We recently switched to using a Linux Mint laptop with an adblocker for our streaming (while also cancelling a bunch of services). A friend at the recycling center set it aside for me - the screen was irreparably smashed but it was otherwise quite a nice little laptop. Replacement screens were too expensive so I carefully removed the broken one entirely so it’d default to the HDMI port and then set it up as a quick media center (we watch a lot of YouTube and the ads were driving me crazy, I might switch to a more purpose-built OS eventually). The TV is one I pulled from an ewaste bin to replace my previous ewaste TV after it finally gave up. It has a thin line through one edge of the screen occasionally but is otherwise fine. I also recently found a perfectly good wireless trackball mouse and a Bluetooth keyboard in the same bin where I got the TV (came with that other mouse). The bin even supplied HDMI cables. The whole thing is perched on a particle board TV stand I found like a decade ago when the college kids move out.
If you’re using this stuff in lieu of buying new stuff, then you are indeed reducing waste. Kudos!
I’ve only ever bought one new computer in my life (I currently own like a dozen laptops) and I’ve never actually bought a TV. I’ve gotten them all from friends and relatives, pulled them from ewaste and picked them up off the curb. I’m sure this varys wildly but where I am it feels like working electronics are so common and available in our world we’re one step short of just picking them up off the ground.
Nice. Mine is, too, for the most part.
The only part of mine that I bought new was the 32" PC monitor that acts as the “TV”. It’s a lot more energy efficient (17 watts) than the 32" LCD (120 watts) that I reclaimed from the side of the road. It’s downstairs now with all my retro consoles hooked to it.
The power draw is a good point and definitely something to consider - one of my neighbors recently put a meter on his old one and was surprised to find it drew as much power as his air conditioner. I’m not sure how to balance the higher draw against the environmental cost of manufacturing and shipping and disposing of the TV, but I’m doing my best to contribute as little to the economy as I can, so I’ve settled for being careful to just turn it off whenever I’m not actively watching something. My city has options for sourcing power from green sources so what I do use hopefully encourages more investment in wind and solar in my region. (It seems pretty legit from what I’ve been able to find anyways.)
I feel seen.
I am sitting in front of a free tv I got because it has some failed leds, it has an old laptop I got for free from a client plugged into it. I have the same exact trackball mouse. But I am running ubuntu.
I recommend going to the rom archives and loading up. My rig is old and can’t handle anything past gamecube emulation. Be nice to play some og cod zombies.
Oh, and check out KDEconnect, turn your phone into an airmouse. and a bunch of other cool shit.
Need any free streaming site rec’s?
I’m a huge fan of rom archives! A few years ago I built an arcade cabinet using as many secondhand parts and materials as possible and set it up to run a ton of games on an ewaste retropie. It took months longer to make than it would have if I’d just gone to a lumberyard but I had the space and time, and I was already on the local free groups daily so keeping an eye out for stuff from my parts list wasn’t hard.
Sure! Always happy to hear any recommendations!
heck yes, this is awesome!
most the computers i use were reclaimed from the recycle bin or trash, or pieced-together from scrap parts. i can’t afford new stuff, although i did get a few hdd last year for media server. the last one i built with new parts was around 2007, using parts sourced from the insane deals common at that time (like $5 after rebate memory kits). that system cost less than $200 for everything, including a video card for the games i play. i still use that system every week.
Same! I think I’ve only ever paid for one computer, everything else has been hand-me-downs or ewaste. I’ve never had a top of the line machine but I don’t need one for my hobbies or work. Usually when I start a new project I take a laptop off the pile, install a fresh os, and set it up just for that.
Fuck yeah, you love to see it! I’m hoping to do exactly the same when the motherboard on my Framework laptop eventually needs replacing. Right now I just use it as a media center on an intermittent basis
