# Computers Don't throw away computers in working conditions just because they are old and they seem to become slower over time. That's almost always due to bloated proprietary software, not due to issues with the hardware itself. Replace all bloated proprietary software (e.g. Microsoft Windows) with lightweight free software substitutes (e.g. Linux). If that's not enough, you may also try to upgrade some specific hardware components instead of replacing the entire computer. For example, you can replace a slow hard disk drive (HDD) with a fast solid state drive (SSD), or you can expand the amount of RAM by either installing additional modules or replacing existing modules with larger ones. Suspend your computer when not using it for short amounts of time. Hibernate it instead for longer amounts of time. Reduce the brightness of your computer display to an acceptable level. When appropriate, consider replacing HDDs (hard disk drives) with SSDs (solid state drives) since the latter one use less energy than the former ones. On the other hand, please don't forget about the considerable energy needed to manufacture new electronic devices. If you don't need a performance boost or a longer-lasting battery and you already have HDDs that work perfectly well, consider using them as long as possible before switching to SSDs. Don't buy proprietary software (e.g. Microsoft Windows). Use free software only (e.g. Linux). Refill your empty ink cartridges instead of buying new cartridges. Avoid DRM (Digital Restrictions Management), or learn how to remove it. When companies selling DRM-laden media go out of business, they will inevitably stop supporting their own DRM scheme, so you could end up being unable to access the media files you paid for and be forced to buy them again from other companies. Instead, you should either avoid buying DRM-laden media, or at least find the right software tools you can use to remove DRM from the media files you legitimately purchased, so you can keep them no matter what happens to the companies that sold them to you. In the latter case, make sure to avoid proprietary tools; only use tools released under a free software license. On Linux systems, you can save energy and increase the lifespan of your hardware by downclocking your CPU with cpupower. On my personal desktop computer, for example, I downclocked my 3.0 GHz CPU to 2.0 GHz (the lowest supported frequency). Turn off your router during the night. Don't host your git repositories on GitHub, GitLab or other websites that require running client-side JavaScript code (especially if proprietary). As far as I know, SourceHut is currently one of the few acceptable websites for hosting git repositories because it doesn't require JavaScript at all. The only page on SourceHut that requires running (proprietary) JavaScript code is used for sending money to start or renew a paid subscription. Fortunately that doesn't negatively affects third-party individuals, such as people reporting bugs or sending patches. Don't buy or use Intel CPUs or motherboards that have a feature known as Intel Management Engine (Intel ME) because it's almost certainly a hardware backdoor. Intel ME could totally compromise your computer even if you run a secure operating system such as OpenBSD because Intel ME works at a lower, more fundamental level, and therefore has higher privileges. Recent AMD systems are not any better because they have a similar feature officially known as AMD Secure Technology. Avoid them, too. Don't use or invest in cryptocurrencies if you don't have sufficient technical computer skills and you're not willing to learn them: you could easily make some serious mistake and lose all your coins, or unintentionally make it easy for someone else to steal them.