Tech Background

1 Dell OptiPlex GX1 Pentium II 400MHz 512MB Ram Junked

2 Dell DIMENSION L600R Windows 2000/Pentium iii Tower Junked

3 Dell Inspiron 5748 fg 8 gigs of RAM 256 SSD Got this in Nov 2017

4 Dell Latitude D630 $100 Linux

5 Dell E6400  Latitude gave to a friend bought for $100 

6 Dell Latitude 2100 is a netbook that now runs SLAX Linux it will still run on 32 bit systems this is the only systems on the list that did not have a CD/DVD drive .

I am going to just say that these are my 3 main drivers right now 1 I use for my day job.

1 is a Windows 10 laptop that can not be upgraded. 

The other is a Linux laptop that I bought from Free Geek

All of them are Dell Latitude with at least 16 Gigs of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. 

Cleaning out Computer Hell at an E-waste Amnesty day I keep some of the computers but got rid of the CRT displays and broken parts. some of the metal I took to Marion Iron and got about $50 out of that.   

Growing up in my parents basement I created a space called Computer Hell. A business in town was called Computer Heaven so I thought this was a funny take on it. Since most the PC I was working on would end up getting junked and I got these PC for free a few I paid less than $20 for but I learned a lot on what is in em and what makes em tic I also run Linux on most of them since they really could not run Windows any more. 

I read a lot of this telecom dictionary over the years  https://www.harrynewton.com/  I worked 10 years in telecom as my main day job I really enjoyed it over all but left for a work from home web site support job.  I have a page all about my phones. 

Prepaid Phone serivce and data options 

I really think that prepaid is the way to go for phone service this is  a very useful website https://prepaidcompare.net/ 

I like https://calyxinstitute.org/ for unlimited data that runs on T mobile on the back end I use this as my backup internet provider.

ATT $300 a year plan is good but US Mobile $96 a year plan is probably good enough for most people. 

Meet our Light Plan. Unlimited Talk & Text with 2GB of Data. Enjoy US Mobile coverage for just $8/month.

I  have red pocket as my backup phone provider for just $32 a year now I think the same plan is $45 a year. 

I have created dozens of websites over the years some for fun some for money this site we are on right now is my 1st site I also have a page about it call 5000 days online Its been up for over 15 years. I have used NeoCites WordPress Wix etc...

I currently work for a company and do website & POS support.  Iowa has a lot of opportunities for web support since GoDaddy* has a large base in Iowa many other companies will pick up those people or at least use it as a hub. *disclosure* I have never worked for GoDaddy nor are any of my domains or websites with them. 

I bought a new Mac Mini back in mid 2011 and got that model I kept it as my learning Mac and used it off and on for things it got to the point that it was so old the OSX was not support I swapped the hard drive out for an SSD and put Linux on it I now use it as a HTPC I did a blog post about it HERE. Since I have setup my HTPC I have used it as an ad-free way to watch Youtube and other videos online as well as play retro games and more it is a low profile device and uses little power.

I think this will be the next Mac in my life. I am going to get it from Krikwood Eagle Tech tax free and at academic pricing. 

I would like to get the 1 TB built in storage and 24 GB of RAM. Since I help people with tech having knowledge on up to date OSX would be good. 

I have only 1 laptop right now that has Windows 10 on it. The above image is 2 computer with Linux one is a PowerPC MAC G5 running Debian Linux (I got that MAC for free)  the others are Dell PCs I only buy used Dells I have only bought 1 new laptop and that was an Asus EEE PC 

I have always wanted to use Free and Open source software as much as I can as a daily driver. I pick the FOSS Apps over propriety ones 90%+ of the time. I am getting better at that by using Linux Mint and other options.  

I have used Android since 2013 as my daily driver I used an iPhone 3GS as my 1 and only iPhone.  Over my life I have mostly had Motorola phones. My daily driver is a Pixel phone. I have number of backup and other phones. The phone above is a Nokia C110 I got it for $32 :) new its locked but it still works on WiFi also has a built in FM radio. 

I have used a number of different Point Of Sales (POS) back in the early 2010's I got one of the free square card readers. Then after COVID hit I got a Stripe M2 Reader and the Square reader both were about $70 each and have no on going monthly charges you just pay when you use it. Its nice to have a tool to take money and make money with.   

I like Mint as my daily driver 

Lots of good stoftware  and apps on this almost mainstream 

This is a Dell Latitude 2100 that I bought used years ago and had a really old version o Ubuntu on it but i just updated it with MX Linux. I am working on getting more of these old laptops and getting them fixed and setup with MX Linux so that more computers can keep working and more people can have computer that they can use. One of the last OS to support 32 bit systems.

https://mxlinux.org/