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      Used thin client PCs are an unsexy, readily available Raspberry Pi alternative

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Tuesday, 29 November, 2022 - 18:03 · 1 minute

    This <a href="https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/05/lenovo-bumps-x1-extreme-to-i9-gtx-1650-introduces-new-mainstream-thinkbooks/">ThinkCentre M90n-1 Nano from 2019</a>, passively cooled with a big heatsink, was $145 when the author last looked on eBay. It's not a Raspberry Pi, and it looks like Batman's reception desk system, but it can do the work.

    Enlarge / This ThinkCentre M90n-1 Nano from 2019 , passively cooled with a big heatsink, was $145 when the author last looked on eBay. It's not a Raspberry Pi, and it looks like Batman's reception desk system, but it can do the work. (credit: Andrew Cunningham )

    "Raspberry Pi boards are hard to get, probably also next year," says Andreas Spiess , single-board enthusiast and YouTuber, in his distinctive Swiss accent. He's not wrong . Spiess says he and his fellow Pi devotees need "a strategy to survive" without new boards, so he suggests looking in one of the least captivating, most overlooked areas of computing: used, corporate-minded thin client PCs.

    Andreas Spiess' suggestion to "survive" the Raspberry Pi shortage: cheap thin clients.

    Spiess' Pi replacements, suggested and refined by many of his YouTube commenters and Patreon subscribers, are Fujitsu Futros, Lenovo ThinkCentres, and other small systems (some or all of which could be semantically considered "thick clients" or simply "mini PCs," depending on your tastes and retro-grouch sensibilities). They're the kind of systems you can easily find used on eBay, refurbished on Amazon Renewed, or through other enterprise and IT asset disposition sources. They're typically in good shape, given their use and environment. And compared to single-board enthusiast systems, many more are being made and replaced each year.

    They've always been there, of course, but it makes more sense to take another look at them now. "Back to the future," as Spiess puts it (in an analogy we're not entirely sure works).

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      Framework offers refurbished versions of its repairable laptops

      news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 13 October, 2022 - 20:29 · 1 minute

    Framework is testing and servicing refurbished laptops at a facility in New Jersey and selling refurbished expansion cards to go with them.

    Enlarge / Framework is testing and servicing refurbished laptops at a facility in New Jersey and selling refurbished expansion cards to go with them.

    Framework, makers of the modular, repairable Framework laptop , has started offering a refurbished version, along with packs of its signature USB-C expansion cards. Lots of hardware makers offer refurbished goods, but Framework's unique position in the laptop market makes this announcement a bit different.

    Framework's blog post announcing the new market notes the company's commitment to "remaking consumer electronics to respect people and the planet," and that the company's work to offer previously purchased devices is part of that. Buying refurbished means the laptop (and the planet) sees more use for its already-manufactured parts. And, of course, there's a discount: Refurbished 11th-generation DIY Edition laptops start at $600 in Framework's refurbished marketplace , while a new 11th-generation model is at least $680.

    Most of the refurbished models come from returns within the laptops' 30-day guarantee, Framework writes in its post. The laptops go through testing and cleaning in a New Jersey service center, then have parts replaced as needed. Framework notes that it can do this work in Europe or Australia, too, but—in a subtle bit of QA marketing—claims it has "received so few returns" that it can't build that inventory.

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