-ups, a total unconcern about the physical and mental health of employees, who are regarded as replaceable cogs in a machine.

Andrew S. Tanenbaum (1944 – ) wrote Operating Systems: Design and Implementation (1987) with Albert S. Woodhull. This book introduced me to operating system principles. While the source code for MINIX was included as part of the book, my own computer science education required me to construct my own operating system as a semester project. In addition, I also had to implement a compiler for a language resembling Pascal (1970), developed by Niklaus Wirth (1934 – 2024).

At this point, one should probably mention Wirth’s law, which is an adage = a saying that sets forth a general truth. This one states that software is getting slower more rapidly than hardware is becoming faster. Wirth discussed it in A Plea for Lean Software (1995). Pascal was based on Algol 60 = Algorithmic Language (1960). In Norway, this formed the starting point for Simula = Simulation Language, developed in Oslo, and often called the first object oriented language.

Back at Bell Labs, Brian Ritchie (1941 – 2011) created the C programming language, and with Ken Thompson (1943 – ) developed the Unix operating system. Sometimes inventors are not the best people to explain their inventions, so it was fortunate for these two that Canadian computer scientist Brian Kernighan (1942 – ), was better able to write about Unix and the C programming language.

I have learned several additional languages including: Objective C (1980) developed by Brad Cox (1944 – 2021) and Tom Love (? – ?), Smalltalk (1972) designed by Alan Kay (1940 – ), Dan Ingalls (1945 – ), Adele Goldberg (1944 – ) and others, at Xerox PARC = Palo Alto Research Center; and Prolog (1972) by Alain Colmerauer (1941 – 2017).

PCs

By 1985, almost everyone of a certain age with technical interests had discovered personal computers. One of the schools where I was working had ordered a computer lab worth of Apple II clones. Yet no one knew how to use them! I paid for our first family computer by teaching an introductory computing course to the teachers. The local Amiga distributor invoiced the school for the course, and in time we received an Amiga 2000.

At about the same time IBM compatible personal computers were becoming more popular, and encroaching on the Apple II market. By 1984 Apple had seen the writing on the wall, and had produced a more advanced Macintosh computer. At the time, both Macs and PCs were too expensive for secondary schools. The operating systems in IBM and other personal computers were referred to as PC- and MS-DOS, respectively. They were both renamed variants of 86-DOS, owned by Seattle Computer Products, written by Tim Paterson (1956 – ). Its development took six weeks. It was a clone of Digital Research’s CP/M used on Apple II machines and clones, ported to run on 8086 processors. In addition there was improved disk buffering and a new file system.

Windows

Microsoft released Windows 1.0 on 1985-11-20, as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs). To begin with, this was just for people with special interests. Windows took off in 1990, with the release of version 3.0.

With the exception of an iMac, used to teach students studying media and communications, the work computers I have used ran various version of Windows. XP is the version I liked best, followed by 7. I was assigned 8 when I retired.

The latest variant, Windows 11 was released 2021-10-05. For the past several months, Microsoft has been encouraging a transition from Windows 10 to 11. At the same time, they have said that hardware will have to meet specific capabilities in order to allowed to upgrade. End of support for Windows 10 is scheduled for 2025-10-14. Except, one can pay for a one year delay, perhaps longer.

Shortly after Windows 11 came out, Microsoft and Intel found compatibility issues with Intel Smart Sound Technology (Intel SST) on 11th Gen Core processors running Windows 11. Microsoft applied a compatibility hold on affected systems, preventing those PCs from upgrading to Windows 11. Now, over two years later, Microsoft has resolved the issue and cleared a path for those computers to run Windows 11.

Windows 11 has minimum system requirements. An attempt to install it on other PCs will result in the installer refusing. There are unofficial ways to bypass this, but they are not for the faint at heart!

Users of Windows 7, 8, 10 or 11 may want to use Winaero Tweaker, a freeware app created by Sergey Tkachenko. It is an all-in-one application that comes with dozens of options for fine-grained tuning of various Windows settings and features. To encourage Windows users to consider Tweaker, I have listed several categories of its features here: Shortcut tools; To launch an app as Administrator without a UAC confirmation; To directly open any Control Panel applet or system folder; To directly open any Settings page; To create shortcuts to the classic Shut Down Windows dialog (Alt+F4), and Safe Mode; To remove or customize the shortcut arrow overlay icon; To remove the ” – shortcut” suffix; To remove blue arrows from compressed files. Manage Windows apps and features: Restore classic Windows Photos Viewer to use it instead of Photos; Restore the classic sound volume pop-up slider. Permanently disable Windows Telemetry and Data Collection; Permanently disable Windows Defender; Permanently disable Windows Update; Disable ads and unwanted app installation (Candy Crush Soda Saga, etc); Enable the built-in Administrator account. Enable automatic Registry backup; Change drag-n-drop sensitivity; Disable Action Center and notifications; Reset icon cache; Reset all Group Policy options at once. Networking options: Change the remote desktop port. Make mapped drives accessible for elevated apps; Tune up Windows appearance; Customize folders in This PC; Customize entries in Navigation Pane in File Explorer (in the left pane); Rename and change the icon for the Quick Access entry; Increase the taskbar transparency level; Show time seconds in the taskbar clock; Disable blur for the sign-in screen; Customize fonts, and the Alt+Tab dialog appearance; Change the title bar color for inactive windows; Add handy context menus using a huge set of presets, e.g. to switch a Power Plan with one click, open a Command Prompt, add a Settings cascading menu – plenty of them; Hide default entries from the context menu, e.g. Edit with Photos, Edit with Paint 3D, etc.; Add ‘Run as Administrator’ to VBS, MSI, CMD and BAT files; Change the default app for the Edit context menu entry for images.

Mac OS

System Software = Mac OS = Classic Mac OS ( retronym) was a series of operating systems developed for the Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer, from 1984 = System 1 to 2001 = Mac OS 9. It is credited with popularizing graphical user interfaces.

It was based on concepts from the Xerox PARC Alto computer. The Alto was conceived in 1972, in a memo written by Butler Lampson (1943 – ). It was inspired by the Stanford NLS = oN-Line System, developed by Douglas Engelbart (1925 – 2013), released in 1968-12-09. The Alto OS was made by Chuck Thacker (1943 – 2017). This was the first computer that used a mouse-driven graphical user interface (GUI), Mac OS consisted of a Macintosh Toolbox ROM and a System Folder = a set of files loaded from a disk.

The Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) was a Unix operating system developed and distributed by the Computer Systems Research Group (CSRG) at the University of California, Berkeley beginning in 1978. It began as an improved derivative of AT&T’s original Unix that was developed at Bell Labs, based on the source code that, over time, was replaced by its own code.

After Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011) was fired as CEO of Apple in 1985, he started NeXT, and developed the NextStep, an object-oriented, multitasking operating system based on the Mach project at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, that ran from 1985 to 1994, The end results was the Mach 3.0 microkernel. It was developed as a replacement for the kernel in BSD.

OpenStep was an object-oriented application programming interface (API) specification developed by NeXT. It was written in Objective C, and released 1994-10-19, providing a framework for building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and for developing software applications. OpenStep was designed to be platform-independent, allowing developers to write code that could run on multiple operating systems.

By 1997 Steve Jobs was back in Apple’s good graces, and had become Apple’s CEO once again. In 1996, Apple Computer had acquired NeXT. Apple merged the user interface/ environment from classic Mac OS, with NeXTSTEP and OpenStep to create Mac OS X. All of Apple’s subsequent platforms since iPhone OS 1 were then based on Mac OS X. This was later renamed macOS.

Linux

Wikipedia tells us that Linux is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on 1991-09-17, by Linus Torvalds (1969 – ). Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution (distro), which includes the kernel and supporting system software and libraries—most of which are provided by third parties—to create a complete operating system, designed as a clone of Unix and released under the copyleft GPL license.

There is a lot of hype from computer manufacturers to use Microsoft Windows operating systems. Having consumers buy it, undoubtedly adds to their profits, especially when it is almost impossible to buy a low-priced computer without Windows.

Microsoft is currently requiring people with older hardware, that runs on Windows 10, to buy new, computer hardware that is compatible with the Windows 11 requirements. This can be expensive. Another approach is for Windows 10 users in this situation, is for them to try a user friendly version of Linux to see if they feel comfortable with it. One such OS is the latest version of Linux Mint with the Cinnamon desktop.

A trial version can be explored by making a live version, which means copying a bootable version of Linux Mint onto a USB flash drive/ memory stick/ thumb drive. By booting up from this drive, Linux will be available. Those who, after this trial, feel uncomfortable using Linux do not have to do anything, except to avoid booting up from the USB drive again. Those that find they prefer Linux can, at some point, install it on their machine, either alone or as part of a dual-boot system with their original OS. The memory stick can then be used to boot Linux on other computers. Linux is particularly well suited for older hardware.

One of the main characteristics of an operating system is its file system or, in the case of Android, the lack of such a system, as it is up to each app to decide how its data is to be organized. At Cliff Cottage, we use a variety of file systems. On most machines, we use ZFS, previously known as Zettabyte File System. It was originally released in 2006. There are some challenges with it, or more correctly with TimeShift, a program that allows users to reset their hardware, after updates, to a prior point in time. TimeShift does not work with ZFS.

On some other machines there is btrfs = better/ butter file system,

Spyware

The content here began after Jeffrey Paul, hacker and security researcher living in Berlin, wrote, “… that in the current version of the macOS, the OS sends to Apple a hash = unique identifier, of each and every program you run, when you run it. Lots of people didn’t realize this, because it’s silent and invisible and it fails instantly and gracefully when you’re offline…. Because it does this using the internet, the server sees your IP [address], of course, and knows what time the request came in. An IP address allows for coarse, city-level and ISP-level geolocation, and allows for a table that has the following headings: Date, Time, Computer, ISP, City, State, Application Hash…. This means that Apple knows when you’re at home. When you’re at work. What apps you open there, and how often.”

This is not a unique problem for mac users. There are similar challenges with trackers on other operating systems. Paul continues, “Who cares?” I hear you asking. Well, it’s not just Apple. This information doesn’t stay with them…. requests are transmitted unencrypted. Everyone who can see the network can see these … This data amounts to a tremendous trove of data about your life and habits, and allows someone possessing all of it to identify your movement and activity patterns. For some people, this can even pose a physical danger to them. Now, it’s been possible up until today to block this sort of stuff on your Mac [with Little Snitch]…. The version of macOS that was released today [well, over four years ago: 2020-11-12], 11.0, also known as Big Sur, … prevent[s] Little Snitch from working the same way.”

Fortunately, this issue was resolved when Little Snitch 5 was launched. That said, people should be concerned about what their operating system is doing. Personally, living in Norway, I am less concerned about big government watching my activities, than I am of big business. This is the main reason why I encourage people to use open-source software, when possible. People living in anything approaching an authoritarian regime have to be vigilant. The content presented here is suitable for politically active people living in full democracies, where such activism is not a life threatening activity.

In each their own way, corporations, such as Alphabet (owners of Google), Amazon, Apple and Meta (owners of Facebook) dominate vast zones of the world wide web, with multiple trackers following (or at least attempting to follow) everyone’s movements through cyberspace. YouTube, an Alphabet subsidiary, can suggest new videos based on each individual’s entire cyber footprint, and not just visits to YouTube. Facebook is even worse, by asking rhetorical question about whether one knows Josephine Doe. Of course the user does, otherwise they wouldn’t ask! This situation arises despite every web browser in use being equipped with the latest in ad-blocking and anti-tracking software. Why? Well, the Corporatedom doesn’t respect privacy rights, necessitating this web-log post.

Personal comments

Our laptops continue to use Linux Mint, but upgraded to version 22. While we attempted to use a dual boot system with Windows 11, this proved impossible. So we upgraded our file system to ZFS – which is what we use on our server.

We intend to install Windows either on a dedicated machine, or as a virtual machine, at some unspecified point in the future. There are certain products that refuse to work under any other system than Windows. We have two: a library catelogue system, and a slide scanner. The system requirements for these are flexible. They will work with almost any version of windows, including outgoing 10, current 11, outdated 7 or ancient XP.

For sentimental reasons, and its connection with Mandrake Linux I would like to have one machine running the latest version of Mageia. Mandrake can be considered its forerunner, but with other intermediate steps. Mandrake was released in 1998, by Gaël Duval, mentioned above, to provide an easy-to-use Linux. In 2005-04, Mandrakesoft (as the company was then called) acquired Conectiva, a Brazilian-based company that produced a Linux distribution for Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking Latin America. As a result of this acquisition and a legal dispute with Hearst Corporation about the name Mandrake, the company changed its name to Mandriva. Mageia was formed as a fork of Mandriva in 2010. This occurred as the Mandriva subsidiary responsible for it, was declared bankrupt, and its assets liquidated. Mageia Version 1 was launched in 2011. Version 9 was launched in 2023-08. It still has not been installed on any of my machines.

Android & iOS

Android started in 2003 by Android, Inc., in Palo Alto, California. It was purchased by Google in 2005. Android 1.0 was released 2008-10. Unfortunately, a smartphone is nothing without its apps. Android software development is the process by which applications are created for devices running the Android operating system. Android apps can be written using Kotlin, Java, and C++ languages using the Android software development kit (SDK), while using other languages is also possible. However, all non-Java virtual machine (JVM) languages, such as Go, JavaScript, C, C++ or assembly, need the help of JVM language code, that may be supplied by tools, likely with restricted API support. Some programming languages and tools allow cross-platform app support for both Android and iOS.

iOS (formerly iPhone OS until version 4) is a mobile operating system developed by Apple exclusively for its mobile devices. The first-generation iPhone, was launched 2007-06-29. Major versions of iOS are released annually; the current stable version, iOS 18, released 2024-09-16.

It is the operating system that powers many of the company’s mobile devices, including the iPhone, and is the basis for three other operating systems made by Apple: iPadOS, tvOS, and watchOS. iOS formerly also powered iPads until iPadOS was introduced in 2019, and the iPod Touch line of devices until its discontinuation. iOS is the world’s second most widely installed mobile operating system, after Android.

Our hand-held devices continue to use Android as their primary OS. Android V13 is the operating system used on our Asus Zenfone 9 smartphones. Our son Alasdair uses this on his Samsung Galaxy, and our daughter Shelagh uses this on her Google Pixel. I never expect to be as comfortable using a hand-held device, as a computer. However, I do manage to use it, and the installed apps.

Hand-held devices (HHD): While some people refers to these as phones, telephony is only one use. For some, a smartphone or tablet is the only computing device used. Android may be open-source, but it also has a lot of proprietary input from Google and phone manufacturers. Personally, I kept threatening to go over to /e/, an e.foundation variant of open source Lineage OS. This would have been easy with a Fairphone. However, quality issues with that device are keeping me in the Android camp, for some additional years.

While I wrote about using a de-googlized Android OS from the e foundation, developed by Gaël Duvait, it has not been installed. I intend to try it out on one of the retired Xiaomi Pocophone F1s some time in 2025.

Apple also makes smart phones, tablets and other devices that need an OS. For larger computers, Apple offers MacOS. For other products, their solution is iOS for iPhones, iPadOS for iPads, watchOS for Apple Watches, and tvOS for Apple TVs. Each system is designed to optimize the user experience on its respective device.

Sometimes there are other factors than age that prompt a hardware change. The fact that we have an electric vehicle (EV), where much of its control is based on the use of hand-held devices, prompted us to buy new ones some months in advance of the EV’s arrival. We opted for two identical Asus Zenfone 9 devices. Our children have opted for Apple, Pixel and Samsung devices,

Laptop/ Desktop: The lifetime of a laptop computer varies with the individual using it. Take one resident user at Cliff Cottage, Trish. She used one laptop for over 7 years without any major issues. At one point her hard-disk was replaced because it was full, and she was encouraged to install one with a larger capacity. In contrast, another resident user, Brock, has managed to go through four different computers in the same time-period. He has multiple lame excuses to explain why none of these worked out.

Many users find that the main problem with Windows is not the lack of software, but excessive quantities of bloatware = Software with large, often unnecessary features, including some that spy on users. These features can make a machine slow/ unwieldy/ inefficiently, using excessive amounts of memory or disk space.

Because people differ in their needs, it is difficult to list all of the user programs/ software/ applications/ apps people need on their personal computers. Many of the most important programs come installed with the operating system. Additional programs can be installed using the Software Manager. To find additional/ useful/ important open-source programs, Alternative to, allows people to compare programs that may be useful.

Tails

The most basic way to achieve more privacy is to select an appropriate operating system, such as Tails. Tails is a security-focused Debian-based Linux distribution aimed at preserving privacy and anonymity against surveillance. It can run on almost any computer from a USB stick.

A live system contains a complete, bootable operating system, usually with writable storage that allows for customization, including the installation of software packages. They can save settings, and can be used for system administration, data recovery, or test purposes.

Tails lets users be anonymous on the Internet,  and helps circumvent censorship. It does so by forcing all connections to the Internet to go through the Tor network. It leaves no trace on the computer unless explicitly ordered to do so by the user. It uses state-of-the-art cryptographic tools to encrypt your files, emails and instant messaging.

Despite being the best, and simplest solution, most users are reluctant to use Tails. They deliberately select a second best solution, because they are unwilling to set themselves into a new operating system, slightly different from the one they are currently using. Yes, the writer of this post is also in precisely the same situation.

Operating System Conclusion

A lot of ink has been used here to comment on operating systems. An OS is important because they are at the heart of computing. Yet, they also bring forward a lot of emotion. In some respects they are like brands of cars. People may argue that a particular brand is better than another, but many people would set aside these prejudices if they were confronted with a choice between no car, and a car of their least favourite brand. Most people would prefer to have a computer/ smartphone with the worst possible OS, than not to have one at all.

Similarly, I don’t think anyone really wants an old OS version. They are just not appropriate to meet user needs. This means that Windows XP is the earliest OS that should ever be considered. Windows 7 is probably a better choice. The latest version of Linux Mint, is probably more appropriate than either of these two, but there can be cases where one needs a Windows operating system. In our household there are two: for a library system, and to digitize slides.

Web Browsers

Most well-known browsers are controlled by these large corporations: Apple offers Safari; Google has Chrome; Microsoft has Edge, and previously provided Explorer. Mozilla Firefox is an exception. It is not owned by big tech. However, Google has provided financing. For most people, Firefox is gudenuf to use.

Here at Cliff Cottage we use Firefox on all of our machines, but also have Brave, as an alternative. Brave provides shields that automatically block ads and trackers. This means that Brave loads sites faster than most other browsers. Shields also offer additional protection by blocking malicious webscripts. When possible, HTTP connections are automatically forced to become HTTPS connections. This is because HTTPS sites use a secure encryption protocol to protect user traffic, whereas HTTP is unsecured.

Browsers needs to be able to protect users from: Phishing sites, deceptive websites that mimic legitimate websites in an attempt to get users to provide personal information; web trackers/ cookies, internet scripts that follow users browsing habits from site to site, sharing browsing data with hackers, advertisers and others; spyware/ adware, embedded malware, usually in a browser, that captures data and/ or redirects searches to unwanted sites; keyloggers are malware used to take screenshots of computer content or to harvest keystrokes; malicious ads that direct users to unsafe sites. There are other behaviours, but those are the main ones in 2024.

Android & iPhone Browsers

Firefox Focus is an open source browser from Mozilla, available for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. It improves browsing speed and protects users’ privacy by blocking online trackers, including third-party advertising. It checks all URLs against Google’s Safe Browsing service to help people avoid fraudulent sites. Firefox Klar is a modified flavour of Firefox Focus, with telemetry disabled. It was initially released for German-speaking countries. For those with serious privacy concerns this is the only flavor to use.

One of the challenges with Brave is that the features differ, depending on the type of device used. For example, in 2021 iOS users – but not Android users – got access to Brave Playlist, which allows them to save media such as music and videos to playlists. So, instead of bookmarking a song or video in Brave, users can view/ hear content offline (for an unknown to me, but limited period). Brave saves content in a format that’s only compatible with the Brave Media Player and can only appear on the device you saved it on. It cannot be downloaded to other devices.

Chromebook Browsers

Many Chromebook users will also want to consider Firefox Focus, running Android apps. While Crostini Chromebooks allow the use of Linux apps, these features are still being developed, and there are challenges. For most systems, the Linux sound system doesn’t work, either on media players or the Linux version of Firefox ESR. Some programs, like LibreOffice, work well, others don’t work at all. In general, Linux programs can’t recognize USB devices, which can be a problem is content has to be stored. In general, there are workarounds for this problem.

When personal computers first emerged they came with all the peripheral equipment that allowed it to run. This was absolutely necessary, because the computing unit and the periphery had to work together. To begin with, home computers had only a monitor/ screen, a keyboard, and possibly a cassette player for data storage. In many cases, rodents were not used. However, our original Amiga computers came with one. In the computer there was a 20 MB hard drive.

To connect a periphery to a computer, one has to be aware of two types of standards, signal and connector. Both standards have to be the same. Amiga video was the signal standard. It was similar to SCART, but different. It includes a digital RGBI signal, Genlock clock, composite sync and +12/+5VDC power. The connector standard was DB23. This was a unique D-Sub connector variant with only 23 pins for the video cables. Early Apple McIntosh computers used a similar connector, but with 25 pins. Amiga enthusiasts have been able to have this connector remanufactured, but such happy endings are rare.

There are two words that describe the situation with early home computers, but different. In time, ports became standardized. There were a lot of different legacy ports, but these have gradually been replaced, especially with USB-A and USB-C ports, along with ports for monitors (most often HDMI), and ethernet (RJ-45).

Computer manufacturers had to ensure that their products met both the signal and the connector specifications of the ports, allowing peripherals to become generic products that could be purchased separately. The company that made these products became a brand. If consumers were satisfied with one product from a brand, they would often chose other products made by it. If they were dissatisfied, they would find some other brand. Sometimes, people were satisfied with a brand, but that brand just disappeared, requiring people to find new brands and products. I cannot remember the process in detail, but over the years, I became satisfied with Logitech peripherals, and less satisfied with those of other brands, in part because they disappeared. Now, most peripherals (apart from monitors and printers) we use, and are mentioned here, are made by Logitech. Monitors offer the greatest variation, they were made by a variety of brands. We have one monitor each of: Acer, Asus, AOC, Benq and Samsung. The most common year of manufacture for them is 2012. The oldest is from 2007, and still works. Most of our printers, with two exceptions over a period of forty years, were made by Canon.

In addition to peripheral from Logitech, we also have some inexpensive peripherals often from Trust. Trust is a computer peripheral electronics company founded in 1981 in the Netherlands by Michel Perridon (1963 – ), under the name Aashima Technology B.V. to import computer accessories, game consoles and video games. From 1985, it started producing its own Trust branded products. It has been owned since 2018 by Egeria, a Dutch investment company. I appreciate Trust‘s low prices.

Note: If a model designation appears in this text without a brand name, that name is Logitech.

While younger workers, with better sight and hearing, can afford to be more fashion conscious in their choice of peripherals, older users should probably concentrate on functionality. They should chose peripherals on their ability to aid the user to do the needed work: especially, hearing what people are saying, and seeing what people have written. Their keyboards must allow them to reply quickly and accurately, and their rodents must help them navigate. If living spaces are shared with others, it is particularly important that sounds are not spread. What is incoming information for one person, can be regarded as distracting noise by another. Looking back at peripherals, one of the main differences over the past years, is that legacy ports and connectors are increasingly being replaced by legacy-free variants. Thus, when a person is considering the purchase of a new computing device, purchasers must be aware of how these devices will connect. There are physical adapters, that allow a peripheral to use a port it was not designed to connect to. As more computers add USB-C ports (and remove USB-A ports) USB-A female to USB-C male connectors will become increasingly important. In addition, some peripherals communicate through Blutooth. These protocols are back-over compatible. Many Logitech devices connect through a Bolt receiver. These (or at least mine) assume that a USB-A port is being used. Some people (but not me) are adapting them, so that they will fit a USB-C port. I still have enough USB-A ports on my computers, but not on my hand-held device. It is only equipped with a USB-C port, and a 3.5 mm audio jack.

Keyboards

There is one main reason to buy an ergonomic keyboard: health issues with one’s hands. Despite a diagnosis for osteoarthritis in several joints in both hands, I didn’t buy ergonomic equipment immediately. There were two reasons for this: 1) I was very happy with my K380 keyboard; 2) I wanted to ignore the health issues. Most days these issues were not serious, until they were.

Most ergonomic keyboards are expensive. Despite this, in 2021, I transitioned from a conventional M535 mouse and a stylish K380 keyboard to a more ergonomic MX Vertical mouse at NOK 1200, and an ERGO K860 keyboard at NOK 1 370. These are connected to the computer using a Logi Bolt receiver.

I am happier with the mouse than the keyboard. After more than three years of using the ERGO keyboard, I still regard the K380 as my favourite. Even after using an ergonomic keyboard, I purchased a second K380 keyboard, so that if I should transition back, I would have a lifetime supply. In addition, I purchased a similar MX Keys Mini keyboard in pink, with a matching MX Master Anywhere 3 mouse. The keyboard was bought used, at half price, from someone moving from Norway to Belgium, who needed an American keyboard for programming.

Trish does not have the same issues with her hands. She also has a MX Keys Mini keyboard, but in graphite/ gray, with a blue M177 mouse. This is her daily drive with her desktop machine. I have purchased her a Lift mouse, which is smaller than my MX Vertical mouse, that she can use when her current mouse wears out.

We also have two other keyboards for use with our equipment. There is a K400+ keyboard that is specifically designed for use with televisions (which is where it is used), and a K480 keyboard, which is similar to the K380 keyboards in its design, and in allowing Bluetooth connectivity. This is a dedicated keyboard for use with our Zenfone hand-held devices, or other hand-held devices, including tablets. This is useful because smartphone keyboards are excessively small and awkward to use.

All of these are ISO keyboards with Nordic features, allowing us to write in English or Norwegian without difficulty. ISO keyboard are often used in Europe to support various languages, and for many Europeans it works much better than an ANSI keyboard, that is preferred by English language users.

When I attempted to find out what assorted keyboards were preferred in Asia, the general advise was to use a US qwerty keyboard. Following this up, for Chinese I discovered that Chu Bong-Foo (1937 – ) invented a Cangjie input method in 1976, which assigns different “roots” to each key on a standard computer keyboard.

For other languages, including Hindi, Japanese and Korean, there are other input method editors that can produce appropriate content. Again, many of these rely on a standard US Qwerty keyboard.

An ISO keyboard has been part of my life since the acquisition of our first personal computer, an Amiga 2000 in 1986. That keyboard was Norwegian specific. The Amiga 1000 that we borrowed before our own computer arrived, was probably not ISO. At some point, Norwegian language keyboards ceased to be easily available, and were replaced by Nordic keyboards.

Danish, Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish have 3 additional letters, 29 in total: Å is in the same place in all four languages, located to the right of P on the keyboard. Swedish and Finnish use the same layout, with Ö and Ä following consecutively to the right of L, as do the Danish Æ and Ø, and the Norwegian Ø and Æ. Yes, Danish and Norwegian have two of these extra letters in the reverse order. Icelandic uses the same keyboard, but has 32 letters, and a much more complex arrangement.

During the operating system installation process, users are typically polled about the keyboard layout to be used. The language to be used is a separate question. If necessary, this information can be changed later.

There are five differences between the keyboards, as shown in the table below.

Trait	ANSI	ISO
Enter/ Return key	Short and wide	Tall and narrow
Left Shift key	Half the width of right shift key	Same width as right shift key
Backslash key	Above Enter key	Left of Enter key
Right of Space bar	Right Alt key	Alt Graph key
Number of keys	104 (Full)/ 87 (Compact)	105 (Full)/ 88 (Compact)

People experience varying degrees of difficulty transitioning between ANSI and ISO keyboards. One of the laptops I disposed of (prematurely?) had an ANSI keyboard because I found it problematic to use.

Logitech offers ANSI keyboards for British/ American users, but ISO keyboards for other European language users. While I find the Ergo K860 comfortable to type with, there are many other manufacturers of ergonomic keyboards. Note: the photo on keyboard packaging may be deceptive in terms of ISO/ ANSI, check the keyboard itself, before purchasing.

By accident and to my surprise, I discovered that many people wash their keyboards in sinks, or even dishwashers. Precautionary suggestions vary from none to ensuring that cords/ cables are covered in plastic, that cool water be used, that no or a mild detergent/ soap be used, that a dishwasher’s top rack be used, that the keyboard be given a week to dry thoroughly. None of the above advice is mine, and it comes with no guarantees! Yes, I have on occasion used a damp cloth to remove dust (and other contaminants) from the surface of my keyboards.

Membrane Keyboards

I use the adjective, sedate, to describe keyboards that use membrane switches. Membrane keyboards have a life expectancy of about 5 million key presses. If a person types minimally, say 1 000 words a day = 5 000 characters, such a keyboard will last almost three years. In contrast, a mechanical switch can last 50 (Gateron) – 100 (Cherry) million key presses, which at the same production rate means they should last over 27 or 54 years, respectively.

So here we are at the end of 2024, and my K860 membrane keyboard still works flawlessly, despite it having logged at least those 5 million key presses. While I know that many products work until they don’t, I have difficulty believing that I have reached anywhere near its end of life. Half way, at most! So, I expect it to keep on working until 2028, when I celebrate my 80th birthday. Then, well I might treat myself to something else. I might just revert back to using my favourite keyboard, a K380.

I suspect that most readers of this weblog post do not have such excessive production rates, as I do. Yet, they still face two contradictory impulses with respect to their keyboards, even if they works satisfactorily. The first is tedium/ boredom. How many years does a person want to interact the same keyboard? The second is the reverse, novelty. How many keyboards does a person want to experience? For me, I want the keyboard to respond to my touch in a specific way. I touch the keys lightly, and know precisely how far I have to press down to activate each key. I want the keys to respond silently. I have been touch-typing for over sixty years.

Mechanical Keyboards

In describing the world of mechanical keyboards, I never know which adjective to use: frenzied, obsessive or hyper. This section is possibly longer than necessary for many older users who are content with membrane keyboards. However, some younger people, who are still out in the working world may prefer to gain some insights about them.

In offices, production rates allegedly vary from 8 – 22 000 keystrokes per hour, for data entry tasks, to about 2 000 keystrokes for other more general office workers. With an effective production of 20 000 keystrokes per hour over a six hour day, this results in 120 000 keystrokes per day, or perhaps about 25 million keystrokes per year, which would give a life expectancy of between two years and four years for a mechanical keyboard. A membrane keyboard would not be acceptable in such an environment!

The active ingredient on a mechanical keyboard are its switches, one for each character. There are three standard types: linear, tactile and clicky. Linear switches are simple, they lack tactile/ audio feedback when they reach the actuation point, where the key press is registered. Tactile switches provide tactile feedback, commonly referred to as a bump, when hitting the actuation point. Clicky switches provide tactile and audio feedback when they hit the actuation point. The feedback provided by both tactile and clicky switches reduces typing effort. One is continuously aware of how much effort is needed to register a key press, so a user can type faster. People who do not want to disturb others with audio effects will choose linear or silent tactile switches, typically referred to as brown switches.

There are experiences that lead me towards or away from many manufacturer and particular products.

Switches are available from Logitech, Kailh, Cherry, Gateron and Epomaker. There are a lot of potential mechanical keyboard contenders. Some of the ones I have considered acquiring are: Logitech POP Keys with cloned Cherry MX Brown switches from Trantek Electronics Co. Ltd of China; Drop ENTR with switches from Kailh; Keychron Q8 (Alice) ergonomic keyboard with Gateron Pro G Brown switches; and Epomaker TH80 a slightly less ergonomic keyboard with their own Flamingo linear switches.

With so many Logitech keyboards in my collection, I was initially attracted by the appearance (blast yellow & emoji keys) of the POP equipment, but not the keyboard or mouse functions. Unfortunately, there are numerous issues with the keyboard. One review indicate that the keyboard is tricky and unforgiving to type on, and replacing useful key functions with five emoji shortcuts is just a novelty. The keycaps don’t seem particularly well made, with legends pad printed, a method criticized for its poor wear. Dye sublimation or double-shot molding is preferred. There are no height adjustable feet. It does not come with back lighting. It is not an ISO keyboard. The keyboard costs about US$ 100, plus shipping. Gimmick describes the keyboard in one word!

Drop was founded in 2012 in San Francisco as Massdrop by Steve El-Hage and Nelson Wu, who met in Toronto. It changed its name to Drop in 2019. For me, the problem with Drop was the initial propaganda I encountered. It showed a tube-based amplifier beside a keyboard. This was a danger signal, as I am not a member of any tribe using old-fashioned tubes. Yes, I belong to the transistor generation!

If one can overcome that initial prejudice, the ENTR keyboard is a Ten Key Less (TKL) = 80% board, which lacks some keys, some say 17 rather than 10, in relation to a full-sized keyboard. The missing keys are not used much, and there are workarounds for them. Ergonomically, a TKL is considered much better for productive typing, than a full-sized keyboard. The challenge for me, is that it is an ANSI keyboard, which makes it, by definition, unsuitable. It also costs US$ 100, plus shipping.

The Keychron Q8 Alice ISO-Nordic keyboard is a good mechanical ergonomic keyboard. Many claim that this is a 65% keyboard, because its keys that are based on a 65% keyboard that is split into right and left halves, with a gap between them. The two sides are angled and tilted upwards. Other ergonomic keyboards tilt downwards. At a price over US$ 200, plus shipping, it is an expensive keyboard. Yet, given its durability, it is probably a suitable investment for anyone who writes a lot and expects to live longer than six years more, the life expectancy of two Logitech K860 keyboards, at the rate of 5 000 keystrokes a day. One advantage of this keyboard is its mass. The keyboard is constructed of CNC machined 6063 aluminum with a mass of 1 820 g. This keyboard stays firmly in place when typing, while lighter keyboards have a tendency to move. Quantum Mechanical Keyboard firmware (QMK) can be customized/ programmed/ mapped with a VIA configurator/ programmer/ app. Both the firmware and the programmer are open-source. 

The Epomaker TH80 offers a keyboard that is slightly less ergonomic, but more affordable at US$ 100 plus shipping. It offers more keys than the Q8. Some regard it as a 75%, others an 80% keyboard. The keys are hot swapable, which is probably uninteresting to anyone over the age of 30, not engaged in gaming. There are three ways to connect this keyboard to a computer including 2.4Ghz WiFi/ Bluetooth 5.0/ USB Type-C wired connector. Keycaps are made from polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) that tolerate high temperatures (150 C), resist solvants, are mechanically strong and long wearing with a matte finish. On the negative side, they are usually more brittle, and resonate more/ sound louder when typing. A MDA profile indicates a keycap design that emphasizes a uniform concaveness. The individual keycaps have a wide and flat surface. They are more suitable for typing than gaming. These keycaps have dye-sublimated legends. Another feature of the keyboard is it RGB effects using south-facing (towards the typist) software-programmable LEDs.

Rodents

An Ergo Vertical mouse is my companion rodent. Propaganda from Logitech told me it works at the ideal angle for a hand = 57°. I find it comfortable to use. However, not everyone may be in agreement, particularly people who prefer to use their left hand with a mouse, or people with smaller hands.

The Logitech Lift, and a minimally different Lift for Business, are suitable for people with small to medium sized hands. Some of the differences between Lift and Vertical, include: Lift is made out of plastic, while Vertical is made from rubber and aluminum. Lift can only be used wirelessly, while Vertical can also be used with a USB-C cable. Lift has a replaceable battery, Vertical is rechargeable. Lift is good for 3 million clicks, Vertical for 10 million.

Variants of both the Vertical and Lift are made for people who favor their left hand, although colours may be limited. Further information about mice for people with large hands can be found here, which includes a reference to a Levkey left hand mouse. Similar information for people with small hands can be found here.

My experience with rodents, is that they seldom fail, but when they do they have reached the end of their life. Appropriate replacements take time to acquire. While we do have local stores that sell them, most of the mice available locally do not meet my specific requirements. For this reason, I always have an extra mouse on hand that I can use when required. My current reserve rodent is a MX Anywhere 3. It is often classified as a travel/ compact mouse. The two main attributes that are often highlighted are its speed and accuracy. Mine is pink to match a MX keys mini keyboard, which was also acquired if my primary keyboard should ever fail.

For computer aided design, and well as other drawing inputs, I use a Wacom One pen tablet. It comes with a pressure sensitive and lightweight pen, without batteries, or a need to charge. It connects with a USB cable to any Windows, macOS, Chromebook or Linux PC. I have only used it with a Linux machine, but there are built-in drivers that just work. Propaganda from Wacom says that it is bundled with apps specifically tailored for education. I have no idea what they are talking about. However, it did work with Krita, the Swedish graphic program I was using. Size (W x D x H): 277 x 189 x 8.7 mm, without tag and rubber foot, with an active area (W * D): 216 x 135 mm.

There are more expensive products, that may be suitable for graphics and some other professionals. For non-professionals, the Wacom One is gudenuf!

Flatscreens

In 1969 I worked as a stockbroker trainee in Vancouver, where I had regular contact with a Mitsubishi lumber buyer. He described a flat-panel display he had seen in Japan, that was being developed by his company. He expected it to be on the market by the mid-1970s, at the latest. He was a bit optimistic, as it took about thirty years. In the US, Westinghouse had already developed a electroluminescent display (ELD) was made using thin-film transistors (TFT), but it was not ready for prime-time.

The brightness of a monitor is measured in candela per square meter. Since this is long and complex, the unofficial term, nits, is often used. Since candela measure light intensity. The value in nits shows how bright a screen appears. Nit comes from the Latin verb nitere = to shine. This monitor provides 300 nits, which is within the normal range of between 200 and 600 nits for laptop screens and monitors. 300 nits is considered to be most appropriate. It offers good visibility, shows colours well and prevents eye strain.

Almost all new monitors have LED backlighting. WLED just means white light emiting diode, that I consider a marketing gimmick. While gamers and video editors like to have the fastest possible refresh rate, this is not so important in office situations. A refresh rate of 100 (and sometimes even 60 Hz) is fully acceptable. This monitor has a refresh rate of 144 Hz.

There are two different pixel response benchmarks for monitors: Grey-to-Grey (GtG) and Moving Picture Response Time (MPRT). GtG represents how long it takes for a pixel to change between two colors, while MPRT represents how long a pixel is continuously visible. While GtG pixel response time has improved, MPRT has not gotten faster because MPRT is limited by the refresh cycle and by the frametime. Here, the response times are: GtG = 4 ms, while MPRT = 1 ms.

Contrast ratio refers to the difference between the minimum brightness and maximum brightness of a monitor. For example, looking at a monitor with a 1 000:1 contrast ratio, a white image would appear 1 000 times brighter than a black image on that one specification.

There are no official test procedures to find a contrast ratio. Static contrast ratio, attempts to measure the difference in luminosity, comparing the brightest and darkest shades the system is capable of producing simultaneously. Dynamic contrast is the luminosity ratio comparing the brightest and darkest shade the system is capable of producing over time while a picture is moving. Here, the contrast ratios are: 3 000:1 static; 80M:1 dynamic.

Almost all monitors specify a viewing angle of 178 degrees.

Manufacturers are always enthusiastic about how many colours their monitors can reproduce. 16.7 million is a typical answer. This means that 24-bits are used to define the colour of each and every pixel, eight bits each for red (R), green (G) and blue (B). If there are slightly over one billion colors, this means that 30-bits per pixel are being used; 10 bits each for R, G and B. In the real world, this is only used in equipment for video and photo editing.

In the beginning (2010) Ken Birman developed vertical synchronization (V-Sync), display technology software designed to help monitors prevent screen tearing, a situation that arises when two different image components interact/ because the monitor’s refresh rate can’t keep pace with the data being sent from the graphics card. It causes a cut or misalignment to appear in the image.

By 2013 Nvidia developed G-Sync, which is a proprietary hardware solution to the same problem. G-Sync works only with Nvidia graphic cards. In 2014 AMD developed FreeSync, which was a royalty free alternative to G-Sync. It works with AMD as well as Nvidia graphic cards, and on some consoles. Thus, it is a more flexible solution. The one concession to gaming in this monitor is its use of FreeSync, which works between 30 and 144 Hz.

Overexposure to blue light is claimed to cause problems that range from dry eyes to eye strain, sleep cycle disruption as well as macular degeneration, which can cause partial blindness. Some people blame these problems on the overuse of computers, rather than blue light. Regardless of its merits, many manufacturers are reducing the amount of blue light being send out.

If the display cannot be positioned satisfactorily, then one must consider repositioning the desk. Ideally, a display should be placed at right angles to, or away from, windows and other light sources so it does not create/ reflect glare. Glare may cause eye strain. Once this is done, the display should be centered directly in front of the user.

When this wait for flatscreens was finally rewarded, Cliff Cottage was eventually populated with them, but it took time, because they were so expensive to start with. The life of a flat-screen monitor probably exceeds fifteen years. Thus, people may want to ensure that what they purchase is suitable for their future needs.

One notable product was an LG 24″/ 60 cm flatscreen monitor for a media centre purchased in the early 2000s. It lasted until it was replaced with a Samsung 40″/ 100 cm model from 2010, purchased used in 2012. This machine was in use until a 50″/ 125 cm model from NetOnNet, Anderson QLED5031UHDA was purchased 2023-11-17. It has 4K = 3840 x 2160 pixel resolution. In terms of sound, it is equipped with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround sound standards.

There are three common types of LCD panels: twisted (TN), in-plane switching (IPS) and vertical alignment (VA). This monitor uses a VA panel. Compared to a TN panel, it has a deeper-black background, a higher contrast ratio, a wider viewing angle, and better image quality at extreme temperatures. Compared to an IPS panel, it has deeper black levels that allow for a higher contrast ratio, which are 3 000:1. However, the viewing angle is narrower, and color and especially contrast shifts are more apparent.

Office monitors have changed considerably over the past years. With a conventional office desk, an ideal screen size used to be 24″ / 61 cm, then 27″/ 70 cm or less. If more screen area was required up to three such screens could be parked on a desk, so that multiple data windows could be opened simultaneously.

Numerous laptops, and assorted flatscreen monitors have also been purchased. For example:

Trish uses a Benq GL2450 T, which was made 2015-04. My records do not indicate when it was purchased, but probably sometime in 2015. It has a 24″/ 61 cm screen, with high definition 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution, using TN technology. It offers 250 cd/m² brightness, which is now regarded as a low value. Dynamic range = 1k:1 – 1M:1. Energy use = 50 W, 0.3 W in standby. The response time is 5 ms. which is adequate for office use, but too low for other uses. It also comes with a DVI-D connector, rather than an HDMI connector. This is manageable because there are adapters between DVI-D and HDMI. It functioned adequately, but is not height adjustable and does not have many of the features found on modern monitors.

For many years I used a Samsung SyncMaster S27B350 monitor that was purchased 2012-11-09. It has a 27″/ 686 mm HDMI screen. Other differences between it and the Benq discussed above are: Brightness = 300 cd/m². Energy consumption = 40 W. Its response time is 2 ms.

Because I have some vision issues related to blue-light exposure, it was replaced 2020-10-07 with a AOC Q27P2Q, a 27″ monitor with 150 mm height adjustment, using ISP panel technology displaying 2560 x 1440 pixels, with low blue light technology. Dimensions: 528.2(H) x 808.4(W) x 237.4(D);Tilt: -5/ 23; Height adjustment 130 mm; swivel -32/ 32. Power: 67/ 0.5/ 0.3 on/ standby/ off, respectively. Mass: 8 100 g. The ACO screen has also wavered in price. It was purchased for NOK 2 300. Soon after my purchase it increased to about NOK 3 200, then it fell once again to NOK 2 400. As this post is published it costs NOK 2 700.

When I purchased this new monitor, I was aware that it wouldn’t work with my KVM = keyboard & video & mouse, a device/ switch that allows up to several computers to share the same peripheral equipment. My KVM, an Aten CS692, has 2-ports allowing it to work with two computers, but the screen size is restricted to HD = 1920 x 1080 pixels. Fortunately, if I am desperate to use two computers simultaneously, I have up to several old HD monitors available, that work with this HD KVM.

Depending on one’s activities, only extraordinary circumstances dictate that a person should have more than one keyboard, monitor and mouse at their workstation. KVMs can be purchased (or in some circumstances made) that will meet the individual needs of any user. Many KVMs can be used to access computers remotely. While my desktop machine is adequate for most purposes, it would not be suitable for either gaming or video editing.

Today = 2024, people are going over to ultra-wides. This allows for a 35″/ 90 cm screen, that fits on a conventional office desk. At some point Trish’s monitor will either wear out, or she will realize that it has passed its use-by date. Thus, I could offer her my AOC monitor, and purchase an AOC CU34P2A 34″ ultrawide buet WQHD gaming monitor. This monitor was selected for discussion, because of its price: It was under a magic NOK 4 000 = US$ 360 (at publication).

Diagonal size: 34”/ 864 mm with the curvature equivalent to a radius of 1 500 mm, normally described at 1500R. There is a 797 x 334 mm viewing area, populated with 3440 x 1440 pixels. This has an aspect ratio of 2.37:1, but is marketed as 21:9. It consumes 55 W when in use, and 0.3 W on standby.

When discussing a monitor for office purposes, it is important to remember that the standard paper document size in Europe is A4 = 210 x 297 mm = 8.3 x 11.7 inches. It is a substitute for 8 1/2″ x 11″ paper found in North America. An ultra-wide monitor allows for up to several rows of tool, memory and other bars, at the top and bottom, as well as the display of four documents with their width only slightly compacted, but with their length in full size.

In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology should be used to provide accurate colour and a wide (up to 180°) viewing angle. It should be easy to height-adjust, tilt, pivot and swivel the display. In addition, the display should be flicker free and have reduced blue light, especially after dark. Some find it advantageous for a display to have built-in stereo speakers. However, headsets should be provided and used whenever two or more people share/ occupy a room.

Headsets

Clarification: I am not, and have never regarded myself an audiophile. In fact, I am opposed to using the term, because those self-appointed lovers of sound far too often promote nonsense,

There are many different types of headphones, that distinguish themselves in terms of their ear cups. The are: closed-back, open-back, on-ear, in-ear (ear buds). Headphones are used for different purposes. A performing musician may want something entirely different from someone watching YouTube videos on a computer.

Closed-back headphones are designed with sealed ear cups that offer excellent noise isolation. They also prohibit the user from hearing people and other things within their environment.

Open-back headphones, have perforated ear cups that allow air and sound to pass through.

Open-ear headphones are designed to direct sound waves directly to the middle ear, avoiding your eardrum. Some users state that these make it possible for a user to immerse him/ herself in content while remaining aware of your surroundings. These are useful for people who are active outdoors.

On-ear headphones rest on the ears rather than enclosing them. It is claimed that they strike a balance between portability and comfort, offering good sound quality without fully sealing off the ears from the environment. These may be suitable for younger users, but for people with a hearing disability, they can be detrimental.

Over ear headphones envelop the ears completely, providing noise isolation and immersive sound. This is my preferred choice of headphone.

In-Ear Earbuds are small, lightweight headphones that fit directly into the ear canal. They are highly portable and easily transportable and very compact, but due to the small size of the speaker, they can’t create true sound isolation.

In-ear headphones, also known as in-ear monitors (IEMs), fit snugly into the ear canal, providing excellent noise isolation and sound quality. These go deeper into the ear canal than earbuds.

When I was in the market for a headset, many sites with reviews about headsets for the hearing impaired suggested versions of Audio Technica products, commonly the ATH-M50X at NOK 1 100. However, these are headphones for listening, without a microphone for speaking. These could be complemented with an Audio Technica ATR3350iS omnidirectional condenser lavalier microphone, that comes with an adapter, allowing it to be used with handheld devices. These cost almost NOK 550, for a total price of almost NOK 1 650.

This seemed expensive, and I started to investigate office and gaming headsets. Even the Logitech G433 and the Logitech G Pro X also seemed too expensive, at NOK 1 250 and NOK 1 350 respectively. I decided that I could stretch myself to buy a Logitech G Pro at NOK 1 000, as a compromise. However, on the day I decided to buy one, the G Pro X came on sale at NOK 900, which was lower than either the G Pro or G433. It was purchased on 2020-10-07. Then I purchased a second, but wireless, for NOK 1 300 on 2023-12-31. Todays prices: The G Pro X wireless headset is NOK 1 700, while the wired variant costs NOK 1 100.

Printers

There are two types of printers that are suitable for individuals, families and most small businesses. These are colour laser and ink-jet.

I have never had a relationship with Hewlett-Packard (HP), in part because my employers, Møre and Romsdal county and North Trøndelag county bought and used many of their products. Unfortunately, these often had reliability issues. Thus, when it came time for us to buy printers we chose Canon.

Ink-jet printers are usually inexpensive, because manufacturers make their money from selling cassettes. The advantage of a laser printer, in contrast to an ink-jet printer, is that while the ink cartridges are more expensive, they do not dry out.

We have a Canon i-Sensys MF633CDW colour laser printer with a scanner. We print out very few pages a year, yet there is never a problem when we do so. Most of the time, the machine is used as a scanner.

I imagine this will be the last printer we purchase, as long as we can buy cartridges that fit the machine. We buy remanufactured cartridges from Yaha, a company located in Arendal in Agder, in southern Norway. They even offer cartridges that even fit ancient printers.

Our relationship with Yaha dates to 2008-02-16, when we bought our first laptop computer, an Acer Travel Mate 5520. It provided a 15.4″ screen, with 2 GB RAM and 160 GB hard disk drive storage. The invoice states that it came with a Windows XP operating system. It cost NOK 6 500. When I look at the details, it appears that this machine was destined for our daughter, Shelagh. A month later, we bought a second machine, with a 17″ screen. It appears to be for our son, Alasdair.

Needs/ Wants

Because I have the opportunity to do so, I prioritize the purchase of computer equipment beyond minimal household needs. While these could be considered (and budgeted) as part of the computing infrastructure, a more honest appropriation is to consider them as hobby electronics expenditures.

Soon, I hope to relocate a Behringer MS-1 synthesizer (purchased 2022-03-25) beside my desktop machine, so that they both can take advantage of the same audio equipment, including a Native Instrument Komplett Audio 6 interface (purchased 2020-11-12). If I should want to share sounds locally, there is Red, an Angry Birds speaker (An audiophile would add that it is a Hybrid mesh PRO-G 50 mm speaker. it comes with a neodymium magnet, providing a frequency response between 20 Hz and 20 kHz, with an impedance of 35 ohms.

Personas

Devices have personalities. I refer to them as third level personas. Persona, was first documented as a word in 1905–10. It is derived from the Latin, persōna, meaning mask or character. The first two levels are people and pets. When we first started using computers we named them after Agatha Christie characters, such as Jane (Marple). Once that list had become exhausted, we named them after departed relatives. This can create some challenges. When it came time to name a computer after my maternal grandmother, Jane Andison nee Briggs, that name had already been used. Now, I have begun naming devices after qualities. The weblog post is being written on/ with Enigmata, which refers to a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation. Lingists will appreciate learning that enigma came into the English language in 1530–40. It is from the Latin aenigma, from the Greek aínigma, equivalent to ainik- (stem of ainíssesthai = to speak in riddles, derivative of aînos = fable) + -ma noun suffix of result.

Yes, there are gamers who do have their distinct requirements, usually specified in terms of graphics and latency (time delay), and other explicit requests. There are some/ many Macintosh users, who answer Apple, even before any question is asked. Then there is a category called most people, who simply accept whatever machine and operating system combination some salesperson/ website is promoting that day – Chrome OS on inexpensive, Windows on mid-range and Surface on more exclusive machines. Linux? Well, that takes effort.

In addition to backup files on the Mothership server, copies are stored on assorted external drives. Recently, and for the first time, an external harddisk drive (EHDD) has failed. It was a Seagate Backup Plus 4 TB unit purchased, 2016-11-22. It had been used minimally. Since then, no other EHDD has failed.

Part of the challenge of thriving with a computer is a function of one’s age. The first time I heard that voice control would replace keyboards was probably around 1978. It would take five years, an expert had suggested, 1983. Since then, thirty-six years have passed, and still I buy keyboards regularly. I now expect to use a keyboard as my primary input device for the duration of my life.

Twenty-four weblog posts about computing were published in 2020. The original intention of updating the posts at annual intervals, has not been fulfilled.

Every time I worked on the update, the text grew longer. It was then split into three posts. Each is still too long. This first one is mainly about computing devices. The second is about peripherals (such as keyboards and rodents). The third is about software, including operating systems. Originally, they were intended to be published at the end of 2021, then postponed to the end of 2022. This postponement was due to a desire to include information about several planned changes to our computer systems, that could be relevant for others. Once these changes were in place, challenges emerged with respect to our WordPress post notification system. In the end I just gave up, wrote a mail template using my Thunderbird Mail system, and started sending out notifications to people. While the original notification system was automatic, this takes time, adding a few minutes to each posting. There were still delays in 2023, and now in 2024, with 2025 quickly approaching.

Despite delays, these updates retain the goal of helping people make appropriate choices as they struggle through the maze of computer component/ device/ system acquisition opportunities. I have tried to edit the advice to suit older rather than younger readers. Older users are defined here as 60 + (born in or before 1965).

Replacements

Most people in developed economies are not buying their first of anything, when it comes to computer equipment. Most purchases are equipment replacements. This brings up questions about: 1) what types of computer equipment to buy; 2) where to buy it; 3) how frequently one ought to replace it; and 4) what features should it have. Yes, some old features should be abandoned while some new features should be added.

Worn devices

Some years ago now, Trish and I attempted to use computer watches made by Wyse. This experiment ended with an understanding that these devices were not for us. I am uncertain where they are now. I believe we tried to return them to our son-in-law Derek when he came to visit in the summer of 2023. Our experience with these watches taught us is that it is important to know the characteristics of the equipment/ device one wants and the reasons for wanting it. We didn’t, possibly thinking that roles for the new watches would emerge as we used them. There were some vague imaginings about health issues, such as blood pressure. No blood pressure or other health related apps emerged.

It is important to have some idea about the expected live expectancy of every product. An inexpensive device that lasts less than a year, can be a much worse investment than buying something twice as expensive that lasts four years or more. However, buying a device that is never used is wasteful. So, one approach is to determine an acceptable price you are willing to pay for each item, then calculate the product price per time unit. Rank product alternatives on the basis of their price per unit time. If a bargain appears at a price below that target price, it can be purchased, as long as all the other requirements are met or exceeded.

Because our planet is figuratively boiling, computing device acquisitions should take the state of the world into consideration, and in particular the impending climate crisis. Here, one should not just follow the advice of Greta Thunberg (2003 – ), but people such as Mark Zachary Jacobson (1965- ), who is an expert on soot. He advises against many new computing acquisitions, as well as many new technologies. His general advice is an encouragement to rely on water, wind and solar for energy.

Jacobson is especially appreciated for two quotations: 1) Every dollar spent on nuclear is one less dollar spent on clean renewable energy and one more dollar spent on making the world a comparatively dirtier and a more dangerous place, because nuclear power and nuclear weapons go hand in hand. 2) You could power America with renewables from a technical and economic standpoint. The biggest obstacles are social and political – what you need is the will to do it. One of his more accessible books is: 100% Clean, Renewable Energy and Storage for Everything (2020),

The pandemic was followed by an illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Military. This activity led to increased food and energy prices. Once again the poor suffered. They are the ones who are the most susceptible to food interruptions, while Ukrainian civilians are most endangered. People should take a hard look at the state of the world, and their purchasing patterns. The time has come to set other priorities than having the fastest or best, or even the cheapest! The most important priority is to ensure that temperatures are kept within 1.5 °C.

In the West, one problem younger people in the service sector are having to face, is choosing between working in the office or working from home. Productivity increases indicate that working from home is the most appropriate choice for most people. For smaller businesses, it is often a choice of either closing down, or allowing people to work at home. In contrast, Billionaires disagree. Elon Musk is opposed to anyone working at home.

In general, Trish and I try to buy products made locally. Yes, that includes eggs from a neighbouring farm. However, there are no computers that are made locally in Inderøy. That means there are different rings of local. It can mean a person’s municipality (Inderøy), region (Innherad), county (Trøndelag), country (Norway), cluster of related nations (Norden – Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland officially, but I also include many Baltic states especially Estonia), continent (Europe). Beyond this, much of the computer equipment purchased is made by Taiwanese, South-Korean or Japanese companies, some products are even made in the United States and Canada.

These would be bought from local stores, but only if they bother to stock them, or arrange for delivery quickly. Increasingly, we purchase white wares from Elon in Inderøy. Unfortunately, local stores seldom stock the peculiar equipment I am interested in. This means an increased reliance on online suppliers. Some national sellers are focusing more on price, and offering an increasing array of cheaper products made in countries not on my support list. I see no reason to support these companies, as I can often buy products from a preferred producer elsewhere, at about the same price.

Discovering where products are made can be challenging. My Kingston solid-state drives are made in Taiwan, which is an acceptable place. At one point, my supplier was unable to provide the Kingston flash drive I wanted, so I ended up with a SanDisk made in China, a less acceptable location. I discovered our television was made in Türkiye, only after we had purchased it. I also discovered that a SUN-sdr (software defined radio) that seemed to be Swedish, was made in Taganrog, Rostov, Russia. Fortunately, I had not bought it, and will stick with a Red Pitaya SDR, made in Slovenia.

During 2022, we replaced both our hand-held devices and our laptops. Prior to shopping, we tried to answer questions about: where the device should be made or assembled, where we would buy the device; how long we intended to keep it; and, what features we wanted. These will be answered separately for the devices discussed here.

Computing Devices

We are two divergent people living together, one female and one male. There is 30 cm height difference, a 20 kg difference in body mass, and significant differences in hand measurements. One person has hearing issues, while the other has vision issues. Finding common ground for computers can be challenging, especially for hand-held devices.

Yet, we also have some common ground. Both of us are skilled touch typists, and we both use machines for the much the same purposes.

Hand-held Devices

Our first smart hand-held devices, HTC Gratia Nordic models, were purchased 2011-03-21, and lasted for about five years. Their replacements were two used iPhones inherited from our daughter, Shelagh. Possibly because of our experience with the HTC phones, we did not feel especially comfortable using iPhones. These were replaced with a Huawei P9 lite (2016-08-02), and a P10 lite (2017-06-21). Having two distinct models of both the iPhones and Huawei phones proved burdensome, because solutions that worked for one device did not always work on the second one.

At the end of 2018, the P9 lite felt outdated. When another person’s P10 device broke, we decided to give our P10 to that person, and bought two Xiaomi Pocophone F1 devices (2018-12-25). The use of two Pocophones returned us to a more comfortable situation where we had two identical devices, where something learned about one device, could be applied to the second.

These were used for three years, until autumn 2022. Originally, we had decided to keep them for five years. The decision to buy new hand-held devices, was not because the old ones were worn out. Rather, there were two other factors that influenced us. One was the constant requests from Xiaomi to collect data, and intrude on our lives, that resulted in us not wanting to have anything more to do with Xiaomi. The second was to have a new device in place before the arrival of Buzz, an electric vehicle.

During the second half of 2022, we decided that we would continue to follow our policy of buying identical machines. The Pocaphones have not been discarded. One, perhaps both, will be converted to using the /e/ or Lineage open source operating system, just to see how suitable it is, as a replacement for Android. This would effectively eliminate Xiaomi (and Google).

Our priorities were to opt for a compact device, with a good camera and a 3.5 mm headphone jack reduced our choices considerably. We first considered buying Fairphones, but did not because they continue to have reliability issues.

On 2022-09-02, we bought Asus Zenfone 9 models, with 16 GB RAM, and 256 GB internal storage. equipped with Android 12, upgradable to Android 13. These cost NOK 9 500 each, more than the NOK 6 000 each, we were initially planning, but there were several factors that influenced this decision: compact size, a large battery, a good – but not excellent – camera, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Porting over existing apps and data to the new devices went smoothly. We then added F-droid, directly from its site. It is a valuable tool to help people find open-source/ FOSS programs for their hand-held devices.

Once again, I estimate that these devices will last five years. Only fools will believe me, because I have no basis for making such a prophecy. The specifications chosen should enhance the longevity of the devices. So far, there have come no data requests from Asus.

At the time of purchase, smartphones typically cost between NOK 3 000 and 16 000, a rise of 50% from 2020. In addition, people were choosing top-end models because, for many, employers are paying for this equipment.

We are generally happy with our Zenfones. RhinoShield screen protectors was attached to each phone. This protector is a custom-made polymer film that absorbs and disperses fall shocks, leaving the display untouched and intact, is scratch resistant and doesn’t interfere touchscreen operations. An oleophobic coating that makes it fingerprint resistant. We also have cases in blue (for Trish) and pink (for Brock) that offer 3 card storage slots. Because, Brock goes through these cases faster than Trish, he has purchased two additional cases.

Dumbphones

An alternative to the smart phone is the dumb phone There are four different groups of people who may want to use a dumb phone. First, there are criminals who may need an inexpensive throw-away phone. This group will not be addressed further. Then there are the minimalists, adults who do not want to clutter their lives with phones. A subgroup here are hikers and others who need a rugged phone, and are willing to put up with the limitations of a dumb phone while they explore wilderness areas. This group already knows what they want, and don’t want, so they will not be addressed here. Third, many countries are discussing banning people under the age of 16 from using social media and smartphones. A dumb phone offers them a solution in a world increasingly dependent on electronic communication. Again, we will let their parents investigate what is needed, in consultation with their children. Fourth, there are the elderly, who for various reasons are losing their ability to use conventional smartphones. It is this group that will be addressed here.

Many people have dumb phones in their collections, that were purchased when mobile phones first entered the scene, say before 2010. These are undoubtedly unsuitable because of network connectivity issues, even if their batteries still work!

People will have to accept the fact that they will need to invest in a relatively modern dumbphone. Two models will be examined here, the Nokia 3210 and the Dora 780X. These are models that could be used by the elderly because they are affordable and easy to use. Some might be tempted to add fun as an adjective, but for someone struggling with memory issues, that term probably does not apply.

The Nokia 3210 is just one of many recently re-launched Nokia models. It comes with a color screen, 4G connectivity, Bluetooth support, and dual-SIM capabilities. It literally has battery life that lasts for 96 hours = 4 days. It comes in several bright colours, although the only one that attracted me was yellow.

Doro is a Swedish phone maker that specializes in elderly friendly phones. Some of these phones could also appeal to minimalists, and those who want a rugged phone. They do not have children as a primary market. The Doro 780X is for people with reduced cognitive capabilities. It emphasizes the safety/ wellbeing of the user.

Outgoing calls are restricted to three people (or fewer), with three large keys with name labels. This avoids a need to navigate menus. It is possible to receive SMS, but not to send any. It comes with a safety timer and an assistance button for sending an alarm with GPS position. It is IP 54, which means it is water-resistant.

The selection of a Doro 780X will probably not be made by the intended user, but by a close relative or someone else, with the goal of ensuring that the user has as good a life as possible, despite cognitive decline.

Tablets

This section will be short, because neither Trish nor I are users of tablets. For us, they are a mismatch. We want to type on a keyboard, and while we have a Logitech M480 keyboard that is designed to hold both phones and tablets while typing, we would prefer to use either a laptop or desktop machine. There are lots of tablet computers in the market, ranging from generic, inexpensive devices to more advanced Android, Windows, Linux and Apple supported models. Many people will want a machine that matches one of their operating systems. Thus, for us the choice would be between something Android or Linux powered.

The advice here is to talk to someone who has a tablet, remembering that people become devoted to their particular tribe, which here refers to the particular operating system in use. So, if you are a dedicated Apple user, talking to someone with an Android machine may not provide you with much relevant information.

Computers

A concern: Because of our experiences with our Pocophones, we decided against buying any Chinese computers. Recently, the Norwegian Project Lion Cage, has received attention. Members of the project group have thoroughly examined how a Chinese made NIO electric car communicates, especially what kind of data it collects and where it sends it. There is a lot of data traffic between the car and China, but also with the USA, Canada, Russia and Australia. The communication continues, even when the vehicle is parked.

The main concern here is that China could disable EVs as well as computers and other types of equipment, as part of a hybrid war. My concerns are not just with China. Hybrid warfare is relatively cheap, and does not set the lives of perpetrators in danger. Anyone can do it. That includes corporations as well as governments.

With the return to the office, there there has been decreased demand for laptop and desktop equipment, so there has not been the same price increases. Both types of equipment can be fitted with the same software. With Linux, Cinnamon is a comfortable desktop environment, that ranks not just warm, but also sunny. Countless articles have commented on the similarity between Cinnamon and Window XP. All my laptop and desktop machines are equipped with it, and the latest Firefox web-browser, and software that comes standard with Linux Mint.

In 2025-10, Windows 10 will no longer be supported, although there are possibilities for a one year extension of the deadline. Users are asked to transition to Windows 11. Unfortunately, Windows 11 does not support all devices capable of using Windows 10, so a large proportion of these users will have to either buy new hardware, or migrate to a new operating system, such as Linux Mint.

Buying computer equipment

The acquisition of computer equipment faces three major challenges. First, equipment (hardware as well as software) is continuously evolving. Yet, while computing power has increased significantly over the past years, changes are more evolutionary than before. Today, there is a greater emphasis on power per watt, than on raw processing power. This applies to personal machines, as well as servers.

While hand-held devices (especially smartphones, less so tablets) have become more dominant, there is still a need for personal computers – laptops as well as desktop machines. Servers may be hidden in a cloud, or in an attic/ basement/ closet, but they too are performing more work.

Keyboards and mice are the most important input devices, as they have been since 1984, when they replaced punch-card readers. The screen is the most important output device. It has become thinner, with improved resolution. Broadband, and other forms of communication, increasingly allow large quantities of data to move throughout cyberspace.

Second, people continuously age. This may be seem as something positive in a fifteen year old looking forward to being twenty. It may even be regarded as inevitable by a seventy-five year old contemplating eighty.

Younger people should receive a critical education that allows them to appreciate the value technology brings, but to be wary of its detrimental aspects. Technology is not benign. Gaming is a particularly difficult challenge, because many youth become addicted to it. Thus, it may be necessary to restrict computer access to ensure that people get enough sleep, perhaps by disconnecting WiFi and/ or wired internet access, say from 22:00 or 23:00 to 06:00 or 07:00, respectively.

Older youth could be encouraged to use computers productively for the benefit of themselves and their family. For those approaching midlife, there is a continual need to adapt, and to learn new technological skills. Society should be concerned when thirty/ forty/ fifty/ sixty-five year olds give up on acquiring/ developing new computing skills, while the world/ computer hardware/ computer software moves onwards. It is important to keep abreast of rising trends, but not to be a slave to them. One particularly damaging trend is for employers to make sideways investments in software. The expectation is that these new programs will add capabilities. However, they often end up doing the same thing, just in a slightly different way, that requires old skills to be relearned. This can be very discouraging.

Adaptability also applies to older people, but in a slightly different way. They have to think about impairments (current and potential). They also have to think long term! They may want to keep equipment longer than younger people, who are more adept at handling change. Older people may prefer to make an evolutionary transition to something a little different, rather than a radical change to something totally new.

Third, prices change erratically, so that what seems inaccessible one day, becomes affordable the next – and vice versa. Price is one of the major determinants of what people buy.

Erratic pricing

Almost every computer equipment purchaser wants to be portrayed as astute. Everywhere, there are hypothetical bargains that save money! The truth of the matter is that many purchasers are undisciplined, and exceed their budgets. This writer is no exception. At the beginning of 2020 the equipment budget for the reserve/ lab/ electronics/ podcasting computer system was NOK 10 000: computer = 4 000, screen = 2 000, other peripherals = 3 000, miscellaneous = 1 000.

Economics

Mini PCs typically have a lower price than a laptop with similar basic hardware. That is because many components are not included: display/ monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers and battery. Yet, if these components are not available, they will have to be purchased. This may make the total price even higher with a mini PC.

Performance

Laptops have constraints relating to size and mass. In addition, laptops can have air flow/ cooling challenges. Laptops have to balance heat management with performance. Mini PCs largely avoid these issues, with a greater freedom so select appropriate components. They can offer more effective cooling, obtaining better performance.

Batteries

Since mini PCs are not portable, they are not usually equipped with batteries. Admittedly, this could be a problem during a power outage, but a power outage could also disrupt net connections. Battery charging and discharging produces extra heat that can harm other internal components. Batteries also have a limited lifespan. Once again, this means that mini PCs last longer.

Upgrades

Laptops are in a perpetual battle with themselves, in terms of weight of components. They seldom have sufficient internal space for upgrades. They typically come with a single M.2 slot with no room for an extra drive. Their RAM modules are soldered in place. This means that memory (perhaps the entire machine) has to be replaced rather than upgraded. In constrast, Mini PCs often have an M.2 slot, a 2.5-inch SATA slot and two SO-DIMM slots. So, if it comes with an M.2 drive, it can be upgraded with an extra SATA drive. RAM modules can be upgraded beyond the initial configuration.

Ports

Because laptops have grown slimmer, ports and connectivity have been sacrificed. My Acer Swift 3 has two USB-A ports, one USB-C port, one headset jack and an HDMI port, as well as an outdated power port. High-end laptops rely on hubs and docks. My Asus PN-50 offers: 2 x DDR4 SO-DIMM, Max. 32GB x 2, 1 x SATA SSD port, 1 x M.2 2280 SSD port, 1 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A, 1x 4-in-1 Card Reader, 1 x Infrared Sensor, 2 x Microphone Array, 1x Audio Jack, 1 x HDMI, 1 x Display Port.

Laptop vs mini PC

Laptops have become the default option for people buying a new computer. In addition to the hidden components such as CPU memory and storage, some users prefer to add peripheries: a screen, a keyboard, a trackpad, speakers and a webcam.

Currently both Trish and Brock own one laptop and one mini PC, each. We currently both use Acer Swift 3 laptops. These are two years old (purchased: 2022-11-12). Theoretically, they are identical. However, there is quite a discrepancy between the two. For once, the one assigned to me is working better than the one assigned to Trish. This is a novel situation. Both have been upgraded to use USB-C power supplies, instead of the two very different power jacks they came with. I am suggesting to Trish that she may want to replace her laptop possibly with an Asus Zenbook 14 UX3402 with an Intel i5 processor, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of disk space, and a 14″ screen. It is in Ponder Blue. It was purchased to use as a dedicated Windows machine on 2023-10-31. So it is in our household already.

If a laptop is going to be placed on a desk with an external monitor, keyboard, rodent = a pointing device, most commonly a mouse and headset, one should probably consider a mini PC instead. These may offer several benefits, in part because they don’t have to be excessively thin!

Graphic Processing Units

Neither Trish nor I are gamers, and our computers reflect the fact that they will not be used for power/ data intensive tasks. We have no need to buy a computer that handles anything beyond office tasks, although I threaten to use one to work with both audio and video. So gamers, videographers and others with more demanding needs, should probably seek advice about computers elsewhere.

I have consulted with my son Alasdair, a gamer. He says that he is only interested in AMD and Nvidea graphic cards. Gamers usually choose an AMD or Nvidia graphic processing unit (GPU) for their rigs. Only to a limited degree are Intel Arcs relevant. Nvidia is often regarded as being in the lead, technically. They are almost always regarded as the price setters, while AMD is more of a price follower. In terms of market evaluation, Nvidia is worth roughly three times as much as AMD, despite a large proportion of AMD’s resources being devoted to CPU production.

Faster GPUs allow game developers to create more detailed/ complex worlds. Not every gamer or videographer needs to have the fastest or most power-efficient or cheapest GPU. Some GPUs are for smaller (read: 1080p or 1440p) screens, while others are import for 4K. Not every gamer wants to afford a GPU with top specifications.

Most gamers are content to use GPUs designed for the mainstream market. Some will even allow themselves to use budget GPUs. In most cases it is better to buy an older, potentially used, high specification GPU from some enthusiast upgrading to something even better. Most of the time it is inappropriate to show too much brand loyalty. When I read about GPUs, journalists rank Nvidia higher for 4K and ray tracing performance, AMD is better for 1080p and 1440p gaming. In terms of GPU power efficiency was in favor of Nvidia, until the Big Navi model improved AMD’s efficiency. Much of the efficiency is related to chip processes. TSMC’s 7nm FinFET process with a new architecture, delivered 50% better performance per watt. The net result is that AMD and Nvidea are close to tied.

Most of the features supported by AMD and Nvidia are similar, but their implementations vary. Many experts claim Nvidia’s implementations are generally superior but cost more. Nvidia is better for video encoding and decoding. It appears that newer drivers from both companies fix related problems. There are separate studio drivers for content creators.

One difference between AMD and Nvidia drivers is that Nvidia has two separate user interfaces. The Nvidia Control Panel handles things like resolutions and certain graphics settings. GeForce Experience is for game optimizations, driver updates and extra features. AMD offers a unified driver approach.

In terms of GPU pricing, many contend that AMD offers the best value, with equivalent Nvidia GPUs costing 15–25% more. Most experts end up with meaningless advice that the choice of a GPU boils done to personal preference rather than hard numbers. My observation is that people buy a GPU that meets their need to the degree that it is possible, but within a specified budget.

Laptop machines

After Alasdair had purchased an AMD Ryzen-5 powered Asus VivoBook 15, and expressed his satisfaction with it, I replaced a Acer ChromeBook 11 with an AMD Ryzen-3 powered VivoBook 14 laptop, on 2019-09-25. This was then equipped with software as identical as possible to that found on my older Intel Core-5 powered Asus VivoMini VC-65 desktop.

Unfortunately, the Asus laptop was also equipped with an ANSI keyboard. I regretted it almost immediately. Living with this problem for three years, I concluded that it is best for me to stick with one type of keyboard: ISO with a Nordic layout. It allows me to write English and Norwegian equally well.

People experience varying degrees of difficulty transitioning between ANSI and ISO keyboards. Trish, for example, has almost no difficulty, and I suspect that she would be hard pressed to identify the distinguishing characteristics of both types. Unfortunately, many manufacturers, including Asus, are now offering only ANSI keyboards on their laptops. Because of this, our latest laptop replacements were Acer Swift 3 machines, with Ryzen processors. These machines are similar to Trish’s Asus Zenbook UX305CA that cost NOK 6 000 in 2016, but with upgraded specifications.

We expected to pay about NOK 12 000, possibly more, for a laptop, but bought Acer Swift 3 machines, with a Ryzen 7 processor, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB storage, 14″ screen and aluminum chassis for on sale for NOK 7 500 each, but with a claimed normal price of NOK 10 000. The major difference between an initially envisioned machine, and that purchased, is that we have an inferior ISP screen, rather than a preferred OLED. We can live with the difference, especially given the price saving.

While we had intended to have a dual-boot system with Windows 11, this approach didn’t work. We installed a ZFS file system, eliminating Windows, and installed Linux Mint 21, with the Cinnamon desktop. It is a system that should feel comfortable for anyone used to Windows XP/ 7/ 10.

Despite both machines being bought the same day, from the same supplier, they were different. Since I was installing the new operating system, I assigned the one for Trish (with her user name and password) to the machine with the better barrel jack charger. Yes, they were different. Unfortunately, the best charger did not belong to the best machine, and later experience showed that Trish’s machine has had more issues than the one I assigned to myself.

One of the first things we did was to acquire new chargers that allowed charging through USB-C and USB-A ports. Thus, the same charger can be used for charging of hand-held devices (telephones/ tablets), hearing aids and laptop computers. Multiple devices can be charged at the same time. These charges use gallium nitride (GaN), a material that conducts electricity more efficiently and doesn’t get as hot as silicon. This means USB-C chargers can be built smaller, lighter and with more power. In Europe, USB-C has been mandated as the charging port standard for phones, tablets and laptops. Chargers are no longer included with device purchases, to eliminate electrical waste.

Desktop machines

Minimal Solutions

For some, a Raspberry Pi (RPi) 400 computer-in-keyboard may be the minimal computing solution they need. The keyboard is ISO, and it is available for a number of different languages. The two white wires in the above photo, connect it to a power supply and a screen. The red wire connects a mouse to it.

A RPi 400 costs about NOK 1 400, and can use any existing screen. Unfortunately, it is not really suitable for someone dependent on ergonomic peripherals.

There are a variety of Linux distros available for it, however Raspberry Pi OS is the official operating system. It is based on Debian Linux and optimized to run smoothly on the Pi hardware. Raspberry Pi OS comes in 3 versions: 1) Raspberry Pi OS with desktop – The recommended distro for most RPi users. It comes pre-installed with essential software like the Chromium browser and Python programming tools. 2) RPi OS Lite – A minimal image without a GUI. Useful for advanced users. 3) RPi OS with desktop and recommended software, an enhanced version with additional software. This is usually the one to be used with the RPi 400.

Propaganda from the RPi foundation about RPi OS are: Very lightweight and fast. Uses only 200-300 MB RAM on boot; Excellent hardware support with stable performance on all Pi models; Active development and updates from the RPi Foundation; Beginner-friendly with a desktop optimized for RPi, includes utility apps like a RPi Configurator. Large repository of software available; Easy to install tools; Preconfigured for Python development.

RPi OS is compatible with all versions of the Pi board, including the latest Pi 4 and 400. It runs on both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures. The minimum SD card size is 8GB, but 16GB is recommended especially for the desktop versions. SD = Secure Digital, a proprietary, non-volatile, flash memory card format for use in portable devices.

Update:

Today, numerous sites were announcing a new Raspberry Pi 500, released 2024-12-09, an updated version of the 400.

As shown in the above photo, the RPi 500 comes with an optional monitor! In USA, the Pi 500 keyboard computer costs $90, probably about NOK 1 400 delivered to Norway. A version with power supply, mouse and cables costs $120, ca. NOK 1 800 while the 15.6″ Pi Monitor costs $100, probably about NOK 1 500. However, this cannot be regarded as a complete package. There is no satisfactory storage!

The Pi 500 contains some features for a built-in M.2 slot, but there is no point in attempting to add a socket. Extensive work is needed to allow it to function. There are also empty pads obviously meant for Power over Ethernet (PoE) circuits.

Some journalists who have received versions on the condition of embargoes for articles, have prophecized a Pi 500 Pro/ Max/ Ultra version with Power over Ethernet (PoE) and Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller (NVMe) interface specification, an open, logical-device interface specification for accessing a computer’s non-volatile storage media.

The Pi 500 also increased in price to $90 from $70 for the Pi 400. Benefits include 2-3x faster speeds for nearly every feature, RAM doubling from 4 GB to 8 GB, the addition of a 32GB A2 microSD card.

Why haven’t PoE and M.2 circuits been shipped on the Pi 500 now? The RPi foundation has said that features such as PoE and M.2 are designed into the 500 to provide printed circuit board flexibility, so it can be reused in other contexts.

Much of the value of a keyboard involves its layout and feel. Both are ultimately subjective, but the general opinion is that the RPi 500 is serviceable, better than the RPi 400 keyboard, but still feels cheap. While the unit is not bad value, it is not exceptionally good value either. MicroSD cards, for example, involve a technology that are outdated, for their intended use.

Ports are always important on computing devices. The USB ports on the RPi 500 have independent USB 3.0 buses, instead of a shared 5 Gbps of bandwidth on the RPi 400.

Other features include a new dedicated power key, in the top right corner. A long press forces a shutdown. There is also a LED that is green when the machine is on, and red when it is off.

Thermally, the RPi 500 uses a large heatsink. It is claimed that temperatures are consistently 6-8°C warmer on PCB, but that the keys are not noticeably warmer. Commenting more generally, some machines are not particularly good at using their heatsink capabilities. They create hot spots. Others spread the heat more evenly.

The overclocking limit appears to be 2.8 GHz, exasperating some users who want to have 3.0 GHz overclocking. For that, heatsinks can’t keep up, but require some form of custom active cooling and/ or improved ventilation.

Should older people choose a RPi 500? My opinion is to give it a miss. The section below discusses used equipment. A used mini desktop computers can be purchased cheaply, as can used larger (27″) screens. These could be a more appropriate option.

End of update

There are many used computers available at low price, or even given away free of charge, that can be used for people just needing a computer. The same can be said about screens and rodents. I do not sell my old computers. I find someone in need to give them to. I encourage others with excessive equipment to do the same.

While I use a laptop computer most days, I would describe myself as a desktop user, with a focus on mini-PC machines. Currently, I regard 100 x 100 x 50 mm = 0.5 litre, the ideal size for a cabinet, in addition to an external power supply. I cannot imagine that this size can be reduced much further for three reasons: 1) space is needed internally for processors, RAM and storage; 2) heatsinks are needed to keep components cool; 3) ports are needed to attach peripherals that include monitors, keyboards and rodents.

Ergonomic is the one word that describes my computer preferences. I want each sub-component of a computer to meet my specific needs. First, the machine has to be quiet, ideally silent, which means that it should not be equipped with fans. This generally means that it should not use excessive amounts of heat-producing electricity. I have no objection to the use of heat-sinks. Second, an ISO Nordic keyboard should be available. Put another way, I refuse to use ANSI keyboards.

When I started to write this update, Martha was my desktop machine, an Asus VivoMini VC65-G068Z, with an Intel i5 6400T processor running at 2.2 GHz, 8 GB of RAM, a 128 GB SSD (for the operating system) and a 1 TB Hard Disk Drive (for everything else) plus a DVD drive. It was purchased 2017-05-08, and cost NOK 6 468. At the end of 2022, it has exceeded its expected five-year lifespan, by seven months, and counting. Its amortized capital costs was under NOK 100/ US$ 10 per month, and falling. It has now lasted longer than my previous machine, Arthur’s, seven years, which would have been until 2024-04-28. but not in this role. Thus Martha’s amortized capital costs will be even less than Arthur’s.

Martha had one major failing, she overheats. For years this was overlooked because of one redeeming quality, her DVD-drive. This feature was seldom used, but could be important. I then discovered that this feature could be used elsewhere. On or about 2023-11-30, Martha was moved down to the server.

Eerie

An Asus PN50 became my desktop machine. It had been purchased over three years before on 2020-08-14 for NOK 4 300. It used a Ryzen 7 4700U 2 GHz processor, a hard drive (Samsung EVO 970 Plus M.2 500 GB = NOK 1 200) and RAM (G Skill Ripjaws4 16 GB = NOK 800). This puts the price at NOK 6 400. It was purchased because it was inexpensive, relative to performance. A month after the purchase, the PN50̈́’s barebone price has increased to NOK 5 900. However, the Samsung SSD is now only NOK 1 000, while the G Skill RAM is the same price, NOK 800, for a total of NOK 7 700, over 90% above the initial budget. Given these prices, a less powerful machine would have been chosen.

In addition it uses an AOC Q27P2Q 27″ skjerm med QHD IPS 2560 x 1440 pixels in 16:9 format, and has inherited a Logitech K860 keyboard, and a Vertical mouse.

The basic machine is a barebone computer. Wikipedia defines barebone as, “a partially assembled platform or an unassembled kit of computer parts allowing more customization and lower costs than a retail computer system.” I had contemplated many different models, but decided that I did not want to learn the quirks of something new and different. It is hard enough keeping up with those in the Asus family. The machine had a sufficiently powerful processor, for my purposes, making it useful and durable. It is fanless, making it silent, useful when working with audio. It was relatively cheap, especially compared with the price of machines after the pandemic.

The name Eerie comes from the Children’s science fiction series in 19 episodes shown in 1992-3.

Eureka

On 2020-12-07, I purchased a used Asus All-in-One Pro computer, for NOK 2 500. It is a computer inside a screen. This will make a better reserve machine than a mini-computer, because it has a monitor attached.

Eureka is also intended to be used as a lab Guinea pig, possibly for podcast recording and/ or video editing. In the future, it will also be programmed as a soft-synth.

Normally, a retired computer acts as a reserve, if something should go wrong with an active computer. Towards the end of 2019, the only potential reserve machine had been given away. Thus, throughout most of 2020, I contemplated the purchase of a reserve system, one that could be used by anyone living at or visiting Cliff Cottage.

While for many years I contemplated buying a second, but used, Asus Zenbook UX305C, identical to one in active use by Trish at Cliff Cottage. Then, the original machine retired, and by default we ended up with a reserve machine. Unfortunately, it dates from 2016 and is antequated. It is kept for sentimental reasons. Instead, I purchased an Asus A-i-O (all-in-one) machine, that was originally intended for placement in the kitchen. This idea has been rejected, so it has become by default a reserve machine.

Eureka is named after the family science fiction series in 77 episodes shown between 2006 and 2012, made in Burnaby, Chilliwack and Ladysmith, British Columbia.

The ultimate fate of Eureka may involve its use as a control unit for a CNC milling machine, current stored in the workshop. The CNC milling machine will probably be given to Alasdair to use along with Eureka.

Subscriptions

At Cliff Cottage broadband now costs about NOK 830 per month, while our two telephone subscriptions cost about NOK 100 per month each. Buzz, the car, demands NOK 300 for his subscription. The web-related subscriptions cost NOK 2 800 per year. This amounts to NOK 18 760 or NOK 15 160 respectively with/ without a vehicle in 2024. This contrasts with NOK 11 700 a year, in 2020, when there was no vehicle subscription.

Tribal affiliation

There are many different computing tribes, which is often related to a primary activity, or an operating system. Many young people belong to the Gamer tribe. These are usually younger people who need powerful devices. Just because someone has played a few computer games does not make them a gamer. Others, may have less demanding requirements largely involving surfing the internet. Their equipment does not have to be very sophisticated, they typically divide themselves into Android/ Windows and Apple tribes.

Yes, there are gamers who do have their distinct requirements, usually specified in terms of graphics and latency (time delay), and other explicit requests. There are some/ many Macintosh users, who answer Apple, even before any question is asked. Then there is a category called most people, who simply accept whatever machine and operating system combination some salesperson/ website is promoting that day – Chrome OS on inexpensive, Windows on mid-range and Surface on more exclusive machines. Linux? Well, that takes effort.

In addition to backup files on the Mothership server (named after the Supercell Thunderstorm cloud) copies are stored on assorted external drives. We have had a harddrive on the server fail, due to overheading. It was a Toshiba N-300 10TB drive. We have also had an external harddrive fail, for the first time. It was a Seagate Backup Plus 4 TB unit purchased, 2016-11-22, but despite its age, it had been used minimally.

Part of the challenge of thriving with a computer is a function of one’s age. The first time I heard that voice control would replace keyboards was probably around 1978. It would take five years, an expert had suggested, 1983. Since I first heard about it forty-six years have passed, and still I buy keyboards. I now expect to use a keyboard as my primary input device for the duration of my life.

Network Attached Storage (NAS) Server

Servers are a specialty type of computer used to store large amounts of data. Private individuals may want to purchase dedicated units made by Asustor, QNAP, Synology, TrueNAS, Western Digital and others. Some people may want to build their own units from components and store them either in a tower = an upright, standalone cabinet, or a rack = a 19″ wide unit, typically used in data centres. Both of the last two types offer easier cooling. The tower, especially because it offers relatively low component density. If necessary, both types allow components from multiple vendors to be used.

We have owned two different NAS servers. On 2016-02-25, we purchased our first server, Cascade, an Asustor AS1004ST with 4 x 6TB WD HDDs = 24 TB, to gain some experience with servers. At some point in 2018, Alasdair decided I needed something better. In 2018-12, I purchased some used rack equipment that he could play with. This became known as Mothership. On 2018-12-27, I ordered 4 x 10TB Toshiba N-300 HDDs = 40 TB, that was increased to 12 x 10TB = 120 TBs, on 2022-01-03, before thermal (read: heating) issues resulting in it being reduced to 8 x 10 TB = 80 TB of storage space. Because data is duplicated on the server, it can never store more than 40 TB. At the beginning of 2023, it was decided that this rack equipment needed replacement. The new server, officially Asperitas, but most often stilled called Mothership, was installed 2023-05-17.

At Cliff Cottage, we use have a rack, which is fitted with 8 x 10 TB Toshiba N-300 hard disk drives. These provide 80 TB of storage space. Undoubtedly eight disks could also fit in a tower. Yet, someone building a new server would probably want to use larger disks. It is cheaper to buy 5 x 16 TB disks, for the same amount of storage. Other models to consider are Seagate Ironwolf, and Western Digital Red.

In addition to backup files on the Mothership server, copies of data were stored on two external drives. These were initially stored at a friend’s house. When we started renting additional storage space about 20 km from Cliff Cottage, we used it to keep a copy of our data.

We have only experienced one disk failure using external drives. It was a Seagate Backup Plus 4 TB unit purchased, 2016-11-22. It had been used minimally. It failed in 2017.

Asperitas takes up more real estate in the rack, but that has never been a problem, because there is still lots of space. In the near future, my plan is to invest in a second server to be located 650 kilometers away at my son’s house, where it can become a duplicator. This large physical distance is to ensure that both servers are not killed in the same electrical storm, which is the most common cause of sudden server death. Once a day, the duplicator will automatically backup new content. This type of system can work in both directions.

Part of the challenge of thriving with a computer is a function of one’s age. The first time I heard that voice control would replace keyboards was probably around 1978. It would take five years to become mainstream, an expert had suggested, 1983. Since then, thirty-six years have passed, and still I use keyboards. I now expect to use a keyboard as my primary input device for the duration of my life.