Edit: Jesus Christ, people. If you buy a $150 Thinkpad made by slave labor instead of a $1,200 MacBook made by slave labor, you’re still supporting a capitalist economy based on slave labor. We all do. We have no choice. The number of smug liberals in the comments saying “well I buy a cheap used laptop” or “well I buy coffee beans and make my own coffee” are completely missing the fucking point.
Don’t tell yourself your consumption is moral. All of us make unethical choices every day because there is no ethical consumption under capitalism. Accept your shame and guilt and let it drive you to do better.
I’ve only ever seen the last panel of this, delightful.
This is really daft.
It’s possible to participate in society in such a way as to uphold our beliefs about how society ought to be.
If you want to complain about Apple’s abuse of employees, don’t buy their stuff.
If you want to abolish slavery, don’t own any slaves.
If you want to smash capitalism, buy a used thinkpad.
Sure, there are some instances where this just isn’t possible in a complete and absolute sense. For example, I despise google, have invested a lot of effort in degoogling, but there remain some google components I rely on.
However, the existence of these instances does not mean we don’t need to invest any effort in supporting the changes we want to see.
Also a product isn’t a bad product, just because it is produced under capitalism. A computers ability to compute does not depend on its mode of production.
“It’s okay to resist capitalism on an iPhone. The feudal lord who owned the pitchforks the peasants killed him with probably observed the irony too.” -Ben Stiller
Like fighting against the fur trade in a Canada Goose jacket.
i understand what you’re saying, but technically a computers computing ability is entirely dependent on how it’s produced. Especially in the case of apple, where with intel they really like not giving you any cooling at all, i guess they thought it was funny or something? Or with the new M series macs where they dont give you any ram, because god forbid people use normal amounts of ram.
spoiler
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… or maybe she thought it’s an edgy sticker and fits her style?
Idk. But if you really were serious about smashing capitalism, it’s kinda irrelevant how much stuff you buy, there’s a lot of groundwork to be done, organizing and educating. For all we know, that may be what she’s doing in that photo.
If she dressed in rags, owned nothing and was homeless, I fail to see how that would accomplish anything more.
Although I prefer to support local businesses, not a fan of massive corporate chains. My city has dozens of local coffee shops that serve fair trade products. I can walk to a half dozen of them, whether or not I bring my ancient 2011 laptop. But I do love my principles being questioned by smug internet randos so 🖕
Eh, never fear your principles being questioned even by “smug internet randos”. Lest you become the smug internet rando yourself.
Introspection is a never ending task.
In response to your edit, there’s a difference between being forced to buy products that employ slave labor and choosing to buy something that is extremely overpriced because of capitalism. Yes you need to live within the system, but that doesn’t mean you buy the most expensive and wasteful version and then claim “well I had no choice!”. You have choices. You’re just being willfully ignorant of them and shifting the blame to someone else. Heaven forbid you become part of the solution and not just another addition to the problem.
It’s a little telling though that they left the apple logo as the only untouched portion of the lid lol.
If you really hated capitalism but were forced to participate, at least the first sticker you put on the laptop would cover the company name/logo.
Seeing so many responses like this to the edit makes me happy. This is the intellectually consistent position imo: if you’re going to take the position that “this is the world we live in” (which is valid) then you must also accept that there are degrees of consumption and actively choosing one of the worst ones without a strong rationale is less moral.
I also get annoyed when people criticize when wealthy people support leftist causes. Like, yeah, Bernie Sanders (or whoever) has a lot of money, so the fact that he isn’t blinded to injustice by his own privilege is a good thing.
The difference is Bernie doesn’t wear a large diamond encrusted gold necklace spelling out “Socialism” in large letters.
A Macbook and Starbucks are fashion statements.
Just needs the Che shirt for that chef’s kiss
I forget who said it, but…
“When I was poor and talked about greed and poverty, they said I was jealous, now that I’m rich and talk about greed and poverty, they call me a hypocrite… I’m starting to think they just don’t want to talk about it.”
Nobody wants to admit it, but the reality is it’s natural to everyone, we all want both external freedom, the power to change the world with money, and internal freedom, to feel that ones conscience is in harmony with the universe
Russel Brand
Unfortunately he has gone full conspiracy grifter at this point, but he does have a way with words and he has used it to say some good things in the past.
FUCK CHUCK SNEED’S DILATE CHUCK’S SNEED’S CITY SLICKER FUCK SNEED SNEED’S SNEED’S CLEAN IT UP JANNY JANNY FEED CHUCK’S AND FEED SNEED DILATE COPE JANNY JANNY JANNIES HOT POCKETS ON LEMMY AND SNEED CLEAN IT UP COPE SNEED’S CHUCK SNEED JANNY CITY SLICKER SEETHE CLEAN IT UP CITY SLICKER CHUCK FUCK CHUCK SEED FEED FEED SNEED’S CLEAN IT UP SEED FEED SUCK CHUCK’S
It’s because they aren’t using a used ThinkPad
Asus > Lenovo
They’re very similar, but you get to support Taiwan with Asus. You don’t have a pointing stick, though; if that’s something you care about. The hardware is also similar, but Lenovo generally has better cases/ outershells, but Asus also outperforms them on price point and internal hardware and software.
Are there Asus laptops out there that support the same level of reparability/upgradability as ThinkPads?
Yes! Here’s one example: https://www.asus.com/us/laptops/for-students/br-series/asus-br1402c/
Like I said, they don’t offer as many external accessories, but they’re pretty close.
This is coming from someone who grew up using thinkpads. If I were to buy a used laptop for something personal, I’d go with a thinkpad. If I have to buy something new, it’s Asus.
That’s kind of neat. At that price point it seems kind of in between a ThinkPad and Framework laptop.
Cool but kinda slow. Would be okay as a Linux machine I imagine, but so would a used ThinkPad.
Not really supporting either business by buying a used laptop tho?
When people make memes about you using it, you’re supporting the company with good exposure. They should be grateful.
I’m down with that, too. Depends on your needs, though.
I AM using an old thinkpad! Huzzah!
Bait post
CLEAN IT UP FEED HOT POCKETS DILATE SEETHE CITY SLICKER DILATE CITY SLICKER JANNIES FEED JANNIES FOR FREE CITY SLICKER FUCK FUCK ON LEMMY FLOYD JANNY AND COPE HOT POCKETS JANNIES SNEED’S COPE DILATE I CAN’T CHUCK SEED HOT POCKETS COPE ON LEMMY SUCK FUCK COPE SEETHE SUCK SNEED’S CITY SLICKER COPE SEED FLOYD CITY SLICKER I CAN’T AND COPE FEED FOR FREE COPE FEED CHUCK’S
Yes you truly need Starbucks and labtops to live
Generally most people need a computer these days, yes.
As for the Starbucks not my thing, but people also need sources of enjoyment and sometimes that can be from a sweet drink.
Life isn’t about only food and water.
I have bought plenty of things that I don’t really need, but I don’t act like capitalism made me do it and I would die without them.
No one does.
Criticism of capitalism is far beyond purchasing simple goods.
Did you read the same thing I did? Its saying you either participate in capitalism or die. The “participating” its referring to is a macbook and Starbucks.
You don’t need a Mac though, in fact in most circumstances using a Mac actively makes performing computer necessary tasks harder than just using the local library computers.
Mac is the bougie flex of choosing to be less productive for the sake of brand clout.
You can use a Mac, and that’s fine too.
Not everyone is a Linux power user, get over yourself and your elitist computer ideology.
I use a Thinkpad with Windows because it’s cheaper and works better
If I want to use Linux I set up a VM for it to use for dev and IT busnasty
Or use what you have.
A Mac works just as well as windows, there is no “better”, only one’s preference.
Seriously get over yourself, instead of attacking such a minor thing as the brand of computer being used, focus your outrage on the system that treats the world like shit.
See you might have had a point there if Macs weren’t literally proven to be a shittier alternative.
Security classes don’t even teach about Maca because the only security advice worth giving to Mac users is “switch to Windows or Linux, it’s cheaper than anything that could be done to make this thing even remotely secure.”
This reads like something out of the comment section for a “I’m a Mac/I’m a PC” ad 15 years ago. Things have changed since then.
As someone who has worked a help desk for nearly a decade now, and hates Mac’s and Apple with a general burning passion:
Suggesting that modern windows 11 is any more usable than MacOS for a general “browse thw web and check email” user, is ridiculous.
Furthermore, some educational programs, jobs, courses, software, may in fact mean that a person has a requirement for a Mac, even if they can’t afford the Mac. >!Though I imagine your response to this will simply be “just dont do the things that need a Mac if you want to complain about capitalism 4head”!<
What are you talking about? Macs are wildly popular dev machines.
I’ve been in a dev environment and have literally seen nothing of the sort
Also, wildly popular doesn’t mean wildly effective, even if that was true
I am a dev, and use a MacBook.
… to SSH into my GNU/Linux build machine
When I did dev for middleware it was all on Mac’s
Everywhere I’ve worked for the last 8 years has used Macs for developers. One place I was at started with Windows and people jumped at the opportunity to switch to a Mac when they got the option.
Macs have been standard for my software development career for more than a decade, yes.
They have a lot of Unix stuff but are pretty standardized and widely supported.
Everyone uses docker, which isn’t super great on Mac.
You use a mac because of clout and a bougie flex.
I use a mac because I get it free as a hand-me-down from work every tech refresh.
We are not the same.
I use a Thinkpad actually.
Why don’t you carve into clay tablets with reeds? You don’t need a bougie Thinkpad.
Imagine being so offended on behalf of a shitty overpriced brand of computers used as bougie status symbols that you compare a different brand to clay tablets and reeds.
Completely blinded by hubris
To be fair, no system is perfect. Allowing people to both disconnect and be better at least acknowledges that the society needs both an eye inside and an eye from outside in order to improve
Oh sorry, I forgot I had the option of pulling a “Sliders” and finding myself in Socialism world, where I can get a tax-payer funded laptop and coffee I get according to my needs, paid for by what I can give with my abilities… Completely fair to judge me for that!
I mean I agree, though there are some less capitalistic options than Apple and Starbucks if you really hate capitalism. Those companies are amongst the most capitalistic businesses available.
That said, does it really matter what brand of guillotine you use to cut off billionaires heads with?
You can pick up a refurbed MacBook for under $800. Or maybe it’s a hand-me down. Or maybe, like me, at the end of a contract their employer said “We ran out of money so consider your laptop payment.”
Or you could just buy a new laptop for $800 and actually get a usable amount of RAM.
The specs on base tier MacBooks tend to be so bizarrely low it’s laughable. Literally comparable to the PC I had over a decade ago (save for the CPU, of course). I don’t know how they get away with it.
I mean,.seriously, why would any sane person spend $800 on a laptop with only a 256GB SSD and 8GB of RAM? That’s literally the specs of an $800 laptop from 2013! Apple is blatantly scamming people and getting away with it.
A friend of mine who used to be a coworker got an i9 MacBook Air because the company he worked with liked him (were an MSP, so we support other companies). He doesn’t even use or like em, I think his wife used it.
Vaguely related… reminding me of my struggle as I research investing in new laptop.
Looking for something powerful enough for live DJ, live music production performance with groove box, keyboard, etc, ideally graphic design sufficient as well. Want ability to move my crafts to a buddy’s studio or a proper gig.
Big needs of course are robust processing power/ram, loads of storage ideal, battery life a big plus, quieter than gaming PC preferred, lots of ports a must, and goddammit I want it to last more than a few years before it declines sharply.
I really don’t want an Apple. Been there; done that; over it. College graphic design machine had a graphic card that crapped out extra early. Plenty of spots would recommend Apple. Haven’t gone too deep on Linux so no idea if software and live performance will work on that consistently and reliably. Generally use mostly Windows 10 these days.
If anyone has any insights or recommendations on a lappy that checks my boxes I am all ears and eager for discussion!
now, i really only recommend this is if you dont mind spending a while getting yourself familiar with the lineup, and the used market, but i would recommend looking for a solid used thinkpad. I’m preferential to the t/w 420 or 520 series, you can get them in pretty decent condition for pretty cheap, though some of the newer ones are quite a bit more modern. They aren’t super flexible on ports, but they have a significant variety, as well as a number of integrated features. And of course docking stations, though im not sure if those disable on board ports or not.
the t480 does also have a really cool feature where it has two batteries, one internal, and one external, and you can swap the external one as needed, so you basically have infinite battery life lol. The newer ones are alright, they don’t adhere to the design language of the older thinkpads though.
The framework is a very solid bet if you want a no frills machine that’s modern though, can rep. They cost money though.
Big ups for the thoughtful write up! I’ll be sure to add that to my list as I dig in deeper.
I’m graciously able to say I’m finally, finally at a stage where I have a lil extra fun money to play with. No Daddy Warbucks, but we can actually think about toys I’ve had on the wish list for ages. For something that I’ll be using for gigs I’m absolutely able to see value investing in something that will help me hone my craft.
Certainly in no rush; I’d rather measure twice and purchase once. (Well maybe a bit of a rush lol that summer fomo will kick into high gear any minute now fuck me it’s basically April lol)
Appreciate you, have a great weekend! 🤙
yeah, i’ve only just recently gotten involved in older thinkpads, and they certainly live up the reputation. A lot of them even have some pretty unusual features, which is highly welcome. The t480 battery swapping for instance.
Personally im not too big on spending lots of money, i just hate spending obscene amounts of money on things where something cheaper and more interesting will do what i want. Though i dont mind spending money on things when the investment is clearly there either.
If i had the money to spend, and i was going to run the ever living hell out of one, i would definitely be buying a framework. Otherwise i’d probably buy an old thinkpad, they’re cheap due to the volumes of them that were sold to businesses.
Though it is also worth noting, a few OEMs now are doing similar things to framework, i know HP is, i want to say dell is? Dont quote me on it. But there are more things appearing in the market, that are bringing repair-ability back, which is good. Though im sure framework is still going to have a better community around it, especially if you like linux. That’s the other reason thinkpads are particularly popular, they’re out there, and lots of people have them, and lots of people use them. There’s tons of information on them, from thinkwiki, to the thinkpad community forum, and reddit of course.
I wish you luck in your adventures, and perhaps some fun as well. (maybe pick up an older thinkpad just for the hell of it, give you something to work on as a side project) oh and if you do get into thinkpads, and you want some knowledge on the t/w 520 and possibly 420 series, as well as some of the later models, feel free to hit me up, i have some pretty good resources under my belt.
Damn decent of you, cheers! 🍻.
I very well may take you up on that. Shouldn’t be too hard to justify a second new toy either 😂
Take a look at the Framework 16. You can add a graphics card and the whole laptop is designed to be upgradeable in the same way a desktop is. Basically you buy the laptop and then replace or upgrade parts as you need to, no more need to buy a whole new rig every few years.
