Cheapest mini PC?

[johnbroker]

Amen.

[daylen]

it's probably an ecosystem question for some users, and doesn't matter for others.

I think it should matter for more people. On other parts of the forum we encourage understanding our tools. Linux gives the user low-level system access and promotes tinkering. Understanding where information is stored and how processes work is fundamental to knowing why things happen upstream. The information/networking infrastructure is built on such knowledge, and being able to manipulate information is one of the most robust skills in the modern economy. Searching conditionally, mining data, manipulating data, and scripting routines are practical skills that empower individuals in a world where attention is king. An excellent way to learn such skills is in a low-risk environment (home desktop) messing around with the command line on a system that does not try to hide its complexity.

Are computers really that much more complicated than a car or house? Or are people just too distracted using high-level abstractions to venture into the world of the unknown?

[prognastat]

Considering having worked in customer-facing tech support I know many people who struggle even with the modern graphical user interfaces that Windows, macOS, iOS and Android use. Let alone using something like the command line. So I would say yes for most it is.

[daylen]

I am not saying everyone should but that more people could get use from it. Much of it is probably fear or inability to see future utility.. just like when learning math.

[BRUTE]

Are computers really that much more complicated than a car or house? Or are people just too distracted using high-level abstractions to venture into the world of the unknown?

what percentage of humans would daylen suggest understand the intricacies or inner workings of their cars and houses?

brute thinks that for most humans, they don't care and don't need to care how things work. abstraction allows specialization. if brute could only use tools he understood as well as computers, he'd starve and freeze to death.

is it a rewarding and useful thing to know how computers work, and also a relatively cheap hobby that can easily be turned into a source of income? yes.

[daylen]

brute thinks that for most humans, they don't care and don't need to care how things work. abstraction allows specialization.

I was never disagreeing about this. Humans on the ERE forum seem to care a little more. I figured mentioning some reasons why awareness of this level is useful may add to the thread.