I’ve just wanted (somehow, perhaps just by wording) to upscale output to 2160p60 (2160p50 preferred to be inclusive, as accustomed in most content cases here in Europe), nothing else. Anyway and not having any further comment, some time ago I’ve stumbled to this article:
I’m almost sure you’ll understand my general concerns (when fruitful delights are somewhere to stay) even though it might be that I don’t need to watch (stream from …) poor proprietary content (losing my time by expecting that some quality content/message comes out) at all. Yet, if there is some optional choice or way, when reaching out for ethical or any other particular delights, to avoid CEC, EME W3C specification, DRM, etc., please let me know.
For Steam I might be in for the pre-order. Doesn’t look to be aimed for that purpose though. Any chance of having the card upgraded for full rendering 3D games ?
What I’m wondering is: Where does the extra $400+ go? Is it all going to porting Coreboot and, perhaps, neutralising Intel ME on this specific platform? If so, it must be a really expensive process.
You’d be surprised then. I’ll let you in on a little secret though: almost every Linux laptop or PC you can find is based on a reference model. Want to know something even more secret? Even Dell, HP, etc. are basing their models off of references models.
With that in mind what justifies the higher price of those brands PCs?
I noticed reference designs with one of System76’s PCs a while ago, where a nearly identical Windows version from another company was about $100 more expensive.
I don’t know what would justify a higher price on Dell or HP PCs if they were running Linux. Maybe advertising and support? Otherwise, the Windows license would make it more expensive I guess. None of these things are really worth it for me, as I block ads and tend to build my own computers when possible with many custom solutions. The Librem 5 is worth it to me because there is no other phone which beats it in both freedom, openness, specs, and modularity, because it supports the development of open Linux phones which I have been wanting for years, and because I asked for it as a present rather than paying for it myself.
Actually, those manufacturers get cheap Windows licenses, plus they get money for bundling all the crap (e.g. Antivirus snakeoil test version) you didn’t ask for. In summary, is “cheaper” than free software.
On the price of the mini:
The PC you linked is a barebone. If I’m not mistaken, the price does not include storage, memory and CPU!?
Link doesn’t work at all for me. Gives 404 and I’m pretty sure that’s not the price.
A link that was posted earlier (that may or may not be the ‘correct’ link) is barebones-ish. It includes your choice of CPU from among 4 choices but you can order it without disk and memory.
So a price of US$172 will get you no disk and no memory, and a bargain basement CPU (Pentium 5405U) - which may well suit some people, but not me. I have no desire to go backwards.
You can play with all the combinations of CPU, disk and memory. However that vendor only allows certain combinations of disk and memory (I assume for logistics reasons, not for technical reasons).
and that’s why you would set aside a few more bucks for somebody to help you if you don’t know what you’re doing … finding the right hw combinations that work as a WHOLE with each-other and into a sw context CAN be a chore in itself …
you would probably reach much “more” by the time you are done if you’re a non-techie …
That too. Integration risk / cost is real. Sometimes it amounts to 0 (everything works out-of-the-box once installed) and sometimes it turns into a multi-day odyssey or even ultimately results in failure (return goods, where possible, and chalk one up to experience).
If you choose to buy barebones (CPU but no disk or memory) and procure the memory yourself then no doubt some people’s next action will be to post (from a working computer!): I bought memory card XYZ and the computer doesn’t boot - is that because it is not compatible or I didn’t install it correctly or something is not configured correctly or the memory is faulty? In my experience (YMMV) disk is less drama but it is still possible to have drama.
