[AutoMan]

Thank you all, for your kind words.

@jlpicard2

You make good points regarding the repairbility of various devices. I certainly believe that the repairability and upgradeability of a device are important factors that one should consider in making tech decisions. It’s interesting that the new Mac Pro appears to be bucking the trend of less upgradeability (especially for Apple): <a
href=”https://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/03/mac-pro-cpu-upgradeability-confirmed-with-processor-swap/”>Mac Pro CPU Upgradeability Confirmed With Processor Swap

@Ghung

Those of us who wish that we could escape the tyranny of the not-free OSes can only envy your escape to Linux, like other prisoners hearing about the prisoner who got away.

@Carbon waste life form

I totally agree with you on being wary about Ubuntu sending user searches to Ubuntu’s publisher, Canonical. Richard Stallman called this feature “spyware.”

Canonical supposedly disabled this feature by default in Ubuntu 13.04 (<a
href=”https://www.muktware.com/2013/04/ubuntu-13-04-will-disable-dash-online-search-by-default-mark-shuttleworth/4189″>”Ubuntu
13.04 will disable Dash online search by default: Mark Shuttleworth” ).

It’s also certainly true that Linux has suffered from hardware support over the years. However, this seems to have been changing in recent years. Also, I would hope that the commercial firms will deem it in their financial interest to support Linux, more and more.

@ Variable81

Regarding technology/computing supporting families in their homesteading efforts, I think the DIY electronics movement should provide some solutions in that regard. As I see it, the DIY electronics movement represents the application of computing technology to the real world. Some of that will be deflationary, unfortunately, since it may represent a loss of jobs. However, since we have no choice but to face that reality, I think it’s important to learn how to harness the technology for our own survival, as much as possible. The DIY electronics movement appears to provide the tools for that purpose.

Regarding “time banking arrangements,” the cryptocurrencies, such as BitCoin, may provide some solutions to the banking problems that the brave new world will bring. That appears to be where the “action is” right now, anyway, regarding technological solutions in the world of banking and money. The BitCoin software is, of course, a product of commons-based peer production, and the peer-to-peer nature of the network operations presents another type of commons-based peer production.

Interesting times.

Cheers,
AutoMan

[AutoMan]

@Variable,

Thank you for your kind words, which are appreciated. Your decision–“to look into the cost of taking a few courses on Linux” and/or looking “for other free software tutorials online”–made my day. IMHO, one of the best approaches to learn about Linux is to take an old computer or buy an old computer (such as on Kijiji, as you mentioned) and load Linux on it. Then, find a useful job for the machine to do, such as serving as a file server. In that way, one can learn the pros and cons of running Linux. Best of luck to you.

@Ilargi,

Thank you for your invitation to write a guest post about this topic. I would be honored. I will forward the post to you directly in a few days, for your consideration.

Cheers,
AutoMan

[AutoMan]

Hi Ilargi,

At the risk of belaboring the point, the issue is not about “the Mac vs PC thing”: the issue is commercial software platforms (such as OSX and Microsoft Windows) vs. free software platforms (such as Ubuntu Linux). Moreover, this issue is not about whether Macs or PCs are “elitist.” Instead, the issue is whether the choice of Macs are consistent with TAE’s philosophy of preparing for a deflationary collapse. Given that teaching people how to prepare for a deflationary collapse is central to TAE’s mission and information technology is a significant expense of modern life, it would seem that the issue of whether to embrace the free software model would be an important consideration for TAE.

Put another way, after the collapse, are people really going to be buying Macs? Should they pay $2,600 for a laptop, just to get a laptop with a discrete graphics card? Or would they have been better off having invested the time to learn the art of free software, so that they could perhaps make do with a $300 or $400 machine.

Further, if the future really holds the deflationary nightmare that TAE predicts, it seems to me that it will substantially shift the “time vs. money” equation towards spending more of one’s time to save money (I believe that is what many of the articles on TAE advocate). Hence, that shift towards using one’s time to save money should be taken into account when you conclude that “transferring all of it to PC would be a nightmare.” If TAE’s predictions are accurate, after the deflationary collapse, it will be a “nightmare” for people to purchase expensive hardware instead of using free software systems. The smart ones will have gotten off Apple’s and Microsoft’s drugs and will have learned the valuable skills of using free software. The foolish ones will remain addicted to Apple’s and Microsoft’s drugs and will not be able to afford their fix if TAE’s predictions are accurate.

Given that you are asking people for donations for your Mac–from people who should presumably be saving up for the deflationary collapse–these are not frivolous questions.

Cheers,
AutoMan

[AutoMan]

Hi Ilargi,

It seems to me that your reliance on Mac hardware completely contravenes the principles espoused by The Automatic Earth. Given that your Mac has died, it is a good time for you to reconsider your choice of computer platform, as others have suggested.

Since the key principles of The Automatic Earth are to prepare for a state of depression in which money and credit are very hard to obtain and to prepare to be self-reliant, such as by developing key survival skills, it seems to me that learning the art of open source computing, such as using a Linux computer, would be an example of a core skill that would be supported by The Automatic Earth.

Further, the open source movement’s tradition of helping each other dovetails with The Automatic Earth’s purported principle that we should form networks to help each other.

Hence, with all due respect, your use of a Mac appears to be a blind spot at best, and borders on hypocrisy.

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