How I do my Computing
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How I do my computing
My computer
As of 2022 I use a Thinkpad x200 computer, which has a free<br>initialization program (called Libreboot when it was<br>installed, but<br>now called GNU Boot) and a free operating system<br>(Trisquel GNU/Linux). It was not sold that way by Lenovo,<br>however; small businesses buy them used, recondition them, and<br>install the free software. This is one of the<br>computers<br>endorsed by the FSF. I've used other Thinkpad models<br>that similarly respect users' freedom since the early 2010s.
Before using such Thinkpads, I used the Lemote Yeeloong for<br>several years. At the time, it was the only laptop one could<br>buy that could run a free initialization program and a free<br>operating system. But it was never sold with a free operating<br>system. Lemote has not sold such a computer for many years.
Before that, I used an OLPC for some weeks. The OLPC uses a<br>nonfree firmware blob for the WiFi, so I could not use the internal<br>WiFi device. That was no big problem -- I used an external WiFi<br>adapter.
I stopped using it because the OLPC project decided<br>to make their machine support Windows, so I did not want to appear<br>to endorse it by visibly carrying it around. I could have<br>continued using it privately with its free software installation,<br>but I had no need for another computer to use only privately.
The result that then seemed likely, millions of children running<br>Windows on the OLPC, did not occur. Instead we saw millions of<br>children running Windows on the Intel Classmate, or nowadays using<br>a Chromebook that sends the child's personal data to Google.
Before that, I used machines that ran completely free GNU/Linux<br>systems but had nonfree BIOSes. I tried for about 8 years to find a<br>way to avoid the nonfree BIOS in some commercial machine.
GNU/Linux distro
I do not have a preferred GNU/Linux distro. I recommend all the<br>ethical distros —<br>namely, those that are entirely free software.
I've chosen not to make judgments comparing the ethical distros on<br>practical aspects. That is a secondary issue for me, and I'd rather<br>not distract people from the primary (ethical) issue. Anyway, many<br>others could do practical reviews and comparison better than I can.<br>Indeed, I am not in a position to compare free distros on practical<br>criteria because I have not tried them all. To try them would be a<br>lot of work, and there are other more useful things for me to work on.
What I do on my computer
Mostly I use a text console, for convenience's sake. Most of<br>my work is editing text and that is more efficient on a text<br>console. On the text console, the touchpad can't cause me any<br>trouble if I touch it by accident. The mouse can't make my<br>editing commands fail to work by being on the wrong window.
I do use X11 for tasks that need a graphical interface. I<br>have no preferred graphical environment or window manager.<br>Since my own practical interest in using graphical<br>environments is small, I don't want to spend time comparing<br>them. In fact, what I use is Maté. (The accent is used in<br>English, with this word as well as some others, to indicate<br>a foreign word in which the final "e" is not silent.)
My choice of text terminals is not an ethical issue, just my own<br>personal preference. On the ethical level, I think it is important<br>for free software to provide convenient free graphical user<br>interface software, which is why the GNU Project launched three<br>projects to develop that. The third one, GNOME, was a success.
I spend most of my time editing in Emacs. I read and send mail with<br>Emacs using M-x rmail and C-x m. I have no experience with any<br>other email client programs. In principle I would be glad to know<br>about other free email clients, but learning about them is not a<br>priority for me and I don't have time.
I edit the pages on this site with Emacs also, although volunteer<br>helpers install the political notes and urgent notes.<br>I have no experience with other ways of maintaining web sites.<br>In principle I would be glad to know about other ways, but learning<br>about them is low priority for me and I have other things to do.
I don't have time to play a game a long time try to get good at it.<br>So I rarely play any game except quick forms of solitaire. Of<br>course, any game I run on my computer must not include nonfree<br>software.
If the game runs on a server, it must not require any nonfree<br>client software, and the server must not be able to identify uses<br>or tell where they are located. It should allow connection via Tor.<br>Evidently it must not be a game which you win by fast reaction.
How this site is maintained
This site is maintained in a very simple way. I edit the pages<br>such as this one manually as HTML. I only know simple HTML;<br>helpers who know more wrote the parts at the top and bottom of<br>pages, and the more complex formatting on the home page. Volunteer<br>helpers install...