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From: Salvador Mirzo <smirzo@example.com>
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: the computer built to last 50 years
Date: Mon, 17 Mar 2025 14:27:02 -0300
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I loved this paper.  I became very interested in the ideas for offline
use.  In fact, my participation here will change: I'm going to get
articles a few times a week so I can answer them in a more offline
manner; less frequent than I do today.

I also looked around the web for standard laptops with an e-ink screen.
Couldn't find much.  I like all the power I currently have.  I own a
Lenovo 15IMH05 and I'm happy with it, but maybe I should own a much
cheaper one that comes with a black-and-white screen that shines a lot
less light, but still allows me run a BSD system on it.

                  The computer built to last 50 years
                         by Ploum on 2021-02-04

How to create the long-lasting computer that will save your attention,
your wallet, your creativity, your soul and the planet. Killing
monopolies will only be a byproduct.

Each time I look at my Hermes Rocket typewriter (on the left in the
picture), I’m astonished by the fact that the thing looks pretty modern
and, after a few cleaning, works like a charm. The device is 75 years
old and is a very complex piece of technology with more than 2000 moving
parts. It’s still one of the best tools to focus on writing. Well, not
really. I prefer the younger Lettera 32, which is barely 50 years old
(on the right in the picture).

Typewriters are incredibly complex and precise piece of machinery. At
their peak in the decades around World War II, we built them so well
that, today, we don’t need to build any typewriters anymore. We simply
have enough of them on earth. You may object that it’s because nobody
uses them anymore. It’s not true. Lots of writers keep using them, they
became trendy in the 2010s and, to escape surveillance, some secret
services started to use them back. It’s a very niche but existing
market.

Let’s that idea sink in: we basically built enough typewriters for the
world in less than a century. If we want more typewriters, the solution
is not to build more but to find them in attics and restore them. For
most typewriters, restoration is only a matter of taking the time to do
it. There’s no complex skills or tools involved. Even the most difficult
operations could be learned alone, by simple trial and error. The whole
theory needed to understand a typewriter is the typewriter itself.

By contrast, we have to change our laptops every three or four
years. Our phones every couple of years. And all other pieces of
equipment (charger,router, modem,printers,…) need to be changed
regularly.

Even with proper maintenance, they simply fade out. They are not
compatible with their environment anymore. It’s impossible for one
person alone to understand perfectly what they are doing, let alone
repair them. Batteries wear out. Screen cracks. Processors become
obsolete. Software becomes insecure when they don’t crash or refuse to
launch.

It’s not that you changed anything in your habits. You still basically
communicate with people, look for information, watch videos. But today
your work is on Slack. Which requires a modern CPU to load the interface
of what is basically a slick IRC. Your videoconference software uses a
new codec which requires a new processor. And a new wifi router. Your
mail client is now 64 bits only. If you don’t upgrade, you are left out
in the cold.

Of course, computers are not typewriters. They do a lot more than
typewriters.

But could we imagine a computer built like a typewriter? A computer that
could stay with you for your lifetime and get passed to your children?

Could we build a computer designed to last at least fifty years?

Well, given how we use the resources of our planet, the question is not
if we could or not. We need to do it, no matter what.

So, how could we build a computer to last fifty years ? That’s what I
want to explain in this essay. In my notes, I’m referring to this object
as the #ForeverComputer. You may find a better name. It’s not really
important. It’s not the kind of objects that will have a yearly keynote
to present the new shiny model and ads everywhere telling us how
revolutionary it is.  Focusing on timeless use cases

There’s no way we can predict what will be the next video codec or the
next wifi standard. There’s no point in trying to do it. We can’t even
guess what kind of online activity will be trendy in the next two years.

Instead of trying to do it all, we could instead focus on building a
machine that will do timeless activities and do them well. My typewriter
from 1944 is still typing. It is still doing something I find
useful. Instead of trying to create a generic gaming station/Netflix
watching computer, let’s accept a few constraints.

The machine will be built to communicate in written format. It means
writing and reading. That covers already a lot of use cases. Writing
documents. Writing emails. Reading mails, documents, ebooks. Searching
on the network for information. Reading blogs and newsletters and
newsgroups.

It doesn’t seem much but, if you think about it, it’s already a
lot. Lots of people would be happy to have a computer that does only
that. Of course, the graphic designers, the movie makers and the gamers
would not be happy with such a computer. That’s not the point. It’s just
that we don’t need a full-fledged machine all the time. Dedicated and
powerful workstations would still exist but could be shared or be less
often renewed if everybody had access to its own writing and reading
device.

By constraining the use cases, we create lots of design opportunities.
Hardware

The goal of the 50-year computer is not to be tiny, ultra-portable and
ultra-powerful. Instead, it should be sturdy and resilient.

Back in the typewriter’s day, a 5 kg machine was considered as
ultraportable. As I was used to a 900 g MacBook and felt that my 1,1kg
Thinkpad was bulky, I could not imagine being encumbered. But, as I
started to write on a Freewrite (pictured between my typewriters), I
realised something important. If we want to create long-lasting objects,
the objects need to be able to create a connection with us.

A heavier and well-designed object feels different. You don’t have it
always with you just in case. You don’t throw it in your bag without
thinking about it. It is not there to relieve you from your
boredom. Instead, moving the object is a commitment. A conscious act
that you need it. You feel it in your hands, you feel the weight. You
are telling the object: « I need you. You have a purpose. » When such a
commitment is done, the purpose is rarely « scroll an endless stream of
cat videos ». Having a purpose makes it harder to throw the object away
because a shiny new version has been released. It also helps draw the
line between the times where you are using the object and the times you
are not.

Besides sturdiness, one main objective from the ForeverComputer would be
to use as little electricity as possible. Batteries should be easily
swappable.

In order to become relevant for the next 50 years, the computer needs to
be made of easily replaceable parts. Inspirations are the Fairphone and
the MNT Reform laptop. The specifications of all the parts need to be
open source so anybody can produce them, repair them or even invent
alternatives. The parts could be separated in a few logical blocks : the
computing unit, which include a motherboard, CPU and RAM, the powering
unit, aka the battery, the screen, the keyboard, the networking unit,
the sound unit and the storage unit. All of this come in a case.

Of course, each block could be made of separate components that could be
fixed but making clear logical blocks with defined interfaces allows for
easier compatibility.

The body requires special attention because it will be the essence of
the object. As for the ship of Theseus, the computer may stay the same
even if you replace every part. But the enclosing case is special. As
long as you keep the original case, the feeling toward the object would
be that nothing has changed.

Instead of being mass-produced in China, ForeverComputers could be built
locally, from open source blueprints. Manufacturers could bring their
own skills in the game, their own experience. We could go as far as
linking each ForeverComputer to a system like Mattereum where
modifications and repairs will be listed. Each computer would thus be
unique, with a history of ownership.

As with the Fairphone, the computer should be built with materials as
ethical as possible. If you want to create a connection with an object,
if you want to give him a soul, that object should be as respectful of
your ethical principles as possible.  Opiniated choices

As we made the choice to mostly use the computer for written
interaction, it makes sense, in the current affair of the technology, to
use an e-ink screen. E-ink screens save a lot of power. This could make
all the difference between a device that you need to recharge every
night, replacing the battery every two years, and a device that
basically sit idle for days, sometimes weeks and that you recharge once
in a while. Or that you never need to recharge if, for example, the
external protective case comes with solar panels or an emergency crank.

E-ink is currently harder to use with mouses and pointing devices. But
we may build the computer without any pointing device. Geeks and
programmers know the benefit of keyboard oriented workflows. They are
efficient but hard to learn.

With dedicated software, this problem could be smartly addressed. The
Freewrite has a dedicated part of the screen, mostly used for text
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