# 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. GNU/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. GNU/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 GNU/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.