spankibalt

> [...] I've considered buying/tracking down a non functional one and putting a high performance ITX build into it a few times over the years.

I'd buy a classic keyboard case x86 (with PCMCIA card slot, Enhanced Personal Computer Keyboard layout plus integrated trackball), preferably made to last, made out of metal. Sadly, no one makes decent cases for something like a Vortex86. It's either weird mini towers to appeal to the nostalgia of the Old Breed, or cheap 3D-printed contraptions in the vein of stompboxes (for MiSTer implementations). Sad.

> [...] a C128. But for the latter the majority of time was spent in C64 mode.

Did you make use of CP/M applications? I often wonder how well that worked back in the day; one of my best friends had a Commodore 128, but used it exclusively as a 64 as well for his pal across the street owned a Brotkasten (breadbin).

Well, at least you got to experience the "innocent" and magical beginnings of the extremely integrated general-purpose computer, still very open to tinkering. Its overspecialized modern logical conclusion, and I'm not talking about the retro scene here, is not something I want to be associated with.

My personal computing life began much later, in the early 90s, in a very strange place filled with people whose very personal philosophies, and computer experiences, were a much better fit for x86 land. But this is something you rarely see explored in the thinkpieces that often make the rounds here.

Yeah, I know. I just consider that "vertically integrated", or more precise closed system, approach inferior for general purpose computing.

Hire somebody who's got at least a modicum of understanding of (web) typography.

Small hint: A moving background layer makes reading supremely annoying, and for some people even (virtually) impossible.

GPC, eh? :)

Careful... overspecialize (overintegrate), and you breed in weakness.

You talk of vertically integrated contraptions. What are they for?

> I'm just casually familiar with guns, if I saw an AR-15, I'd call it an AK-47. Or a machine gun.

Okay. Sure. Just as there are people who call(ed) every video game console, or even home computer, under the sun "a Nintendo". I wouldn't call that casual familiarity... but I'm not here to argue about it.

> It's good to have a fandom.

I s'pose. If you've thought that's me you're sordidly mistaken; I'm not a gun afficionado but just somebody who's got to shoot short- and long-barreled guns to keep my weapon's permits, which I need if I ever have to carry one on the job. I would describe myself as casually familiar with guns, not more.

> I might even think that the AK-47 or the Glock have more name recognition.

A "yes" on the AK, and a "no" on the Glock.

The AR-15, incl. its variants, isn't called "America's Rifle" for nothing; it's the West's (tm) (cultural) analogon to the AK. Make the test and ask some "normies" to pick out an AR-15. Then do the same for the Apple products. I doubt many will be able to pick out an Apple II.

The AR-15 pattern rifle is certainly iconic; on its own probably more so (i. e. more recognizable) than almost all of Jobs's products. When allowing for the typical collective amnesia, the only two products that match, or manage to exceed, its iconographic status are the iPhone and the iPad; when bringing in historical expertise you can probably add the Apple II.

> But all the same, why do people go out of their way to frame it like this?

Because you (and your legion of likeminded folks on pseudosocial media) indeed sound like some washed-up, self-delusional salesman with a loaded gun to his head, desperately trying to land that sales pitch. And that's before we come to address all the usual cheap clichés, false equivalences, or if you wrote that slop yourself in the first place, etc.

> The textbook definition of ochlocracy is a small group of people taking justice into their own hands.

No, that's not the textbook definition.

That exchange has sadly run its course for me for I have no interest in reading tedious counterfactual clichés, especially not ones outside the scope of the thread's actual topic. One can only hope you embark on that suggested reading journey to better understand the emergence and evolution of (modern) democracy.

Good luck!

> Democracy has nothing to do with minority protections. [...] Democracy includes whatever enough people [italized by me] think it should include. If people don't want such protections then there is no need for them.

You just proved my point by demonstrating your utter ignorance of the topic: Your three sentences encapsulate the textbook definition of ochlocracy (or laocracy), i. e. mob rule. Which, as already outlined, is not democracy.

I suggest you read some authoritative and up-to-date texts on democracy before embarassing yourself again.

> Democracy, in it's purest form, is about mob rule --majority rule, if you want to say it in a softer/kinder way.

You're just parroting an old urban myth.

The terminus technicus for mob rule is ochlocracy [1]; democracy, per se, includes minority protections (i. e. if it doesn't then it isn't a democracy to begin with).

1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mob_rule]

TIE Fighter is one of the best space sims to play for score (i. e. on the hardest difficulty level). Already the first mission is insanely brutal, fighting Escort Shuttle group "Tough". You, in a lone, unshielded TIE against turbolasers.

"Keying" those shuttles to Outpost D-34 while still managing to shoot them down yourself before they burn through popcorn reinforcements is one of the high points of DOSWin gaming. Sort of the Star Wars version of Wing Commander's famous Ralari defense.

Let me help you with that:

1. Trackpads. I hate 'em. Keyboard-integrated trackpoints and/or trackballs is what I need. Detachables with a trackpad are acceptable as one can bring a Bluetooth substitute (that's how I do it on my HP x2 G4); on a non-detachable only a trackpoint, in addition to the trackpad, is acceptable (on my HP 2730p or my workplace ThinkPads I only use the trackpoint, the trackpad is turned off).

2. Form factor. Not counting their "castrated" tablets, Apple doesn't build 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 detachables (the best general-purpose mobile computing form factor) or convertibles (T-hinge models represent the second best form factor). The last orthodox-chassis laptop purchase I made took place in 1999. Outside of a vintage or retro machine I might entertain (which itself loses out to wedge-style keyboard computer cases), that form factor is dead to me.

3. Apple is not the only outfit that ships with good displays. Et cetera.

From the article:

"It [the Robert Koch Institute] said laboratory tests to determine the source of the infections were not expected to be available for several weeks. [...] The [Robert Koch] institute said malaria in Germany almost exclusively affects long-haul travellers who were infected in malaria-endemic areas, and that malaria transmitted within a German airport is rare. 'The lack of a travel history can lead to a delayed diagnosis. A delayed diagnosis increases the risk of a severe course of the diseases,' the institute said in its epidemiological bulletin."

> Also, the change from dedicated charge ports to USB-C charging increased USB port usage considerably.

I never needed one, but a good USB-C adapter (or maybe even small dock) with power passthrough should solve this. Burning through whole machines because a single USB-C port cakes out after just three years is an awful lot of waste.

> We have those stupid regulations in Finland about how the outside of our apartments buildings should look - meaning you cannot put the condenser visibly on the outside of the building.

Same for Germany, at least in many places. And if your building gets reclassified as being under Denkmalschutz (cultural heritage management) you've won in the Lottery of Pain.

> With Samsung devices (so no cheap crap), USB ports last me about three years of heavy use.

What are you doing to these machines?! I work in the safety and security biz, including in the field, and my trusty HP EliteBook 2730p is still rocking along on its first USB ports. That machine is over 15 bloody years old!

> Display quality, trackpad quality, overall form factor, and very high RAM space in a laptop would be the primary reasons I'd go with [an Apple].

Heh, that's precisely one grouping of reasons I avoid Apple, especially with regards to trackpads and form factor (and, to a lesser degree, displays).

Yeah... I still hope Motorola might add an "Ultra"-tier Moto G Stylus to their portfolio with more RAM, better CPU and all the other mentioned features. The stylus for me is not just a convenience; it's extremely handy for a lot of tasks in SaSec (safety and security), e. g. on-site annotation of accident/crime scene pics or floor plans (say placement of fire safety sensors, et cetera).

A non-folder with a stylus option, an audio jack, microSD card slot and USB-C 3.2+ would be swell. In other words... a beefed-up update of the 2026 Motorola Moto G Stylus [1]. ;)

1. [https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g_stylus_(2026)-14581...]

> Why did many high IQ tech and science people vote for their own defunding?

The list is long. First and foremost, it's never a good idea to forget that wherever there's intelligence there's always also stupidity. Then it's generally good advice not to confuse intelligence for wisdom. And between this and very long lists of cognitive biases, there's always the good old "Fuck ya, got mine!" Rule of Acquisition to remember. Et cetera.

Essentially Brandolini's Law with a serving of dumbed-down-for-managers OODA-loop in action; all together essential ingredients for any cook specializing in post-truth dishes. Shake it well with learned helplessness and plenty of distraction-providing scapegoats, e. g. minorities, and your got a splendid poison stew people will line up for. Before they are lined up, in one fashion or another.

I find touchscreens vastly inferior unless they come with an integrated EMR digitizer layer (or something even more precise), especially on a device that has the form factor of a smartphone, but works more as a modular pocket computer. An attachable/detachable keyboard (as clamshell or with a slider mechanism) gives me much more flexibility.

But you're probably more on the mark as the average smartphone user is quite far removed from my feature essentials; I'd prefer even a vertical handheld with a well-designed integrated keyboard to a typical hori without any options.

> Physical keyboard combined with a touch screen [...] doesn’t make sense because it eats space you can’t reclaim.

True, at least for horis; though on a vertically-shaped handheld it might make some sense. A traditional slab with a tray-table compatible pogo-attachable keyboard (with wireless option built-in) would be optimal, e. g. a modern version of the piano from the Sharp PC-3000/-3100 or the Psion Series 5.

And ffs, please do include at least a TAB key!

There's also a less flattering reading of the word, where Sitzfleisch means having a "flat ass" (from sitting too much, e. g. Sitzfleischparade describing a group of flat-arsed people, or something like Sitzfleischmaxxer, and so on).

The $64k question! The very first title on the list f. e., Falcon 3.0, only requires it for the "hi-fi" flight model. Quake certainly needs an FPU. Don't know about the others.

So or so, the info needs to be verified for accuracy, e. g. if a 486DX-specced title really needed (or profited from the the presence of) an FPU, or if was just a speed requirement/recommendation. And some of the game covers's spec boxes don't mention anything about an FPU at all. Etc.

Mobygames got a list [1]. No idea on accuracy.

1. [https://www.mobygames.com/game/attribute:115/include_dlc:tru...]